Chick-fil-A’s presence ruffles some feathers

Chick-fil-A continues to be a source of controversy, and it may retain that stigma when it arrives on campus in the fall.

    The fast food restaurant has become a buzz phrase as students debate aspects of its policies — particularly the company's alleged lack of environmental consciousness and connection to the religious-based organization, Focus on the Family.

    When I read that Chick-fil-A was given a spot in the future renovated food court in the Student Union, I was rather disillusioned. I guess if someone wants a chicken sandwich, then they should get their chicken sandwich, ethics be damned.

    It's not really an issue of the environmentalism, because realistically, fast food chains by nature use more "single-use" items (plastic silverware, drink cups, etc.), which are often considered the devil of environmentalism.

    Rather, the real issue is the one that gets everyone's panties in a wad - the issue of the restaurant chain's affiliation with Focus on the Family, which has a strong stance for the biblical definition of marriage. Founder James Dobson has made outrageous claims such as "most gays and lesbians do not want to marry each other ... The intention here is to destroy marriage altogether." This quote can be found on Focus on the Family's Africa branch website under the title, "Marriage on the ropes."

    However, is it really fair to give Chick-fil-A the nasty end of the stick because they support an organization that reflects "Christian right" morals? What about all the good things Focus on the Family does?

    Hypothetically, with a choice between Chick-fil A and Restaurant X, where Restaurant X either donates to a secular family-help organization or gives money to no organization, I would hope we would choose Restaurant X. The anti-homosexual agenda in this country is completely absurd, and lives heavily through religious means. I've never met a secular person who is against homosexuality.

    I hope this is an issue I hope Generation Y will make null. This feat can be accomplished by stifling the very funds that support anti-homosexual efforts. In our case, Chick-fil-A, which even though it may not sell homophobia-laced waffle fries, is acting unreasonably by funding an organization whose values belong in the 1950s. I hope others join me in refusing to support the restaurant when it arrives.

    But that hypothetical situation is exactly that — hypothetical — because FGCU has decided to put Chick-fil-A on campus when we easily could have chosen another fast food chain that serves chicken sandwiches (hint: there are many).

    "Yeah. I'd like one No. 6, and hey, do you think you could tell my wife here to stop whoring herself out? In the meantime I'm going to watch ‘V for Vendetta' again."