Friday, August 03, 2012

7 Quicktakes on the Chick Fil A aftermath

1.  I have finally found someone to refrain from calling me a bigot long enough to share something of worth...Alleluia!   Nameless friend of a friend's post "Sorry for going off on this thread, this is apparently something I take very seriously and personally. If you wouldn't mind reading this with an open mind, it will explain exactly why. I apologize again, peace to all and have a great day. 

2.  First...thank you to that person for being big enough to be kind and thank you to the blogger for being big enough to open the door to conversation. 


3.  My response "thank you for coming back, editing and sharing this post. I am reading through this post with an open mind. I have never heard many of the laws of discrimination against being gay. Every person is entitled to be respected for their personhood. I think it is important to know I am not trying to change you and this is not about hate - which is disappointing when most of these types of posts end in name calling. With regards to what this blogger writes specific to CFA...I am not finding anything to back that up as fact. Please know I am researching. I inquired to a friend who sent me a link to refutations to many of these claims.  

To respond specifically to two statements in his blog:
"Jesus had almost nothing to say about sexual behavior of any kind." This is not truth. If you would do me the honor of reading a post near and dear to my heart, my favorite former atheist explains it much better than I ever could.

If you read or take anything from that...just know it is not about hate and it is not about taking away your person hood..."

 
4. The second statement "What has Chick-Fil-A ever done for you?"
I can't even put this into words, but I will try. CFA is more than your average establishment and it is definitely not about overpriced chicken. They support our local library tremendously, they give books to my children rather than cheap plastic toys, they have helped me celebrate my foster children becoming my children, they have become a place that my kids can send shoe boxes of gifts to needy children. They have daddy daughter date nights and regularly support schools, churches, families with cancer with charity nights. They are the ONLY place that when I walk in with my 3 little children in arms, will bring a tray to my table and then provide a safe place for them to run wild and free while I enjoy a few minutes of peace. I am always greeted with a smile. Their customer service is out of this world....their staff walk around and frequently provide refills as if I was going to be tipping at a restaurant. And I know I will receive this same service at ANY CFA I go to. It is why I choose CFA for playdates, birth family gatherings and out of town get togethers. THESE are the reasons that people turned out in droves to support them. Honestly, it would have been the same regardless of the reason they were attacked. We love CFA because it is more than just any old place to us. THIS SAID....if I find out that any of the claims made are true....then I will reconsider my relationship with this place. I understand the emotion in the issue and it is a well written blog. It just does not provide any evidence that the claims are based in truth.


5.  To which I received the response to check out this breakdown of their charitable giving and was encouraged to google FRC.  

6. For the record I happen to have a friend who is the wife of a CFA business owner.  She had never heard these claims and googled for me (for which I am probably now on her look-it-up-yourself list).  :-)  From her I received this link which I found difficult to navigate and this link which is an easier read. 

7.  Now who wants to do all my research for me?  There is SO much heated and emotional debate. REALLY, this is not about us hating gays.  I don't consider being against gay marriage being anti-gay...and that is the source of all this heated FB anger. I know a gay person would disagree with me...but this goes back to the article I posted (see #3).  CFA appreciation day was about us appreciating CFA (see #4). Obviously, to this person it is so much more and thanks to an insightful blog post (see #1), I am hearing more than just name calling and starting to understand the explosion.  In the end, this person and I are still going to find ourselves in opposite corners.  I have yet to find truth in the argument against CFA but I am grateful to have come across one person willing to engage in a civil discussion.  Happy reading. 

Quick Takes, brought to us by my favorite former atheist.  

2 comments:

Stacy said...

What you said in your last take has been my main point in this debate... being pro traditional marriage does NOT equal being anti gay. But as soon as you say you support traditional marriage, you are lumped into the anti gay category. So rather than speak, I will just love.

Julie said...

We support Chick-Fil-A for all the same reasons that you wrote about and I still would if they send their money to the charities that he said they do. In fact, I am all for it. I have no problem making living in an openly sinful relationship a crime...whether same sex or opposite sex.
Too bad we cannot make a utopia here in America!