Obviously, the big news this week was the Chick-fil-A war. Here are some links to the best of what I’ve seen on the subject. I’ve also included some other stuff to provide perspective on why I think this is a big deal.
1. Dan Cathy, president of Chick-fil-A, confirms his opposition to marriage equality.
You can start with the Baptist Press interview, then read more and watch the video here. And if you want to read something cringe-worthy, check out this LA Times article. (What had my eyes popping was the part where it says that companies supporting gay rights are also under fire, citing the examples of Oreo and JC Penney. Excuse me while I scream. Neither JC Penney nor Kraft has donated money to any hate groups, have they? I hardly think it’s a fair comparison.)
2. Rachel Held Evans, Slacktivist, and John Shore respond.
RHE is good, as always. I linked to her post the other day, but she’s worth a second mention. Shore’s post is a bit snarky for my taste, but I know some of you will get a kick out of it. (And for those of you who don’t care for sarcasm, please just don’t read it.) Fred Clark does an excellent job explaining just what the problem is and why it should matter to us. (He also has a series of related posts, just browse his blog for them.)
3. Family Research Council
One of the reasons so many people are up in arms over the Chick-fil-A thing is that Dan Cathy is known to donate corporate dollars to organizations such as the Family Research Council. The Southern Poverty Law Center certified FRC as a hate group back in 2010. Now, before anyone gets all huffy about that, it should be noted that they don’t call organizations hate groups just for holding the opinion that homosexuality is a sin. The problem with FRC (and other groups) is that they spread outright lies about LGBT people, including that they are pedophiles.
4. In other news…
These posts from around the web should give you a good idea why this matters to me:
NJ Bed & Breakfast Owners Rip Lesbian Mom on Facebook, Tell Her God Invented AIDS to Punish ‘Queers’
We Are Not Arguing Over Chicken
Gay Nebraska woman tied up, mutilated in hate-crime assault, police say
Hate crime suspected after gay man burned by firebombing in Oklahoma
Louisville Girl Attacked By Adult, Allegedly Victim Of Anti-Gay Hate Crime [UPDATE]
I don’t swear a whole lot (at least, I try not to). But after reading about all of the above, my only reaction was to say, “Shit.” This, right here, is why I care so much. This is why I blog about it. This is why I tell my friends and family as often as I can, in as many ways as I can, how much I love them. This is why I stand alongside them to fight the hate. It takes a special kind of person to be unmoved by news that yet another LGBT teen has taken his or her life; that yet another LGBT person has been beaten, stabbed, raped, or threatened; that another LGBT person has been denied a job, a home, or a family simply because of who they are. You can pretend that “love the sinner, hate the sin” is “biblical,” but when you look the other way when someone faces this kind of hate and prejudice, you’re actually failing at the “love” part.
Let’s get out there and make this world better, people.
