Priorities: Chick-Fil-A, Starbucks, & the Economy

[ballen0351]

Things keep going the way they are, soon you'll start reading about people being denied the chance to get married because of their skin color again.

All the more reason to get the govt out of the wedding permission business

 

[billc]

On a related topic the mayors of each city calling for Chick fil A to no longe run businesses in their cities can also be expected to call for all businesses run by practicing Muslims to also close up their businesses and move out of the city limits. Please insert the term "islamaphobe," whenever you mentions these mayors from this point forward. For example, Islamaphobic Mayor Rahm Emanuel, of chicago...Islamaphobic Mayor Menino of Boston...

 

[WC_lun]

Wow billi, that's a stretch even for you. LOL

 

[granfire]

Wow billi, that's a stretch even for you. LOL

Stretch billie?

 

[Big Don]

Wow billi, that's a stretch even for you. LOL

Because Islam embraces gay marriage...

 

[billc]

It isn't a stretch. Islam is the same as Christianity as far as gay marriage goes and you could say they go even further. So, if Chick fil A can't run businesses in these cities because they believe in the traditional definition of marriage, then neither can businesses owned by members of the Muslim community. How is that a stretch?

 

[WC_lun]

Because not every Christian or Muslim in this country is against gay marriage. Far from it. It is amusing to me that some Christians are claiming this is about anti-Christianity when a very large percentage of those that believe gays should have the right to marry are Christian as well. It is about bigotry, not religion.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Are these the Muslims who all want to kill us, or a different Muslim group? I can't tell them apart, what with their women all dressing like ninjas.

 

[Steve]

It isn't a stretch. Islam is the same as Christianity as far as gay marriage goes and you could say they go even further. So, if Chick fil A can't run businesses in these cities because they believe in the traditional definition of marriage, then neither can businesses owned by members of the Muslim community. How is that a stretch?

When Chick Fil A chooses to mix personal politics and business, they should be prepared to accept the consequences. Should a muslim owned company do the same, they should also be prepared to accept the consequences.

But, this doesn't mean in any way that a christian owned or muslim owned business should be banned strictly because of who owns it. That's as overtly discriminatory as anything we've discussed in the thread so far. It's not who owns a business that is being discussed. It's whether or not the owner(s) of a business choose to take a principled stand on a political issue unrelated to their business, and whether or not they should be made to accept the consequences or protected from those consequences by the government.

Chick Fil A gambled, and it remains to be seen how this will play out. So far, it's garnered them some supporters, but a whole lot of bad press. Starbucks has done well with principled stands, as has Microsoft, Costco, Amazon.com and many, many other companies. Many others wisely choose not to mix personal politics with business, the safer alternative, to be sure.

 

[Steve]

Because not every Christian or Muslim in this country is against gay marriage. Far from it. It is amusing to me that some Christians are claiming this is about anti-Christianity when a very large percentage of those that believe gays should have the right to marry are Christian as well. It is about bigotry, not religion.

But again, even if there is a Muslim who is against gay marriage who owns, let's say a chain of chicken sandwich fast food restaurants, the key here is whether or not this Muslim chooses to take a position on behalf of his company denouncing gay marriage. Again, not him. Not his position. But now, it's the position of his company, as well. THAT is the issue here.

 

[rickster]

But again, even if there is a Muslim who is against gay marriage who owns, let's say a chain of chicken sandwich fast food restaurants, the key here is whether or not this Muslim chooses to take a position on behalf of his company denouncing gay marriage. Again, not him. Not his position. But now, it's the position of his company, as well. THAT is the issue here.

But a Muslim can get away with before a Caucasian Christian Group

 

[granfire]

But a Muslim can get away with before a Caucasian Christian Group

LOL, where?
I mean outside the middle east!

Around here these days they cant even build a house of worship....

 

[Steve]

But a Muslim can get away with before a Caucasian Christian Group

??? What?

 

[ballen0351]

Stopped in to chick fila today on my way to work it was PACKED I didn't realize today was support chick fila day. I'm starting to wonder if this was done by Cathy on purpose to get free advertisement.

 

[ballen0351]

http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2012..._support_chicken_chain_s_anti_lgbt_views_.htm
UPDATE: Seems like quite a few chicken-loving, same-sex marriage foes turned out for Wednesday's Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.
Based on reports from around the country, many Chick-fil-As had lines out the door come lunchtime. Attendees emphasized a mix of support for the company's stance against equal marriage rights and for what's being billed as an underlying free speech issue in the initial backlash against the fast food chain's officially outed politics. Mayors in a handful of cities, including Boston and Chicago, responded to CEO Dan Cathy's recent remarks on his "Biblical" view of marriage by insinuating that the chain was not welcome within city limits.


According to CNN, the company won't say exactly how much the demonstrations boosted the company's bottom-line, but has confirmed that Wednesday was a "record-setting day." [Elsewhere in Slate, David Weigel reports on the scene at a Chick-fil-A in Pennsylvania.]

 

[WC_lun]

It amazes me that so many in this country have no idea what the right to free speech actually means.

 

[ballen0351]

It amazes me that so many in this country have no idea what the right to free speech actually means.

So being an owner of a busniess means you loose your right to say what you want? And I should loose my right to eat where I want because you dont like it?

 

[WC_lun]

Absolutely not. You can say whatever you want as a bussiness and eat where you like. That is free speech. Free speech is not the freedom from the consequences of your speech. Just as you have the right to say whatever you like, others have a right to say they disagree. If that effects your bussiness then that is a consequence that you don't get to avoid.

 

[ballen0351]

Absolutely not. You can say whatever you want as a bussiness and eat where you like. That is free speech. Free speech is not the freedom from the consequences of your speech. Just as you have the right to say whatever you like, others have a right to say they disagree. If that effects your bussiness then that is a consequence that you don't get to avoid.

So people showing up for support for Chick Fila dont know what free speech actually means but people boycotting do? I guess I dont understand your point. In this case the consequence was record profits

 

[Steve]

So people showing up for support for Chick Fila dont know what free speech actually means but people boycotting do? I guess I dont understand your point. In this case the consequence was record profits

I may be wrong, but I think the point was more that the owner and many people in this thread believe that the owner should be exempt from all but positive consequences of his own speech. I don't want to speak for wc-lun, but that was my impression.

For me, this is exactly what I was talking about. Chick Fil-a, a company that really has no exposure outside of its own region is now being discussed on a national level. They're in the news. Free publicity. The executive leadership took a gamble, and the dialogue continues. Will it eventually hurt them or help them? Hard to say. Depends upon who spins it and how compelling they are.