No matter how you fry it, the Chick-Fil-A anti-gay squabble is turning into a drive-through, fast food media frenzy. You can pick and choose from among the combo meals or ala carte which piece of the argument you want to seize on. Freedom of speech, intolerance, bigotry. There’s an unhappy meal out there just for you.
One thing we’ve learned over the past few weeks is that Americans will go to bat over a deep-fried chicken sandwich, one many of us have never tasted. This is due less in part to the company president’s anti-gay beliefs and more in part due to the relative smallness of the chain (approximately 1,900 locations) and lack of one conveniently located near you.
But thanks to social media – Facebook, Twitter and the like – you can have the argument your way. Follow the tweets of one-time presidential candidate and long-time homophobe
Rick Santorum (@RickSantorum) as he retweets updates on long lines and packed parking lots full of anti-gay supporters on Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day.
Or watch one of the numerous
YouTube Chick-Fil-Gay spoofs, including how to make your own chicken sandwiches at home, without the hate, without the MSG. For the more activist-minded, there’s Eat Mor Equality to locate anti-Chick-Fil-A protests or report your own DIY kind. Think outside the bun for those.
Rebutting “hate chicken” tweets from mayor’s offices in cities like San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, DC and Boston calling out Chick-Fil-A and its anti-gay stance, former Alaska governor and one-time almost a heartbeat away from running this great country, Sarah Palin dined out with hubby Todd. After a rally for a Texas Tea Party candidate, Team Palin popped into the local Chick-Fil-A for a couple of bags of chicken and pickle sandwiches and waffle fries.
Some will see this photo of Palin, making its way around the interwebs, as giving a thumbs up for freedom of religion and speech. Others see it as a thumbs up for bigotry and discrimination. Take your pick. Either way the glass is half empty.
Source material and photo, courtesy of ABC News.
Kathy Drasky regularly writes about online culture. Her marketing and communications work with the ANZA Technology Network, Advance Global Australians and with various Australians and Australian enterprises has led to at least a dozen trips Down Under.
An accomplished digital photographer, her photos have appeared in 7×7 Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle and Google Schmap.
