March 1, 2011 12:08 am
Chick-fil-A: “I Wants My Sammich!”
By Eden Carswell, Class of 2011
A few weeks ago, a “Boycott Chick-fil-A at the Daily Grind” event page was posted on Facebook to make students aware of Chick-fil-A’s funding of anti-gay marriage causes and groups, and to gain support for equality on this campus.
Chick-fil-A buyers on campus got wind of the possibility that their products would be removed, and their reactions were horrifying.
Students trivialized the whole cause, saying “I can’t support this cause because the sandwiches are yummy” and “This group is pretty stupid”, verbally attacking protest supporters for their “anger”, and approaching the comments of supporters from an “all or nothing” standpoint, telling protestors to protest all groups that support these negative causes, or do nothing.
One student received Facebook messages exclaiming, “Faggot”, multiple sandwiches were stuck on his window, and he was harassed at work.
A few students even refused to support the cause while still claiming they supported LGBTQ rights. It’s impossible to say, “I support same-sex marriage, but I’m going to keep buying Chick-fil-A. Sorry.”
It doesn’t make any sense. That’s like saying, “I support animal rights groups, but before I go to a protest, I need my fur coat out of the cleaners.”
Choosing a chicken sandwich over another human being’s rights is pretty selfish.
Believe me, I too have a list of food items at the Grind that I’d use my last two cents for: Lettieri’s delicious calzones, cheese muffins, and the 99-cent Arizona fruit punch juices that quench my thirst and go easy on my flex.
But if I found out that the Arizona juice company was funding sexiest, anti-woman campaigns, or that Mrs. Lettieri herself was slipping $100 bills under the table to the KKK or white supremacist groups, I’d sooner go on a date with Flavor Flav and pay the tab than spend my flex on any of those products again.
It’s startling that these hateful gestures were made at the possibility of the sandwiches being taken away.
I wonder how the campus would react if Chick-fil-A was to disappear from the Grind.
Would Chick-fil-A regulars start a Chick-fil-A gang, throwing sandwiches and nuggets at random people in the wee hours of the morning?
Or would that be a waste of the precious food that students so desperately need?
A lot of questions are being raised now: Can LBGTQ students rely on allies for support no matter what, or is the support guaranteed until lobbying and protesting “inconveniences” them?
Should LGBTQ students feel safe on this campus, or is the student body not as open and accepting as it appears?
What is support, in the eyes of the campus community?
As an LGBTQ student, I started to reevaluate my surroundings after all this began.
In my opinion this campus has changed negatively since I arrived here in 2007, and I hope that its student body will be welcoming to those prospective students looking for that open, accepting campus they hear so much about.
You’re right. It’s like a person who supports anaimal rights but isn’t a vegan or vegatarian.
We don’t discriminate based on sex, gender, religion, and such. Why discriminate based on food choices? Generalizing an entire group of people based on their choice to buy Chick-fil-a sure seems to go against the spirit of equality.
As someone who buys one, maybe two sandwiches a semester, I do not consider my 2 cents that probably ends up contributing to anti-gay legislation enough to counter the support I give to LGBTQ equality movements. We all like to indulge now and then, and that is a personal choice. I wouldn’t consider someone to be a racist if they purchased something from a company with a racist owner once or twice.
“Choosing a chicken sandwich over another human being’s rights is pretty selfish.”
wow, are you kidding me. Do you make your own clothes, buy everything fair-trade or american? are you judging everyone who disagrees with you? just asking?
=It’s impossible to say, “I support same-sex marriage, but I’m going to keep buying Chick-fil-A. Sorry.”
It doesn’t make any sense. That’s like saying, “I support animal rights groups, but before I go to a protest, I need my fur coat out of the cleaners.”=
That was a tortured mess of an analogy.
“It’s impossible to say, “I support same-sex marriage, but I’m going to keep buying Chick-fil-A. Sorry.””
“approaching the comments of supporters from an “all or nothing” standpoint, telling protestors to protest all groups that support these negative causes, or do nothing.”
You accuse others of taking an all or nothing standpoint, and then take one yourself by saying that either someone refuses to buy from an organization with ties to homophobic groups, or they themselves are homophobic.
The issue here isn’t the beliefs or actions on either side, it’s the radicalism. Saying something like, “It’s impossible to say, “I support same-sex marriage, but I’m going to keep buying Chick-fil-A. Sorry.”” instantly turns off half of the people who support you already, including myself. Just as calling people “Faggot” and sticking sandwiches to someones car turns off people who might be pro-Chick-fil-A sandwiches. Not only are both wrong but they show a level of snide-self-perceived-moral-superiority that never wins an argument. We live in a pluralist society, time to starting accepting other people’s beliefs as legitimate even if you disagree.
I don’t think this is an extreme perspective at all. It’s simple: if you claim to be an ally, that extends to all your behavior. I also don’t perceive a sense of moral superiority in this article. Eden, just like the rest of the LGBTQ community campus (including me), feels personally alienated when someone perfectly aware of the political contributions Chick-fil-A makes to anti-LGBTQ groups continues to support them.
And yes, plenty of (possibly even most) other large corporations also have questionable political involvement. Buying from those companies doesn’t make the stance against Chick-fil-A any less valid. This is how large-scale equality movements work: one step at a time. Ultimately, I’m sure many of use would love to see this same action extend to other socially harmful corporations. But for now, this is something we can do.
Most importantly, it comes down to the fact that Chick-fil-A’s spending practices are in direct conflict with SMCM’s statement of equality for ALL students. It would be unrealistic of the LGBTQ and ally students on campus to ask everyone on campus to stop buying from Chick-fil-A alltogether; we just ask that the College stop earning money from something that is such an affront to the fight for equality.
Subscription to pluralism doesn’t extend to oppression of minority groups. Opinions will always differ, but actions need policing-especially as they pertain to the destruction of the civil rights of American citizens discriminated against because of arbitrary affiliations i.e. sexual orientation.
This is the argument in its simplest form-one group oppresses, the other group seeks only to exist. This is not within the realm of opinion, and this is why it’s not a matter of opinion.
As Madeline stated, the violations of other companies has no bearing on the relevance of this issue and is beyond diluted in reasoning. For example, “So what if he’s stabbing that old woman in the face? Other people are doing it. What about them? You’re a hypocrite if you don’t stop them all at once!” They’re stopping this one now, they will stop the next one too. Put the sandwich down and walk away, you got mayo on your face.