The Nonsense

I saw the this post and had to respond. Read the post or you won't be able to follow along. What follows was taken directly from another thread that I posted it too, so if the tense and nouns sound like I'm speaking to someone specific, I apologize for having missed it. I made every effort to edit it in a way that is appropriate for this forum.

This has got to be the most ignorant take on what happened yesterday that I've ever read, and I've read a lot of ignorant things in the last 24 hours.


I realize that what happened yesterday is a lot like what happened during Occupy Wall Street. Ask 100 CFA goers why they are there and you'll get 100 different answers, so it's impossible for me to say what the whole of what went on yesterday, but that also means it's impossible for anyone to say what went on yesterday, including Mr Turner.

I went yesterday because I like fried chicken, I was curious to see how events would transpire (not trusting the media, facebook users, or bloggers to paint an accurate picture), and I think Chick-fil-a is an excellent employer that treats it's employees, franchisees, and patrons with respect and I wanted to support that. Since I actually went, I can say that what I've seen in the news, on facebook and twitter, and on blogs, including this one, is not an accurate representation of what happened yesterday or what happens between gays and the Church. I am assuming here, and forgive me if I'm wrong, but my guess is that Mr Turner did not go and does not know what happened, and that he only knows what he's been told by the news media.

No one mentioned homosexuals. No one mentioned marriage. No one had signs except one protester who was asked to leave by mall security for disturbing the peace by shouting offensive language at mall goers. No one but mall security engaged with the protester. No one applauded when he was escorted off Simon Mall property.

We have been fed a lie in this country. If you disagree with someone, you hate them and that the only way to love someone is to agree with them and ignore their imperfections. Ignoring sin is the opposite of love. Because Jesus loved us, he tells us that what we are doing is wrong and that it will not be tolerated (we should be careful to not confuse love with acceptance).

This has absolutely nothing to do with marriage or anyone's political or religious view of marriage. It has everything to with a business having the right to do business as they please and where they please. No one talked about a CFA Day until a few homosexuals (that I do not believe represent the whole of the community) started looking for a reason to get on TV and the mayors of Boston and Chicago threatened to deny Chick-fil-a their right to do business. CFA Day was in support of CFA's right to do business, not in support of their stance on the family, which is what Cathy's statement was actually about.

To address specifics in the post:

Point 1) My eating chicken yesterday didn't do anything to love/hate anyone because it had absolutely nothing to do with that. I had a chicken sandwich. Would not eating there have shown the gay community love? If so, how?

Point 2) I am not in control of peoples of feelings. I support a person's right to file their taxes jointly (that's all a legal marriage in this country is) with whomever they please, and yet, because I am a Christian, I hate gays. I can't control the fact that people feel that way towards me, and I'm not concerned with changing it. I am responsible for my actions and mine alone. This is a libertarian principle and a Biblical one. If the actions I DO take to show Christ's love to the gays in my life (note that my presence at CFA yesterday does not mean I have done nothing in the past or presently to show love, as this blogger seems to forget) are not sufficient enough for the gay community, that is not my problem. I am responsible for my actions and feelings and am responsible for making sure that Christ and I are good, which we are. According to the blogger, someone feeling that you hate them is not Christ like, even though the Pharisees and Sadducees likely felt that Jesus hated them, assuming that being disagreed with is what it feels like to be hated, as Mr Turner and the media have implied

Point 3) What issue? The issue that CFA has the right to do business and the mayors of Boston and Chicago would like to deny them that right? Who did I put that above? Seeing as this has absolutely nothing to do with homosexuality and everything to do with the rights of individuals (gays included) and businesses, how did I put this issue above a gay person? Did the gays who support CFA's right to do business yesterday put some made up issue above other gays?

Openly gay YouTube sensation Antoine Dodson (of Auto Tune The News' Bed Intruder) supports CFA and attended CFA Day at his local store.

Point 4) Who built that wall? According to this blogger and the media, the Church did. According to the majority of church goers who are not concerned at all with who you file your taxes with as well as many other gay people who love their church going friends, the media, blog sphere, and the few gays who like to seek attention have erected this wall so they can sell ad space and get on TV, which is exactly what is happening. Dan Cathy (COO of Chick-fil-a, not CEO of Chick-fil-a) answered a question in a baptist magazine about his support of traditional marriage. Homosexuality was never mentioned in the article. I've read the whole thing. No stance against anything was mentioned. I support traditional families, that does not mean I am anti non-traditional families. Cathy may very well be anti non-traditional marriage, but he has never stated so publicly, at least not that I can find, and certainly not in the interview that started all of this.

The interview in question.

No where in the interview did Cathy take a anti gay stance. It was those claiming to represent the gay community, the media, and the blog sphere who read an interview, found a snippet, and twisted it into a weapon of intolerance and hatred towards the Cathy family and Chick-fil-a.

Point 5) This point is really just Point 1 drawn out into more paragraphs, so there's no need to address it further.

The problem here is not the Church. It's not the gay community, as I'm sure the vast majority of gays really don't care what the Cathy's believe. The problem is the ill informed attention getters, like Mr Turner. The hate is not there.Where the hate is actually coming from is not the Church, but those claiming to represent the Church, similar to how the gays who are screaming and shouting about it do not represent the gay community as far as I can tell. I know two gay people. They know my stance. They know I don't hate them. They know the Church doesn't hate them. They know the Church disagrees with them and they are fine with that. They know Chick-fil-a doesn't hate them. They know the Cathy's probably don't hate them, or at the very least won't refuse to employ them or serve them delicious fried chicken between bread. The only gays who think they're being hated are the ones who depend on the news media and ignorant bloggers to tell them what to think. Gays who actually know Christians know that a disagreement, not hate, is what is happening.

Those who actually bothered to ask people who attended a CFA Day know that gay marriage was not why they were there. We were there to support CFA's right to do business in any city that they are able to meet city ordinance requirements, which includes Chicago and Boston. Again, I can't possibly know the intentions of every single person who showed their support yesterday. I can't even speak for Mike Huckabee, the man who declared August 1 Chick-fil-a day. I can vouch for the people I was around and who I spoke with about the event. This is about freedom to do business, not oppression of two dudes tax status with each other. If you look around you and stop looking at Scott Pelly, Mike Huckabee, Sean Hannity, and Piers Morgan for an opinion on what others believe, you'll see it too.