Chic Fil A helping out

[ashley0139]

Chick-fil-A has done a lot of things to help LGBT families. I work for an agency and we have over 600 families and this company is willing do go out of their way to help any one in need.

Like what? I'm honestly curious. I'm assuming these are the individual franchise owners and not the company itself. And I'm assuming if they commit to helping all families in some way, they're not just going to leave out the LGBT ones. That would be terrible press for them.

 

[Magpie]

What was their previous wrong statement?

MG

From Chik-Fil-A president, Dan Cathy:

"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 that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about."

And...

""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. ... We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that," Cathy emphasized. "We intend to stay the course," he said. "We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."

First wives! Do you get disowned if you divorce your first wife?

Also, as the child of a divorced single mum, I rather object to his definition of "family". That said, he's right - he lives in a country where he can operate as he pleases. And when visiting, I can choose to patronize his establishments, or not, as I please.

Anyway, you can get the whole story here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick-fil-A_same-sex_marriage_controversy

Basically, I consider these statements wrong. You may not.

 

[Magpie]

I know a bunch of posts got deleted, so I'll keep this on track. It's a privately held company, and basically the founder's family has full control over its donations.

Since 2012, Dan Cathy has backed off of his public statements and modified the structure of the foundations supported by the company. They no longer fund any of the controversial organizations, and Dan Cathy says he regrets bringing the company into this issue. I suppose he's a businessman and understands that in the long run his public statements were hurting the ability of his company to expand. They've been trying to expand beyond the south, and getting permits has become an issue along with economic viability.

I wouldn't say he recanted, but he has stopped talking publicly about SSM, and has also kept the company funded foundations from donating to certain controversial organizations. They do understand that some customers will be wary that their purchases may fund certain organizations that they may not agree with.

I do appreciate the "dramatically reduced" funding to anti-gay groups. But, I'm waiting for more.

Disney, on the other hand, regularly makes me VERY happy with their ethical and moral statements and public stands. I am happy to give Disney my money!

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

Like what? I'm honestly curious. I'm assuming these are the individual franchise owners and not the company itself. And I'm assuming if they commit to helping all families in some way, they're not just going to leave out the LGBT ones. That would be terrible press for them.

I was also thinking that it must be franchise owners and not the company itself. If I'm wrong, I'd love to hear or see what they've done though.

 

[bcla]

Like what? I'm honestly curious. I'm assuming these are the individual franchise owners and not the company itself. And I'm assuming if they commit to helping all families in some way, they're not just going to leave out the LGBT ones. That would be terrible press for them.

I doubt they would go out of their way, but I suppose they might have made eligibility open to all families based on need and not discriminate on LGBT status.

One of the criticisms was that a WinShape sponsored marriage retreat specifically ruled out same sex couples.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I don't always, actually probably never...agree 100% with any person or business. Doesn't mean, I'm going to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

 

[Sabeking]

Chick Fil A is always one of the first businesses to step up. They handed out food to people stranded on an interstate during a snowstorm (Atlanta, maybe?) They have given food to people helping with clean up after a storm. They always do it without ulterior motives. They truly are a Christian based company who walks the walk. The CEO may have beliefs some don't agree with but doesn't he deserve the same freedom to his beliefs as anyone else?

They stepped in and helped in a great way because they saw fellow human beings in a time of need. They saw fellow Americans who were hurting. Maybe we could all take a lesson and look beyond our differences for just a little while.

Thank you for a breath of fresh air!!!!!!
As my mom used to say...can't you just say thank you sometime and move on.

 

[Mizzoufan]

 

[L&Lfan]

People are gonna be upset with the word lifestyle. Just wait...

 

[ronandannette]

People are gonna be upset with the word lifestyle. Just wait...

You're probably right {{sigh}} but regardless of that one nuance, I "LIKE"ed the post and wholeheartedly agree with the general sentiment.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I have never had a Chick Fil A sandwich but I would like to try one sometime. And one of those peach things.

I agree there are plenty of companies I'm not 100% on board with as far as their business practices or political leanings go. I can choose to go there or not, and I have made an active decision in many instances.

Admittedly I don't know a lot about this particular controversy. But if it's simply a personal opinion and they're not actively supporting hate groups, and if they're often charitable in many ways in the community, then it sounds like somewhere I'd be comfortable buying a sandwich.

 

[Planogirl]

I appreciate that they did this. I don't care why - the deed is a good thing.

 

[jahber]

Even though I know and love these two particular owners of CFAs, and even though one of them practically fed my family for weeks with CFA coupons when my husband lost his job (ok, I'm exaggerating, but it helped!)--even still, I can understand why someone would not want to eat at CFA on principle. But I don't understand why someone would want to belittle the genuine actions of people trying to help. Assigning them ulterior motives and saying they are hateful people is just, well, hateful. I realize I'm close to this topic, but maybe it will help humanize the CFA operators and help someone see that things aren't always what you assume based on what your TV and Facebook tell you. And with that, I'm going to bed with a heavy heart over yet another tragedy in my city and another family who has lost their child.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

Even though I know and love these two particular owners of CFAs, and even though one of them practically fed my family for weeks with CFA coupons when my husband lost his job (ok, I'm exaggerating, but it helped!)--even still, I can understand why someone would not want to eat at CFA on principle. But I don't understand why someone would want to belittle the genuine actions of people trying to help. Assigning them ulterior motives and saying they are hateful people is just, well, hateful. I realize I'm close to this topic, but maybe it will help humanize the CFA operators and help someone see that things aren't always what you assume based on what your TV and Facebook tell you. And with that, I'm going to bed with a heavy heart over yet another tragedy in my city and another family who has lost their child.

It appears it is difficult for some to separate CFA the corporation and CFA franchisees when it comes to assigning intent, blame and motives.

 

[Shanti]

Chick-Fil-A is great. Unlike most fast food chains, they treat employees well, provide good customer service, follow their conscience & take Sunday off rather than hypocritically grasping for more profits on that day, and they will help in little ways when needed (I had a personal experience with this once, years ago.) I'm glad they reached out and helped. I don't agree with their every opinion, but like all of us, they have a right to their own opinion.

 

[Hrhpd]

As others have stated, this was 2 very generous and marvelous franchise owners who dug into their own pockets to donate food from their restaurants.

But to say Chik-Fil-A was donating is a huge stretch.

When Cathy announces a corporate donation, then Chik-Fil-A can take credit fot helping.

Right now, the credit goes to the franchise owners and has nothing to do with Chik-Fil-A.

 

[bcla]

Even though I know and love these two particular owners of CFAs, and even though one of them practically fed my family for weeks with CFA coupons when my husband lost his job (ok, I'm exaggerating, but it helped!)--even still, I can understand why someone would not want to eat at CFA on principle. But I don't understand why someone would want to belittle the genuine actions of people trying to help. Assigning them ulterior motives and saying they are hateful people is just, well, hateful. I realize I'm close to this topic, but maybe it will help humanize the CFA operators and help someone see that things aren't always what you assume based on what your TV and Facebook tell you. And with that, I'm going to bed with a heavy heart over yet another tragedy in my city and another family who has lost their child.

Well, I think it helps to understand the meaning when it was an individual franchisee who made no effort to publicize the deed.

That being said, you do understand that some may have been suspicious that this was something orchestrated and publicized as damage control by the parent company. They have been running damage control since 2012, with Dan Cathy saying he'll shut up and even consulting with a college gay rights organization, as well as backing off from any controversial donations by the foundations supported by CFA.

Personally I think they're stuck in a difficult situation once Dan Cathy started talking. That's when people started paying attention to the donations from the company affiliated foundations. Those who supported the business BECAUSE they approved of his public positions or because of the foundation's donations might feel betrayed once those were reversed.

 

[EMom]

As others have stated, this was 2 very generous and marvelous franchise owners who dug into their own pockets to donate food from their restaurants.

But to say Chik-Fil-A was donating is a huge stretch.

When Cathy announces a corporate donation, then Chik-Fil-A can take credit fot helping.

Right now, the credit goes to the franchise owners and has nothing to do with Chik-Fil-A.

Then again, I'm willing to be that even if CFA corporate did make a donation, there's a good chance plenty of people would say it was done just for PR purposes.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Really?? Are you guys still debating this??

MG

 

[CF'er]

So in other words they are nailed either way. Give money it's a PR stunt but don't give and it's because they hate homosexuals. No win situation.