Chick-fil-A PR goes Rogue

Huh?

I haven't eaten out in two weeks. Too busy watching the Olympics.

But I support Mr. Cathy's right to say whatever he wants. Heck, I even support your right to say any stupid thing you want.

 

There is direct connection between the company and conservative Christian groups. The company is privately owned. It uses corporate profits to fund a foundation. That foundation in turn supports programs like Christian summer camps and scholarships to a Christian college (for some reason they allocate more scholarships for boys than girls). I would guess that the foundation does some very good things - but at its heart is the promotion of "Christian family values."

This is their choice. They are certainly free to do so. Just as I am free to observe my religious beliefs and promote them as I wish and to take into account how they use their corporation and its profits when I am (or their supporters are) deciding where to spend my money.

 

So what you're saying is that you hate the gays?

 

Has anybody here said Cathy did not have the right to say whatever he wants?

 

Isn't that the whole point of the protests?

 

It's a glib analysis of the issue.

 

Mark's definition of stupid: anything someone else says.

 

Good heavens. The peach shake at CFA is legit.

 

To me, this was a perfect case study in how social media has changed our profession.

Dan Cathy made a comment to an otherwise-obscure publication with a narrow niche audience -- Southern Baptists.

The HuffPo saw it, transmitted it, and a social media "CFA is anti-gay" firestorm began. Emanual & Menino piled on, then Huckabee responded, and the CFA supporters, feeling their free speech rights were being put on the defensive, took to social media to take their side.

This whole story -- from the original outrage by the anti-CFA people to the reaction -- is a social media creation. The most "maintream" media outlet involved in the creation of the story was a show on a cable news channel at a low-viewership time. The Baptist Press & HuffPo are a church magazine and a website. But it went viral on Facebook and that was it.

 

Sheesh! One more reason to avoid that stuff.

 

And that's where the whole thing went stupid. Because that never happened.

 

If Cathy said pedophilia was a Biblical principle, how many people would say those who boycotted Chik-fil-A didn't support free speech?