Do you eat at Chick-Fil-A?

[Anonymous]

I once casually mentioned that I ate there, then got a lecture from someone I know about how I was literally supporting people who want to murder her. Now I eat there more because it pisses off crazy far-left people like her. The company doesn't even donate to anti-gay groups anymore, but the far left doesn't want to be bothered with facts any more than the far right does.

Also, I live in a part of the country where if I wanted to avoid every business that supports conservative viewpoints I disagree with, I wouldn't be able to go anywhere or do anything.

[Anonymous]

If I go visit the place I grew up (Georgia) I will cave and go. Or if I’m desperate.

But they have completely different values than I do and are very vocal about it. Even though I don’t spend my money perfectly, if somebody is actively donating to anti-trans, anti-lgbt, and anti-Black organizations (or at least is pro-blue lives matter), then I feel like it’s the better choice to spend my money elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

I boycotted them when they first came out as anti - LGBTQ

But, yes I eat there now, there's one near my house and my picky eater loves their nuggets, so we do get them occasionally.

[Anonymous]

I firmly believe people, include corporate owners, have a right to their beliefs. They do not have the right to deny service of course, but they have a right to whatever religious and moral belief they hold. And others have a right to patronize their establishments or not based on what they know of these beliefs.

[Anonymous]

Not frequently. I don’t like their anti LGBTQ politics but also their food (sandwiches, fries) makes me feel really gross and queasy for some reason, so it’s not particularly tempting. I do weirdly love their Mac and cheese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I firmly believe people, include corporate owners, have a right to their beliefs. They do not have the right to deny service of course, but they have a right to whatever religious and moral belief they hold. And others have a right to patronize their establishments or not based on what they know of these beliefs.

Yes, that is why the OP asked the question.

[Anonymous]

No. I don't buy fast food. If I want fries or a milkshake I make them at home. If I did eat fast food, I wouldn't go there because of how much they give to anti-gay groups.

[Anonymous]

No, I prefer my fries without a side of bigotry.

[Anonymous]

Gay mom here, yes we do not not on a regular basis. Probably once every couple of months. I did some research a couple of years ago and they changed their charitable donations. The chicken is better quality than other fast food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. I don't buy fast food. If I want fries or a milkshake I make them at home. If I did eat fast food, I wouldn't go there because of how much they give to anti-gay groups.

except they don’t anymore. They stopped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I firmly believe people, include corporate owners, have a right to their beliefs. They do not have the right to deny service of course, but they have a right to whatever religious and moral belief they hold. And others have a right to patronize their establishments or not based on what they know of these beliefs.

I agree with this.
Also, their spicy chicken sandwich is one of my favorite splurges. And really the only fast food my kids like that we can tolerate, so it’s a good option.
I do believe they put their money where their mouth is. Lots of corporations are all talk. Chick fil a stays closed on Sundays despite losing lots of Sunday revenue.

[Anonymous]

I like their food and the service is consistently good and fast. Seriously don’t know how they make their teenage employees so much better than other food service employees.

[Anonymous]

I don't do fast food so I'm have never eaten there. I do shop at Hobby Lobby. Politics and commerce = exhausting.

[Anonymous]

On FB, there was posting about one of the four business has to go (Starbucks, Chick-Fil-A, Target, Amazon) and I said Starbucks as I don't drink coffee and don't really frequent it. A friend asked me how many gay friends I have and whether I support them or not. My response:

Corporations like Chick-Fil-A do not make their charitable contributions based on the whims of their clients and they do not change such contributions based on the boycotts of their company by people, many of whom never buy from them anyways. They make their charitable contributions based on the bigotry of their owners and top-level management. In this case, the Cathy family has been well-known for many years to be very publicly Christian and anti-LGBTQ. Whether a few tens of thousands of customers boycott them or not, the Cathy family and the management of Chick-FIl-A will support their Christian anti-LGBTQ agenda. It really makes no difference whatsoever.

On the other hand, there are other ways to direct your spending that have far more tangible effects on equality for LGBTQ. I provided support for 12 different political candidates across the country in the last election that were pro-LGBTQ. I donate to multiple organizations that support LGBTQ individuals and causes. We make donations at our church which is a reconciling church that explicitly support LGBTQ causes (we even have an openly gay minister on staff at our church).

These are far more impactful economic decisions that will have tangible effects for that community. Choosing to make a boycott of Chick-Fil-A will make squat difference in their political donations and will not make one whit of difference for LGBTQ in America. That said, we rarely go there, but we did go regularly when the children were young when this was one of the few places that we could take young children to get them out of the house when the weather did not support outdoor activities.

So boycotting a company with bigoted charitable donations does not make a difference, so doesn't impact my decision to shop there or not. Instead, I focus on more tangible ways to direct my own charitable donations to support the causes that I support. That includes political donations to pro-LGBTQ candidates and support charitable organizations that actually tangibly help LGBTQ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I eat at ChikFilA but hell will freeze over before you'll ever catch me in a Hobby Lobby.

Same.