I’m not sure that I get the outrage. Of course, I’m on the other side of the Atlantic.
From the articles, they’re donating to groups that promote heterosexuality and the nuclear family. Is gay-bashing the primary activity of these groups? Or do they concentrate on promoting heterosexuality and the nuclear family, with a gay-bashing fringe?
I don’t know about those groups specifically, but, in general, groups that claim that goal are really about discouraging homosexuality. Names for organizations usually take a positive name over here. Compare pro-life instead of anti-abortion.
EDIT: I guess I should say anti-gay marriage rather than anti-gay. It is when same sex marriage became possible that these groups started popping up all over the place.
Admittedly Chik-fil-A does have a different atmosphere from a lot of other fast food places. I have never encountered a rude employee, a dirty restaurant or witnessed unpleasant behavior on the part of customers at a Chik-fil-A restaurant. I’ve found the experience to be pretty pleasant compared to other fast food restaurants. Are you uncomfortable in other happy and pleasant environments or just this one?
I ate at a Chik-fil-A once and couldn’t stop shitting and puking until I went to the ER. They did the “where/what have you eaten in the last 48 hours” and they traced it back to bad hygiene practices by the employees at the Chik-fil-A.
Yup. E-coli all over food handling/prep areas.
So my message to Chik-fil-A:
“Why don’t y’all take some of the energy and effort you expend on hating on teh gay, and apply it towards some BASIC FUCKING HYGIENE?”
It’s not just you. I used to go quite a bit, because it’s nearby and the kids like it. After a few visits, you notice that whenever you say “thank you” to an employee, they respond, “My pleasure!” It got to the point that whenever they said that, I’d have a mental image of a Chick Fil A Employee Reeducation Center, where they monitor trainee speech constantly, and anyone who says “You’re Welcome” gets jolted with a cattle prod.
Seriously, it makes me sad that they can’t just be “Yay Jesus,” but have to go out of their way to fund a hate group (Family Research Council) and anti-gay organizations, because they really do offer excellent customer service, along with a nice place for the kids to play when it’s rainy. They even recently introduced kids meals with grilled chicken nuggets and other healthy options. Why do they have to be evil?!
No, I’m just a miserable son of a bitch who hates happiness. :dubious:
Like I said, it’s that Chik-Fil-A is Stepford-esque, where the saccharine pleasantness is over the top and, to me, fake and forced. There’s a Japanese chain here in town with Biblical verses on the walls and which closes on Sunday, but I go and eat there because I don’t feel like I’m stepping into Creepy Christian County. I go to other restaurants with genuinely cheerful employees and I like eating at those places and chatting with the employees and such. There’s a place in town that I loved going to because the employees so clearly loved working there, and as management changed and the pleasant atmosphere died down, I find myself going less and less. But Chik-Fil-A’s pleasantness doesn’t seem genuine, or at least it’s a pleasantness that wasn’t intended for me, being a single childless male without blond hair and blue eyes and a fish on my car’s bumper.
And again, I acknowledge that could be entirely my own projection. I still don’t really want to eat there any more.
Apologies if my poorly worded post led you to believe that I was the sole case of gastroenteritis in the predominantly rural county this particular eastablishment was.
Looking over my (admitedly hastily posted) original post, I can easily see how anyone reading it might think that I told the ER people that I had just eaten at a Chik-fil-A the day before, and that they had immediately launched an investigation on my say-so and closed down the restaurant the very next day.
I couldn’t say how many, if any, cases came in that night. I wouldn’t even say that my case was investigated at all. I was visiting from out-of-town (working, actually) when it happened, and one of my coworkers (who was local) emailed me a few months later, after I had moved on to a different project site, about that particular restaurant because it made the local news.
He made sure to mention to me that the news had reported that they were investigated due to cases of food poisoning at local hospitals that were traced back to that particular restaurant.
Don’t give a fuck either way. I don’t eat their much (I can’t remember the last time, actually) but I also won’t go out of my way not to eat there either. If I boycotted every company whose donations I disagreed with, I wouldn’t buy anything anywhere.
I certainly agree that no one should ever spend their money at any establishment, business or industry that might slight strong-held beliefs. Voting with dollars may not be efficient, but it at least can affect corporate decisions at some point while providing a sense of satisfaction for doing the right thing.
I’d eat there more often, but the drive-through line at lunchtime usually winds all the way around the building and into the parking area. I only get an hour for lunch, I don’t want to spend 40 minutes in line. I guess the boycott isn’t working around these parts.
They also have sugar-free lemonade which is delicious.
I don’t eat there because I’m not much impressed with the sandwich, but the boycott makes a good back up reason.
As for the quoted text - you could park your car and go inside. You’d save time, gas, and get a bit of exercise. It seems like most places don’t have a lot of counter business at lunch.
People waiting in a long drive-thru line is one of my puzzlements. I got stuck at Sonic once (where the nice people will bring the food to your car) when I (foolishly) parked in a slot next to the building and the drive thru line backed up and blocked me in. I’m not even sure why Sonic has a drive-thru.