The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
Did you hear the shocking news that Chick-Fil-A President Dan Cathy is anti-gay? You can read about it in the Los Angeles Times, the Huffington Post, the Washington Post, CNN, and, at last count, 1,000 other print and broadcast news sites.
The fallout has been so severe that Boston mayor Thomas Menino is banning the fast-food joint from his city. The Jim Henson Company has stopped partnering with Chick-Fil-A's children's meals. And a nationwide boycott is in full swing.
And guess what: the story is a complete media invention.
Now, only a bunch of secular city-dwellers on fad diets would think it's news that Cathy and his company espouse Christian values. They do. Some people, if you can believe it, think this is a feature and not a bug of the company. (Although it is frustrating that you always want Chick-Fil-A on a Sunday but the company policy is to remain closed on Sundays for a day of rest for employees.)
And, like Jesus, Cathy believes that marriage is a conjugal union of one male and one female. Like Jesus, Cathy opposes divorce and premarital sex and extramarital sex and polygamy and the like. (For more on Jesus' politically incorrect views on sex and marriage, feel free to read this brief passage from the Gospel of Matthew).
Now in our sex-saturated, all-gay-news-all-the-time culture, it may be hard to understand traditional Christian views of sex. Some in the media have spent so much time demonizing these views that they may not even realize how much of the country subscribes to them. The idea that people would only have sex with their spouse is offensive to some, much less the idea that the spousal union be conjugal. Support for traditional marriage has recently included a reaction against the efforts to change the definition of marriage to include homosexual unions or polygamous groupings. That's true. But it's also about opposing cohabitation, some divorce laws, the epidemic of children being born outside of marriage, men and women having children with different partners and not being married to any of them, encouraging couples to remain married and the like.
And some of us actually teach and believe this stuff. And it was in that context that Cathy spoke with a Christian publication about one of his company's charitable arms:
The company invests in Christian growth and ministry through its WinShape Foundation (WinShape.com). The name comes from the idea of shaping people to be winners.
It began as a college scholarship and expanded to a foster care program, an international ministry, and a conference and retreat center modeled after the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove.
"That morphed into a marriage program in conjunction with national marriage ministries," Cathy added.
Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company's position.
"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.
"We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that," Cathy emphasized.
"We intend to stay the course," he said. "We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."
I think Cathy meant to say he was thankful that he used to live in such a country.
In the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, we learn "One LGBT activist told the AJC she was surprised Cathy was 'picking a fight' at a time when the furor over the restaurant’s conservative connections was dying down."
Of course, it's obvious that Cathy wasn't picking a fight but, rather, answering a question about corporate policy. And it's the media -- and various activists -- that are picking a fight, initiating boycotts and banning restaurants from cities.
How's that grand bargain working out for everyone?
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Comments:
May '12
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
What happened to just letting the customers decide whether or not to eat there?
Oh, right, the customers are too stupid to make that decision. The mayor of Boston is qualified.
As to the Jim Henson Company, well, that's on them. If they made money off the deal, they won't any more. The same applied to advertisers on Rush Limbaugh's show. Some apparently lost money by dropping their ads.
But the mayor of Boston? Who does he think he is? Mike Bloomberg?
Oct '11
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
There's a guy in my office who used to work at Chick-Fil-A. I'm not sure in what capacity, but he knows Cathy and the culture of the company enough to be completely outraged at these false accusations. Now, I've never talked politics with this guy, but I would guess that he's a Democrat (I do work in Manhattan, after all). I just hope some of the wool is being shed from his eyes over the this in regards to the tactics of the left.
May '12
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
That LGBT activist seems so easily riled up. Is he/she ashamed of some aspect of his/her life? Hidden shame often leads to hypersensitivity.
Oct '11
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
The mayor isn't thinking clearly. There are what, 30 states that have voted against gay marriage? What if the governors of those states, or mayors in municipalities in those states, announced that The Jim Henson Company would no longer be welcome to do business there?
Nov '11
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
I read about this supposed "story" last week and was completely disgusted by it. I'm glad to see that someone agrees with me.
Aug '11
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
Some enterprising young reporter should present the mayor of Boston with the facts about what Cathy really said, and then ask him if he still maintains his position in light of this new (old) information.
For the left, being wrong isn't really a roadblock to getting what they want.
Jun '10
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
Purely anecdotal, but either this "news" isn't that widespread, or it has no bearing on people's food choices. The Chik-Fil-A down the road from my office has been close to standing-room only for the last week or so - which is slightly above normal.
As an aside, here's a lighter view of Chik-Fil-A Sundays, courtesy Tim Hawkins.
Edited on July 24, 2012 at 4:02pmDec '10
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
And yet it is perfectly fine for you to be served a plate full of sticky leftist propaganda with your coffee.
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
Or the opposite. I went for the first time in years yesterday. All the liberals in my Twitter feed talking about boycotting it revealed some really important information to me. The tweet in question, from @DelRayser:
See, I love nothing more than Diet Pepsi over chipped ice in styrofoam cups. So I investigated and found out that they have something close -- Coke products and pellet ice. I immediately got in the car and drove to the nearest Chick-Fil-A and had a Diet Dr Pepper. It was awesome. And I could strike a blow against idiotic boycotts and such.
By the way, this was all before I even realized that the story was completely invented.
Jun '10
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.
Or the opposite. I went for the first time in years yesterday. All the liberals in my Twitter feed talking about boycotting it revealed some really important information to me. The tweet in question, from @DelRayser:
See, I love nothing more than Diet Pepsi over chipped ice in styrofoam cups. So I investigated and found out that they have something close -- Coke products and pellet ice. I immediately got in the car and drove to the nearest Chick-Fil-A and had a Diet Dr Pepper. It was awesome. And I could strike a blow against idiotic boycotts and such.
By the way, this was all before I even realized that the story was completely invented. · 8 minutes ago
Well, I do live in deep-red Alabama. And quite a few of my Facebook friends are joining in some Chik-Fil-A Appreciation Day thing on August 1st. Not entirely sure what that's about, but it's popping up frequently this week.
Edited on July 24, 2012 at 4:05pmJun '12
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
Too bad there's no Chick-Fil-As in my area. I'd visit them for dinner tonite.
Jun '10
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
I think Jesus' message to homosexuals was, pick up your cross--not pick up your IKEA king-size bed frame.
May '12
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
Can "Banned in Boston" still be used as a marketing ploy?
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
By the way, calls for boycotts aren't being universally embraced. Here's the Atlantic with "In Defense of Eating at Chick-fil-A."
Jun '12
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
I live near one of the biggest indoor malls in America. Not only does the food court inside the mall have a Chick-fil-A, but another Chick-fil-A is going up next to a gas station across the street from the mall. I live in the Northeast. All the uproar about Chick-fil-A does not appear to be affecting their bottom line.
Oct '10
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
I think Mollie and ConWan have the right idea. This calls for a reverse boycott.
Mar '11
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
Boycotting a business because of the owner's beliefs?
That's gay.
Edited on July 24, 2012 at 5:37pmAug '10
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
This is religious or world view persecution, plain and simple. I'm going to look to see if there are any Chick-Fil- As on the route of our next trip so that we can do our small part in a reverse boycott.
Aug '10
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
The realization of their energy and organizing power in Calif during
Prop 8 has created a momentum that has to keep churning, probably to fund some positions "created" in all that ruckus.
Advocacy, the home of unemployable attorneys.
And then it was a slow news day. Racism is so declasse, homophobia and bullying are the new flash stories. CNN is such a bottomfeeder.
What this crew did to some businesses in California is disgraceful.
Edited on July 24, 2012 at 6:03pmOct '11
Re: The Media Completely Invented That Chick-Fil-A Story
By and large I can't imagine the boycott having much, if any, effect on the bottom line. The people most likely to engage in this kind of trendy social-consciousness bandwagon are generally the hard progressive/hipster market- not exactly Chick-fil-a's prime demographic. (they don't even have any locally grown, organic-vegan menu options for crying out loud.)It's funny how strained and tired their cries of offense come off after so many years of speaking in the same atonal staccato- HATE, RACISTS, HOMOPHOBE, SEXIST- wash, rinse and repeat ad nauseam.Now it's time for me to go grab a #1, with an un-sweet ice tea and go ahead and up-size it.