What You Cannot Say

I started doing some digging into this whole Chick-Fil-A kerfuffel and I am now thoroughly confused.

First, the story as we "know" it. Someone asked the COO of the organization, Dan Cathy, what their position was on gay marriage. He was opposed. Now several cities are preventing Chick-Fil-A from opening stores in their communities because they don't share the same values ...

As it turns out, no such story took place. On July 16, the Baptist Press ran a story about Dan Cathy as COO of Chick-Fil-A. Cathy admitted in the interview of being "guilty as charged" in standing on biblical and family values. "We don't claim to be a Christian business," he told the Biblical Recorder in a recent visit to North Carolina because Christ died for people, not corporations. "But as an organization we can operate on biblical principles." So they do things like not opening on Sundays ... because that would be a biblical principle. And they invest in WinShape. WinShape is so named because their goal is to help "shape winners". So they have camps and retreats and foster care programs and marriage programs (helping people prepare for marriage, etc.) and such. So far, a non-story. Where did Cathy get himself in trouble? "We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that." That's it. No, seriously, that's all.

It was CNN's report on this on July 19th that started the fireworks. Here's what they said. "'Guilty as charged,' Cathy said when asked about his company's support of the traditional family unit as opposed to gay marriage." Is that what the Baptist Press reported? No, here is their line: "Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. 'Well, guilty as charged,' said Cathy when asked about the company's position."

Odd ... really odd. For some reason there wasn't a single word in the entire Baptist Press story that referenced "gay marriage". Not one. There were comments about "traditional family" and "the biblical definition of the family unit", but not a single word about "gay marriage". In a radio interview, Cathy was quoted as saying, "I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.' I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think we can try to define what marriage is all about."

So where do we stand now? It is "anti-gay" to support the traditional family. And apparently everyone (despite the lively and full disagreement that it is so) knows that "the biblical definition of the family unit" is "the union of a man and a woman" to the exclusion of "same-sex" unions. If you believe that the Bible is accurate, you are anti-gay. If you believe that the Bible is true, you do not share the values of Chicago or Boston or a host of loud protesters who want Chick-Fil-A out of business and out of sight. If you support the traditional family, you do not share the values of the majority and you are a narrow-minded, hateful bigot. So while people like Boston Mayor Menino are assuring everyone that "We're an open city, we're a city that's at the forefront of inclusion", they do not mean the inclusion of the traditional family, the inclusion of biblical values, or the inclusion of people who hold a different view on whatever topic they have chosen to be their "intolerant" and "bigot" topic of the day. The dichotomy is seen in Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel who embraces Louis Farrakhan and ignores his blatant anti-semitism, but rejects Chick-Fil-A despite their affirmation of non-discrimination on the basis of race, gender, or sexual orientation. And the "NOH8" ("No Hate") group is turning their hate on the company by calling for a total boycott.

And the cognitive dissonance just gets worse and worse.

Update
In today's CNN story, you can read about a comment on the story. "'How backward and ignorant ... how sad,' CNN reader Joe Brown said. 'No more Chick-fil-A for me. I am not in the stone-casting business as a Christian.'" Excuse me, Joe, but isn't boycotting a restaurant because their COO has a particular view that doesn't affect the restaurant and doesn't attack anyone exactly casting stones???

Update #2
As expected, San Francisco is joining in the mindless hate, but isn't it sad that "the city of brotherly love" is, too? From the letter written by City Councilman Jim Kenney to Chick-Fil-A, "Take a hike and take your intolerance with you. There is no place for this type of hate in our great City of Brotherly and Sisterly Affection." Seriously, folks, do you not see the dichotomy of "take a hike" and "City of Brotherly and Sisterly Affection"???