The more I read about this controversy in the news the more I think how absurd the reactions are from a rational point of view. And reading the comments on the various blogs made me cringed. They reveal the shallowness in thoughts among the general readers. Calling out to boycott Chick Fil-A, derogatory comments about the CEO, etc. And because of this, this controversy continues to be blown out of proportion from what it really was about. What exactly did the CEO Dan Cathy said in an interview in the Baptist Press? If you have not read that interview, I would highly encourage you to read the whole interview to get the context of his comments to better understand the issue. I am sure any clear thinking adult would agree that to pass a judgement without prior understanding of an issue is immature and irresponsible.

Firstly, look into his background, his up-bringing and his religious belief and conviction. It should not be a surprise to hear him come out with a statement as follows:

“We are very much supportive of the family—the biblical definition of the family unit,” he said. “We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives.…We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families.”

Let’s reason for a minute and see what the issue is that sparked the controversy. Did Dan Cathy call for a boycott of the gay groups? Did he say that Chick Fil-A will not serve gays? Or did he said anything about not hiring gays? I did not see any of those expressed in the company policy. And for the record, the word “gay” or “lesbian” was not even mentioned anywhere in that interview article. Surprised? Do not take me at my word, go read it for yourself.

So how did he get branded as a gay hater from this interview? All he is advocating was he is “very much supportive of the family—the biblical definition of the family unit”. Does that deserved to be classified as a hate crime? Just because the biblical definition of the family unit contradicts the gay marriages, can we honestly call him a gay hater, as has been implied by the reactions on hundreds of articles on the internet? Does he not have the freedom to voice his own religious belief and convictions on a religious news press? Has the US Constitution changed recently that I am not aware of? If not, why then the controversy?

I believe this has become a heated controversy for a simple reason. People make it a controversy. They flame the issue and keep putting fuel on the fire to make it hotter. The presses took the bait and added more fuel to it. To make it even more absurd, the politicians are jumping in to cash in on this. The mayor of Boston, for one, used the “bully pulpit” to discourage Chick-fil-A from coming to Boston, by writing a scathing letter to Cathy urging him to keep his restaurant out of Boston, while Chick Fil-A is in the process of searching for a site to locate in Boston. Is that not an abuse of administrative powers?  Since when has it become a crime to express your personal beliefs about something (in this case his support for traditional family unit) that you get bar from his city? Even though Boston Mayor Thomas Menino later came out with a statement to clarify his previous statement, that “he would not deny the restaurant the necessary city permits to open in the city.” A typical politician opportunist, from my point of view.

Obviously the traditional biblical definition of a family unit has been on a collision course with the LGBT community. And it is no surprise that the statement by Chick Fil-A CEO is viewed as a threat to whatever agenda they have, simply for the fact that Chick Fil-A is a high profile company in America. Hence we see the kind of reactions that followed and in the manner it was distorted. Don’t be a puppet that act the way puppeteer wants using his strings. is calling for a boycott of this company based on unfounded facts the proper way to express your displeasure? Maybe for some readers, it may be. You are surely entitled to your belief system. By the way, at the time of this writing, the Amazon CEO has just pledged $2.5 million dollars in support of gay marriages referendum in Washington state. Now after reading this, should I go out and boycott Amazon since I disagree with his standing and personal beliefs, even though I am a regular Amazon customer? Should I not label him as a “biblical traditional family unit” hater? No!!! that man has a right to his belief and as long as it is not criminal in nature, he has every right to put his money where his mouth was. So this same right is not  applicable to the CEO of Chick Fil-A? And instead we have now to label him a LGBT hater, as many has come forward to express this view?

Wars and riots have known to have been started based solely on rumors. And the consequence is always the innocents will have to pay.  We need think for yourselves, get the facts before you rush into following the piper. Boycotting Chick Fil-A may be your choice of action. That’s your right and decision but it has its consequences. One of which will be innocent people will lose their jobs in this already struggling economy, which is what may happen if Chick Fil-A loses its business and will have to cut back on their employee out of necessity.

If you have not already picked up this from reading this article, I hold the same view as Dan Cathy and I support his conviction. I will make it a point to eat at Chick Fil-A more often than I have in the past, if for no better reason than simply to play my part to save the jobs for their employees caught in between. But most of all, I will do it in support of free speech of an individual in the USA.