Posted on 07/29/2012 7:28:49 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Boston Mayor Tom Menino wants to keep fast-food chain Chick-fil-A out of Boston because the company opposes same-sex marriage. Legally, Menino may in the wrong. Yet he is also completely in the right. The dustup has been portrayed as a First Amendment issue. In truth, it’s more about smart politics, mayoral power and — like it or not — Menino’s ability to make the city in his own vision.
Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy is reputed to have invented the chicken sandwich; his first Atlanta store in 1967 has grown to a multi-billion-dollar empire with over 1,600 outlets. Finding a Chick-fil-A in New England is tough, however. There are just three, and the chain is now looking to expand north.
From a gastronomical standpoint, Chick-fil-A is no big deal. (My bucket list includes sampling all major fast-food chains. McDonald’s Chicken sandwich is much better.) But what does make Chick-fil-A unique is the Bible Belt religiosity that suffuses all it does. The family-owned company says its “corporate purpose” is “to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us.” Each of its stores is shut on Sundays. And the company spends much time advancing its spiritual philosophy. Some of those causes, such as promoting foster care, are widely praised. Others, including preserving “the biblical definition of the family unit,” have raised hackles, including Menino’s.
On July 20, the mayor sent a blunt letter to Chick-fil-A decrying its anti-gay stance and telling it to “back out of your plans to locate in Boston.” Both the left and the right have assailed him for this, seeing it as an attack on free speech. Where does this end, they ask? Will the city now stop someone from opening a store because he’s, say, a Yankees fan?
Except, of course, that Menino isn’t suggesting that such foolish reasons should factor in deciding the businesses Boston welcomes. He’s talking about something much more serious, a basic civil right (one, admittedly, not all agree with). Put in a different context, if Chick-fil-A supported a return to the days of Jim Crow, my guess is a lot of folks now lambasting Menino would react differently.
Then too, while the First Amendment prohibits government from censoring speech, it doesn’t make one immune from the consequences of those remarks. Leominster, for instance, just fired a cop who targeted Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford with a racial epithet. The slur was protected by the First Amendment, but racists shouldn’t be on the police force, either. The same with Chick-fil-A. It can say what it wants. But those words do have meaning, and they cause many to worry how they translate into action. Will Chick-fil-A treat married gay employees the same as married straight employees? The way the company deeply intertwines business and religion raises a reasonable doubt.
But all of these are legal niceties, irrelevant from the viewpoint of a politician like Menino. His attack on Chick-fil-A is, instead, an illustration of the effective use of power, something the mayor learned long ago. As acting mayor in 1993, he imposed a freeze on water and sewer rates. His opponents mocked him, noting mayors don’t control an independent agency. The laugh was on them — not only were residents grateful that someone was at least trying to do something, but he also got his way. The bully pulpit has power; the hikes were deferred.
So too, last year Menino was ridiculed for his efforts to get Niketown to remove profane T-shirts from its windows. Would the city have won if it went to court? Probably not. But they were removed anyway.
And to what end is this power used? A hallmark of Menino’s tenure has been his effort to remake Boston’s image from a backward place of small-minded bigotry into a modern city that is inclusive, diverse, and civil. If that means lashing out at companies such as Chick-fil-A, so be it. Were Chick-fil-A to sue (unlikely, since the mayor has clarified he wouldn’t hold up permits over the issue), odds are Menino would lose in a court of law. But in the court of public opinion — 19 years and counting — he’s winning.
I know you are referencing a different “Krystal,” but (on the subject of food) sometimes you just gotta have about eight Krystal (White Castle) cheeseburgers. Usually at two or three in the morning.
Of course, like Varsity Dogs (an Atlanta delicacy), Krystal’s always bark at night. Sometimes they bite. CFA food, OTOH, always rests easily in my belly.
This entire war by the homos against CFA is too dumb to fathom. It’s a battle they can’t win. They have aroused a sleeping giant.
The Bolshevik Globe goes on to say that mumbles Menino is morally right.
With a Liberal rag such as the Bolshevik Globe, not only does the end justify the means, but the...end is a sacred sexual organ instead of an exit for nitrogenous waste (that is its anatomical purpose, btw....).
What part of a chicken is the McNugget?
Your observation is spot on!
What part of a chicken is the McNugget?
Your observation is spot on!
What part of a chicken is the McNugget?
Your observation is spot on!
As an individual from Communist Massachusetts, I can assure you that Boston and other cities should not boast so much.
Once, I was at a dinner and one of the people there was a black fellow who lived in Tn. most of the time, but was in Massachusetts for a year or so. Being the curious sort, I asked him if he found Tn. and Mass. different in the way they treated him and if so, how so. The black fellow responded that in Tn. they were much friendlier and he got a cold reception in Boston and its environs.
Anyone who compares McDonald’s to real food is an idiot or on drugs. To suggest their chicken sandwich is better than Chick-Fil-A is something only a crackhead could say with a straight face.
Can we get a list of these supposed, civil rights?
Just like comparing every politician one doesn't like to Hitler diminishes the actual evil of Hitler; just like calling every disagreement with someone of a different race "racism" diminishes the actual immorality of racism; calling everything a "civil right" diminishes the struggles of those who had to fight for ACTUAL civil rights.
It figures that it was a dipwad like tom Keane who
thinks the mayor is on the right side of this.
Way to go Mayor, Keep it up! Loser!
Life has got to be tough when you base your sexual self image on a fast food chicken joint.
Boston’s image from a backward place of small-minded bigotry
Chick-Fil-A should put a wrapper around each chicken sandwich....Banned in Boston.
Boston is FOR thought crimes.....
> Are there any Chick Fil As in New Hampshire?
Nashua.
At the Pheasant Lane Mall.
Great; the Boston Globe cheers on tyranny once it serves a certain agenda and to hell with the Constitution. This Tom Keane should be a street sweeper instead of a reporter.
Five years ago I stopped at a McDonald’s after a very, very long day and got a grilled chicken sandwich which I ate while driving home. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning I awoke after passing out on the bathroom floor. Son took me to the ER - I had a severe case of food poisoning and was sick for several days. Never again will I buy anything there.
When is the mayor up for reelection? Would anyone ever consider running against him? Seems like his decision to turn down jobs for people in the city would make useful material for a campaign.
Mumbles is a moron, and so is our governor - but worse than either are the idiots who elected them.
Haven’t tried CFA yea, first chance I got to get to one was today, but it’s the Sabbath so closed. Anyways McD’s new chicken sandwiches are actually really good. If you haven’t had one in the last few years I’d suggest trying them again.
The Major of Boston has opened his city up to a lawsuit for religious discrimination. And he could be sued personally for ignoring his oath of office.
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