Posted on 09/22/2012 12:10:34 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
DALLAS Until Wednesday, SMUs SPECTRUM was planning on launching a 13-week boycott of the on-campus Chick-fil-A. As a member, I intended on participating in the boycott.
However, on Wednesday morning, the company announced that it has stopped donating money to anti-gay hate groups, such as the Family Research Council and Exodus International. The donations were the cause of the LGBT communitys ire this summer.
Chick-fil-A also issued a Who We Are internal memo declaring that its company tradition is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender.
Obviously, this means that we succeeded. The LGBT community won this particular battle against institutionalized corporate bigotry by taking a firm and public stand against it. We won by educating our friends, recruiting our allies, and raising awareness. The nation-wide boycott of Chick-fil-A was a good idea, and it worked.
Now, in the wake of these events, we must reflect and consider how and if history will remember the past few months.
I fully supported the boycott effort. When Dan Cathys statements about marriage equality went public, I didnt think much of it; in fact I thought, of course theyre a Christian company. Although soon after, the fact that Chick-fil-a donated millions to hate groups who support conversion therapy and the criminalization of homosexuality was publicized, and I was overcome with anger.
Who died and made Chick-fil-A arbiter of the will of the Almighty? I asked myself.
I was further enraged when conservative hotheads Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin downplayed the issue at hand as a free speech debate and launched the infamous Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.
How demeaning, indeed, to obfuscate the facts of the issue, and advocate a company that financially supports the attempted subjugation of a minority.
Moreover, I felt alienated and betrayed when a friend or family member chose a sandwich over me. I felt pretty worthless to find out my value as a human being was less than $6 the cost of a combo meal.
Honestly, I didnt have very high expectations of Spectrums boycott at this predominately red university in this predominately red state. I figured we would bring attention to an ignorant and indifferent student population, and Id feel like I was being proactive. I would have considered changing one opinion a phenomenal success.
So when someone said to me that this intended boycott was pointless and petty, I knew it wasnt. It is never pointless and petty to voice ones opinion in a public forum. Thats the point of democracy. I respect this right for everyone. I even had a civil conversation with the religious protesters at Pride this past Sunday.
I understand that many people just werent as passionate about this issue as I was and thats their choice. Not everyone can be a bleeding heart.
What I want everyone to know is that gay people are simply people trying to live their lives as completely as anyone else. And no one neither Chick-fil-A, nor any other group or individual has a right to impede that.
Looks like I’ll be buying some Chick-fil-a next week. These idiots just won’t let this die, so I won’t either. More chicken, please!
Allowing rights or anything else to queers other than a fist to the face is wrong as far as i’m concerned!
Tim, thanks for letting me know there’s a CFA @ SMU. I’ll be sure to swing by.
Even in the early 1990s, many of SMU’s theology students were openly gay or lesbian.
We countered that in college with a “wear cotton socks if you like sheep” day. The gay activists were not amused.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ladies & gents, we have a winner!
Superb rant of my sentiments exactly!
:^)
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