Chick fil-A's turnabout is bound to create a stir, but while the groups who benefited from its innate homophobia will scream "Homosexual Activism!" the REAL reason may lie buried in the franchise's finances.

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What's The Reason?

Pam's House Blend:

"After enduring a major public-relations tsunami this summer,   Chick-fil-A, the   Atlanta-based sandwich shop that's closed on Sundays, says it will end its decade-long corporate support of culture-warrior groups that oppose gay marriage."

After Mike Huckabee's successful Chick fil-A Appreciation Day (in which notable Right Wing celebrities like Sarah Palin participated), one would think that the franchise's Christian Right stance against gay marriage (and by extension homosexuality) would have stayed firm, at least for a while. So the recent revelation by Chicago Alderman, Poco Moreno that the Atlanta-based fast food franchise will stop funding hate group organizations such as the American Family Association and Focus on the Family may come as a bit of a shock - especially to those organizations that have received the chain's largesse. The official reason given by Chick fil-A:

"The WinShape Foundations is now taking a much closer look at the organizations it considers helping, and in that process will remain true to its stated philosophy of not supporting organizations with political agendas."

Cast of Players

Self-righteousness provides the American public a lot of entertainment, and the entertainment that was a welcome distraction from this year's election melee was definitely Chick fil-A, or rather the play that ensued following it's founder David Cathy's statement about Biblical values and same-sex marriage. Some of the players (in what eventually became theater of the absurd) were as follows:

• Mike Huckabee, who called for Chick fil-A Appreciation Day
• Sarah Palin, former half-term governor of Alaska who displayed support prominently in a photo-op.
• Bryan Fischer, American Family Association, who suggested that Appreciation Day would be "ominous for Obama and an opportunity for Romney"
• Joe Mareno, Chicago Alderman, who would not allow a new Chick-fil-A franchise in Chicago
• Rick Santorum, who supported Appreciation Day during primary run for President
• Thomas Menino, Mayor of Boston, who requested that the franchise back out of plans to have a franchise in Boston

But the real characters in the drama were played out by the hordes of supporters, like the ones interviewed and video-taped by Anzy McWha, a 16-year-old from San Marcos, CA (see below). As adults misquoted Jesus and teens misinterpreted the Constitution, the incredulous Anzy (whose mother is a lesbian) keeps her cool until the very end. It is a latter-day American Gothic that amazes many but surprises few.

"More immediately, the company's corporate plans to broaden its reach outside of the South may also be a factor in its policy change. The company's socially conservative management has made news before, but the firm's values seemed in sync with many Southerners' views on church, God, and marriage. But Chick-fil-A's efforts to expand into places like Chicago and cities in   California   have put those values into the limelight, raising difficulties not only in obtaining construction permits but also vis a vis local and regional consumer attitudes."

 

Authors Website: http://sacredcowsmakethebesthamburgers.blogspot.com

Authors Bio:
Rev. Dan Vojir is has been writing/blogging on religion and politics for the better part of ten years. A former radio talk show host (Strictly Books €" Talk America Radio Network) and book publisher, Dan has connected with some of the most interesting people of our time: Steve Allen, William F. Buckley, Alan Ginsburg, Armisted Maupin, Anne Rice, Grace Slick, Bishop John Shelby Spong, Patricia Nell Warren, and Betty White.

He is also an ordained minister in the ULC and has studied extensively on the subject of the Bible and homosexuality. Additional articles can be read on his blog, The Devil and Dan Vojir.

Future goals and activities: a new ministry focusing on reaching personal spiritual levels without the outside influence of proselytism or evangelism called The Church of the Inner Preacher. This ministry will be included in a new website The Devil and Dan Vojir.

Vojir's main goal: to root out hypocrisy in religion and politics. "If only one person is saved from being killed or bashed by inane bigotry, then I'll have accomplished what I was put on earth to do: To Live and Help Live."
http://sacredcowsmakethebesthamburgers.blogspot.com