This week: A special edition of 7QTF dedicated to last Wednesday’s Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day. My own experiences. Experiences from around the country. The Coalition of African-American Pastors speaks-out. Competitors support Chick-fil-A. The biased, slanted, liberal media – true to form. A fitting tune.
Last Wednesday was Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day. We appreciated their support of marriage as it has been defined for 5,000 years. This day was not “anti-” anything or anybody, but is in response to boycott demands of the gay lobby and those in their pocket (e.g. the mayors of Boston and Chicago).
If a Chick-fil-A location is within driving distance and you missed it, go anytime to show your support. Now is good. The crowds have subsided but the values are the same.
I went through the drive-thru for a breakfast burrito and coffee at around 8:30am. There was a line of cars but it moved very quickly so I was on my way in minutes.
At lunch time, I showed up around 12:30. Cars were backed-up everywhere. The parking lot was full. Large, nearby parking lots within walking distance were teetering near capacity. Drive-thru was out-of-the-question. When my daughter and I got inside, there were so many people that it took 40 minutes to get our food. I felt sorry for the employees, but they were troopers – remaining friendly and efficient.
Some people had to leave before ordering because they had to get back to their jobs. With the crowding and waiting unhappy people would not be surprising. Yet, I heard no complaints. There was a sense of purpose, of community. It was if we all felt tired of the intolerant, incessant bulling of the LGBT lobby and are not going to take it anymore.
There will be another opportunity to gather as a community in support of “traditional” marriage. It is a referendum by proxy on this issue scheduled for November 6th. Some will come to vote against the bedrock of society – the family – by voting for what Newsweek calls “the first gay president.” Those of us who supported Chick-fil-A will also be there, voting in favor of the family, in favor of free speech, in favor of religious freedom. Most of us will also be voting in favor of life, in favor of competence over ideology, in favor of subsidiarity and in favor of the uncorrupted greatness of America.
As slammed as my local Chick-fil-A was, there are reports of even busier locations. Dan Spencer reports that his Chick-fil-A in Overland Park, KS was more of a Woodstock phenomenon. Cars were backed-up on a 6-lane road approaching it. Ditto alternate routes.
Dan calls his experience “Chickenstock.”
Here are some pictures from around the country:
Chick-fil-A is not the only organization who supports the “traditional” (i.e. true) definition of marriage. The CAAP (Coalition of African-American Pastors) has a few thoughts on the matter directed to our first gay president:
Rev. William Owens addressed the National Press Club on Tuesday noting that the “president is in the White House because of the Civil Rights movement, and I was a leader in that. And I didn’t march one inch, one foot, one yard for a man to marry a man and a woman to marry a woman. So the president has forgotten the price that was paid… where they gave their blood to have equal rights in the United States.” Reported at The Daily Caller.
Rev. Owens and Dan Cathy’s comments are from identical viewpoints. By extension, what is said about Cathy’s morality apply equally to those expressed by CAAP. Therefore, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s words also mean:
“The Coalition of African-American Pastors’ values are not Chicago values. They’re not respectful of our residents, our neighbors and our family members. And if you’re gonna be part of the Chicago community, you should reflect Chicago values.”
Chiming in, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s words also mean:
The Coalition of African-American Pastors doesn’t belong in Boston.
Just sayin…
The owner of the largest Wendy’s franchise (located in the Carolinas) put competition aside in support of his rival. Very impressive.
Less impressive is Wendy’s corporate geniuses who forced him to remove the signs. Proving that you can never be too stupid, they then went on to imply that Chick-fil-A discriminates against some customers. This was a particular brand of stupidity that they reiterated for hours. Ultimately, after a ton of backlash, they had to apologize.
The story of how this went down is here.
Other competitors, also likely franchisees without headquarters approval, similarly showed support:
As usual, in the mind of the liberal media, nothing happened. If it did, it was all about counter-protests or “controversy”. This is their standard playbook which we witness every year at the March for Life rallies. It is not even a US only thing – the same thing can be seen in the current coverage of Spain’s pro-death reversal. What we saw at Chick-fil-A this week is reality, not what the media tells you.
I highly recommend this article from Datechguy’s Blog. He has lots of great quotes, observations, links and insights.
From 2009, but perfect for this week:
Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was started by Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary to address this blogging need. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Jen for hosting this project!
I can’t eat it because my body lacks the ability to process grease well. (My gallbladder called it quits on my 25th birthday.) Oh well… I don’t feel like I missed out on anything by not eating it or by not finding anything on the menu that I could eat. It’s about 20 minutes to the nearest one and I’ve been fighting an ear infection so I had that reason for not going. (In other words, I’m lazy and did not want to put pants on yesterday.)
In 30+ years of life, I had never eaten Chick-fil-A. I had my first one 4 days before the event, loved it so much I insisted we have it every day leading up to Wednesday’s appreciation day (barring Sunday. DID YOU KNOW THEY’RE CLOSED ON SUNDAY? How could they do that to me?)
We visited a location in Sevierville, TN, on our way back home from a family reunion, and there were still people lining up out the door- at 7:30 at night. We waited 30 minutes in the nicest, calmest drive-through line you’ve ever seen, and despite probably being exhausted, the worker was friendly.
And now, back home, I have to drive 3 hours to the nearest Chick-fil-A, which is sad for my tastebuds, but probably happy for my diet.
Based on the response of the Wendy’s corporate managers, it’s clear that they asked for the sign to be taken down because of this incredible response to the views of Chick-fil-A’s owner. They could have easily played it off as not allowing advertising for other restaurants on their marquees, though. I didn’t click through to the article you linked, but did it mention that angle?
That article didn’t suggest what their motivation was other than to imply that Chick-fil-A discriminates against homosexuals (they absolutely do not) and that Wendy’s is more tolerant. It could be simply ineptitude as Wendy’s eventual apology implies or it could be amateur day in the PR department. Either way, it seems to me that some changes should be made.