As The Daily Wire reports today, Chick-fil-A, one of the last remaining large companies to stand in defiance of the P.C. police and the LGBT rage mob, has suddenly and inexplicably caved. Chick-fil-A President and Chief Operating Officer Tim Tassopoulos announced in an interview that the company will no longer donate to certain Christian charities that the aforementioned rage mob has deemed “anti-LGBT.” Tassopoulos says that as the company goes into “new markets,” he wants “to be clear about who we are.” And “who [they] are” appears to confirm the old maxim about becoming what you eat — or, in this case, what you serve.
As Bisnow explains:
“Beginning next year, Chick-fil-A will move away from its current philanthropic structure, Bisnow has learned. After donating to more than 300 charitable organizations this year, the Atlanta-based fast-food chain will instead focus on three initiatives with one accompanying charity each: education, homelessness and hunger.”
And which charities will lose out, now that Chick-fil-A has shifted focus to education, homelessness, and hunger? The company confirms that it will be breaking ties with Salvation Army, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the Paul Anderson Youth Home. In other words, it will stop donating to charities that help with education, homelessness, and hunger, in order to focus more on education, homelessness, and hunger.
Of course, the real sin of these unfortunate organizations is not that they fail to help exactly the people Chick-fil-A says it wants to help, but that they are all Christian. And, as LGBT protestors have been screaming ever since Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy defended biblical marriage in an interview seven years ago, the fact that they are Christian automatically makes them anti-LGBT. Just last week, pop singer Ellie Goulding threatened to pull out of her halftime performance during the Dallas Cowboys’ Thanksgiving game because of the NFL’s association with the Salvation Army. Goulding relented on her threat (though every football fan would prefer if she’d stuck to her guns), only for Chick-fil-A to jump on the dog pile a few days later.
The change of heart is somewhat confounding. Yes, they’ve been boycotted on and off for the past seven years. Yes, LGBT activists were prone to lashing out at the restaurant’s “hate chicken.” But none of this appeared to be negatively affecting the company’s bottom line. Indeed, the opposite was the case. The initial boycott in 2012 gave rise to Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day, where fans of the restaurant waited in lines wrapped around the block to show their support in the form of eating their delicious chicken. The enthusiasm never died. Chick-fil-A rose in popularity during the intervening years, tripling its sales and becoming one of the top three restaurant chains in the country.
This capitulation will not stop the bleeding, because there was no bleeding. Now that might change. This move is much more likely to alienate Chick-fil-A’s supporters than to appease its critics. Surrendering to political correctness almost never pays off, and Chick-fil-A isn’t likely to be an exception. Personally, I don’t care what charities a chicken restaurant does or does not support. That is their affair and their decision to make. I am not going to boycott. Their chicken sandwiches are still delicious, which is my primary concern when I’m in the drive-thru. But it is disappointing and somewhat bewildering to see them cave like this. Their refusal, until now, was important for reasons that have nothing to do with gay marriage or homosexuality. It was good to have at least one major company with the stones to defy the Rage Mob. Regardless of the reason for the defiance, or the issue at the center of the controversy, the defiance itself was the point. Their surrender, on the other hand, has no point.
This is what Chick-fil-A will now learn the hard way, as have so many before them: You cannot appease the mob. It doesn’t matter if you give them what they want. It doesn’t matter if you fall to your feet, confess your sins, and beg forgiveness. All your self-abdication will do is empower and encourage your critics. They will not forgive you (not that Chick-fil-A needed forgiveness). This is an age of scalp-claiming, not mercy. Now they will happily take yours, celebrate the victory, and move on to the next target. You aren’t their friend now, or their ally. You’re just a trophy on their shelf. Congratulations, Chick-fil-A.
Oh well. Popeyes is better anyway.