All I’d seen was a lesbian couple stuffing their kids with McDonald’s, and some grinning manager. You can see gay people kissing and holding hands in Atlanta everyday of the week, but on a day of nation protest I had literally not seen anyone kiss, anyone hold hands. I’m starting to wonder what’s wrong with this movement. Still more nothing. The one employee I asked about the protest looked confused and kept repeating the words “gay” to me like he didn’t understand. Chick-Fil-A Lindbergh Station Buckhead area of Atlanta It was like waiting for a storm that not only wasn’t coming but that you were fully prepared for anyways.Ģ:39 p.m. No real action here, it’s a small Chick-Fil-A located in a mall at the busy intersection of Peachtree and 14th street. Managers who clearly weren’t used to being on duty sat around, security guards made jokes, but no one seemed to care. Chick-Fil-A Colony Square Downtown Atlanta Here’s a hint, whenever you’re arguing rights with conservatives, just throw in a “People are dying in the Middle East so that we have a right to _” and you’ll win the argument. Even if you don’t believe it. After those fights, I finish my lemonade and move on.ġ:50 p.m.
The kid shut up, the old people behind us stopped talking and stared. There are people dying in the Middle East right now for us to have the right sit here, and them out there.” They have a right to protest just like we have a right to eat here. Me: “They aren’t screaming, they aren’t keeping anyone from coming inside and I haven’t seen them harass anybody. I don’t see what they’re all screaming about.” Pimply Faced Teen: “The people out there are harassing me,they harassed me as I walked in here. Once back inside the store, some 17 year old white kid with bad skin, overhearing me and my friend Jason discussing the protests decides to chime in. I am pretty sure that “Do you support anti-gay marriage policies?” was the last thing in a potential franchisee’s mind when buying a chicken joint in 1990. I thought that was a pretty high standard to hold someone to. I mean, before they bought the Chick-Fil-A franchise they should’ve seen what kinds of things the ownership stands for.” Protest Woman: “I know, but people should do research on who they’re purchasing from. These local operators don’t’ necessarily have anything to do with Dan Cathy.” They were actively discriminating against customers and employees. Me: “I understand the problem, and I get not wanting to support Dan Cathy, but it’s not like this is Dennys in the 90’s. And too many people just want their chicken, without having to question why it might be wrong to eat it.Two back to back arguments, demonstrating not only my ‘inner conflict’ on the protests but how idealism can sound silly on either side. I talked to a black woman holding a multi-colored protest sign. Chick-fil-a is a business that wants money, owned by a man with a hateful agenda, wrapped in the convenient guise of religion. Promises to merge the good word of the Bible with the realities of humanity, which would suggest that it wants to emulate, say, Romans 13:10, which teaches, "Love does no harm to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." But let's be honest.
We offer Chick-fil-a pass after pass because of its hollowed out promises to do good. It seems Americans are so horny and habitual for chicken and waffle fries that it's easier for them to "have a blessed day" than it is to take a stand against the aiding and abetting of discrimination toward LGBTQ people. What chaps my hide is that Chick-fil-a is the third most profitable fast food chain in the United States, pulling in billions in revenue each year. Want unlimited access to Esquire's Pride 2021 coverage? Join Esquire Select The people who own Chick-fil-a have an anti-LGBTQ agenda, and that was ingrained in the company for a good long while. I don't care how "good" the chicken is (especially when Popeyes, Zaxby's, and Raising Cane's are right there). A man's product is as good as the man himself.īeyond that, I don't have any more words for Chick-fil-a, to be honest, because as Maya Angelou famously said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." I don't go to Red Lobster looking for Italian food, and I don't go to Chick-fil-a looking for moral high ground. To say that Cathy isn't Chick-fil-a and that Chick-fil-a isn't Cathy is asinine, especially considering America's recent inability to separate man from business. But the twist is that Cathy didn't, and that's a loophole worth gossiping about on Sunday. The Atlanta-based fast food chain Chick-fil-a announced in late 2019 that it would stop making charitable donations to anti-LGBTQ organizations, and to be fair, it did. A Non-Exhaustive List of Straight Pride Events