The daughter unit was working today, so we waited and had late-lunch, early dinner. The local Chick-fil-A nearest us was jammed, even more than it was last Saturday, and the line of cars for the drive-through window went around the building, through the parking lot of the business next to it, out to the access road through the shopping center, down the access road to the highway access road. The cashier told us that at lunch today, the line went all the way to the Costco, about a third of a mile away.
The crowd inside was very laid-back, comfortable and courteous: lots of families with children, and a fair number of senior citizens. We stood in line with a young Air Force couple who had just returned from a tour at Misawa AB, Japan – where my daughter was born. And we shared a table with a radiology tech who also ran a small legal clinic in company with a lawyer friend. He turned out to be a Tea Partier from away back, and we reminisced about what fun it was, that first big rally at the Alamo, and the 2009 4th of July bash at the Rio Cibolo Ranch.
It turned out that we had come at a good time, for about the time that we had our food, the line of people waiting to get in was all the way out the door and the length of the building, which is a mild hardship in the hottest part of the day. Most people were getting take-out, so there were enough tables for the eat-in crowd. There were a lot of people taking pictures and texting on their cellphones, so I presume that at least a third of them were tweeting, blogging and updating their Facebook status. Hurrah for social media! I did not see any local news media when we were there, although the San Antonio Express News did have a story – along with a number of rather graceless and totally point-missing comments appended to it, the most risible being that by commenter ‘txex06’ who sneered, “Morons with nothing better to do. I am sure most of these people will stand in line for fried chicken, but will not stand in line to vote.” Unfortunately for that commenter’s thesis, those people who came out in 100+ heat to stand in line and jam the premises of a chicken sandwich franchise are the ones who will indeed stand in line to vote – in November, just as they did on Tuesday, in a primary which handed victories to candidates like Ted Cruz and Dr. Donna Campbell — who were favored by Tea Partiers.
Perhaps that is why commenters like txex06 are so grumpy; you don’t need the weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing.
That is great! I don’t think the CEO feels beleaguered now ;-)
You can’t buy that kind of advertising.
I’m hungry.
Maybe the CEO out to ask Rahm to open his mouth again!
Apparantly, the effect of a similar uproar over the CEO of Wholefoods Market talking about Obabamcare and its bad effects, has resulted in a multiyear stock price boom for the company.
The Chick fil A effect may also be lasting.
Is it that people care about gay marriage, or is it that people are fed up of being bullied by the Forces of Progress?
…although the San Antonio Express News did have a story – along with a number of rather graceless and totally point-missing comments appended to it, the most risible being that by commenter ‘txex06”² who sneered, “Morons with nothing better to do. I am sure most of these people will stand in line for fried chicken, but will not stand in line to vote.”
I suspect that when commenter txex06‘s prediction is put to the test in November, we will find that a very high percentage of those who deliberately made a political point by purchasing at CFA will have voted.
Dearieme – you have hit on something here. There are a lot of people, I feel that are tired of being bullied by the PC legions. Of course this flap about the Chick Fil-A owner doesn’t really have much to do with the actual subject of gay marriage at all – it really is about the First Amendment and THAT is what pisses me off. I just don’t see why everyone gets all worked up about things like this – just vote with your pocketbook and live your life, I say.
But the left and their minions in the MSM will demonize the Chick Fil-A owners, of course, because they are not PC.
I don’t begrudge businesses their right to place those dumb “no guns allowed” signs in their door, but I will never patronize them. To me, this and the owner of Chick Fil-A’s statements and their results are similar.
In just a few months, nobody will remember this. Nobody even remembers the BP boycotts.
If any government can deny a business a license to operate because its owners have exercised their first amendment rights then we are living under tyranny already, and it can strike at any time. This is actually an insane position for the Left to take. If this is allowed, then anyone can play, right? Can we say that PC attitudes are not our local values, and deny business licenses to people with Lefty bumper stickers on their Volvos? Can we deny licenses to abortion mills because they do not reflect our local moral values? If not, why not? Gay people are only about 3% of the population. What if majorities in a community wanted to deny business licenses to openly gay business owners, because that reflected their values?
There is no logical stopping point for this, and the other side is at least as exposed.
How does defending the family taste? Like chicken.
L.C – I like your brand of humor!
Dearime, it’s not about gay marriage on either side. The little fascists who started this fight have smiled and welcomed Muslims who oppose gay marriage as they would oppose marriage between any two people they would execute if given the chance, and the fascists didn’t do that out of any theological sympathy with Muslims or ideological opposition to gays. Rahm’s Chicago Values have nothing to do with God or sex or green energy or Israel and the Palestinians or anything else besides (1) Give me money (2) Get me votes.
If anyone saw the video the jerk posted of driving up to the car window at Chick a fil and berating the girl server about the owner’s comments on gay marriage, you might be interested to learn he lost his job. Being a publicity seeking jerk can be expensive. The U of Arizona, where he was an adjunct instructor (like Obama was), has also disowned him .
If you haven’t seen the video, you can see it here . The girl is quite poised and should be rewarded. He thought he would be famous. Notice how he insists he is not gay. Very courageous.
MK as someone on one of the blogs I frequent -said, “Considering the fact that his former firm, Vante, makes catheters, you’d have thought they’d have been able to tell he was a pr@ck when he interviewed.
These days I think if you want to be an ass the whole world can know quickly!
The blindness of his behavior is startling. Did he think he was immune to consequences ? The gay marriage folks are losing it. I watched Leo Terrell on Hannity last night. He is an actor, of course, but he really doesn’t notice that black churches contributed the majority of votes to pass Prop 8 in California. Terrell has to know that but he is on a roll.
UPDATE update. I went to Chick fil A for lunch today. I had heard that it was to be “kiss in day” for lesbians so I figured the crowds would be down. No luck. Jammed. There were about 30 cars in line and about 100 in the restaurant. Good chicken salad sandwich, though.
Spread that tape around.
He gives the game away in his comments before driving up. It is all about feeling good about himself. He is a selfish pig flying the banner of altruism. Isn’t that what being a leftist is all about?
Lex: What if majorities in a community wanted to deny business licenses to openly gay business owners, because that reflected their values?
It wasn’t so long ago that majorities in some parts of the country enforced racial segregation. People who want to use state power to punish other people whom they dislike are playing with fire. One might think the activist Left, as a collection of minorities, would appreciate this point. Unfortunately, some people have no sense of irony or history, or of the degree to which their parasitical politics is possible only in a tolerant society.
There was an interesting discussion a few weeks ago on the Roissy blog about how feminists and leftists use phrases such as “wow, just wow” to shut down arguments they’re losing. The same point applies to “hate” and “haters”. However, people on the target end of such rhetorical tricks (“racist!”) are increasingly wise to them and the rhetoric seems to be losing its potency as a tool of intimidation.
I must compliment you all on your bravery. Giving it all up in defense of liberty and freedom. By eating a sandwich. I’m in awe. Was it a _whole_ sandwich? Were you men and women enough to order fries too?
Rosa Parks and Nelson Mandela stand aside. The chicken eaters are here.
JSDenton,
I take it you support big-city pols who threaten to deny business licenses to companies they disapprove of. If that is not your position, why are you mocking citizens who have found an effective way to make their opposition to the pols known? If that is your position it is no different morally from that of race segregationists. No wonder you resort to an ad hominem diversion rather than make a logical argument for your position.
Yep, JS – I had a whole sandwich! And waffle fries, too … sometimes my courage astounds myself, but then I am a modest person.