What you may not know about Chick-fil-A

[Sachita]

Originally Posted by HowSoonIsNow

I say give them no more publicity (or money...they can't just sit there w/o buying something) but let their brand fester and become permanently associated with bigotry. I also think that the kissing may just, once again, reinforce that our relationships are solely about the physical and that our struggle for equality is about behavior as opposed to rights.

Watching the videos and support for them has been really depressing. It seems that many of us didn't even realize how many of those around us are willing to support this asshole business which has given money to damaging anti-gay causes (reparative therapy! uganda!) besides being against marriage equality.

I do think we lost this round--they framed it as freedom of speech, which we know it isn't--and rallied their "freedom loving Americans" by the hundreds of thousands.

Really sickening.

exactly. Why give them more free advertising? I drove by the location by my house and there were more cars then I ever seen before. All we are doing is keep their brand in the public's face. I think that a "Kiss In" will only fuel the fire and accomplish nothing. The sooner we stop spending money there and keeping them in the public eye the better.

[princessbelle]

I wouldn't go to that place for anything...ever again.

Was wondering, however, when KFC or another Chicken or perhaps Burger place is going to come out with a "Support the LGBTQ Community Day". Just for us to show support.

I think they should. I think we would get just as much, if not more support, than Chick Fil-A-holes

[BullDog]

Instead of national kiss day how about queers go out and volunteer at soup kitchens or something useful- something the haters would never do.

I agree with Soon and say let the brand fester. The best thing to do is to stay aware of corporations using their profits to fund anti-queer causes and to take our queer dollars elsewhere.

[starryeyes]

Originally Posted by BullDog

Instead of national kiss day how about queers go out and volunteer at soup kitchens or something useful- something the haters would never do.

I agree with Soon and say let the brand fester. The best thing to do is to stay aware of corporations using their profits to fund anti-queer causes and to take our queer dollars elsewhere.

Yes!!! I would love to organize something like this in my area. It made me sick to my stomach with chick fil a announced record breaking profits yesterday. I KNOW we could do the same.

[Nadeest]

I agree with Soon and Bulldog, let's let them fester, while we go spend our money elsewhere. Still, it definitely got people's attention, at least.

[Quintease]

This is funny.

[girl_dee]

Originally Posted by Quintease

This is funny.

........omg@ the comments.....

[EnderD_503]

Originally Posted by BullDog

Instead of national kiss day how about queers go out and volunteer at soup kitchens or something useful- something the haters would never do.

I agree with Soon and say let the brand fester. The best thing to do is to stay aware of corporations using their profits to fund anti-queer causes and to take our queer dollars elsewhere.

I don't know too much about this Chick-fil-a thing (Do we even have them in Canada? Never heard of it before), but I think going to volunteer in disadvantaged communities would be a better reaction than continuing to support corporate greed.

The other thing to, is, yeah, be aware of anti-queer corporations using their profits to fund anti-queer causes...but also be aware of how corporations in general have been trying to use the queer community lately to try to make more money. For example, up here RBC may claim to be supporting queer communities through supporting Pride, but how exactly is that helping queer communities that need the most support? 40% of homeless youth here is queer-identified. That's a pretty big statistic. Is supporting corporate greed going to help anything? Not likely. People need to be aware of corporations and how they work in general. Because no matter what their real beliefs are, they will always go where the money is. If Chick-fil-a can make more money or the same profit by advertising their anti-lgbt stance, then they'll have no problems spending their money for anti-lgbt causes. If 10 years down the road that really starts to fuck with their profits, they'll change their "official" stance for the sake of profit. It's just the nature of the beast.

I just think we shouldn't be paying so much attention to corporations...and more attention to real social issues. Don't sign a petition to bring down a bigot corporation (cause at the end of the day, they're all bigots in one way or other), go out and help queer folks that need it in whatever way you can. I think that's more productive, imo.

[morningstar55]

I am NOT ... 4 the Kiss thng either... thnk the bull dog idea is great.
Ya knw i do believe Hobby Lobby is a Christian based store 2 ..... and closed on Sundays never hear anythng frm thm.

[arcstriker]

Last friday when LL and I were driving to our romantic get-a-way, we were listening to one of the many talk shows on the radio with this whole Chicken thing.

All that talk of chicken made me so hungry we had to pull off the nearest exit to find something to eat. We settled for the golden arches, and I just had to have the 10 piece Chicken Mcnuggets with BBQ sauce!

In all honesty Cathy is the owner of a private company and the last time I check we still have the right to free speech as long as you don't scream fire when there isn't one. People will or will not chose to eat there based on his statement.

I am not so sure about whole towns and city's saying that they will not allow Chic-flilets stores to open in there area. Right now the economy and jobs are a huge issue and I hate to see opportunities drop by the way side.

Its just my opinion. Now I am going to check out the refrig and see if there is any left over chicken from last night to have for lunch!

[Soon]

[starryeyes]

OutQ on SirusXM was talking about the Kiss in and Chick-Fil-A, so I called, and got on the radio. I talked about the community service and KFC ideas and stuff and they were *not* very receptive... lol. I think they even cut me off. As is! :-(

Soldiering on....

[LeftWriteFemme]

Jane Lynch Says ‘Fuck Chick-Fil-A'



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...r=Gay%20Voices

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by princessbelle

I wouldn't go to that place for anything...ever again.

Was wondering, however, when KFC or another Chicken or perhaps Burger place is going to come out with a "Support the LGBTQ Community Day". Just for us to show support.

I think they should. I think we would get just as much, if not more support, than Chick Fil-A-holes

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...tml?ref=topbar

[ruffryder]

Never been to Chick Fil Hate and never will. It sucked to see all the support the other day. People are so ignorant to think it's based on free speech. A kiss in day? How stupid i say! People think it's gonna be a full make out go at it day and probably some idiots will. I don't think it solves anything. I would agree more with a bunch of gays holding hands around the Chick Fil Hate places, buying some deli chicken or KFC and handing it out for free to those that came to Chick Fil Hate.

Starbucks is having an appreciation day, Aug 7. So be sure and go! Starbucks not only treats customers and employees with respect and dignity, but for the last 20 years, it also has offered domestic partner benefits in the U.S. to part-time and full-time employees. Drink for marriage equality

[The_Lady_Snow]

I'm not spending $5.00 on chicken just so I can kiss Grant, that's not protesting. I'll take the streets, occupy, feed the endless of homeless that are in Jacksonville's streets. I'll be damned if that company EVER gets my $$..

[ruffryder]

Who said anything about spending money on kiss in day? I say walk in, look around and say loudly, "Babe, this isn't KFC! Oh yea this is that hate place. What brought us here? Oh yea, we are here just to voice our opinion and freedeom of speech that we do not agree with what the owner of Chick Fil A says and his values about marriage. Have a nice day everybody. We are going to KFC now where the chicken and company is finer!" *give your partner a smooch and walk out* LOL! Can you imagine !

[Martina]

Unfortunately, with activism, a lot of the time you don't get to choose your fights. I sure would not have chosen gay marriage as the central issue of the fight for lgbtq rights. Look at that map that Howsoonisnow posted showing all the states where we can be fired for being gay. That's an issue I could get behind with more enthusiasm. But inevitably, because my enemies were coming after me on the gay marriage issue, I stood behind it too.

I think that whenever we are attacked, we should stand up. I don't care if people like us. They don't have to. What they need to know is that every time they try to hurt us, we are going to stand up to them using every resource at our disposal: protests, lawsuits, boycotts, art, and so on.

I don't care about the corporation itself. But all those people out there supporting them -- I want some of us out there looking them in the eyes letting them know that we see them for the bigots they are.

[EnderD_503]

Originally Posted by Martina

Unfortunately, with activism, a lot of the time you don't get to choose your fights. I sure would not have chosen gay marriage as the central issue of the fight for lgbtq rights. Look at that map that Howsoonisnow posted showing all the states where we can be fired for being gay. That's an issue I could get behind with more enthusiasm. But inevitably, because my enemies were coming after me on the gay marriage issue, I stood behind it too.

I think that whenever we are attacked, we should stand up. I don't care if people like us. They don't have to. What they need to know is that every time they try to hurt us, we are going to stand up to them using every resource at our disposal: protests, lawsuits, boycotts, art, and so on.

I don't care about the corporation itself. But all those people out there supporting them -- I want some of us out there looking them in the eyes letting them know that we see them for the bigots they are.

I disagree with this. There are plenty of examples of ways in which communal activism does not mean single-issue "activism." Most protests (at least here) are like that. For example, at Slut Walk most of us were not simply protesting the words of the police officer who inspired the inception of Slut Walk. As Slut Walk moved past its first annual march, you saw people protesting a multitude of issues, and speeches that moved beyond that one event and touched many experiences and many issues. The same thing goes with many of the queer marches here, that are not single-issue, but give people the avenue to voice all forms of oppression that touch our community.

I think the methods of the mainstream lgbt community in the States isn't all that great. Basically, right now its seems their tactic is to just react to every little thing the religious right throws at them. Someone expresses anti-same-sex marriage beliefs and they react. Someone calls homosexuality a sin and they react.

Activism needs to be more than just a series of isolated reactions to individual celebrity opinions. That doesn't cover the whole problem, and often what ends up happening is that less and less attention is given to portions of the queer community that are living in totally inhumane situations...and yes! In North America! It diverts attention away from serious social issues, and let's be frank...most mainstream lgbt folk think the same as most of the rest of society when it comes to the disadvantaged: "homeless people are just lazy," "sex workers don't deserve rights," "more border security to keep 'illegal aliens' out," "bdsmers just make us look like crazy perverts at Pride," "racism doesn't exist, people are just lazy" etc. etc. That is the very real reason why the lgbt rights movement has become largely single-issue...because the average person just doesn't give a shit about people who didn't have the same social privileges as they did.

To me, trying to make even small changes mean helping not for profit organisations that make differences in the lives of disadvantaged queer folks. Volunteering. Marches that allow people to voice all the ways in which queer rights are being violated. And that means people are gonna have a lot to say about misogyny, aboriginal rights, poverty, anti-sex worker and anti-immigrant sentiments and many more. That is activism...not kiss-ins and single-issue reactionaries.

Also, I don't get why people are making this into an issue of Chick-fil-a being "unAmerican" or "unChristian." I mean, really, people? Neither of these things are of any consequence. This whole "unAmerican" thing seems to be an insult that Americans throw at each other when they don't agree with one another about something. In that case, its failing to see the damage that patriotism and this whole notion of "Americanness" does. I don't think I've seen many Germans outside of the far right fringe cry out that something is "unGerman" (and usually that hails back to Nazism and the idea of "the folk," and Germans are pretty conscious about using that kind of language) or a Swede about a policy being "UnSwedish." Americans seem to have this obsession with patriotism that actually causes problems and second class citizens. Its this whole competition of "Americanness" that often allows fundamentalists to rave against the queer community (and many other communities for that matter...historically and in the present), because their idea of "Americanness" is traditional family values. Then the queer community screams back that such and such a thing is "unAmerican" because it violates "such and such amendment" (which apparently is serious business in the good ol' US of A). Such arguments are pointless. It has nothing to do with a who's "more American" than whomever pissing contest. It has to do with allowing people to have their basic human rights and allowing every citizen of a nation to have the same rights. That is something that people fight for in most nations, and is generally the hallmark of most progressive nations.

As for the christian part...are we really going to sit here and argue over what is essentially mythology? Its so silly. We have our share of fundies here in Canada as well, with the REAL Women of Canada and whatnot...people just accept that they're nutjobs and go on to more important things. We don't argue with them as to whether or not they're "good christians." I really don't give a shit if a fundie is practicing "good christianity" (whatever the hell that is) or not by being a bigot. I'm more concerned with the fact that they're a bigot who thinks that their personal opinions about another group of people makes them think that they have the "freedom" to promote hatred. Luckily, they don't have that right legally, and for that I'm at least partially grateful. For example, recently here a gay couple was denied an apartment because of the landlord's "personal beliefs." The court barely took a second to side with the couple. You don't get an arena to affect others' lives just because you decide to hate on them...that should never be a right.

And yeah, I agree with what some others have written here...that essentially, freedom of speech does not mean having the right to spout hatred in public and to stomp on others' rights to a safe environment. Its always christians who seem to think they do have that right. I've never seen a group so disrespectful of others' safe spaces and rights to total equality.

[The_Lady_Snow]

Originally Posted by ruffryder

Who said anything about spending money on kiss in day? I say walk in, look around and say loudly, "Babe, this isn't KFC! Oh yea this is that hate place. What brought us here? Oh yea, we are here just to voice our opinion and freedeom of speech that we do not agree with what the owner of Chick Fil A says and his values about marriage. Have a nice day everybody. We are going to KFC now where the chicken and company is finer!" *give your partner a smooch and walk out* LOL! Can you imagine !

I don't roll this way when it comes to my politics, I haven't been able to in the past without the fear of being handcuffed. I will be honest and admit your example for me brings up a sense of fear. Fear of some good ol boy getting up doing something to either myself or Grant, for me that kind of passive aggressive walk in only fuels their "the gays are evil".

As a group we are going to have to go at this in a civil rights approach, we are being singled out by Corperate goons, they are marketing fear. We need to smarter, calmer, and lawful it's not going to be easy but no movement ever is..