General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIn Defense of Eating at Chick-fil-A
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/07/in-defense-of-eating-at-chick-fil-a/260139/Gay and lesbian groups were famously rankled when pro-family activists reacted against Kraft for posting a photo of an Oreo cookie with rainbow-hued filling last month in honor of Gay Pride Month, and also when similar groups protested JCPenney for announcing lesbian talk show host Ellen DeGeneres would be its next spokesperson.
So should the 45 percent of Americans who oppose gay marriage opt for Chips Ahoy! instead of Oreos? Should they begin shopping at Belk instead of JC Penny? If they did, it wouldn't make any more sense than the endless failed calls for liberal consumers to boycott Urban Outfitters, because its owner is a conservative and Rick Santorum donor, or to not order from Domino's Pizza, because it was founded by a Catholic conservative who helped fund anti-abortion causes.
On both sides of our latest culture war divide, we must learn to have level-headed disagreements without resorting to accusations of hate speech and boycotts. As Josh Ozersky argued on TIME Thursday, "businesses should be judged by their products and their practices, not by their politics."
sadbear
(4,340 posts)I personally feel better knowing that the money I spend on food won't be turned around and spent on anti-LGBQT bullshit.
limpyhobbler
(8,244 posts)They are huge RWers I heard.
Freddie
(9,526 posts)I hear they are owned by a Fundie Catholic and donate heavily to anti-choice causes.
Plus their pizza is lousy.
I really don't want to patronize Chick-Fil-A but once in a whole my stomach wins over my conscience especially during Peach Shake season.
ellenfl
(8,660 posts)pesticide content. peach trees get systemic applications of pesticides so peaches don't just have surface exposure. caveat emptor.
ellen fl
obamanut2012
(27,425 posts)Demonaut
(9,034 posts)MotorCityMan
(1,203 posts)To each his own, but I will not patronize places that are going to use my money to try to deny me my rights.
There are none of those fast food restaurants in the Detroit area, but if there were, I'd stop going.
It's like years ago when I found out Cracker Barrel fired people for being gay. I REFUSE to go to that restaurant. I worked in restaurants for years, and there are always gay people working there (myself included). If they want to do that, fine, but I'll be damned if I'm going to spend my hard earned money there.
Denninmi
(6,581 posts)And I find it quite disgusting that they allowed this hateful company to set up shop at an institution of higher learning. Shame on them.
katsy
(4,246 posts)I spend my money as I wish at establishments who support my community and values.
MY $$$$ so I'll judge and boycott my little head off. It's MY business and my business alone.
What is this fool going to do about people like me? Tell our mommies? Give us fines for being mean and nasty to the poor waltons? Say prayers for our souls when we boycott chic full of hate?
2ndAmForComputers
(3,527 posts)I wish I had said what you said.
katsy
(4,246 posts)JI7
(90,105 posts)all these so called pro family hypocrites protest in support of bigotry.
it's not the same thing. at least make clear why people are protesting.
notice how they are so happy to take the money of these people they consider less than moral and deserving of fewer rights.
obamanut2012
(27,425 posts)Excellent.
Zorra
(27,670 posts)and bisexuals, and I want to take away their rights, but you should buy my products anyway, it's just business."
Bigotry is not politics. Bigotry is ignorant hatred expressed by shitty people.
Just say no to the hateful bigots at Chik Fil A.
progressivebydesign
(19,458 posts)They both use your money to fight against rights for gay people. And I won't do either. I don't eat Dominos pizza or hot pockets, either.
sadbear
(4,340 posts)What did I miss?
Gidney N Cloyd
(19,847 posts)flvegan
(64,519 posts)Go ahead and defend it. "businesses should be judged by their products and their practices, not by their politics"
Your quote. Go ahead, defend it. Defend Chick-fil-A, as stated. Defend those practices, please.
I'll wait. Good luck to you.
EgaLitE
(31 posts)As far as I'm concerned if you're a christian and you eat at chick-fil-a you're just the same as a muslim who goes and eats at a business who openly donates money to al-qaeda or the muslim brotherhood.
This is not a question of business or freedom. It is a question of morality. It is immoral to support hate and bigotry and anyone who thinks it is "all right" to give money to anti-equality, anti-justice organizations is sorely mistaken.
I've boycotted businesses for less. For instance, I stopped going to the local McDonald's just up the block when I found out the manager was a republican. I don't want to be contributing to his salary. Also when I found out that a local italian. restaurant was owned by Republicans I stopped going even though they probably have the best food in the neighborhood. I like ethnic food but when I found out that the owner of the local korean grocery was donating to anti-choice hate groups, I stopped going there as well.
Like I said this is about our freedom not to give money to hateful bigots.
Rowdyboy
(22,057 posts)I learned of the founders hateful ideology. I certainly have no intention of going back any more than I'll ever eat at Cracker Barrel againl. I don't have enough money or time to waste any of it patronizing bigots who hate me.
johnnie
(23,616 posts)And why I choose to do so or not. Their food blows anyway.
eliminerlesud
(18 posts)I look at it this way
If you support a Republican or anti-gay or racist or _____fill in the blank Business you are supporting the GOP and their policies.
Many Talk the Talk but Few Walk the Walk
If you claim you are a Dem but buy a non-union made car you are a phony poser.
If you support a business that makes it clear they do not like gays then you are in effect agree with that business when you hand them some money.
People can do what they want but the choices each of us make on a daily biases with our money can be loud and powerful if people are united in fighting back.
Does the chicken place give a shit if a few gays dont eat there, nope not at all, they will get more business from the Christian Bigots because they are openly bigoted. If ALL liberals and progressives supported a boycott of the chicken place, then that will impact their bottom line and they will suffer for their bigotry.
Right now thanks to lack of solidarity they will PROFIT off of openly being bigots.
It works the same for cars, tires, grocery, etc
..
Your money your choice, do you talk the talk and walk the walk or are you a poser?
handmade34
(22,820 posts)but oftentimes it is very difficult to walk the walk... I agree wholeheatedly with you but am also pragmatic enough to know as members of a dysfunctional society, some can be too poor to be principled...
I desperately needed paper for my printer the other day and all the store seemed to have was Georgia-Pacific... I refused to buy it and went elsewhere... I will always refuse to support Republican supporting businesses in favor of more liberal and always will buy local (and made in United States America) when possible...
handmade34
(22,820 posts)but I wholeheatedly support boycotts... we need to always support local and liberal
obamanut2012
(27,425 posts)That is the better question, I think.
Hmmm?
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)Might not work.
Fucking defeatist apologist bullshit.
obamanut2012
(27,425 posts)arely staircase
(12,482 posts)obamanut2012
(27,425 posts)"Businesses should be judged by their products and their practices, not by their politics."
There's also a reason why I have a list of all Koch companies, and buy NOTHING from them.
OP FAIL.
NJCher
(37,232 posts)I do the same. It's summer and I'm a teacher with no summer job, so I'm desperately short on funds. Regardless, I passed on the Angel Soft and the Brawny that was on sale and went with another brand--more money, but not that much more.
Here's the list, in case anyone wants to print out a copy for their wallet.
Angel Soft toilet paper
Brawny paper towels
Dixie plates, bowls, napkins and cups
Mardi Gras napkins and towels
Quilted Northern toilet paper
Soft n Gentle toilet paper
Sparkle napkins
Vanity fair napkins
Zee napkins
Georgia-Pacific paper products and envelopes
All Georgia-Pacific lumber and building products, including:
Dense Armor Drywall and Decking
ToughArmor Gypsum board
Georgia pacific Plytanium Plywood
Flexrock
Densglass sheathing
G/P Industrial plasters (some products used by a lot of crafters)
FibreStrong Rim board
G/P Lam board
Blue Ribbon OSB Rated Sheathing
Blue Ribbon Sub-floor
DryGuard Enhanced OSB
Nautilus Wall Sheathing
Thermostat OSB Radiant Barrier Sheathing
Broadspan Engineered Wood Products
XJ 85 I-Joists
FireDefender Banded Cores
FireDefender FS
FireDefender Mineral Core
Hardboard and Thin MDF including Auto Hardboard,
Perforated Hardboard and Thin MDF
Wood Fiberboard
Commercial Roof Fiberboard
Hushboard Sound Deadening Board
Regular Fiberboard Sheathing
Structural Fiberboard Sheathing
(INVISTA Products):
COMFOREL® fiberfill
COOLMAX® fabric
CORDURA® fabric
DACRON® fiber
POLYSHIELD® resin
SOLARMAX® fabric
SOMERELLE® bedding products
STAINMASTER® carpet
SUPPLEX® fabric
TACTEL® fiber
TACTESSE® carpet fiber
TERATE® polyols
TERATHANE® polyether glycol
THERMOLITE® fabric
PHENREZ® resin
POLARGUARD® fiber and
LYCRA® fiber
Cher
obamanut2012
(27,425 posts)Maeve
(42,768 posts)it is my money and I'd rather it go to someone OTHER than the Koch Bros.
There's the old tale of the boy walking along the beach, tossing starfish back in the water after a storm had washed them ashore. "But you can't begin to toss them all back," someone said. "What makes you think it matters?" And as the boy tossed another into the waves he said "It matters to that one."
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)MattBaggins
(7,931 posts)dsc
(52,488 posts)While I disagree with the OP it is nothing short of absurd to argue that it is somehow beyond the pale to post this. Many people feel boycotts are a bad idea either because they don't work or because they feel boycotts are problematic on their own.
MattBaggins
(7,931 posts)Chick-shit-la actively gives money to suppress the rights of others, makes it "mandatory" for employees to go to christian camps if they want to get ahead, and won't let anyone in management or owners who are not Christians.
They are bigots and discriminate against others. I will not give them my money. Are you suggesting that I be forced to do so, because short of that it is impossible to stop me and others from expressing our displeasure with this company?
By your own statement I AM JUDGING THEM BY THEIR PRACTICES.
lonestarnot
(77,097 posts)Lex
(34,108 posts)BULL shit.
Gidney N Cloyd
(19,847 posts)Don't you just love this guy's attitude? Let corporations do politically what ever they want to us and we should just suck it up and not vote with out pocketbooks? Really?
There are much more important things in life than a FUCKING CHICKEN SANDWICH, jackass.
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)DainBramaged
(39,191 posts)These is NO defense fighting against the rights of GLBT members of our society in 2012, none. I will not return to the middle ages as some of the fucking nutcases around me want to.
Defend the right to be anything you want or go live where people have no rights. Then you all shall be happy.
PS: the Reich-wing was against interracial marriage too, or did any of you nut jobs forget?
Earth_First
(14,910 posts)How much worse could the anti-union atmosphere possibly get...?
pink-o
(4,056 posts)"Their side" does it, but "Our side" does it too. Oh, puleeeze! I'm so sick of playing that game, especially when the RW whack jobs are reacting from their own fears and the wish to repress human progress. Those idiots boycott Penneys and Nabisco because they're narrow minded bigots. We boycott Chic Fil A because guess why??? They're narrow minded bigots.
See the diff???
sadbear
(4,340 posts)I think I know what you're talking about, but who in the above sentence are the narrow minded bigots?
pink-o
(4,056 posts)Please forgive, and allow me to rephrase:
Those idiots who boycott Penney's and Nabisco are narrow-minded bigots.
All better now, I hope
grantcart
(53,061 posts)Problem solved
Iggo
(48,078 posts)"...businesses should be judged by their...practices..."
And when they practice politics, they takes their chances.
I say again: FUCK chick-fil-a.
GoCubsGo
(32,795 posts)The south side of my town is a big, giant clusterfuck caused by rampant, unregulated development. The traffic is horrible as a result. And, when Chick-Fil-A moved from the mall to their current location, they made the traffic problems ten times worse. Placing that store where it is now is the pinnacle of stupidity. The same goes for the Crackhead Barrel that's across the road from it. I refuse to patronize either of them for that reason alone.
WhollyHeretic
(4,074 posts)Fuck the bigots even the one who like to pretend they're not
ohheckyeah
(9,314 posts)is MY business. It's my money, my decision and anyone who thinks they have the right to tell me how to judge a business can piss off.
In a nation that's as divided as ours is, do we really want our commercial lives and our political lives to be so wholly intermeshed?
How deliciously ironic. Businesses are the ones that enmeshed politics into business. Since corporations are now people, I think judging them the way I do people is perfectly reasonable. I don't hang out with bigots, racists, sexists and homophobes so why would I knowingly do business with them?
Businesses owners want it both ways - they want to use their platform to express their political and religious beliefs but don't want me to judge their political and religious beliefs. Sorry, it doesn't work that way. If they don't want to be judged for political beliefs then they should keep it to themselves and donate their money elsewhere.
toddwv
(2,830 posts)to promote their hate.
No thank you.
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)Same as Domino's-their pizza sucked 30 years ago.
HillWilliam
(3,310 posts)to strip me and mine of basic human dignity and rights.
Insult and salt in that wound was when they proudly crowed they were http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-chick-fil-a-gay-20120718,0,3020372.story" target="_blank">guilty as charged. That's some mighty tall chutzpah.
May they be screwed by an elephant and may that be followed by a barb-wire douche.
Nary a thin dime from me. Their recipe is out there. I'll make my own sandwiches. (Their waffle fries suuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!!!)
Warpy
(112,808 posts)I have to go to Wally's for one prescription twice a year. That's it. I've never eaten a Domino's Pizza or Chick-fil-A. I don't wipe my butt with a Georgia Pacific product but I did buy Sparkle paper towels once when I was too broke to afford Scott.
I don't make the rules for anybody else, and that's really the difference.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)I personally have never even seen one of these places, much less been in one. Never will either. Not only are their practices vile, I assume their food is unhealthy and factory made, so fuck them, fuck those who promote them.
Major Nikon
(36,877 posts)It's a simple concept really.
emsimon33
(3,128 posts)I don't want company profits supporting candidates and issues that destroy the country.
wickerwoman
(5,662 posts)They make KFC look like Le Bernadin.
To answer seriously, most of us don't have much political power compared to commercial entities. We vote every 2-6 years and they contribute gobs of money so that politicians do whatever they want. It's not consumers that have blurred the lines between politics and commerce- it's businesses. The only other tiny amount of power we have comes from where we choose to spend our money. Some people (right or left) choose to be thoughtful about how they use that power and some people don't.
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)but even if we did, I wouldn't eat there. We only eat at locally owned restaurants, except for an occasional Subway or Quizno.
riderinthestorm
(23,272 posts)Didn't that used to be part and parcel of "put up or shut up?" and other code phrases for "standing up for what you believe"?
Personal boycotts are an excellent way to let others know of troublesome policies - its an easy conversational opener. I'm out and about with someone and they say, "let's stop at Walmart and pick up some snacks for the trip". I get to respond, "I'm boycotting Walmart because they are discriminatory to against women and unions. Besides they have fucked up small family businesses for too long without repercussions".
Double shot! I get that opening to make my point. (Same with Chick Fil A, or Walgreens, or the local rabid fundy Rethug candidate's ice cream parlour Oberweis Dairy, etc. etc.)
liberalmuse
(18,834 posts)Yeah, it's hokey, but it's just something I believe. Why would I want my hard-earned money to end up in bigot coffiers? That's my only real power in our corporate-bought-and-paid-for society. It's not much, but it's something.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)muntrv
(14,505 posts)and his pro-fetus fanaticism.
ON EDIT: I also don't care for cardboard pizza.
Solly Mack
(91,765 posts)indepat
(20,899 posts)by their politics imho. Why should we, who oppose the Koch brothers' politics, including funding of their causes, contribute indirectly to funding causes antithetical to our sense of what America should be about?
CBGLuthier
(12,723 posts)DirkGently
(12,151 posts)That's the whole idea behind transparency. We should know who's doing what to influence our culture and laws and respond accordingly. It's very nice that someone makes a decent chicken sandwich, but if they're going to take their success in that enterprise and turn into a WEAPON to punish other Americans, why should we help?
OUR money provides THEIR power. It's only in the interest of those in power to pretend those things are wholly separate.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)not buying their products is the only thing that might get their attention. And even if it doesn't refusing to do business with people who want and work for your oppression is only natural.
mmonk
(52,589 posts)of other Americans than gay and lesbian couples?