So supporters of Chick-Fil-A had their day Wednesday. Those folks who call themselves Christians, and say they've given themselves to the Lord have decided to back the boss of a chicken chain that proudly proclaims his opposition to gay marriage. Wonderful. Now to be honest, I actually liked Chik-Fil-A the few times I had it. It is, after all, a southern chain, with one location in all of New York State, and one in Northern New Jersey.
It seems as if Dan Cathy, the chain's Major Domo, now wants to expand his poultry based empire. The lure of big northern and western cities beckons. However, some elected officials in those cities said straight up they didn't want Chick-Fil-A in their locales. They should have known better. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, with whom I often disagree, got it right when he said politicians have no power to tell businesses they can't locate in a city. Mayors Menino of Boston and Lee of San Francisco would be court from now on if they try to block Chick-Fil-A.
All that said, Wednesday's Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day must have made those patrons feel good about themselves. Let's hope we don't see any of them patronizing pole dancers at the Republican National Convention. Many told the media they had no problem with gays, that this was all about Dan Cathy's right to hold his views. One assumes most of those chicken eaters yesterday agree with him. Well, here's the thing. If Chick-Fil-A has the right to hold its view on gays, those who disagree have every right to vocally express their disagreement. Too often, people think the First Amendment is a one way street. If some can organize a "buy-out", others can put together a boycott. This is America, after all.
I prefer to look at it this way. Chick-Fil-A is doomed. Supporters can eat that stuff as long and often as they want, but the kids coming up behind them have different priorities. My 15 year old daughter may not be typical, but consider this. She was a Chick-Fil-A fiend. Whenever we drove to an area where there were locations, we had to stop. The other day, as the Chick-Fil-A wars heated up, I asked her if she still would go to have some of their chicken nuggets, her favorite. Her one word answer said it all. NO!
My daughter, you see, was nurtured early in her life by an openly gay Episcopal priest. To her, being gay isn't unnatural, ungodly, immoral, or any of the other terms homophobes toss around. It's just, you know, being gay.
And that, my friends, is the wave of the future that will wash over Chick-Fil-A
