What's The Reason?
Pam's
House Blend:
"After enduring a major public-relations tsunami this
summer, Chick-fil-A,
the Atlanta-based sandwich
shop that's closed on Sundays, says it will end its decade-long corporate
support of culture-warrior groups that oppose gay marriage."
After Mike Huckabee's successful Chick fil-A Appreciation Day (in which notable
Right Wing celebrities like Sarah Palin participated), one would think that the
franchise's Christian Right stance against gay marriage (and by extension
homosexuality) would have stayed firm, at least for a while. So the recent
revelation by Chicago Alderman, Poco Moreno that the Atlanta-based fast food
franchise will stop funding hate group organizations such as the American
Family Association and Focus on the Family may come as a bit of a shock -
especially to those organizations that have received the chain's largesse. The
official reason given by Chick fil-A:
"The WinShape Foundations is now taking a much closer look at the
organizations it considers helping, and in that process will remain true to its
stated philosophy of not supporting organizations with political agendas."
Cast of Players
Self-righteousness provides the American public a lot of entertainment, and the
entertainment that was a welcome distraction from this year's election melee
was definitely Chick fil-A, or rather the play that ensued following it's
founder David Cathy's statement about Biblical values and same-sex marriage.
Some of the players (in what eventually became theater of the absurd) were as
follows:
- Mike Huckabee, who called for Chick fil-A
Appreciation Day
- Sarah Palin, former half-term governor of
Alaska who displayed support prominently in a photo-op.
- Bryan Fischer, American Family Association,
who suggested that Appreciation Day would be "ominous for Obama and
an opportunity for Romney"
- Joe Mareno, Chicago Alderman, who would not
allow a new Chick-fil-A franchise in Chicago
- Rick Santorum, who supported Appreciation Day
during primary run for President
- Thomas Menino, Mayor of Boston, who requested
that the franchise back out of plans to have a franchise in Boston
But the real characters in the drama were played out by the hordes
of supporters, like the ones interviewed and video-taped by Anzy McWha, a
16-year-old from San Marcos, CA (see below). As adults misquoted Jesus and
teens misinterpreted the Constitution, the incredulous Anzy (whose mother is a
lesbian) keeps her cool until the very end. It is a latter-day American Gothic
that amazes many but surprises few.
And The Awards Went To...
Past recipients of WinShape Foundations' (Chik fil-A's charitable
arm) donations include Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, the
American Family Association, Exodus International and Eagle Forum (founded by
Phyllis Schlafly). Two of them (the FRC and AFA) have been cited as hate groups.
Exodus International has been considered a "pray-away-the-gay" group.
All are cited as groups with strong Christian Right ties.
The reactions to Chick fil-A's turnabout may vary from
"kow-towing to the homosexual agenda" to "liberal political
pressure " but they will certainly differ from the truth: any form of animosity towards one group is not good for
business.
"More immediately, the company's corporate plans to broaden
its reach outside of the South may also be a factor in its policy change. The
company's socially conservative management has made news before, but the firm's
values seemed in sync with many Southerners' views on church, God, and
marriage. But Chick-fil-A's efforts to expand into places like Chicago and
cities in California have put those values into the
limelight, raising difficulties not only in obtaining construction permits but
also vis a vis local and regional consumer attitudes."
Whatever the reason, the reaction to this latest development in the culture wars will be loud and virulent.
Maybe Mike Huckabee will explode.
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