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Chicken Little and Gay Skys

My heyday came and went years ago. It was a time when people were in the streets protesting the fat cats, the Vietnam War, and politicians. We were empowered to scare the shit out my father's generation that wanted everything to go back to the "Good Old Days." It didn't, at least temporarily. Now many of those that dodged the draft because of rich families have become the fat cats, the war mongers and politicians. Perhaps, that is merely the way of the world as the dregs always seem to make into the public water supply.

Despite the despicable nature of many of today's politicians, industrialists and so-called business people, they are not the problem as their spineless, deceitful and criminal nature is nothing new. However, I never thought "the people" or Marx's noble "Proletariate" would ever succumb to fear, coercion or laziness when it came holding the crooks and criminals of the ruling class in line, but it happened with no fight.

Chick-fil-A controvery is an excellent example of how the power of the people consists of a few e-mails, the television remote and an attention span shorter than the Anglo-Zanzibar War, which lasted all of 38 minutes. The boycott is a time honored method of making those that take advantage of others pay. A boycott in its simplest form is a refusal to do business with a company that is unfair, a public nuisance or just stupid.

Operated effectively, a boycott can force concessions from a company as their profits falter; or, it can even result in a corporation going out of business if concessions are not granted. It is truly the power of the people using their economic clout to bring a company to its knees if not the bargaining table, but it seems Americans don't have the heart for the fight.

As sociologist Neal Postman said in the nineties, Americans are amusing themselves to death while business and politicians consistently set a flaming bag at the front door of the American conscious and tell us it is filled with mud, stomp it out. The boycott is the easiest form of protest when it comes to making a point to those who profit from our labor, spending or vote. Nothing need be done. It does not require bodily presence nor does it demand that we write letters of protest.

It requires that we do nothing except, make sure in performing that tasking that the offending politician, business, school or entity receives the full effect of our doing nothing. However, Americans suffer an addiction to their conveniences. Chick-fil-A deserves to be boycotted just for being stupid. Announcing ones prejudices to the world is usually a bad move for business and politics. To paraphrase Niccolo Machiavelli, it is better to pretend to do good while doing evil.

Most politicians and business people get the message: telling the truth can cost your job. In the case of Chick-fil-A, they should already be on their knees begging for business, but most Americans are too lazy to give up the convenience of having a chicken sandwich they like to right a wrong. If companies want to support controversial policies, that is their decision and their right. However, they should not be surprised when people decide their other places with great chicken sandwiches. So good, that hell could freeze over before another sandwich passes over the counter at the opinionated server of chicken parts and pieces.

Of course, it won't happen. Americans gave up a long time ago when it comes to fighting the internal fight. We are fat and lazy in our morals, ethics and principles. That said, I'm going to park my fat ass in front of the television, but I will not buy a drop of sweat from Chick-fil-A if I was dying of thirst. It is not that I have a love affair with homosexuals; rather, it is because I have a hunger for human rights and dignity.

Chick-fil-A? They will remain in business knowing what most businesses and politicians already know and that is the people will do nothing if it is inconvenient or requires an effort. Would you like fries with that?

Tags: Americans, boycott, business, chick-fil-A, gay, homosexual, human, lazy, protest, rights

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Comment by Donald R Barbera on August 6, 2012 at 11:04am: Sentient hits it on the head. I follow the Southern Poverty Law Center and who falls on their lists. Of course, rarely am I surprised. But, I am surprised by how studiously information from that site is avoided in order to trick weak minds into buying the proverbial "pig in a poke." I would explain it because I'm a country boy, but wikipedia does a good job.

Comment by Donald R Barbera on August 6, 2012 at 11:01am: Tammy--The American public has been trained well in not asking the obvious questions or they are as dumb as I often believe which is impossible. Feed a child for 50 cents a month--bull--administrative costs (read that as pilfering) eats up (pardon the pun) what money goes toward feeding a child. Yes, they are full of it. We know it and it is important to at least put it out there whether anyone listens or not.

Comment by Donald R Barbera on August 6, 2012 at 10:54am: Doiesn't it just piss you off when people choose to but in to what is none of their business. If every gay man or woman had the right to marry ten minutes from now, it would not affect me in the least other than causing a massive traffic jam. It won't affect my children, my beliefs, my pocketbook or my well-being. I have a good chance to stay out of it and that's what I did until the bigots opened the Holier-Than-Thou oral cavities and as usual along with halitosis and placque came the usual hatred (God says so), ignorance (James Dobson say so) and cluelessness (Pat Roberts says so).

Comment by Donald R Barbera on August 4, 2012 at 9:11pm: I marched in the Civil Rights Movement. After I got out of the army, I protested the war. Even in college I joined with others to take over the presidents office. I am a firm believer in the power of the people because I've seen it be effective. I was heartened by the OCCUPY Movement, but is not enough. With the pitiful state of the corporate media, it should be on the target list. I guess I am a member of the "Handle Your Business Club."

Comment by Dwayne P. Sharp on August 4, 2012 at 8:04pm: the sounds you hear are my hands coming together in a slow deliberate clap that is building to a crescendo of applause......I should stand now......and continue my applause for an extended period. Excellent !!! I speak of the fat lazy and stupid regularly as they whine a lot but not much else. I occasionally pop into this site but generally read a lot of fluff by those that don't get it . Nice to see you do.

Comment by Donald R Barbera on August 4, 2012 at 5:46pm: Apparrently Mr. Cathy should have read the "Politician's Handbook" that says it is the politicians sworn duty to obfuscate, befogged and bamboozle rather than ever come too near the truth; otherwise they may be held accountable. Of course, all the crap he holds sacred is in the Old Testament with its psychotic, mass murdering god. With only seven total mentions of anything similar to homosexuality, to say Cathy is grasping at straws to justify his bigotry is massive understatement. In fact, all of us here know Jesus never mentioned it, but he did mention divorce and adultery. However, the league leaders in divorce are Christians, in particular those obnoxious evangelical type.

Comment by Donald R Barbera on August 4, 2012 at 5:22pm: Not Strom Thurmond! Methuselah?

Comment by Tammy S on August 4, 2012 at 1:55pm: I haven't eaten there for years and will never eat there again. I make it a point to 'not' support businesses that spout religion because, it has been my experinece that every one of them who plasters their product with Jesus, use their money to promote intolerance for either women, gay people or other religions, therefore I cannot in good conscience hand them my hard earned money. I don't give a damn how good the product is, the minute I see 'scripture' on the cup or bag, or a damn icthys I'm outta there.

Comment by Loren Miller on August 4, 2012 at 1:18pm: So every chicken sandwich and waffle fry you purchase helps to fund one of those organizations.

Except that I have not once ever given any business to Chick-fil-A ... and I think it is safe to say I never will.

Comment by Sentient Biped on August 4, 2012 at 1:14pm: Just to be clear - as I have to continue reminding myself - it's not about whether Mr. Chik-fil-A is a bigot. There are lots of bigoted business owners and stockholders. It's about the fact that some of the dollars that consumers give to Chik-fil-A go to hate groups that promote vilification of LGBT people: (via holy bullies and headless monsters blog)
In 2010, Chick-Fil-A donated nearly $2 million to groups who make it their mission to attack the gay community through lies and distortions. These groups push several false notions from homosexuality is connected to pedophilia to the idea that gays can change their orientation - an idea frowned on by the legitimate scientific community.

According to Equality Matters, the Family Research Council is one of these groups:

The Family Research Council has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for its propagation of known falsehoods about the LGBT community. For example, president Tony Perkins has a long history of false and inflammatory attacks, such as claiming that pedophilia is a "homosexual problem."

also here...

"Chick-fil-A... through its charitable arm The WinShape Foundation, has donated almost 4 million dollars to organizations and causes that are dedicated to doing harm to gay men and lesbians – not just here in the US, but around the world...

...WinShape believes that “curing” homosexuality (a concept that is roundly rejected by the scientific community) and preventing same-sex couples from being legally married is something that trains leaders and makes families stronger...they give A LOT of money to foundations and advocacy groups that are hostile to the LBGT people.

In the year 2010 alone, WinShape donated nearly 2 million dollars to groups with anti-gay agendas:

$1,188,380 to the Marriage & Family Foundation... provides funding to organizations that preach that the American family is threatened by the proliferation of same-sex couples )

$480,000 to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (dedicated to “curing” gay athletes);

$247,500 to the National Christian Foundation (is a grant-making foundation that has provides money to anti-gay groups like Focus on the Family, Family Life, and the Family Research Council);

$54,000 to the New Mexico Christian Foundation (the New Mexico branch of the NCF);

$1,000 to the Family Research Council (which has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center because of the provab...);

$2,500 to the Georgia Research Council (which lobbies against marriage equality, both in Georgia and around the US); and

$1,000 to Exodus International, an organization dedicated to “curing homosexuality” and whose board member Don Schmierer had a hand in the creation of a bill in Uganda that could "punish homosexuality" with death .

So every chicken sandwich and waffle fry you purchase helps to fund one of those organizations. "