Chick-fil-A Anti-Gay Controversy: Gay Employees Speak Out

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Now now no need to be ugly why not instead name the Atheist homeless shelters in your community and the list the faith based ones and lets see which side has concern for the poor.

There are plenty of charitable organizations without any religious affiliation.

[Danno 1,228]

It's a valid point, and one which I think Atheists need to address more than they have. But then, speaking for myself and a few other Atheists I know, I've worked soup kitchens and shelters. The fact that they were faith-based kind of niggled at me, but then I just made sure my efforts went directly to helping people. In any case, non-religious people give to charity at the same levels religious people give. A religions person might give to their church, whereas a non-religious person might give to Habitat for Humanity (my pet charity).

Which isn't to say my point is in any way negated. If Christians had really been acting in the spirit of their faith, they'd have taken their cue from Jesus and either given the money to the poor, or at least turned around and given the food away. But it actually would never have come up, because Jesus would have instructed his faithful to love others.

OR...if they were eating chicken because they supported the traditional biblical definition of marriage (as Mr. Cathy said), then they're all raging hypocrites. As I said, Jesus said nothing about gay marriage whatsoever. But The Old Testament has plenty to say about "traditional" marriage, and it's some scary effing stuff. Such as rape victims being forced to marry their rapist. And polygamy. And women being stoned to death if they're not virgins when they marry.

Atheists need to step up, for sure. But Christians really need to understand their religion better. Your King James doesn't just include all the happy lovey stuff from Jesus. There's a whole other book in there, and it's just as canonical.

-Actually research shows that religious people give more of time and money to charity *beyond what the contribute at church* Atheists are a little stingy... especially when you factor in they have way fewer kids to support.

http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/will032708.php3

-Feel free to suppose what Jesus might have done , I know the same Jesus who fed the poor also made a whip by hand to lash the venders and drive them out of the Temple area..... so he seems to be diverse in his approach to people.

-You are right Jesus never talked specifically about Homosexuals getting married nor Child porn, nor cannibalism and so that means what? If I may correct you, the New Testament ALSO has plenty to say on the topic, in unmistakable detail so no need to compare it to Laws on food, fiber or any other Old testament law.

-Since you seem willing and able to guide Christians in their Obedience to Christ, why not start a whole new thread on the subject so that I and others might profit from your guidance.

[Danno 1,228]

There are plenty of charitable organizations without any religious affiliation.

Ok, so name them so we can compare. IN your city who is feeding the poor? Who runs the thrift shops and charity treatment centers?

Look at the roster of volunteers for Habitat and see where the bulk come from.

How many non religious groups are funding homes for unwed mothers?

Give me the list of private Orphanages funded and staffed by the non-religous?

Or maybe we will just "take your word for it?"

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Ok, so name them so we can compare. IN your city who is feeding the poor? Who runs the thrift shops and charity treatment centers?

Look at the roster of volunteers for Habitat and see where the bulk come from.

How many non religious groups are funding homes for unwed mothers?

Give me the list of private Orphanages funded and staffed by the non-religous?

Or maybe we will just "take your word for it?"

Why compare? It's not a contest. Religious organizations donate to charities. Non-religious organizations also donate to charities. Are you trying to say the religious ones are better or more significant somehow?

[mox 298]

-Actually research shows that religious people give more of time and money to charity *beyond what the contribute at church* Atheists are a little stingy... especially when you factor in they have way fewer kids to support.

http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/will032708.php3

-Feel free to suppose what Jesus might have done , I know the same Jesus who fed the poor also made a whip by hand to lash the venders and drive them out of the Temple area..... so he seems to be diverse in his approach to people.

-You are right Jesus never talked specifically about Homosexuals getting married nor Child porn, nor cannibalism and so that means what? If I may correct you, the New Testament ALSO has plenty to say on the topic, in unmistakable detail so no need to compare it to Laws on food, fiber or any other Old testament law.

-Since you seem willing and able to guide Christians in their Obedience to Christ, why not start a whole new thread on the subject so that I and others might profit from your guidance.

The book you're quoting isn't a scholarly work. It might be as rigorously researched as a scholarly work, but this is more of a political book. I don't have the time to delve into it, so I'm not going to outright dispute its findings, but I've seen other studies that would dispute the findings in "Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism." (the title alone should tell you there's an agenda.) I don't have sources at my fingertips, I'm sure Google is your friend on this matter.

In any case, even if atheists were the worst contributors to charity ever, it's not the point I was addressing. If the New Testament addresses gay marriage, I have not seen it. There's a lot of ugly bronze-age hate towards gays (and drunkards, and adulterers, and "sinners") in the New Testament, but nothing specifically about gay marriage that I can recall. (and I'm sad to say I used to not only be a Christian, but a bible thumping ####### at that. I've read through the entire bible more times than I care to remember.)

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

When the DOMA is finally repealed/struck down as unconstitutional, and the DHS and DOS begin recognizing same sex marriages, I wonder if we will still have these wonderful discussions, or will the issue simply go away.

Edited August 2, 2012 by The Patriot

[mox 298]

When the DOMA is finally repealed/struck down as unconstitutional, and the DHS and DOS begin recognizing same sex marriages, I wonder if we will still have these wonderful discussions, or will the issue simply go away.

Eventually the pictures of people flocking to CFA will be held up right alongside the idiots protesting integration in the 60s. I can't wait.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

On Wednesday -- dubbed "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" by former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee -- lines are stretching out the front door and the parking lot is packed with customers coming out to support company chief executive Dan Cathy, who recently came out against same-sex marriage with statements that have polarized lovers of the fast-food chain.

Andrew, a gay 24-year-old who has been working at the northern Alabama Chick-fil-A since January, sat in his car smoking a cigarette and watching the crowd during a break earlier Wednesday.

"I call it hater appreciation day," said Andrew, who asked that his last name be withheld out of fear he'd be fired. "It's very, very depressing."

...

One gay employee who works at Chick-fil-A headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., and asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing his job, says he is getting it from both sides. On the one hand, there is the customer who came in and said he supported Dan Cathy and then "continues to say something truly homophobic, e.g. 'I'm so glad you don't support the queers, I can eat in peace,'" the employee, who is 23 and has worked for Chick-fil-A since he was 16, wrote in an email. On the other hand, he continued, "I was yelled at for being a god-loving, conservative, homophobic Christian while walking some food out to a guest in a mall dining room."

...

Gabriel Aguiniga, a gay employee at a Chick-fil-A in Colorado, also said the hardest part hasn't been hearing Cathy's comments. Instead, "[it's] constantly having people come up to you and say, 'I support your company, because your company hates the gays,'" Aguiniga, 18, wrote in an email. "It really takes a toll on me."

...

"Our managers have recommended just saying 'Thank you for your business' if a customer says they agree with Cathy's comments, rather than agreeing or disagreeing with them," K, an openly gay Chick-fil-A employee in Louisiana, told HuffPost in an email.

...

"Now, anyone that works there is stuck with a stigma of being homophobic, even when many of us are far from it," K said. One of her coworkers, who supports same-sex marriage, has had people say things like, "Don't give me that hate sh*t," and "I hope you choke on that chicken," while she was handing out samples.

...

Several of the gay and lesbian employees interviewed by The Huffington Post said that they liked their work, and had never witnessed incidents of homophobia or discrimination on the job. But Chick-fil-A restaurants are operated by independent owners, and employee experience can vary widely.

...

Kellie, a 23-year-old gay woman from Georgia who also requested her last name be withheld for fear of being outed in the press, worked at two different Chick-fil-A locations in Georgia. She loved working at the first location, she said, where nobody ever said anything homophobic or discriminatory. But at the second location, in Atlanta, "there was a lot of general homophobia." Managers would frequently make homophobic jokes, she said, and she felt that if she were to tell her colleagues she was gay, she would be fired. Eventually, she quit.

Another former employee, who worked at the Chick-fil-A in Chicago, said he thought the culture of the company encouraged homophobia.

"It's a very monochromatic, white, male driven company," said Andrew Mullen, a gay 26-year-old who quit his job last winter after less than a year with the company. Once, Andrew recalled, a company operator leading an employee training session, saw two men kissing on the patio outside the restaurant and proclaimed to the group he was leading that he thought it was "disgusting."

...

But the gay employee who works at headquarters in Atlanta disagreed with this assessment. Aside from the occasional homophobic joke or comment outside of working hours, he said, his experience with the company has been "extremely positive."

Asked in June, Andrew, the employee in Alabama, would have said his experience was positive, too. He had never explicitly told any of his colleagues he was gay, but he felt comfortable at work and liked the operator of his store. But recently, Andrew says the atmosphere at work has grown nearly intolerable. Although plenty of his coworkers have said they don't agree with Cathy's views, on "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day," one colleague told him proudly that his friends would be eating the fried chicken sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Last week, when he went out to the parking lot to help a trucker (not directly employed by Chick-fil-A) unload a shipment of goods, the trucker turned to Andrew confidentially and said, "If I see one more faggot at a Chick-fil-A protesting, I'm going to be sick."

http://www.huffingto..._n_1729968.html

So how are all this Gay people working in a restaurant that openly discriminates against gay people. I am confused.

[mox 298]

So how are all this Gay people working in a restaurant that openly discriminates against gay people. I am confused.

Checked out the economy lately? There are some many people who can't afford to quit their job. A lot of those people work in the fast food sector.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

So many people eating chicken because of Jesus (who had #### all to say about gay marriage). How many of those sandwiches, I wonder, went to feed poor people? I'd have been more impressed with Christians if there'd been lines forming around homeless shelters and soup kitchens. Morons.

I am an agnostic libertarian who ate their twice yesterday, because I am sick of having liberals using their positions of influence to try and ban something because the disagree with someones opinion. The countless Mayors, councilmen etc, that have called on Chick-fil-a to be banned should be removed from office.

If you don't want to eat there because of Cathy's opinion fine. But to ask the stores to be banned. Stand up and fight.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Checked out the economy lately? There are some many people who can't afford to quit their job. A lot of those people work in the fast food sector.

Well I do agree Obama's economy is about to wreck the nation, your right about that. However fast food jobs are easy to get. so once again. The liberals have stated the Cathy's are bigots and openly discriminate, whoever in a article that proved otherwise, they interviewed many Gay chick-fil-a employees.

Kind of like saying an Apartment complex openly discriminates against minorities, then interviews many of the minority residents to prove it. No one shred of evidence or bit of proof in any of that article that that Chick-fil-a discriminates against gays.

[mox 298]

I am an agnostic libertarian who ate their twice yesterday, because I am sick of having liberals using their positions of influence to try and ban something because the disagree with someones opinion.

Damn liberals, always banning things. Like access to women's reproductive health. Oh...

Both parties are guilty of this #######, it's not just a liberal thing. I'm happy to discuss the issue, but the "stupid liberals/stupid conservatives" kool-aid talk...I'm not so interested in that, sorry.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

I am an agnostic libertarian who ate their twice yesterday, because I am sick of having liberals using their positions of influence to try and ban something because the disagree with someones opinion. The countless Mayors, councilmen etc, that have called on Chick-fil-a to be banned should be removed from office.

If you don't want to eat there because of Cathy's opinion fine. But to ask the stores to be banned. Stand up and fight.

How can you say/type this with a straight face?

Liberals trying to ban something because they disagree with someone's opinion?

Who is trying to ban same sex marriage, abortion, Planned Parenthood, etc etc etc?

The dirty liberals?

You know it goes both ways. Don't act like it doesn't. You're smarter than that.

Edited August 2, 2012 by Evylin

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Checked out the economy lately? There are some many people who can't afford to quit their job. A lot of those people work in the fast food sector.

Well I do agree Obama's economy is about to wreck the nation, your right about that. However fast food jobs are easy to get. so once again. The liberals have stated the Cathy's are bigots and openly discriminate, whoever in a article that proved otherwise, they interviewed many Gay chick-fil-a employees.

Kind of like saying an Apartment complex openly discriminates against minorities, then interviews many of the minority residents to prove it. No one shred of evidence or bit of proof in any of that article that that Chick-fil-a discriminates against gays.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Well I do agree Obama's economy is about to wreck the nation, your right about that. However fast food jobs are easy to get. so once again. The liberals have stated the Cathy's are bigots and openly discriminate, whoever in a article that proved otherwise, they interviewed many Gay chick-fil-a employees.

Kind of like saying an Apartment complex openly discriminates against minorities, then interviews many of the minority residents to prove it. No one shred of evidence or bit of proof in any of that article that that Chick-fil-a discriminates against gays.

I don't believe they discriminate against their employees. I'm sure the vast majority of them are treated with dignity and respect.

But it must be a slap in the face to have a company be nice to your face and then throw their money at organizations that are against the very way you live your life.