There’s a new set of alarming memes going around social media warning of the dangers of eating at Chick-fil-A. According to one, to eat a single golden waffle fry is to betray the entire LGBTQ community. It is a “test” of allyship.
Baloney. Anytime someone tells you a single action is a litmus test of your loyalty to their cause, they’re more concerned with loyalty than the cause.
This is true whether the maker of the litmus test comes from the right or the left.
Mark Wingfield
Normally, it’s conservative evangelicals who are first in line for boycotts of companies and products they find offensives. See the Southern Baptist Convention’s failed boycott of Disney as Exhibit A. I’m old enough to remember when evangelicals boycotted all manner of TV shows back in the days when we had only three major networks to watch. Those didn’t work either.
The bottom line is that boycotts of companies over social issues seldom work in the modern era. In fact, they typically backfire.
Disney actually increased its revenues and influence while the SBC touted its boycott. And Chick-fil-A’s revenues and influence have continually increased despite a boycott for its alleged discriminatory practices against LGBTQ persons.
One of the reasons such boycotts don’t work is that they castigate companies for one area of concern while ignoring the more prevalent good done by those companies. You may think Disney is promoting “the gay agenda” but miss the good that comes to hundreds of thousands of people who are employed by Disney and are able to feed and clothe and house their families because of that income. You may miss the joy brought to children and families by the mainly heteronormative characters in Disney movies and theme parks.
Likewise, you may be angered to know the WinShape Foundation that is funded by profits from the sale of Chick-fil-A sandwiches has in the past funded organizations that are hostile to LGBTQ persons while overlooking the fact that Chick-fil-A employs tens of thousands of teenagers of all sexual orientations and races and socio-economic backgrounds who gain skills and even college educations through their employment. By the way, do a Google search for this controversy and you’ll find that most of the “data” cited is more than 10 years old.
And just as Disney doesn’t hang out a sign that says “Only Rainbow People Allowed,” neither does Chick-fil-A hang out a sign that says “No Gays Allowed.”
“Boycotting Disney or Chick-fil-A might make you feel morally superior for a while but if you’re not willing to boycott every other company guilty of the same sins, you’re not a true cultural warrior.”
Like most all of us, these companies are a mixture of good and bad, saint and sinner. But what company isn’t? Boycotting Disney or Chick-fil-A might make you feel morally superior for a while but if you’re not willing to boycott every other company guilty of the same sins, you’re not a true cultural warrior. You’re a warrior of convenience.
If you’re going to boycott Chick-fil-A, why not boycott Home Depot, AT&T, Hobby Lobby, Exxon, Walmart and many other companies that have a history of either discriminating against LGBTQ employees and/or funding anti-gay politicians while claiming they are allies of the LGBTQ community?
Chick-fil-A is merely a convenient target for activists on the left, just as Disney is a convenient target for activists on the right.
Most importantly, these boycotts miss the bigger point, where change actually can happen. The National LGBTQ Task Force explains on its website that the action against Chick-fil-A “indirectly spotlights a broader harsh reality facing millions of LGBT people: In many places in the country, we can be fired or denied employment simply because of who we are or who we love. Talk about hostile.”
It adds: “Imagine heading to work each day fearing it could be your last simply because a supervisor or colleague didn’t approve of you being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender; if they were appalled that you just married your same-sex partner, or that your family doesn’t look exactly like theirs. This is the reality for millions of LGBT people, whether we work at a fast-food joint or a five-star restaurant; whether we are in the service industry or finance; whether we are a check-out clerk or a high-level manager.”
“There’s an easy fix to this problem that cannot be ordered to go at Chick-fil-A or found in an amusement park ride.”
And there’s an easy fix to this problem that cannot be ordered to go at Chick-fil-A or found in an amusement park ride: Federal legislation that protects LGBTQ persons in employment, housing and medical care.
Quoting from the National LGBTQ Task Force again: “Despite overwhelming public support for such protections, legislation continues to languish in Congress leaving millions of LGBT people and our families vulnerable to discrimination and hostile work environments and compounding the stress and strain of trying to maintain a living in a tough economy. … It is still legal in 29 states to fire someone based on their sexual orientation, and in 34 states based on their gender identity or expression.”
That is an issue that transcends Chick-fil-A. And as the task force notes, reports of discrimination by Chick-fil-A employees vary widely from location to location — just as they do at every other company in America. It has more to do with local managers than corporate policy.
True allies of the LGBTQ community would be better off saving their breath claiming the Popeye’s chicken sandwich is better — it is not — and instead work to get Congress out of its gridlock to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Respect for Marriage Act and the Equal Rights Amendment. All these are currently blocked by Republicans in the Senate.
Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz are a far greater threat to the LGBTQ community than any chicken sandwich. If you want to boycott someone, boycott them and all politicians who won’t pass legislation to protect basic rights for LGBTQ persons — especially those hypocritical elected officials who have queer children of their own and vote against them. That’s just plain old chicken.
Mark Wingfield serves as executive director and publisher of Baptist News Global. He is the author of Why Churches Need to Talk About Sexuality.
Related articles:
As a progressive pastor, I take my stands. Boycotting Chick-fil-A isn’t one of them | Opinion by Russ Dean
Letter to the Editor: SBC should not repeat the mistake of the 1997 Disney boycott | Opinion by James Tippins
Gov. DeSantis should learn a lesson from Southern Baptists about taking on Disney | Opinion by Rodney Kennedy