Posted on 08/02/2012 9:49:15 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
One day after having the best sales day in its history, Chick-fil-A will have to prepare itself for a counter-protest to yesterday's "appreciation day" by those outraged over threats made by mayors and city council members in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and New York (Mayor Michael Bloomberg did not join his colleagues in the other cities). Supporters of same-sex marriage will stage "kiss-ins" at Chick-fil-A locations tomorrow, if a Facebook-organized protest succeeds:
Yesterdays banner turnout at Chick-fil-A restaurants for free speech rights with thousands of people nationwide and hundreds in the Bay States two locations lining up to buy chicken sandwiches has turned up the heat on gay rights activists who hope to draw similar crowds for tomorrows kiss-in protest at the suddenly controversial fast-food chain.
We planned an action a few years ago and we only expected 50 people but 500 showed. Were crossing our fingers for that kind of support again, said Ian Struthers of grassroots group Join the Impact Massachusetts, who plans to pucker up tomorrow at the Burlington Mall Chick-fil-A for national Same-Sex Kiss Day.
Gay rights advocates are using Facebook to organize the kiss-in in protest of Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathys opposition to same-sex marriage and the millions of dollars they say the company has donated to anti-gay groups.
The Bay State group plans to hand out fake coupons to customers for a free side of bigotry during the Friday night protest.
Well, good luck with that — and I’m not being entirely flippant, either. This protest has been rumored since at least last week, before supporters loosely organized the “appreciation day” yesterday, but seem to be having difficulty coordinating it. Even if it does get off the ground tomorrow, it’s very unlikely to approach the level of support shown by fans of Chick-fil-A and/or free speech and free exercise of religious expression yesterday. A weak showing tomorrow would be worse than skipping the protest entirely, as we saw with the failed Occupy movements, whose spring offensive never materialized after being mostly ignored after the first couple of weeks of protesting last fall.
However, there is nothing wrong with protesting over Chick-fil-A’s political connections or ownership’s political views, as long as protestors obey the law in doing so. That is a perfectly acceptable free-speech, free-market approach to disagreement within commerce. I’d rather see kiss-ins than lawsuits, for instance, and certainly more than seeing politicians extort businessmen to support their political agendas, as is exactly what Thomas Menino and Rahm Emanuel attempted to do in Boston and Chicago, respectively. Protests that don’t block customers from accessing the business or act violently are a good release valve for a free society. Pro-life activists have picketed abortion mills for decades — and often had to fight courts for that same right. LGBT activists have just as much right to protest Chick-fil-A.
Mike Huckabee, who helped promote yesterday’s appreciation day, agrees:
“Sounds like a great opportunity for a beer and beans with jalapenos lunch, then wade into the group - provided you can stomach same-sex face sucking - and let ‘er rip.
Over and over.”
You may get unwanted advances, because that is what their “love” smells like.
If EVERYONE participated, then they wouldn’t be the center of attention. Let them get lost in the crowd.
The key word there is "customers". Surely there must be laws against loitering. Someone who hangs out in a restaurant without buying anything is loitering, IMO, whether they're kissing or not. It should be perfectly acceptable for the owners to ask them to leave! If they refuse, the police should step in.
OTOH, if the protestors have to buy food to stay, they're actually supporting the cause they intended to protest.
I had a CFA sandwich yesterday (took two hours to get it) but I could have another one tomorrow while I'm laughing at the protestors...
Actually, Im all-in for the Kiss-In.
I knew I could’ve been the only one to think of that..especially on FR!
I’ve been saying C-F-A should only have Drive-Thru Service on Friday.
But turning it around and overwhelming them is a better plan.
I wouldn’t take kids with me tomarrow.
The homos better walk a straight line (pun intended)
Otherwise,it would be really funny if a couple of militant mos got tazed as you are enjoying a delicious banana pudding milk shake.
The rally to support religious principles is offensive only to those who would suppress American freedom. Overt mock sexuality, in public, is offensive to everyone of taste, regardless of their opinions on any issue, real or--as here--contrived. (For those who have forgotten that the very terms "sex" & "sexualty" refer to the division of all sentient life, indeed I believe all vertabrate life, into two sexes; my intention is not to make any other point by identifying the intentionally offensive behavior, as I have.}
William Flax
As long as they’re paying customers, go for it. If they’re just loitering, throw them out. There’s probably even some marketing opportunities franchises could take advantage of.
Is there any indication of a proposed time for the “kiss-in”? I’d like to show up to tell ‘em that God loves them and I’ll be praying for them. That really gets ‘em mad!
The argument that is being made is that Cathy’s support of traditional marriage, makes him anti gay marriage. So, these people supporting gay marriage must be anti traditional marriage. When I force them to live with their own logic, they run away screaming....
Well, I plan of being at CFA on Friday - once again to show my support and buy some good food.
I’ll ignore any protest - if there is one.
RE: I’ve heard that law enforcement is a ready to pounce on these deviants if they insist on disturbing the peace, initiating hate crimes, and harassing patrons at any of the CFA restaurants.
___________________________
Would doing the nasty in public constitute harassment of patrons? Or is it now free speech?
They better be light on their feet if they plan on dodging cars all day long in the parking lots. ;-)
Surprise! The Boston Herald actually said the cause of the appreciation day is free speech, instead of trying to spin it as bigotry.
Let them have at it. What better demonstration about the differences between Left and right. If left doesn’t like it they want to ban it, if the right doesn’t like it, they won’t buy it.
“Gov. Huckabee is much too agreeable.”
A legitimate concern, judging from well-publicized lewd public behavior at "pride" events.
A large concentration of STD and Gay Bowel Syndrome sufferers congregating around the food and lewdly swapping spit while innocent customers are trying to eat a meal - definitely tough on the digestion!
” and let ‘er rip.”
Considering their preferred sexual activity, that might be to them what pheremones are to us!
I think we both know that such laws are applied in a biased way when race, gender, religious and sexual beliefs come into play (heck, just look at what the DOD did with gays participating in parades while in uniform).
The response to this is all too easy to arrive at, just adopt Alinsky’s “Ridicule is mans greatest weapon” philosophy.
Have Conservatives show up at CFAs with those judges scoring flip charts ... which they then use to “rate” the kisses based on both technique and physical attractiveness of the participants.
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