Chick-fil-A University of Maryland petition wants restaurant off campus (how much, neighborhood)

[justtitans]

The latest salvo in the national debate over Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy's stance on same-sex marriage may be coming from the University of Maryland.

According to The Diamondback, the social chairwoman of the university's Pride Alliance is gathering signatures on a Change.org petition to have the fast food restaurant removed from the Stamp Student Union.

Really just because YOU don't agree with their views? For starters the CEO never said he was against gay marriage, he said he was for traditional marriage. So in essence, polygamists, incestuous people and other groups of people could be equally mad. It is being made out like he singled out gays, which he never even mentioned in his quote (nor does the organizations he support). Then even if you go on the premise that he is anti-gay, couldn't you argue that protesting his business make you anti-Christian?

But what I find unbelievable about this particular situation is that these individuals believe they can tell other people who they should and should not patronize. If you have an issue with them, just don't spend your money there. How hard is that?

[cittic10]

It is a student union.
If the students decide they don't want it there, for whatever reason, the students should have the right to give choke-fil-a the boot.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by pgtitans

But what I find unbelievable about this particular situation is that these individuals believe they can tell other people who they should and should not patronize. If you have an issue with them, just don't spend your money there. How hard is that?

Not so unbelievable. Christians do it all the time. Reminds me of a little debate going on in this state about a particular casino. Couldn't it be said that certain groups of Christians are trying to push their beliefs on others on whether or not they should have a casino to patronize? Couldn't Christians just avoid the casinos all the same and let those who want to go to the casinos have the freedom to do so? How hard is that?

I recall you got on my case about mentioning the Christian protests. How is this any different? Is it so unbelievable that the gay community or whoever wants to sign a petition to have Chik-Fil-A removed? Or is it only unbelievable because a group is at odds with a franchise that holds Christian beliefs? We can't have any double standards here.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

Not so unbelievable. Christians do it all the time. Reminds me of a little debate going on in this state about a particular casino. Couldn't it be said that certain groups of Christians are trying to push their beliefs on others on whether or not they should have a casino to patronize? Couldn't Christians just avoid the casinos all the same and let those who want to go to the casinos have the freedom to do so? How hard is that?

You must be really salty about that conversation huh? Are you really comparing a fast food restaurant to a casino? Does a fast food restaurant in a student union pose a risk of bringing down a local neighborhood and the quality of life in it? Unless it does there is no comparison. Notice that my reasoning for not having the casino wasn't even strictly based on morality.

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

I recall you got on my case about mentioning the Christian protests. How is this any different? Is it so unbelievable that the gay community or whoever wants to sign a petition to have Chik-Fil-A removed? Or is it only unbelievable because a group is at odds with a franchise that holds Christian beliefs? We can't have any double standards here.

Yes it is unbelievable because the basis of their protest is inaccurate. They are basing this off the fact that they believe he opposed gay marriage. If you look at his statement, he never said anything about gay marriage and the organization that he support aren't directly opposing gay marriage. This is just a creation of media hype. If he came out and directly addressed gay marriage, then this might be a little bit of a story, but the fact that he serves and hire gays contradicts the notion that he is somehow 'anti-gay'. Just because he doesn't agree with certain things doesn't mean he's against them.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by cittic10

It is a student union.
If the students decide they don't want it there, for whatever reason, the students should have the right to give choke-fil-a the boot.

They can, don't patronize the establishment. The fact that the student union leader came out and said that it is one of their most profitable business speaks to how much the general campus population feels about their views.

[gibbsnm]

Originally Posted by cittic10

It is a student union.
If the students decide they don't want it there, for whatever reason, the students should have the right to give choke-fil-a the boot.

Exactly. People only seem to have a problem with folks petitioning when it's against something that they personally believe in or agree with. That seems to be human nature and unfortunately it happens on all sides. I happen to deeply disagree with Dan Cathy's views, and therefore as an individual I choose not to patronize his establishment. It seems to me the students should have the right to collectively decide if they no longer want Chick-Fil-A to have a presence at their student union. If they don't get enough support then the petition won't pass. But that doesn't mean those who are for the petition shouldn't be active participants about something that they strongly believe in. If the petition fails, at least they know they tried. I completely support Cathy's right to believe however he chooses and to support organizations that share his beliefs, even if they're different from mine. But I also support the rights of individuals and collective groups who choose to boycott the restaurant because of their own personal values and beliefs. It works both ways.

[rsh56]

I hate it when business and politics mix. CFA has good food, but they don't need to go out and share the world their views if they want business. They need to focus on making good food for the customers, not create a firestorm of controversy.

[molukai]

You know folks, this is exactly why our founding fathers created a presidential election system that is NOT based on popular vote. People are stupid as hell.

[phlinak]

Originally Posted by pgtitans

You must be really salty about that conversation huh? Are you really comparing a fast food restaurant to a casino? Does a fast food restaurant in a student union pose a risk of bringing down a local neighborhood and the quality of life in it? Unless it does there is no comparison. Notice that my reasoning for not having the casino wasn't even strictly based on morality.



Yes it is unbelievable because the basis of their protest is inaccurate. They are basing this off the fact that they believe he opposed gay marriage. If you look at his statement, he never said anything about gay marriage and the organization that he support aren't directly opposing gay marriage. This is just a creation of media hype. If he came out and directly addressed gay marriage, then this might be a little bit of a story, but the fact that he serves and hire gays contradicts the notion that he is somehow 'anti-gay'. Just because he doesn't agree with certain things doesn't mean he's against them.

Are you for real?

Are you really going to defend him when almost everyone who is following the controversy knows both his position and the organization's position?

Does the "fact" that he "does not directly oppose gay marriage" (whatever that's suppose to mean) somehow confuse you and leave you with doubts?

If you want to agree with him and defend him, then that's your right, but out of respect for the rest of us, please don't present what, at least on the surface, appears to be a disingenuous and bogus argument.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by phlinak

Are you for real?

Are you really going to defend him when almost everyone who is following the controversy knows both his position and the organization's position?

Does the "fact" that he "does not directly oppose gay marriage" (whatever that's suppose to mean) somehow confuse you and leave you with doubts?

If you want to agree with him and defend him, then that's your right, but out of respect for the rest of us, please don't present what, at least on the surface, appears to be a disingenuous and bogus argument.

Please read this, this is the interview in question:

Baptist Press - 'Guilty as charged,' Cathy says of Chick-fil-A's stand on biblical & family values - News with a Christian Perspective

Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company's position.

"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 operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. 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."

Please show me where in this exert or anywhere in the interview where he mentioned gays?

People are making this as though he is singling out gays. His views simply do not support gay marriage, but it also doesn't support polygamist, incestuous people or even bestial people, so where is the argument there?