Lightheartedly I shared what I thought was a hilarious Chick-fil-A parody video the other day on Facebook. In case you are unaware of the back story here, basically Chick-fil-A makes nummy food, but they are owned and operated by bigots.
Yes, I said bigots. It’s ok. You don’t have to agree. However I believe that anyone who is willing to deny equal rights to others is a bigot. I find it rather clear-cut. You may not.
Chick-fil-A has sunk a ton of money into making sure all families have a mother, a father, and children. Not two fathers. Not two mothers.
While we go back and forth about this issue in our house because their sandwiches are so damn good, it is really hard to explain to the kids why we’d even eat some place that really do not want people we love to be able to have the same rights as everyone else.
The kids don’t understand.
We don’t understand.
Yet sometimes, we cave, and bring home a kid’s meal or two for the little ones on a busy day.
While I totally understand Chick-fil-A does what it can to get its message across by making sure they are closed on Sundays and by giving money to organizations that make me cringe…I wasn’t expecting them to try to get into my kids’ head via the toy in their primary colored baggies:
Now at first glance you might not think this is a big deal. But let’s just pretend, for a second, that you are one of the millions of American children WITHOUT A MOTHER.
Maybe you have two fathers, which apparently makes Chick-fil-A’s baby Jesus cry…but maybe your Mom died of cancer. Maybe your grandparents are raising you because your parents died in a car accident. Maybe, just maybe, your Mom left your family. Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe…there are thousands of maybes and thousands upon thousands of families who are not a Mom, a Dad, and kids.
Maybe Chick-fil-A just made millions of children without mothers CRY with their chicken nuggets because they can’t seem to fathom a family comes in all shapes and sizes and every shape and size is STILL a FAMILY.
Every so often we’d shake off Chick-fil-A’s corporate policy in order to eat their yummy food. Not anymore. At least, I am not taking my kids there or giving Chick-fil-A another dime. Ever.
The truth of the matter is my children very well could be without a mother and had you stuffed that in their kids’ meal and told them to have a nice day I’d be up in your heaven sending down lightening bolts and making sure to smite the hell out of you for hurting my kids. Hurting them right in their heart. Hurting them where no one should ever hurt a child.
And for those families who do not have mothers, and who might have two fathers… how DARE YOU make these kids feel as though there is ANYTHING wrong with their family?
No, Chick-fil-A, it’s not a joke anymore. We’re done with you. See that questionnaire you have up above in the photo? The one you shoved in my kids’ faces? We’re checking the box that says ‘stamping out hate and bigotry by never buying Chick-fil-A again.’
Does this mean we should eliminate Mother’s Day? (Serious question.)
I only eat at Chick-Fil-A on Sundays. Seriously. I tell people this all the time.
Our peach tree is giving fruit this year, so I can make B a homemade peach shake that is much tastier and healthier.
I just feel bad for those cows in their ads.
For the rest of this week, make careful observations about how much media assumes everyone has a mother. It was never more painfully apparent to me than after my mom died two years ago. This Chick-Fil-A thing? This is the least of it. You’re hyper-aware of this instance because you already have strong feelings about their politics, and because it is physically in the hands of your children, but the other media assumptions about parentage are so much more insidious and pervasive.
Would this have bothered you as much if the kids would have received one of the other 5 books? We ended up with the Why I Love My Dad one the other day and, given the fact that they are covering all the bases here (judging from the titles of the other 3 books), I have a hard time linking this act to the rest of the company’s policies.
I could see it as an act of hate or bigotry if they were only offering one title called something absurd like My Perfect Family, with space for mom and dad and that’s it. But they’re not.
Mother and father skewed events, holidays and items will always be out there and it is a far cry to label it hateful.
I think Michelle is on target there. Unless there’s a reason for us to notice? We often don’t notice how much advertising and media reinforce stereotypes. It is insidious and pervasive.
Jayna? Does the “Dad” book have the same checklist? About baking cookies, working in the garden, and shopping? Because those are all things my daughter does with her Dad, not me. So I’m just checking to see if that’s really just as harmless as you seem to be implying.
I’m not going to excuse Chik-fil-A. The book is just a small checkbox in a long list of corporate history that tells people that you shouldn’t just like their chicken, you should subscribe to their beliefs and that they’re perfectly okay with making it painfully obvious when you don’t fit in their ‘acceptability’ range. So yeah, back to strengthening my resolve not to spend my money someplace that I actually *know* they turn around and do hateful things with it. There’s other chicken in the world and it’s healthier too.
@PeevedMichelle I received my first Mother’s Day ad this year on April 12 at 6:02am from Garnet Hill (a company I like). Each year I watch as my inbox gets flooded with Mother’s Day ads. I am still not immune after almost 13 years. Unfortunately people won’t get it until they are faced with such a loss. I hope you can find a positive way to cope. I send postcards to all the mothers I know.
I agree, do we cancel Mother’s Day? Or for that matter anything directed just towards mothers in general such as mother/son dances? Hallmark cards that say Happy Birthday, Mom? Maybe my kids should start calling me Kelli, because hearing them call me mom might upset a child that doesn’t have a mother for what ever the reason.
I don’t have a dad. My father passed 12 years ago. Does it pain the hell out of me, yes.so maybe I should be up in arms about anything related to fathers?
U know you don’t agree with their politics, ideas and charities of choice, but I think there was a tad bit of over zealous here. The idea is touchier to you because of your illness.
**hit post by accident before finishing***
Does that mean Chic-fil-a was right in what they placed in the kids meal? No. No, it doesn’t. There is always going to be something somebody does we don’t agree with. Heck if we all agreed and where the same it would be pretty boring.
PS – I could see you in heaven throwing lightening bolts and smiting people. 😉
This is about giving money to a company with an agenda I refuse to subject my children to. The same goes for their “Dad” book and whatever else they put in their kids’ meals. This is not about celebrating a holiday, this is about their policy to push the idea that “family” consists of a mother, a father, and children. One they have been very vocal about – so I too shall be vocal about what I believe makes a family.- and it will start by not giving my money to openly bigoted fast food chains who push their idea of family through kids’ meals.
Maybe we SHOULD cancel Mother’s Day. The moms I know often say it is a fake holiday, and those without moms or who have bad relationships with their mothers are pained by it. Does it create more harm than good?
I guess that depends. Does Mother’s Day promote an agenda that takes equal rights away from others? Is it there to make other families feel terrible that they are different – or to celebrate that there are Mothers? Is Mother’s Day intended to teach children that Mothers, and ONLY Mother’s can raise them with a father and ONLY a father? Because if that is the case then sure… let’s chuck it. Oh… it’s NOT about that… then I guess Mother’s Day is safe. Chick Fil A, however, is not.
Prepare to gasp. I don’t like Chick-Fil-A’s food. There, I said it. Whew, I feel better. I have friends who find it utterly shameful that I don’t eat there (we rarely eat fast food as it is, so it actually should make sense). As for their policies/beliefs, I wasn’t even aware outside of the Sunday closure, but now I have more reason to not eat there, it’s just that simple. As for Mother’s Day, I think it started out as a well meaning holiday, but much like every other holiday we celebrate, it’s turned so commercial that I’d rather my family pick another day at random to show they love me (did you not love me two weeks ago? Do you not love me the day after Mother’s Day?). Also, sometimes I want to eat fast food on Sundays, dammit.
While I abhor chick-fil-a’s moral stances, I have a hard time viewing this particular issue as a “problem”. It is a fact of life that not all children have mothers. Those kids can easily exchange the toy (or book in this instance) for an ice dream cone. That’s their policy. If you don’t want the toy, you can switch it out for a cone. Let’s face it. Books make crappy “happy meal toys” anyway.
I didn’t know they offered FOOD instead of toys… so basically you can get a TOY or dessert?
Very True. People without Mother’s feel really bad in this sort of a situation. Like Suebob said, maybe it does more harm than good?
Let’s make sure there are no crayons in any child’s meal because another child may be color blind.
Let’s also rule out any toy that takes two hands to operate because there may be a one handed child who will receive it.
Let’s just get rid of everything that may offend someone somewhere down the road and all be monochromatic.
How about instead we not make a mountain out of this here mole hill?
I wouldn’t make a mountain out of this mole hill if this particular hill didn’t already exist. If this particular company didn’t already have THEIR idea of what made a family and what was the ONLY thing that made a family.
This is not a fight I started. This is one they started, and I’m simply refusing to participate in any longer. If they want to define ‘family’ for everyone- including through LEGISLATION and their happy meals… they will NOT get that chance with MY family.
Yup. A dessert is not included in the kid meal. So you can swap the toy for an icedream (no cream here!) come.
Very true Adrienne! Heaven forbid I walk into a bar and ask for a cup of sweet tea and they give me an awkward look. Really…Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. You have yours, Chick fil a has theirs. If you don’t like it, don’t support it. For that reason, I don’t go to bars. I’m not going to post a pathetic blog about how they treat me for not buying an alcoholic beverage during my visit. Hmm. Get it?