Really - Nothing better to do (Chic-Fil-A) (Boston: legal, floor)
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Nothing wrong per se (the OP didn't even say that), just poor leadership and uncalled for considering his position (if the letter was coming from him as an individual to the company that would be different). Like you say the CEO shouldn't be speaking on behalf of his whole company, the mayor should not be speaking on behalf of the whole city, it's employees and citizens. As a diverse city, many of us would love to have Chic-fil-a in our city. And while the mayor and many people disagree with his stance on the issue, many of us do not. Menino should recognize that and stay out of controversial issues such as these that have nothing to do with his job of running the city.
The difference I see between Cathay speaking on behalf of the company and Menino speaking on behalf of the city is this: Menino is an elected official while Cathy is not. We elect politicians who reflect our point of views and they do have influence over both our professional and personal lives. We elect Menino to speak on our behalf. Should we disagree with him, we have the ability to choose someone else in the next election. On the other hand, Cathy is the CEO of a private company. He's not elected by all of his employees which is part of the reason why I think it's out of line for him to speak on everyone's behalf about non-work related issues.
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I never tried to put words in your mouth. The point I made is valid however, because it shows he is more concerned with an owner's social views than the actual negative effects a business has on the well-being of the city. That he is zeroing in on Cathy and never has on these other places proves that. Chain/ non-chain it makes no difference. That is what I mean by misplaced priorities.
He's not concerned with the owner's social views. He's concerned with the company's social views. The owner has stated that his company only supports marriage in the traditional sense. It does make a difference because Chick-Fil-A is a company of thousands of people. A liquor store may have as few as 5-10 employees. And again, he's done quite a bit to change the city's approach to fast food. He's been very vocal about it. He's the chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Food Policy task force which emphasizes healthier nutrition AND emphasis on local and healthy foods. It's far more proactive against fast food than anything he's done with Chick-Fil-A.
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In addition, the liquor stores and predatory lenders I do hold responsible. Yes, the individual that patronizes them is to blame as well. But, these are industries that profit from and contribute to destruction and misery for often the most vulnerable in our society. But again, they have a right to do business as long as they are within the law. How they sleep at night is a much bigger question...
Liquor stores are a hard one for me to agree on. Millions of Americans (myself included) and billions around the world don't abuse alcohol. I agree that alcoholism is a disease, and I agree that there is manipulative advertising, etc. for alcohol. I just don't see the problem with liquor stores that Menino is overlooking. Predatory lending is another story. It preys on the desperate. But I don't know where you're coming from saying that the mayor has done nothing. Here's the google search results for "menino on predatory lending." It has a number of quotes from him and articles on legislation he's pushed for. As you can see, he's been fairly proactive on that topic as well. So it's not as if he's ignoring other issues to pursue this one. If anything, he's done much more in the other areas (particularly fast food and predatory lending) than he has on this particular topic. I think the primary difference is that this is a bigger headline than predatory lending or healthy eating legislation.
For Mayor Mumbles to get into the middle of this by saying he is going to try to keep them out of Boston is simply ludicrous, just another way to try to get some voter support from the gay community. The gay community should be able to see through this but they won't and Mumbles will get elected again.[/quote]
On my bucket list: Someone explaining to me how Menino got elected the first time and how he continues to get elected.
I have no problem with those who chose to boycott the chain for whatever reason (I think I speak for most of us) if they truly feel that way. The problem most of us have is with the mayor sticking his nose where it doesn't belong (firing up his base in the cultural wars), rather than focusing more on the REAL problems the city is facing. There is much hypocracy involved as well (like allowing a mosque to be built on city donated land as well as many other shady businesses existing in the city).
Agreed. He was making a political statement, even though he can't legally keep a company out. On the other side, what if a mayor or Menino would have said a similar thing, but about a company that supported gay marriage. Can you imagine the outcry and people who would have attached a mayor about that.
If the general public wants to avoid Chic-fil-a or another company its their own choice, I just really don't think a mayor should have said what Menino did. The CEO (Jeff Bezos) of Amazon just donated $2.5 million for gay marriage. People have the choice to boycott Amazon. I've also heard that Amazon is pro-gun control, and although I'm against any more gun control, I still shop at Amazon, but I do have a choice to boycott if I would like for my own political reasons.
I will never set my foot in a chick-fil-a after this...and I applaud the mayor's stands...wish we had more like him.
So will you never shop or buy anything from a place that you don't agree with their politics? I guess you should interview and ask other companies what their stance is. Personally, I'm fine with your decision to oppose going to chic-fil-a, but I don't think it was appropriate in any way for Menino say what he did.
Had a mayor said he believed marriage was between a man and woman and said he would try to keep a company owned by a gay couple out...the media would have been outraged and all these civil rights groups would have been protesting.
All I can say is that is one idiot CEO. Politicizing your company will always alienate customers. When I disagree with a company's political stance, I go elsewhere. I had Chick-fil-a at North Shore Mall about a week before this story broke. No more. I disagree with their stance on the issue, and will not spend my money there, end of story.
The funny thing is that most people are not always aware of where the products they buy and consume come from. You could easily be wearing a shirt that was made in a sweatshop in Southeast Asia where young children are working crazy hours for little wages. Or you could be filling your car up with gas that came from a country that belittles women or homosexuals.
I just think this is getting a little crazy. Personally the CEO gave his opinion and the anger of some people is a little much. If he was an anti-semite or racist, I can see it. He simply thinks marriage is between a man and woman. So are people going to now stop working or buying anything that comes from someone who might believe marriage is between a man and woman.
I just think this is getting a little crazy. Personally the CEO gave his opinion and the anger of some people is a little much. If he was an anti-semite or racist, I can see it. He simply thinks marriage is between a man and woman. So are people going to now stop working or buying anything that comes from someone who might believe marriage is between a man and woman.
First off, you're right. It's getting nuts on both sides of the fence and people are going way overboard with this whole thing.
However, it's not simply a man who thinks marriage is between a man and a woman. If that were the case, then there's really no problem. It's his right to feel that way. But the outrage isn't because of his personal beliefs. It's about what he has said his entire company (and as a result, the thousands of people he employs) represents. Beyond that, it's the fact that he's donated quite a bit to some extreme conservative groups like the Family Research Council (FRC) which is an organization that fiercely opposes same-sex marriage and some have gone as far as to label it a "hate group."
That's why there's nothing wrong with Menino's letter and position on Chick-Fil-A. Same Sex Marriage is legal in this state and has been for nearly a decade. Massachusetts is a place that's not only tolerant, but supportive of gay rights. Menino is speaking out against an entire corporation (in the words of their CEO) , not an individual, which opposes the legal right to same sex marriage that all Bay State residents have. What's more than that, is Dan Cathy supports groups like FRC which are fighting to take that right away from same sex couples in the Bay State and beyond. Menino was taking a stand against a company that, according to their CEO's words and actions, opposes some of the rights that MA residents have. Which is why Menino has every right to say what he did about Chick-Fil-A. Regardless of whether or not you agree with same-sex marriage, the mayor did the right thing by publicly criticizing a company that openly opposes (and funds groups that fight against) the legal rights that his constituents have.
The funny thing is that most people are not always aware of where the products they buy and consume come from. You could easily be wearing a shirt that was made in a sweatshop in Southeast Asia where young children are working crazy hours for little wages. Or you could be filling your car up with gas that came from a country that belittles women or homosexuals.
This is very true. See, the thing is when a company like Chick-fil-a upsets customers, it is extremely easy to just avoid their establishments. It's not like they manufacture random products, i.e., the Koch brothers, etc. You would think that a business that relies on walk-in customers would be more careful to not make political statements that might tick off customers.
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