That Awkward Moment When “I Have Principles” Means “Dammit, No More Chick-fil-A”

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If you’ve ever checked out my VSB bio, you’re likely aware of my fondness for soups. More specifically (quoting myself) “soups that happen to be especially creamy.” And, although this was written over four years ago, my adoration for soup remains just as intense. I love soup more than fat crackheads love Home Depot. Seriously, if I ever got married, instead of having the guests choose between steak and chicken or some shit, I’ll have a station with soups from all over the world. (I also plan to have an omelet bar, all you can eat pancakes, and a selection of bacons made from dozens of different animals, including alligator, tiger, and shark. You’re probably laughing now, but tell me that wouldn’t be the awesomest wedding reception you’ve ever attended)

Want proof of this love? Try this. A few weeks ago, the high temperature in the Burgh reached 99 degrees. You know what I had for lunch that day? A bowl of soup. Dinner? Two bowls of soup.

Yet, despite this love affair, my infatuation with soup caused (and is still causing) a serious crisis of conscience. You see, although the Pittsburgh-area contains many different diners and obscure restaurants where you can get a good bowl of soup, sometimes it’s not really worth the search, and sometimes you just don’t feel like going to the ATM because some Yinzer greasy spoon still only accepts cash. When this happens, there’s always Panera Bread — a chain where the soups (and the bread bowls they come in) are consistently good — and this is a problem.

Why? Well…

From “Lawsuit: Bias against ‘fat, black or ugly’ at Panera franchise”

A Panera Bread franchisee had a policy of keeping “fat, black or ugly” people off of the cash registers and out of management positions, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court today that seeks class action status.

The lawsuit by Guy M. Vines, 21, of Castle Shannon, claims that Panera franchisee Covelli Enterprises discouraged managers from hiring African Americans, and then relegated them to menial, back-of-the-shop roles.

It follows a lawsuit filed in November by a former Panera Bread manager who said he was fired under pretenses after he objected to such policies. Both Mr. Vines and the former manager are represented by attorney Sam Cordes.

This was a pretty big story in the Pittsburgh-area last winter. So big that the Black community (Yes. All five of us) staged an unofficial protest of Panera Bread that, to my knowledge, is still going on today. I haven’t stepped foot in one since January.

I also never had a Panera franchise open a block away from where I live…something that is going to happen next week. Drats! Since learning this, I’ve begun crafting elaborate excuses for why I should give this protest thing a “break.” (My favorite? “So what if they didn’t allow Black people to work the register. At least they weren’t slaves. And, stop being a hypocrite, man. Slaves picked cotton, but that didn’t stop your Black ass from wearing shirts.”)

Anyway, I’m bringing this all up because of how interesting it is to me to see the mental machinations we put ourselves through when our principles aren’t necessarily convenient.

And, I said “we” because I know I’m not alone. For instance, I’m sure if I took a poll today asking people to name their favorite fast food restaurant, Chick-fil-A — the same Chick-fil-A whose president recently stated that he was a strong opponent of same-sex marriage — would win in a landslide. I’m also sure there would be quite a bit of overlap if I made a Venn diagram of “people who have eaten at Chick-fil-A in the past month” and “people who have marched in support of gay marriage.”

Yesterday’s post dealt with a man who had his “come to Jesus” moment, and ran the other way. He (obviously) failed on a pretty large scale, but I don’t think that allowing ourselves to defer our principles for a moment or two of pleasure is really all that different.

I have no doubt that, sometime within the next couple of days months, I will be craving some creamy chicken soup, and this craving will cause me to “delay” my Panera protest for a day. I will enjoy this soup, and it’s likely that I’ll enjoy this soup so much that I’ll delay the protest another couple of days. Soon, that delay will just turn into “Eh…it was a good effort,” and I will not feel bad about this at all.

The moral of this story? The judgements made by men have myriad effects, none greater than…actually, you know what? F*ck a moral. Why the hell did it have to be Chick-fil-A? I mean, why couldn’t the president of Hardee’s or Lady Foot Locker or wack-ass motherf*ckin Chipotle have said this instead???

Anyway, people of VSB.com, have you ever had a moment where you were forced to, um, “reconsider” your principles because they weren’t convenient? If so, what did you do?

Also, am I the only one willing to shank a kitten for a spicy chicken sandwich right now?

—Damon Young (aka “The Champ”)

***If you’re in the DC area this Thursday, make sure to come out to “Myth or Maybe” — a relationship-related discussion hosted by Panama and the homie Rahiel from Urban Cusp***

528 thoughts on “That Awkward Moment When “I Have Principles” Means “Dammit, No More Chick-fil-A””

  1. Iono about Panera but as long as Chik Fil A got that lemonade and the chocolate chip chocolate chunk cookies (that come in the 1/2 dozen) I’m rocking with them til the wheels fall off or I get diabetes.

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  2. I don’t live within 3 states of a Chick Fil-A *falls down and bursts into tears* In a way that’s a good thing because I’d be 150 lbs heavier. The only thing that separates the Cathy family (owner of Chick Fil-A) from other business owners is that he openly states his beliefs.

    Target got busted for supporting a gay marriage on the sly, and the owner of URBAN OUTFITTERS (yes, pink skinny jeans for men Urban Outfitters) supported Rick Santorum. And the owner of American Apparel is just a perv. And then there’s Nike and sweatshops…

    Basically, unless you’re shopping on Etsy and farming your own food, your money is going somewhere you don’t like

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  3. I just wanna say I stand behind Chick-fil-A & that magnifical chicken sandwich. I don’t get why people are so shocked by this. The company has never been shy about their religious views. Why would they change it now that it has become (dare I say it?) the “popular” thing to do? I’m sure the company can justify the backlash by saying Christians have to be prepared to face ridicule when they stand by their values, which are not always “popular.” If anything, I support Chick-fil-A for not flip flopping. If they came out in support of gay marriage they better take it all the way & get their happy arse employees to make me a milkshake on Sundays. #2cents

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    • I mean, i feel you on that. Its a family company; they can do whatever they want, believe however they want. My question to CF is, why would you SAY it?? Just seems like a retarded bizness decision to me. Gay ppl like chicken too! Duuuh. It seems they are willing to cut off their nose to spite their face, & thats not cool.

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      • “Gay ppl like chicken too!”

        Lol. Yep. But you know what, bigotry is sometimes stronger than the desire to make money. Just look at all of the businesses that we find out are discriminating against women or African Americans, etc.

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        • Yes, but they usually keep it on the DL (pardon the pun), then when they get caught, deny deny deny! If im understanding the controversy correctly, CF is saying, “yea, i said it! And what?” To me, thats just weird when youre in the bizness of slangin chicken. Like, nobody cares bout your biggoted politics. Give me my 8 piece & STFU!

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          • He sees it as his justifiable belief, not bigotry. If he were to hide his feelings he would feel like he were denying his religion… which no one likes to do.

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          • I’m not sure if I remember the Shoney’s incident, PA. But, I remember when Chris Rock’s mom got all bent out of shape because she was treated poorly at Cracker Barrel. I was like duh!, on that one. I remember Denny’s had an incident and then they hired Sherman Hemsley (RIP) for their commercials. Like George Jefferson doing commercials for you would make things better.

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          • +1. When folks can understand this key difference, maybe there will not be so much animosity toward Christians who simply choose to live by the Word of God.

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          • But keep your Bible beliefs out of government. Ie. do not allow governments to discriminate on the basis of gender or preference… ie. in issuing marriage licenses. If you don’t believe in gay marriage… don’t have one… but don’t try to prevent other people from getting married. That is stepping out of bounds.

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            • Ok, its kinda nuanced, but I would compare it to pro life people. They believe abortion is murder. That belief would logically lead you to say nobody should be allowed to kill innocent babies, right? So if you are being real about that, you would contribute and campaign to limit abortion rights. Why should you be forced to limit your speech, your beliefs, your contribution, your political activity to yourself?

              If you truly believe that as a nation, if we put a rubber stamp of approval on something that God says is an abomination, then why should you limit your political speech and activity? Because others disagree?

              What if you want to campaign to stop the use of corn sugar because it leads to obesity? You could just decide to not drink soda. But your campaign would infringe on others rights to consume corn sugar. That’s the nature of political activism. You’re gonna trample somebody’s rights.

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          • I read the article. The press definitely placed their own spin on it, but nowadays that’s to be expected with journalism. Unfortunately, it’s about the most sensational story, not facts. All I know is I’ll be continuing with my Chick-Fil-A adventures. They’re finally arriving in LA and I’ll be damned if I stop eating these cracktastic chicken sandwiches now.

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      • Just because you don’t support gay marriage, it doesn’t mean you are against gay people. I believe marriage is a union between man, woman & God and I think gay marriage is wrong. Civil Partnerships like in the U.K. I think is a great idea. Pretty much all the rights of marriage.

        There’s no way i’ll let someone call me a bigot for this very fair opinion.

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      • You should really read the article of what was actually said. Somebody posted it up thread. After reading it, I don’t think it warrants me abandoning Chick-Fil-A chicken minis, the southwest salad, or the half lemonade/half iced tea concoction. I would consider giving up these items if there was evidence of them discriminating against LGBT employees or customers. I haven’t read about any customers or employees, or potential employees (or ex-employees) coming out with these claims.

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      • They were pressured to finally come out and say something. Their records are public (taxes and the organizations that they give money to) so finally, the just came out and said, “we don’t believe in gay marriage.”

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  4. Sigh. I’ve been having this little crisis for weeks since I realized they were funneling money into anti-LGBT orgs. I don’t give a damn what the president feels–it’s just that I’d essentially be putting money into an org that would then give it to these groups to my potential detriment. I’ve been doing pretty well, though I did slip once or twice over the last few months–but me eating there less has inadvertently caused my family to eat there less, so I feel pretty good about it. It’s made my life a little difficult, though. Dem nuggets…

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  5. I nod my head whenever anybody brings up the topic of today’s youth and their misogynist music, but AMG still comes up in my music shuffle.

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  6. Annoyed. And ate my last Chik Fil A last…Thursday? Enjoyed it. Wept. And it had just opened near my job about TWO months ago. I didn’t hear about Panera Bread – which is about three yards from the Chik Fil A, and I have a serious relationship going on with the Sesame Asian Chicken Salad. That’s the only thing I ever eat there, because that’s how serious my relationship is with that salad. And that dressing. CURSES!!!

    Actually, I’m eating one last time at a lot of places in the next few weeks only because corporations and chains are evil and must be destroyed. I’m taking a stand!

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    • Chipotle is just ok! Its like something is missing! Freebirds is better!

      Off topic: Did they ever find Katherine Jackson? I’m here watching on CNN that she was missing? That Janet slap Paris!

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      • Katherine was never missing. She’s the sole heir to Michael’s estate. The other Jacksons not named Janet are trying to make her look crazy are trying to get Micheal’s money. Tito’s son TJ (who was Kim Kardashian’s prom date) is trying to get custody of Paris, Blanket and the other one. They aren’t bout that life, and Paris is blasting the whole family on twitter, hence Janet smacking her

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        • @IAYP:
          Thank you for the Pulitzer caliber reporting on Jackson-gate. I’d heard there was drama, but didn’t pay attention long enough to find out what had happened. Inquiring minds do want to know and your thorough yet succint summary is appreciated. I admire your style…

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  9. The only way to defeat Chick-fil-A is with a competitor called Rainbow Chicken, which wraps everything in delicious bacon, and stays open on Sundays as “reverse CFA day.”

    I am writing up my business plan as I type.

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    • The universal bacon wrap has potential. The “open on Sundays” doesn’t hurt either. Now what else you got…

      …cause Chick-fil-A? Yeah they got this lemonade this is so damn potent, you can drink it, let the ice melt, and drink it again.

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      • Hm. I think Rainbow Chicken is going to have to team up with Sonic to compete with drinks that tasty. Have you ever had a Sonic cherry limeade?

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        • I have, and it is delicious. But again, Chick-fil-A lemonade: The drink you drink twice. Also in the interest of accuracy, I must demand that Rainbow Chicken actually serve Chicken sporting the entire Roy G. Biv color schema if I am to patronize them.

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          • The first thing I could think of was a big bowl of rainbow colored chicken nuggets that looks like a bowl of cereal. Rainbow Chicken nuggets, the breakfast of champions.

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        • I honestly don’t know. Bacon makes damn near everything better. I honestly think if you put a few good slices of high quality bacon in your gas tank it might even improve your “miles per gallon”. That’s just a theory though.

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          • bacon, cheese and garlic……these are things i can’t get enough of. you can put any one of these things into just about anything and make it better
            cereal…ice cream….pudding……
            and don’t even get me started on bacon, garlic and cheese stuffed deep fried pork rump….it’s like god and his angels having an exctasy induced orgy in your mouth

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            • The future Mrs. was telling me about either a bacon shake or a bacon ice cream the other day that she heard about (I can’t remember which one it was). I think I draw the line right about there. I don’t need bacon encroahing on the sovereignty of my desserts, but for any of my main meal? Bring it on.

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