Governments should not have the authority to ban a business
based on their expressed religious and personal beliefs. It is against the laws of our country, and
what America stands for, to discriminate against someone and their business
solely on their beliefs, and that is exactly what is being done to Chik-Fil-A. Boston
mayor
Thomas
Menino has expressed Chik-Fil-A is not welcomed there. When the government bans something you like
for no reason except that they disagree with it on personal and
religious standards, you feel a just amount of anger. You feel what it is like to be
persecuted. You feel what it is like to
have a tyrannical authority take away your rights and freedoms.
Those that support Chik-Fil-A have begun to experience this. Those who support Chik-Fil-A have a reason to
feel anger, and oppose what the government is doing. What they may not notice, though, is they now
share a feeling with the homosexual community.
That which is being done to Chik-Fil-A in a city or two, is being done
to homosexual couples all over America. Only
a few states grant equal rights and freedom, for homosexual couples. They are being persecuted on a far greater
level than Chik-Fil-A. So if you support
Chik-Fil-A and want to know the anger that supporters of the homosexual
community feel, multiply the anger you are feeling by 10,000 and you will begin
to feel what this community feels.
I hope the day comes sooner rather than later, that people
will realize their personal and religious beliefs cannot be used to control
other people's lives. We need to adopt
tolerance, and abandon hate. Yes, some
people live lives that contradict what you think is right, but as long as they
are not hurting anyone, you have to just let them be. That is something everyone has to
embrace.
Dammit, typed a long reply and lost it. I don't have the patience to do it again, so will just say Menino did not ban, or even threaten to ban, Chick-fil-A. I read his letter and it was nothing but political grandstanding, urging Chick-fil-A to get bent. Mayors enjoy First Amendment protections as well, including the right to tell despicable people to go screw themselves.
ReplyDeleteWe should also pay close attention to not only the Cathy family's expressed opinions but their actions, and the actions of the hate groups they fund. Yes, they are free to say they hate gays and don't think they should enjoy equal protection under the law, but they are not free from the consequences of expressing that opinion and especially not from acting on it if and when they practice discriminatory hiring and firing practices -- which there's some evidence they do.
That said, I basically agree with you, Menino, even if he had the authority to do so, shouldn't ban Chick-fil-A. What he should do is make sure the citizens of his city understand what the money they spend at Chick-fil-A contributes to so they can make an informed decision about whether or not they want to spend their hard-earned money on those particular over-rated chicken sandwiches.
Derrrr, I guess instead of typing a long reply in the first place, I could've just referenced my earlier blog post on this topic :P
DeleteYes, I understand they weren't quite banned from there, but it could be very difficult for Chik-Fil-A to receive a permit to build there. I wrote this basically in response to supporters of Chik-Fil-A only focusing on that part of what is going on, and trying to show them what it feels like for the homosexual community. It is my attempt to persuade others to open up their minds. I also read your post and left a comment there. And thanks for the follow.
ReplyDelete