The disturbing attacks on Chick-fil-A
There’s one part of Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy’s recent remarks that the left seems especially intent on disproving: the part where he said,
… we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles.
The rest of Cathy’s comments, if you haven’t already heard, concerned his opinion of the propriety of gay marriage from a biblical perspective. As retribution for his voicing this opinion, some liberals in Chicago and Boston want to deny Cathy and his company the right to operate in their cities.
This is disturbing on a number of levels, two in particular.
The first is the idea that local governments might deny a business license to a company because of the beliefs of its owners. In Chicago, Alderman Proco “Joe” Moreno threatened to do just that in his ward. (The city’s mayor, former Obama aide Rahm Emanuel, was more oblique, voicing sympathy with Moreno’s perspective but saying only that a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Chicago “would be a bad investment, since it would be empty.”)
As Elizabeth Scalia notes, this is how fascism works. As the far-from-right-wing Boston Globe editorialized, in response to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s statement that “Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston” and that the company shouldn’t be allowed to open a store near famed Faneuil Hall along the city’s — first irony alert! — Freedom Trail:
… which part of the First Amendment does Menino not understand? A business owner’s political or religious beliefs should not be a test for the worthiness of his or her application for a business license. … If the mayor of a conservative town tried to keep out gay-friendly Starbucks or Apple, it would be an outrage.
Menino has since backtracked on his threat. Moreno appears to be digging in, although some of his fellow aldermen take a different view.
The second is the way Menino and Moreno are twisting the definition of the word “discrimination” to apply it to Cathy’s objection to — second irony alert! — the redefinition of the word “marriage” to apply to same-sex couples.
“You can’t have a business in the City of Boston that discriminates against a population,” Menino told the Boston Herald to explain his desire to keep Chick-fil-A out of his city.
“If you are discriminating against a segment of the community, I don’t want you in the 1st Ward,” Moreno told the Chicago Tribune.
But I have yet to see the first shred of evidence Chick-fil-A is actually discriminating against gay couples. Menino and Moreno cited no reports that same-sex couples in a Chick-fil-A restaurant have been denied service or asked to leave, nor any instances of gay employees or job applicants being dismissed due to their sexual orientation. This is hardly comparable to a Southern lunch counter turning away black customers half a century ago.
Nor could anyone accurately describe Cathy or Chick-fil-A as influential political agitators who are enabling some sort of “discrimination.” While much was made back in March of the company’s donations to groups that promote the traditional definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman, the company is practically silent in terms of donations to politicians and political organizations. According to the Sunlight Foundation, the sum total of all political donations by the company, its employees and its PAC, between 1989 and 2012, was just $177,410 — about $7,400 a year. And even this meager spending does not appear to have been tied to the issue of gay marriage.
If a mere difference of opinion with elected officials is enough to qualify as “discrimination,” then in some way or another virtually every employer would be, as Cathy put it in the interview that sparked this episode, guilty as charged. Civil society itself would be fractured irretrievably. As Scalia asked,
… where does the “punishment” spiral stop? The press declares Chick-fil-A “homophobic” (a dishonest word) and then the local governments start penalizing them for it; Jim Henson’s outfit stomps off. What next? Will people against gay marriage start boycotting Muppet stuff? Pyres of Elmo in support of Chick-fil-A’s right to be itself?
We’re already seeing a preliminary version of this: Activists are encouraging same-sex couples to visit Chick-fil-A stores next Friday for a “National Same-Sex Kiss Day”; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is encouraging fellow social conservatives to “buycott” the company by patronizing its restaurants en masse next Wednesday.
Does anyone see this thing headed toward reconciliation?
The idea at the foundation of our freedom of speech is often said to have been summarized by the French philosopher Voltaire: “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” It’s a long way from Voltaire’s France to Menino’s Boston and Moreno’s Chicago, and the direction is a very disheartening one.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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474 comments Add your comment
HDB
July 27th, 2012
8:46 am
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin…
July 27th, 2012
7:40 am
REALLY?? Where do I apply???
July 27th, 2012
8:48 am
“The chicken dude is a blithering idiot for putting both feet in his mouth. And he should have known better.”
He’s doing quite well in life as the president of a popular restaurant chain and you are have done what with your life?
You are a shining example of idiocy. Bravo!
HDB
July 27th, 2012
8:50 am
The problem isn’t what Dan Cathy said….for everyone agrees that he has the right to express himself; the issue actually is the use of corporate profits to support organizations that are AGAINST a constituency that SUPPORTS the corporation!! With Chick-Fil-A’s funding of corporations that are against gay Americans, they are basically biting the hands that feed them!! It’s similar to Molson /Coors and the John Birch Society…..
THAT’S the issue here!!
Matz
July 27th, 2012
8:54 am
Dan Cathy is a bully who doesn’t just pick on gay people, but SMALL BUSINESSMEN too. How DARE somebody sell t-shirts to promote local vegetables in a small farming community! Never mind that he hasn’t put one of his “restaurants” there yet! He might some day, and when that happens, he doesn’t want to people of Vermont to be all into green vegetables when he decides to sell them greasy chicken and the worst fries ever.
If you are a billionaire who claims to own the words, “eat more,” and then you sick your corporate lawyers on a small businessman for using common words in our common language, YOU ARE A BULLY.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 27th, 2012
8:57 am
Any state that elects Bernie Sanders and Patrick Lahey to the U.S. Senate (Vermont) has forfeited their right to complain about anything else.
tiredofIT
July 27th, 2012
8:59 am
At the bottom of their “About our Chicken” web page they state:
“NOTE: Chick-fil-A does not verify the accuracy of the content contained in the preceding website.”
They won’t tell where they get the chicken from, which leads many to believe it is from China.
Chick-fil-A: Not A Choice
July 27th, 2012
9:09 am
Enter your comments here
How Inciteful Is That!
July 27th, 2012
9:09 am
You are a shining example of idiocy. Bravo!
Now there’s real bravery for you. Refusing to even blog with a handle so you can be called out by name for insulting another blogger.
Chick-fil-A: Not A Choice
July 27th, 2012
9:10 am
I cannot help it that I love and crave Chick-fil-A.
I was born that way.
L O L !
mini mimi
July 27th, 2012
9:15 am
Matthew Shepard was a disturbing attack. August Provost III was a disturbing attack. Chik-Fil-A not so much
dj
July 27th, 2012
9:18 am
Welcome to AMERICA where people can have their OWN opinions, donate to ANY group they choose, and NOT pander to the bullies who disagree. If you don’t like these rules, then you are UNAMERICAN. And buy some tissues.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 27th, 2012
9:19 am
“They won’t tell where they get the chicken from, which leads many to believe it is from China.”
Really? This is the best you can come up with tiredofIT?
Now understand, I don’t like Chick-Fil-A as a meal. Not my kind of food. But maybe some people like TiredofIT might wish to understand a little about “supply” and “demand” before posting something like the above. Unless you want constantly fluctuating prices, you get your supplies from many sources as prices and availability dictates. Posting on your website where things come from on a daily basis (as well as what is in your supply pipeline at any given moment) is impossible.
dj
July 27th, 2012
9:21 am
i like what dc said earlier in this blog:
“as usual, the supposedly tolerant are in fact the most intolerant folks of all. what a bunch of hypocrites”
td
July 27th, 2012
9:25 am
I see that “gay rage” is alive and well on this blog topic. You are just walking right into the argument that being gay is nothing more then a mental disorder.
Ivan
July 27th, 2012
9:25 am
“the issue actually is the use of corporate profits to support organizations that are AGAINST a constituency that SUPPORTS the corporation!!”
Bogus. Keep reaching, though
bookman parrot
July 27th, 2012
9:29 am
liberal hypocrisy in action!!!
tiredofIT
July 27th, 2012
9:32 am
Tiberius: I think you need a xanax.
Matz
July 27th, 2012
9:35 am
Stop bullying: http://www.change.org/petitions/chick-fil-a-stop-bullying-small-business-owners
skipper
July 27th, 2012
9:36 am
I think it was a grerat move….their profits will probably soar! Gay folks have no problem ramming their agenda down otheres throats (no pun intended) yet when someone does not agree with them, all is wrong. You wanna really see the real sicko’s, see clips (’coz you won’t want to go) of a “pride” parade! And this is what folks are fighting for???
skipper
July 27th, 2012
9:37 am
That would be “great”, not grerat….typo!
Deron
July 27th, 2012
9:37 am
Personally I could care less what the Chic Fil A said about gay marriages, it is there opinion. I am a gay but I will still be eating sandwiches there because of – the BEST Sandwiches & SUPERIOR CUSTOMER SERVICE!
Up Up and Away
July 27th, 2012
9:41 am
skipper
If you want to tell the Wingfield blog world something and “come out”, that is your choice.
Do tell us about these parades you have attended?
bob
July 27th, 2012
9:41 am
Would the left scream if a conservative mayor told a gay rights group they could not open shop because the group does not share the values of the mayor ? And how does beliving in Marriage between a man and woman homophobic ?
Chick-fil-A: Not A Choice
July 27th, 2012
9:42 am
I was born having… URGES for Chick-fil-A.
I cannot help it.
Sheila
July 27th, 2012
9:46 am
More hatred, thug tactics and thought control from the left. What vile, angry and bitter people that cannot tolerate disagreement. The willingness for some democrats to use the power of the state to punish non conformance to their preferred politics is truly frightening.
@@
July 27th, 2012
9:49 am
…the issue actually is the use of corporate profits to support organizations that are AGAINST a constituency that SUPPORTS the corporation!!
Nobody is forcing his constituency to eat more chicken. If the activists have their way, nobody would get to eat the chicken.
^^^ not intended as a sexual slander on gays.
skipper
July 27th, 2012
9:49 am
Up Up and Away,
Saw it on news…….reckon I’m too old, beacuse if this is what it is all about then Cathy was more than right….he was dead on!
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
July 27th, 2012
9:51 am
HDB
July 27th, 2012
8:46 am
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin…
July 27th, 2012
7:40 am
REALLY?? Where do I apply???
Easy, sport.
If you apply now, chances are the bank is going to want you to make the payments. If you wait, obozo’s poll numbers will continue to plummet and he will shower more free stuff on everybody, trying to create more faithful little dimwitocrats. You may not have to pay back the loan! You could be a super parasite! Maybe the tax payers will stop by everyday to bathe and feed you too! Always have a dream!
Remember what obozo says, this country was built by people like you! Soldier on, you great American!
Rightwing Troll
July 27th, 2012
9:57 am
A reading of the wingnut comments on this blog refutes all of your whining ,crying, and swooning about how bitter and angry liberals are… funny stuff…
I’m just sayin’…
@@
July 27th, 2012
10:01 am
Having been a supporter of GWB’s ownership society only to realize (later) how devastating it was, I can conceive of repeating the same mistake. Look at the headlines.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&q=mortgage+loans%2Bminorities&oq=mortgage+loans%2Bminorities&gs_l=news-cc.1.0.43j43i400.778016.791907.0.793672.25.7.0.18.18.0.125.672.5j2.7.0…0.0…1ac.qIFUgRDO5P0
SoGaDawg
July 27th, 2012
10:06 am
Everyone who is up in arms about Chick-Fil-A does realize that Obama said the exact same thing in 2008? Yet, I bet you all still voted for him, and didn’t “protest” against him. You’re all just a bunch of hipocrites.
Steven
July 27th, 2012
10:07 am
I live in Tampa, but I find this blogging and subsequent comments to be funny. Does any of the people on here even know how to run or operate a business, whether public or private? The deal is, when you open a business, you have to go through zoning (the government), you have to get permission to open the said business, and you have to show other items like what you are going to sell, how much space you are using to open the business, and other related items. So, when the mayors state they can block the business from coming to their city, they can legally do so. It does not take a degree in law to figure this out. The blogger, as well as the rest of the people on here can complain and chirp about “Freedom” and other things. I have no problem with freedom or anything else, but to open a business, you have to have a permit and a license and if you do not have that, you are not opening your business. Finally, on a more local level, Wal-Mart was trying to open one of their stores in St. Petersburg. Where they were wanting to open was in an ecologically sensitive area (wetlands). The city blocked their ability to open. You see, the city or municipality, not only does not only have the right/ability to open your store or business, they can completely block your ability to allow you to open up shop. You can scream “Freedom” and what your rights are all day, but what the mayors of Boston and Chicago want to do is perfectly legal and there is not a darn thing anyone can do about it, including Chick-Fil-A. I just have to wonder how many of the people here, as well as the blog writer, would feel if there was an exotic strip club being opened, across the street from a school or church? Heaven forbid.
Amazing
July 27th, 2012
10:14 am
It is amazing how many people (on the right and left) didn’t really read the article. Too many of the comments on this blog are about name calling and less about a real dialogue. In answer to the question of the article, government does not have the right to abn a company from operating a business that complies with all other state and federal regulations just because of their beliefs. For the rest of us, we have a simple choice. If you are aligned with Cathy’s beliefs, patronize his business. If you are not aligned with his beliefs, do not patronize his business.
I personally disagree with Mr. Cathy’s viewpoint and do not patronize his business. That is the proper to handle it.
Oblama
July 27th, 2012
10:15 am
God bless Chick – Fil – A ………. there are many more behind you and supporting your right to your beliefs than there are fascists against you. Be proud and unapologetic.
Rightwing Troll
July 27th, 2012
10:16 am
@@, you “evolved”???
Impressive, I was unaware that conservatives could do so. Maybe there is hope for us all…
iggy
July 27th, 2012
10:17 am
Sounds to me as if Chick Fil A is the ones being discrminated against. I visited last night and enjoyed the Chicken Salad sammy and the standard Chick Fil A sammy.
I will definitely visit and August 1 and believe weekly visits of “support” are now in order.
Radicals be damned.
Oblama
July 27th, 2012
10:20 am
There is another choice (amazing) you can disagree with someone and still not have hatred in your heart to punish them. Why do you wish to punish every one that does not agree with your misguided and wrong opinion? Disagree but don’t hate. I don’t boycott everyone I disagree with. That is immature and childish.
Rightwing Troll
July 27th, 2012
10:20 am
I agree with Amazing, the government cannot deny a business the right to operate based on the personal belief of their CEO. CFA is a good, principled, business. I don’t agree with everything they do, nor do I agree with Dan’s stance on gay marriage, but I wish more businesses out there were run like CFA. (Coming down on individual farmers in Vermont notwithstanding…)
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 27th, 2012
10:22 am
Steven from Tampa, you couldn’t be more wrong.
There are many ways to slow down (and a few even to stop) a business from being built, but they have to be LEGAL.
The excuse being used is that the mayors don’t like Cathy’s stance on an issue. THAT is discrimination, plain and simple, and THAT reason cannot be used to stop a Chick-Fil-A from being opened in ANY city.
Now, if they want to try to make life harder for one to open, they are certainly free to try, but they’d better be following their laws, or their city is going to be sued and will lose that suit.
Interested Observer
July 27th, 2012
10:24 am
RE: “…there are many more behind you and supporting your right to your beliefs…I don’t boycott everyone I disagree with.”
Supporting your right to your beliefs? Two words: Dixie Chicks.
Kyle Wingfield
July 27th, 2012
10:25 am
Steven @ 10:07: You’re right, I’m totally ignorant of the fact you have to get a business license to operate most businesses. That’s why I wrote a post about whether it’s right for cities to deny business licenses on the basis of the owner’s beliefs…
The strip club comparison is a bad analogy, btw. Communities have every right to set standards about actions, but not beliefs. If you can find me a guy who was denied a license to open a fast-food restaurant because of his outspoken support of strip clubs, you’ll have a case.
iggy
July 27th, 2012
10:26 am
Support meaning – anyone has the right to their beliefs regardless of these rabid govt officals and one Rosanne Barr, hoping people who visit CFA get cancer. Oh brother.
Even Whoopi – I cant stand her – Goldberg and E Hassleback agree on the point “This is America and everyone is entitled to their perspective. If ya dont like it then dont patronize”
Jefferson
July 27th, 2012
10:28 am
That Aug 1 gimmick shows just what ? Proves what to who ?
Its like selling soap powder to depressed housewifes watching the young and the restless with some emotioal groups.
When I go, its on my terms. That ain’t going to change.
Interested Observer
July 27th, 2012
10:30 am
RE: “Communities have every right to set standards about actions, but not beliefs.”
Others can correct me if I’m wrong, but for myself and others who are boycotting Chick-fil-a, this is about ACTIONS, not beliefs. Mr. Cathy is donating corporate funds–funds earned with our patronage–to organizations working to maintain discriminatory laws against the LGBT community.
Actions, not beliefs.
G.I. Joe
July 27th, 2012
10:32 am
Those wanting to kissy face in Chick – Fil – A around my children aren’t going to be happy with my response. Have a little self respect for your self. Clean up your act. Grow up. Have respect for others.
td
July 27th, 2012
10:32 am
Interested Observer
July 27th, 2012
10:30 am
“to organizations working to maintain discriminatory laws against the LGBT community.”
What laws are you talking about?
sheepdawg1
July 27th, 2012
10:33 am
Sheepdog, you are entitled to exercise your freedom of speech, so why should Mr Cathy be any different….otherwise, if you don’t think he should, then you should do the same and shut up.
Up Up and Away
July 27th, 2012
10:35 am
“or their city is going to be sued and will lose that suit.”
Didn’t that already occur or something similar in TN when a mosque was being built?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
July 27th, 2012
10:37 am
“Others can correct me if I’m wrong, but for myself and others who are boycotting Chick-fil-a, this is about ACTIONS, not beliefs.”
OK, you’re wrong, Interested Observer.
That’s because Kyle was talking about the actions of government in his comment.
You are speaking about your own personal actions.
Oblama
July 27th, 2012
10:39 am
Dixie Chicks were fake – weren’t even from the south…… kind of like the commercial about picante sauce being made in New York. They were fake and that came out when they opened their mouths. Their music sucked and they basically gave their fans the bird with their arrogant self righteousness. The fans saw them for what they are ……… pricks.