Chick-fil-A Anti-Gay Controversy: Gay Employees Speak Out

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On Wednesday -- dubbed "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" by former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee -- lines are stretching out the front door and the parking lot is packed with customers coming out to support company chief executive Dan Cathy, who recently came out against same-sex marriage with statements that have polarized lovers of the fast-food chain.

Andrew, a gay 24-year-old who has been working at the northern Alabama Chick-fil-A since January, sat in his car smoking a cigarette and watching the crowd during a break earlier Wednesday.

"I call it hater appreciation day," said Andrew, who asked that his last name be withheld out of fear he'd be fired. "It's very, very depressing."

...

One gay employee who works at Chick-fil-A headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., and asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing his job, says he is getting it from both sides. On the one hand, there is the customer who came in and said he supported Dan Cathy and then "continues to say something truly homophobic, e.g. 'I'm so glad you don't support the queers, I can eat in peace,'" the employee, who is 23 and has worked for Chick-fil-A since he was 16, wrote in an email. On the other hand, he continued, "I was yelled at for being a god-loving, conservative, homophobic Christian while walking some food out to a guest in a mall dining room."

...

Gabriel Aguiniga, a gay employee at a Chick-fil-A in Colorado, also said the hardest part hasn't been hearing Cathy's comments. Instead, "[it's] constantly having people come up to you and say, 'I support your company, because your company hates the gays,'" Aguiniga, 18, wrote in an email. "It really takes a toll on me."

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"Our managers have recommended just saying 'Thank you for your business' if a customer says they agree with Cathy’s comments, rather than agreeing or disagreeing with them," K, an openly gay Chick-fil-A employee in Louisiana, told HuffPost in an email.

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"Now, anyone that works there is stuck with a stigma of being homophobic, even when many of us are far from it," K said. One of her coworkers, who supports same-sex marriage, has had people say things like, “Don’t give me that hate sh*t,” and “I hope you choke on that chicken," while she was handing out samples.

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Several of the gay and lesbian employees interviewed by The Huffington Post said that they liked their work, and had never witnessed incidents of homophobia or discrimination on the job. But Chick-fil-A restaurants are operated by independent owners, and employee experience can vary widely.

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Kellie, a 23-year-old gay woman from Georgia who also requested her last name be withheld for fear of being outed in the press, worked at two different Chick-fil-A locations in Georgia. She loved working at the first location, she said, where nobody ever said anything homophobic or discriminatory. But at the second location, in Atlanta, "there was a lot of general homophobia." Managers would frequently make homophobic jokes, she said, and she felt that if she were to tell her colleagues she was gay, she would be fired. Eventually, she quit.

Another former employee, who worked at the Chick-fil-A in Chicago, said he thought the culture of the company encouraged homophobia.

"It's a very monochromatic, white, male driven company," said Andrew Mullen, a gay 26-year-old who quit his job last winter after less than a year with the company. Once, Andrew recalled, a company operator leading an employee training session, saw two men kissing on the patio outside the restaurant and proclaimed to the group he was leading that he thought it was "disgusting."

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But the gay employee who works at headquarters in Atlanta disagreed with this assessment. Aside from the occasional homophobic joke or comment outside of working hours, he said, his experience with the company has been "extremely positive."

Asked in June, Andrew, the employee in Alabama, would have said his experience was positive, too. He had never explicitly told any of his colleagues he was gay, but he felt comfortable at work and liked the operator of his store. But recently, Andrew says the atmosphere at work has grown nearly intolerable. Although plenty of his coworkers have said they don't agree with Cathy's views, on "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day," one colleague told him proudly that his friends would be eating the fried chicken sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Last week, when he went out to the parking lot to help a trucker (not directly employed by Chick-fil-A) unload a shipment of goods, the trucker turned to Andrew confidentially and said, "If I see one more faggot at a Chick-fil-A protesting, I'm going to be sick."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/01/chick-fil-a-anti-gay-controversy-employees-speak-out_n_1729968.html

[Teddy B 17,252]

If the moral of this story is that life isn't fair and some people are really ignorant, than the story has gotten it's point across. Other than that, really nothing here. No evidence of discrimination against gays by Chik Fil A. If you ask me, this never would have gotten to this point if the gays and liberals didn't blow it out of proportion. Looks like this kneejerk reaction blew up in their faces. Next time protest with your wallet instead of your big mouths.

As for the gay people who are supposedly unhappy working at Chik Fil A, they all knew what the deal was well before they punched their first timecard. They weren't forced to work there.

Edited August 2, 2012 by Teddy B

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Another post from a gay Chick-Fil-A employee:

So when people boycott Chick-fil-A, it means I don't get hours. Which means I dont get money. Not just me, but ALL of the LGBT employees at Chick-fil-A. Yes, CFA hires LGBT people. No ones been fired for being gay or coming out. Its a job. A job that cant be taken for granted when work is scarce across the country. We have to eat too. So sure, boycott Chick-fil-A because you dont agree with the CEO. Will you change his mind? No. Will it change the amount of money my LGBT peers and I can earn? Probably. Boycotting Chick-fil-A doesnt hurt the company. It hurts the employees. And its hard enough working for a place that doesnt think you should get married. But its work. Dont take it away because you feel righteous.

Thats what I said four days ago. I meant it then. After today, though, I take it all back.

After all, Im still a closeted gay woman working at a Chick-fil-A in the southern United States. And things these days, well, theyre complicated.

When Monday was dead, I was harboring hope that it was because so many people were boycotting Chick-fil-A. Apparently I was suffering from delusions, or temporarily forgot I live in the Bible Belt. Sunday, all the ministers at the evangelical churches in town told their congregations to show support to Chick-fil-A by eating there. The day? Today, Wednesday, August 1, 2012.

We were so busy we nearly ran out of food. We did run out of some things, like nuggets, strips, lemonade, and waffle fries. Though we didnt have to close early like we feared, by 10 p.m., we barely had anything left. Never before have I been so grateful that I have tomorrow off.

Customers sang God Bless America in the dining room. They vocalized their support for family values in a way that made me want to vomit. We had two protestors outside, and I took five minutes to run out, hug them, and tell them: if I werent working here now, Id be out here with you.

They said, Its okay, we know what its like to have to work for a paycheck. Hearing that was ten times better than hearing from my acquaintances on the other side of the coin: How do you work there and still sleep at night, knowing their stance against equal rights? I sleep with a roof over my head, which is about all I can ask.

I cant tell you much more about the customers today, because of my limited contact with them. I work in the kitchen, so I dont see much of the clientele. What made today so difficultmore difficult than always being behind on food, running out of one thing or another, needing to be in two places at once, etcwas the attitudes of the other employees.

No one really stopped talking about the reasons why today was as busy as it was. The people I work alongside kept going on and on about how powerful it was to be part of such a righteous movement, and how encouraged they were to know that there were so many people who agree with Dan Cathy. They went on at great length about how it was wrong not just for gays to marry, but to exist. One kid, age 19, said I hope the gays go hungry.

I nearly walked out then and there. That epitomizes the characteristics of these evangelical Christians who are so vocally opposed to equal rights. Attitudes like that are the opposite of Christ-like.

When these preachers told their congregations to support Chick-fil-A by eating there today, no one called the restaurants and said Hey, you may be flooded with customers. Thaw extra chicken. Not one of the employees in those congregations gave the restaurant a heads-up. That sort of consideration wasnt even an afterthought. The ministers, and through them the congregants, didnt think about the consequences of their actions, or who it might screw over. And it ended up screwing us rather thoroughly.

I think thats the mentality that drives themthe evangelicals on a quest to take over America, one law at a time, without thinking of who their actions may be harming. Because they disagree with something, it means everyone should disagree with it, and thats a good enough reason to make it illegal. Thats not the way it works, folks. Disagree with equal marriage rights? Then dont marry someone of the same sex, and youre fine.

Just because you think your God says gays cant marry doesnt mean you have the right to make a law saying that. This is a republic, not a theocracy. If this countrys lawmaking were ideal, youd have to have a reason to make something illegal, not to have to fight to make equal civil rights legal.

I remember thinking, under stress, I hope they choke. Thats not true. Even though I did my best to make the salads and wraps extra-gay, I dont want to harm the customers. (Otherwise I may have been moved to spit on their food. I didnt, because thats going too far.) The only thing that kept me going without screaming or storming off was simply knowing that Im right. These people wont choke on their foodI wouldnt wish that, just as I wouldnt wish anyone go hungrybut they will end up hurting. Its going to be a long fall from the saddles of their high horses, once we do have equal marriage rights. Their descendants will be ashamed of them, just as Im ashamed of my grandparents support of segregation. When their children and grandchildren ask, How was it possible to be Christian and oppose equal rights? their own words will choke them. They dont need food to do it for them.

When they go on about family values, its clearly only their families they value. That arrogance, self-righteousness, and desire for their opponents to suffer: thats the least Christ-like attitude of all.

The evangelical bigots have their ignorance bases covered. Chick-fil-A employees, LGBT or not, will be absolutely fine. Bible thumpers are going to voice their support with greenbacks, as they always have done.

When this first started, I implored my friends and allies not to boycott. Now, if I didnt work there, Id be boycotting too. That much hypocrisy and hatred leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and the last thing I want to eat is their chicken.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/02/a-gay-chick-fil-a-employee-speaks-out.html

Edited August 2, 2012 by Evylin

[Ban Hammer 13,400]

Andrew, a gay 24-year-old who has been working at the northern Alabama Chick-fil-A since January, sat in his car smoking a cigarette and watching the crowd during a break earlier Wednesday.

"I call it hater appreciation day," said Andrew, who asked that his last name be withheld out of fear he'd be fired. "It's very, very depressing."

...

One gay employee who works at Chick-fil-A headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., and asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing his job, says he is getting it from both sides. On the one hand, there is the customer who came in and said he supported Dan Cathy and then "continues to say something truly homophobic, e.g. 'I'm so glad you don't support the queers, I can eat in peace,'" the employee, who is 23 and has worked for Chick-fil-A since he was 16, wrote in an email. On the other hand, he continued, "I was yelled at for being a god-loving, conservative, homophobic Christian while walking some food out to a guest in a mall dining room."

yet, there's enough info there to identify either one of them, should management at chick-fil-a feel like doing so.

1 - andrew, 24, in northern alabama, single, smokes, working since january of this year.

2 - male, 23, at hq in atlanta, employee since 16.

so much for really hiding their identity.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

yet, there's enough info there to identify either one of them, should management at chick-fil-a feel like doing so.

1 - andrew, 24, in northern alabama, single, smokes, working since january of this year.

2 - male, 23, at hq in atlanta, employee since 16.

so much for really hiding their identity.

Andrew could have easily given a fake name.

If he didn't, that's his own fault. But it would be pretty funny if CfA fired someone for voicing their opinion when that's all the company is trying to do.

Edited August 2, 2012 by Evylin

[Ban Hammer 13,400]

Andrew could have easily given a fake name.

If he didn't, that's his own fault. But it would be pretty funny if CfA fired someone for voicing their opinion when that's all the company is trying to do.

understand that - but the rest of that info would still narrow down the potential suspects considerably.

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yet, there's enough info there to identify either one of them, should management at chick-fil-a feel like doing so.

1 - andrew, 24, in northern alabama, single, smokes, working since january of this year.

2 - male, 23, at hq in atlanta, employee since 16.

so much for really hiding their identity.

23-24 year olds who work at chick-fil-a as their primary source of income.. how smart can they be?

[Teddy B 17,252]

Andrew could have easily given a fake name.

If he didn't, that's his own fault. But it would be pretty funny if CfA fired someone for voicing their opinion when that's all the company is trying to do.

I was wondering how the reporter knew whether or not the employees giving their story were truly gay or not, I mean it's not like they have a membership id or anything, do they?

[Ban Hammer 13,400]

23-24 year olds who work at chick-fil-a as their primary source of income.. how smart can they be?

i expect the media to do a better job in protecting their identity.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

I was wondering how the reporter knew whether or not the employees giving their story were truly gay or not, I mean it's not like they have a membership id or anything, do they?

Could always take them into a church and see if they burst into flames.

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i expect the media to do a better job in protecting their identity.

journalism majors - not exactly the brightest bunch either.

[Teddy B 17,252]

Could always take them into a church and see if they burst into flames.

I'd have to wait outside cause I'd probably be the first one to self combust, but not for being gay.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

After seeing a lot of the BS going on with this (mostly thanks now to the religious right) - I support the fact the homosexuals are having their little "kiss-in" tomorrow.

This was a non-controversy created by the media into a controversy.

I thought the homosexual community was overreacting, and to an extent I still do. HOWEVER with that being said after the actions of the religious nuts yesterday, I hope the anti-chick-fil-a day is just as sucessful in terms of a decent turnout..

So sick of the damn hypocrites preaching love, and Jesus and tossing their own words down the toilet 2 minutes later.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

A +1 for you, sir.

[akihon 129]

After seeing a lot of the BS going on with this (mostly thanks now to the religious right) - I support the fact the homosexuals are having their little "kiss-in" tomorrow.

This was a non-controversy created by the media into a controversy.

I thought the homosexual community was overreacting, and to an extent I still do. HOWEVER with that being said after the actions of the religious nuts yesterday, I hope the anti-chick-fil-a day is just as sucessful in terms of a decent turnout..

So sick of the damn hypocrites preaching love, and Jesus and tossing their own words down the toilet 2 minutes later.

Agreed.