One incident that comes to mind this week of oppression, prejudice, and bias is the Chick-fil-A controversy that has taken over the headlines. Regardless of your stand on gay marriage, the events of this week are confusing, misleading, and full of prejudice and bias from both sides of the event. For the gay community who were offended by the comments of the CEO to the Christians who were taking a stand against the hatred that was then spoken against the CEO, both sides are dealing with and dishing out prejudice and bias against each other. The gay community has the right to be offended by the comments, but on the other hand the CEO also has a right to his beliefs and free speech to discuss those beliefs when asked for his input. However, the events that proceeded showed nothing but disrespect for both sides, and were full of prejudice and bias, and diminished equity by not showing respect for a difference of opinions.
My feelings about this situation center around the ideas that the CEO is certainly entitled to his feelings and when asked for his personal opinion on gay marriage he took the Christian stand that centers around his beliefs. As a devout Christian myself, I would hope that I would be comfortable in taking a stand given the same position that the CEO was in. Then a backlash of hatred was directed towards the CEO and Chick-fil-A, which promotes prejudice against his beliefs and the right of free speech. However, the day when Christians flocked to Chick-fil-A to show their support also showed a level of disrespect for those in our gay community, who by God's standards we are called to love. The event showed no love or tolerance towards the gay community, and showed Christians in a very shallow light. Being called a Christian now lumps me into this "movement" that showed disrespect and prejudice towards those living a gay lifestyle, and quite honestly shames me to think that those who are called to "love our neighbors" are showing such great disrespect.
I believe that in order for this incident to create a future opportunity for equity, the CEO's comments should have been linked to his personal beliefs and not to his company. Then the comments would have simply been someone asking his opinion and not a countrywide opportunity for prejudice to begin!
Stacy,
ReplyDeleteI agree that both sides of this issue are not being tolerant of the other's emotions or belief system. We are not always going to agree; however we have to learn to live in our world together. The Chick-fil-A issues this week have started to get out of control. Our local restaurant has been vandalized so badly with very hateful comments written in the parking lot. Each side needs to back down and cool off before something worse occurs.
Stacy,
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame what is happening. I agree that the CEO is entitled to his beliefs and freedom of speech, it is just too bad that it was wrapped into the business he is a part of. Perhaps they should be taking this course! I have also watched The Secret Life of the American Teenager with my daughter this week and one episode we watched was about Amy's mom coming to terms with being gay. When she tells her daughter, Amy responds by telling her mom that she is not gay and that she just needs to be happy and being gay will not make her happy. Of course, it is television and things end on a good note, but it is nice to see this sort of stuff out there and for young people to be able to talk about these topics.
Stacy,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post! I think from a business perspective boundaries between personal life and professional life need to be set. In the same respects of teaching children whose families have different beliefs from our own, I would certainly be offended if a teacher were to stir my child into believing in something for instance (also being a Christian) Buddhism instead of what the family beliefs are. Also considering that as my child grows into an adult and she can make her own decision on what she believes. Personally I disagree with gay and lesbian relationships however, this does not mean I disrespect them by being aggressive and make hateful comments like those you described in your post. I relate to your feelings on “image” of the Christian community. I also anticipate my daughter growing up and establishing her own relationships with people. If she brought home a person she really truly loved and cared about and it happened to be a woman I must remember that she is a human being first with feelings and as her parent (I still will) provide her with love. She will always be my child. (No matter what). Thanks for sharing!
Stacy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. I feel that the CEO was right to take a stand about his belief. We must understanding that the company is a Christian based company, so as a company they do have the right to say they believe in the union of a man and a woman. I do not feel that the support day was viewed as Christians displaying hatred, it was a simple way of saying hey, we share the same beliefs. If chick-fil-a was so called bias like some say then they wouldn’t hire gays and they wouldn’t serve them.
Hi Stacy,
ReplyDeleteGreat post. It is sad because again I think that everyone is entitled to feel the way they do. We may not like it but again it is his right to feel and say whatever he wish, the only downside to this is sometimes our words can have some real bad consequences and know his business and employees are the one's who will suffer for his thoughts. Sir Issac Newton said it best when he stated "For every action there is a Reaction". Again thanks for the post.
Erica Hines