Chick-fil-A Ban

That's like saying your vote does not count. It all adds up. By purchasing food at Chick-fil-A, you are supporting discrimination. You might as well be donating your money to the Klu Klux Klan.

As I see it, any person is entitled to their views/beliefs whatever they may be. I don't have to agree but i do have to respect their right to believe that way. As a gay former enlisted sailor I have fought for others right to be uninformed, lazy, believe what they want. This great country allows us to believe/choose/follow whatever religion we want. No other country does.
I saw some on here mention the 1st amendment, yes we have freedom of religion, press, speech and to peaceably assemble, however left out was that as long as they do not infringe on the rights of others.
Personally I could care less about Chick-fil-A. I have never been to one and will never go to one. I vote with my wallet every chance i get. I don't shop at WAL*Mart or Hobby Lobby and a host of other stores.
Thank you Jeff for keeping this topic open

Kevinj said:
That's like saying your vote does not count. It all adds up. By purchasing food at Chick-fil-A, you are supporting discrimination. You might as well be donating your money to the Klu Klux Klan.

My point is that the few cents they get out of me by eating there are more than offset by what I do with my free time and my wallet otherwise.

I just don't understand the reason to get all worked up by the fact that I like Chick-fil-a to eat. Just because the CEO is a bigot doesn't mean I am for eating there.

Like I said, to me it's not a one or the other proposition.

Also guys send an email to Cedar Point and voice your concerns over having such a close minded business in the park. Voicing your concern here is great since many people from CP actually do read these forums but sending an email to them directly sends a more direct message.

Oh, there have been discussions and letters. :) It is being debated. But more noise always helps.

Personally I never really cared for their food its not that great, If I want a fast food chicken sandwich ill go to Wendys.

Break Trims said:
In a perverse way, I'm glad that the CEO's bigoted statement was tossed into the public sphere. In a post-Citizens United landscape, where you spend your money has as much effect on public policy as your actual vote. Whatever your political preference, I'd advise doing your own research on the political activity of businesses you frequent. You might be surprised by what you find.

Enlightenment is rarely without pain, and that cheap sandwich will never taste quite as good if you know its proceeds fund the despicable, but being in control of your own purchasing power is worth the trade.

I agree with this in principle. Question is how far do you take it in practice. Most people patronize a number of different businesses in their day to day lives. How much time and energy does anyone want to invest (or even have time to invest) in finding out information about those businesses and the views of the owners/managers of those businesses. There is no easy answer to that.

In the end, people can complain all they want. Write all the letters they want. But what will ultimately make a difference is fewer people buying from Chick fil a at Cedar Point. Businesses will respond to complaints and letters. But what they respond best to are dollars.

tcgolfer said:
My point is that the few cents they get out of me by eating there are more than offset by what I do with my free time and my wallet otherwise.

A little bit of oppression is still oppression.

Just because the CEO is a bigot doesn't mean I am for eating there.

But it does mean that you're supporting bigotry.

If all I ever did was eat at Chick-fil-a and didn't donate my hard earned money elsewhere then I would agree with you. I get where you guys are coming from and like I said earlier I think it's wrong for not only Chick-fil-a but any corporation to being doing.

I just don't see the correlation as a one for one. Either way. I've enjoyed this debate so far.

When franchisees buy from Chic-fil-a, they know what they are getting into and they know the beliefs of the people who run the company.
The franchise I worked for, which was not Chik-fil-a, paid a percentage of their sales to corporate every year which went for advertising and whatever else corporate decided to do with that money, including donating to whichever causes corporate wanted to.
I feel no pity for a franchisee who may be hurt by a decline in sales due to the higher-ups at Chik-fil-a incorporated being such self-righteous bigots. Hopefully, with the franchisees' help, this policy of intolerance will be eliminated in the very near future. It seems that no matter what the religion or values, money ALWAYS wins when it comes to business.

Well, perhaps your "net" support works out in favor of same-sex marriage. But the point remains that you do support bigotry with your patronage of that place.

And if you simply took that chicken money and donated it along with your other pro-same-sex marriage donations, you'd be much more effective. Right now, you're basically buying gay carbon credits.

;)

There doesn't have to be a correlation, he is going to keep hammering his position that you support bigotry by eating there. Eventhough it's been brought up already that we all do at some point on time everyday.

djDaemon said:
Well, perhaps your "net" support works out in favor of same-sex marriage. But the point remains that you do support bigotry with your patronage of that place.

And if you simply took that chicken money and donated it along with your other pro-same-sex marriage donations, you'd be much more effective. Right now, you're basically buying gay carbon credits.

;)

That's a great way to put it actually.

The problem is that, unfortunately, I like their food too much. So my eating there 5 or 6 times a year is not likely to stop.

Corkscrew Follies said:
...he is going to keep hammering his position that you support bigotry by eating there.

Well, that's because it's true. :)

Even though it's been brought up already that we all do at some point on time everyday.

I do keep tabs on where I spend my money, and do what I can to spend it in morally-positive ways. Am I perfect in that endeavor? Of course not, but I do try.

And I'd be surprised if I do, as you claim, support bigotry "every day". Prove it.

Knowledge is very powerful. The more informed one becomes, the fewer mistakes he will make. People need to pay more attention to what they are spending their money on so they know where their hard earned dollars are going. Hopefully, this topic has educated a few people of how important the decisions they make in their day to day life impact others and maybe even themselves.
Walking into a restaurant and spending a few bucks on a chicken dinner may seem harmless, but hopefully, knowing that some of your money is going to harm people will keep you, though indirectly, from contributing to hateful causes.

Again, how far do you take it? Do you know the labor policies, environmental policies, civic policies, etc. of every business that you patronize? How about those policies of all of their respective suppliers and service providers? How much time and effort do you put into finding that information?

You take it as far as you possibly can. In the case of Chic-fil-a, it is pretty easy to buy food elsewhere.

This isn't about knowing what every business is about or what they support. That's a straw man argument. We know what this company is about, because their executives have made it quite clear and public. Ignorance isn't bliss here, it's just ignorant. Giving them money, to me, knowing what they're about, is a fine line from endorsement.

So you do research on every business that you patronize? And you ask them to identify their suppliers and service providers and you research them as well? And you do the same for their suppliers and service providers? And so on?

I agree that with respect to Chik fil a, there are a lot of other options. But how do you know those other options don't have their own moral issues?

From a business perspective, this restaurant is becoming less of an asset to Cedar Fair with each day that goes by and the more people who know how restaurant treats certain people, the less valuable they become to Cedar Fair.