Junk Food for Jesus: Scenes from Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day

[Hevneren]

Have you heard? Today is Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day, a stunt invented by Sen. Rick Santorum and Gov. Mike Huckabee, in which Americans eat delicious chicken sandwiches to protest gay marriage or defend free speech (depending on who you ask). And people participated in droves — that photo above was posted on Twitter by @buckglenn, who said it was taken in Thornton, Colo. — probably because eating delicious chicken sandwiches (there's a pickle inside) is a lot more enticing a method of protest than, say, using a McDonalds bathroom for weeks while you camp in a city park.

This all started after Chick-Fil-A president Dan Cathy made some comments earlier this month supporting "the biblical definition of the family unit" -- that is, with a man and a woman at the helm. Then, of course, the restaurant instantly became a political symbol, with everyone from the Muppets to the mayor of Boston trying to distance themselves from it, and others, such as Sarah Palin and Pat Boone (that's him at right in Hollywood, per his Twitter), trying to show the chain as much love as possible. Chick-fil-A supporters now say it's a First Amendment issue, with Cathy getting unfairly "crucified" (that's Palin's word) by politicians and the press for his simply stating his views. (Necessary constitutional law caveat: the First Amendment bars the government from prohibiting free speech.) So Chick-fil-A day was sort of an anti-boycott, in response to calls for an actual boycott. Got it? It's a goofy idea, but people really got into it, if the crowd photos coming out on Twitter and Facebook are any indication. For those just dropping by for an apolitical Wednesday lunch, however, it must have been a nightmare.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/polit...ion-day/55311/

Picture of a protestor, courtesy of the source:


Video of protestors:

[The Apple]

Chick-Fil-A has a right to not approve of gay marriage and all the liberal Americans who disagree should not be called Liberals because they are less accepting than Conservatives. It's a shame that this country was founded on religious tolerance and it seems to be vanishing faster and faster these days. And the Boston Mayor should be reprimanded for speaking on behalf of the entire people of Boston about Chic-Fil-A opening up its chain there.

[Pulaar]

Its strange how some people claim to be so tolerant of everything but have no tolerance for dissenting opinions

[amerinese]

I rarely eat fast food, but when I do, Chick-Fil-A is on the short list of brands that I will choose to eat.

I could say it has nothing to do with the Christian orientation of the company but that would probably be false. Simple fact of the matter is that their employees are generally friendlier and better motivated than the average fast food joint. It appears to be part of some training / indoctrination program they run them through. Also note that Chick-Fil-A is always closed on Sunday. They don't make any secret about their religious orientation.

I'm not against civil weddings with full legal rights for gays. I'm in favor of it. I'm not going to boycott anybody about it though. The guy who runs the Halal market where I occasionally buy goat meat is probably also against gay marriage, but not planning to boycott him either, even though I'm a pork eating infidel myself.

I don't even boycott Ben & Jerry although I honestly hate those fake ass corporate hippies.

[ethioboy]

Its strange how some people claim to be so tolerant of everything but have no tolerance for dissenting opinions

Thank you. I find it sad that people are automatically marginalizing Chick fil a just because their opinions differ from the main stream, to the point that mayors and governors of certain cities are boycotting their business. It's totally wrong.

Chick fil a never denied access of homosexuals to their stores nor did the owner say he hated homosexual people. And also, in terms of the donations... the owner has every right to donate his money to whatever organization he wants too. Just because some of those organizations share the same opinion as him, doesn't mean they are hate groups. Nearly half of those are simply christian organizations that, naturally are against legalizing same sex marriage; they are not totally centered around their anti gay stance nor are they actual hate groups.

[rhiannon]

I've never eaten a Chic-fil-A, and after seeing this, I know I never will eat one....ever! What a bunch of complete fucking losers

[Pulaar]

I've never eaten a Chic-fil-A, and after seeing this, I know I never will eat one....ever! What a bunch of complete fucking losers

Your not going to eat there because of the owners opinion?

[Hevneren]

The whole thing seems so absurd from an outside perspective. When a former presidential candidate declares that there there should be a special day to eat at a specific fast food chain, in order to support "Christian values", it reminds me of stories by The Onion.