In the past, the fried chicken connoisseur’s at Chick-fil-A have been subject to speculation about its overt religious overtone.
To start, the company has been closed on Sunday since its inception, and according to Chick-fil-A’s website, its corporate purpose is “to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us.”
Controversy first arose over the company’s Christian overtone when Aziz Latif, a Muslim man, sued Chick-fil-A for allegedly firing him when he wouldn’t participate in a Christian prayer, according to the CBS Interactive Business Network.
But lately, a new criticism has struck the company.
Chick-fil-A has been accused of hating homosexuals.
The company been criticized in the past for connections with the National Organization for Marriage and the Pennsylvania Family Institute, among other organizations against same-sex marriage.
According to Metro Weekly, the new controversy started in January when Chick-fil-A sponsored the Pennsylvania Family Institute, which is a group of religious zealots currently campaigning for an end to same-sex marriages.
Chick-fil-A stated on its Facebook page that the incident was isolated and only involved one of its independent operators in Pennsylvania.
Believe what you want, but with all the negative history in the homosexual department, it’s quite obvious Chick-fil-A probably is not a friend to gays. But the opposition it has spurred is a little over-the-top.
Now more than ever, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community has been speaking out vehemently against the company, urging people to stop eating there if they support gay rights.
Some have started Facebook groups to raise awareness.
The Order for the Unacceptability of Chick-fil-A’s Homophobia, or “OUCH,” asks people to spread word of its Facebook group and encourages people to write letters to Chick-fil-A.
Another group, “Chick-fil-A Boycott For Being Anti-Gay,” asks people who support the equal rights for gays to boycott Chick-fil-A and spread the word to others.
While the resistance seems to be concentrated online, some groups got the word out in other ways.
On Feb. 21, one of the groups wrote “f–k Chick-fil-A” and “Chick fil-A hates gays” on the side of Lockett Hall.
Seriously?
All this controversy brings up important questions: Is it really important to throw so much negative criticism toward Chick-fil-A? Can’t these protesters divert their energy elsewhere?
Moreover, criticizing a company because they support heterosexual over homosexual marriage is like criticizing a professor for teaching out of the book — it’s traditional, and it works.
Also, the resistance is probably spread far too thin to even make the slightest impact on Chick-fil-A, considering “OUCH,” the biggest Facebook resistance group, only comprises less than 900 members as of Tuesday.
And people seem to find the whole situation more funny than inflammatory, as nearly all of the people I saw admiring the side of Lockett Hall were laughing.
Besides, the chicken is just way too delicious to give up.
If the gay community really needs something to protest, they can go straight to the source and attack the Pennsylvania Family Institute by hopelessly trying to persuade the organization that gay marriage is OK.
Or they can go full-force to protest an institution like the Westboro Baptist Church. This organization seems to do a little bit more harm considering their website is “godhatesfags.com.”
Overall, Chick-fil-A can be left alone. Nobody is going to convince the company what it’s doing is wrong.
Unless the company comes out and publicly denounces homosexuality rather than promote heterosexual marriage, it hasn’t done much harm.
Sure, Chick-fil-A may reject homosexual viewpoints, but at the same time, the homosexual community is condemning Chick-fil-A’s standpoints. It’s an endless cycle, and it won’t get anything accomplished.
The LGBTQ community can find an alternative for their fried chicken. I’m sure KFC will be happy to deal with whoever walks through their door.
And they’re open on Sunday too.
 
Chris Grillot is a 19-year-old English and mass communication sophomore from New Orleans. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_Cgrillot.
 
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