Chicken sandwiches don’t discriminate against the stomachs they fill, but Associated Students Inc. begs to differ.
ASI recently announced that it is working to end Chick-fil-A’s California State University, Long Beach athletic department scholarship on charges that the food chain discriminates against the gay community and gay marriage.
This claim is false; furthermore, the resolution promotes a violation of religious freedom.
The initial controversy with Chick-fil-A began in the summer of 2012, when the chicken sandwich chain’s President and Chief Operating Officer Dan Cathy took a definitive stance on marriage.
“We are very much supportive of the family – the biblical definition of the family unit,” Cathy said, according to the Atlantic in Jul. 2012. “We are a family-owned business, a family-led business and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.”
The company also supported the passage of Proposition 8, the California ban on same-sex marriage that has since been struck down, according to the Atlantic in Sept. 2014.
Since Cathy’s statement about gay marriage, the chain has been criticized by progressive groups, activists, boycotters and petitioners with vehemence and indignation. These liberal groups branded Chick-fil-A as anti-gay and homophobic.
And now, ASI is buying into the same intolerant view.
Chick-fil-A does not discriminate against anyone. All who come are served well—gays very much included.
Since the company stresses philanthropy, they give plenty through the Winshape foundation—a charitable organization founded by the Cathys in 1982. They support foster-care, summer camps, and marriage counseling programs. Following their religious beliefs, Chick-fil-A gave much to Christian organizations as well. This isn’t hateful or discriminatory—it is an expression of religious freedom.
In an effort to distance themselves from the controversy and bad press in 2012, Cathy has since drastically reduced the company’s donations to the aforementioned Christian organizations, according to Think Progress.
Last week, some two years after Cathy’s decision to stay out of marriage politics, ASI has decided to break ties with Chick-fil-A.
If the president of Chick-fil-A does not agree with gay marriage, then as a community and campus that respects the ideal of religious freedom that is engrained in our nation’s blood, we should tolerate—if not respect—his decision.
By nature, “tolerating” something concedes that we don’t agree with it.
Furthermore, his viewpoint on marriage and the family is not an outrageous one. It is a view held currently by most of the world, and up until only a few decades ago, held by virtually all the world .
As the future leaders of the U.S., when we keep beliefs that we do not agree with from being aired, we put the whole countries right to free speech at risk.
ASI is subscribing to a view of intolerance and narrow-mindedness with this proposed resolution, which is causing an unjustified loss of money in the athletic department.
Though this “nondiscriminatory” resolution, ASI is effectively discriminating. The loss of money for the athletic department is not justified.
Removing the athletic departments Chick-fil-A sponsorship is an effort to silence Cathy’s expression of religious freedom.
ASI and CSULB should work at all times to ensure that people with all types of beliefs and viewpoints enjoy a welcoming environment.
This resolution is unethical and immoral as it represents a deviation from this important practice.
Chicken sandwiches don’t discriminate and neither does Chick-fil-A, so ASI should leave the athletic department’s sponsorship alone.
They are not discriminating against Chick-fil-A, they are just choosing not to be involved with them anymore. They can donate to whomever they please, and CSULB can accept money from whomever they please. CSULB’s ASI is not working to silence Chick-fil-A, rather, cut their ties from it. Whatever the case, I’m all for it!
Strange how this “author” thinks we should respect Dan Cathy’s belief and actions that gay people should be prevented from being allowed to marry, but it’s “discrimination” when his company is prevented from being allowed on campus. Another heterosexual male “expert” on gay rights
To the person who wrote this, what you don’t understand is where that money goes to. Chick-Fil-A’s money goes to hate groups that promote discrimination against gays. Did you know that in 29 states, people can be fired for being gay? Did you know that in 76+ countries, it’s illegal to be gay? If people in those countries were found to be gay, they can execute them. Like actually kill people for being gay? You know that saying every penny counts? In this case, every penny does count. So yes, chicken sandwiches do discriminate. If ASI (the students really) doesn’t want that money anymore, then it sounds like a good thing. Or in your case, if ASI wants to discriminate against discrimination or not tolerate intolerance, then it’s fine by me.
Just imagine you being part of a background/group where a company’s money went towards promoting the killing of people in your background/group. Would you still be okay with their proceeds going to our athletics department?
I hope that one day your views change and you learn the actual definition of discrimination.
To the person who wrote this opinion piece, do you understand that whenever “ASI” does something like this it is because of STUDENT initiative? They aren’t just blindly deciding things for students. This is really similar to when seaworld tickets stopped being sold in the USU, there was group of students, in that case a student organization, who wanted something done and ASI helped them do it.
Stop criticizing ASI and get up off your butt and go do things that you want to see happen!