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Sunday, July 29, 2012

Blatant Hypocrisy

(Settle in for one of my long posts)


The world of classical literature offers several examples of hypocrisy and its effects on both the hypocrite and society. Two such examples of literature spring to mind: Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Both of these works have hypocrisy as one of their major themes, specifically with regard to practitioners of two major faiths.  These two works also present the negative consequences of revenge. 

Recently, a bit of a firestorm erupted when portions of an interview with Dan Cathy, CEO of Chick-Fil-A, appeared in the Baptist Press: News with a Christian Perspective.  You can read that article HERE

Agree or disagree with Mr. Cathy, he makes his stance clear.  Please note that there is no reference to gay or gay marriage in that particular article.  There IS reference to the traditional family:
Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company's position.

"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit...."
In spite of Mr. Cathy's NOT mentioning one word about gay-anything, certain individuals are riled up and declaring Mr. Cathy a bigot. For example, the Boston Mayor Menino condemned Chick-Fil-A:
A letter from Mayor Menino derided Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy for recent "prejudiced statements" against same-sex marriage, which has been legal in Massachusetts since 2004.

Posted on a Boston community page on the social media site Facebook on Wednesday, the letter has gone viral. It has been "liked" by more than 131,000 users and shared more than 46,000 times.

"In recent days you said Chick-fil-A opposes same-sex marriage, and said the generation that supports it has an 'arrogant attitude,'" Menino wrote in the letter, dated July 20 and addressed to Cathy at Chick-fil-A's Atlanta headquarters.

"Now - incredibly - your company says you are backing out of the same-sex marriage debate. I urge you to back out of your plans to locate in Boston."..
Mayor Menino has since amended his statement:
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino repeated today that he doesn’t want Chick-fil-A in Boston, but he backed away from a threat to actively block the fast-food chain from setting up shop in the city.

“I can’t do that. That would be interference to his rights to go there,” Menino said, referring to company president Dan Cathy, who drew the mayor’s wrath by going public with his views against same-sex marriage.

The mayor added: “I make mistakes all the time. That’s a Menino-ism.”...
I submit that Mayor Menino's first knee-jerk reaction reflects both the politically-correct and the gay agendas. These agendas have increasingly taken on the role of suppressing any views contrary to theirs.

Now, for the hypocrisy part of this post.  Read the following (hat tip to Pastorius of Infidel Bloggers Alliance, citing this source, dated July 27, 2012):
Radical imam OK but not Chick-fil-A

Given his stance on Chick-fil-A, would Mayor Tom Menino grant permits to a group that has counted among its leaders a man who has repeatedly called homosexuality a “crime that must be punished” by death?

Actually, he has done that  . . . and more! Menino effectively gave away city land valued at $1.8 million to the organization, and he gave a speech at its ribbon-cutting ceremony.

It’s the Islamic Society of Boston’s mosque, and when it comes to anti-gay sentiment, one of its early supporters makes Chick-fil-A look like the Provincetown Men’s Chorus.

[...]

...[W]hat imam al-Qaradawi was teaching:

“[A homosexual should be given] the same punishment as any sexual pervert  . . . Some say we should throw them from a high place, like God did with the people of Sodom. Some say we should burn them.”


According to the Anti-Defamation League, “In 2003 Qaradawi stated on IslamOnline that the punishment of homosexuality is the death penalty.”


In the end, says the anti-Islamist organization MEMRI, al-Qaradawi came down on the side of stoning...
.
Blatant hypocrisy on the part of Mayor Menino!

In other statements, Dan Cathy has indeed condemned gay marriage.  But has he in any way advocated the persecution of same-sex individuals  Moreover, does he not have an individual's right to make a statement in opposition to gay marriage?

Wednesday, August 1, 2012, has been declared Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day to show support for traditional marriage.

In my view, August 1 is more than that. It is a day to uphold the First Amendment rights of any American to state his views and to practice his faith peacefully in the business sphere as well as in his personal life.

Consider the following, dated July 27, 2012 :
Chick-fil-A did issue a corporate statement regarding the protests from Donald Perry, vice president Corporate Public Relations:
Chick-fil-A is a family-owned and family-led company serving the communities in which it operates. From the day Truett Cathy started the company, he began applying biblically-based principles to managing his business. For example, we believe that closing on Sundays, operating debt-free and devoting a percentage of our profits back to our communities are what make us a stronger company and Chick-fil-A family.

The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. We will continue this tradition in the over 1,600 Restaurants run by independent Owner/Operators. Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.

Our mission is simple: to serve great food, provide genuine hospitality and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.
Furthermore, August 1 is a day to hold to account the mainstream media and the agenda-exploiters.

Yes, I'll be going to Chick-Fil-A on August 1.  A franchise just recently opened near me.

35 comments:

  1. Wednesday I will be paying them a visit for dinner.

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  2. Hypocrisy and corruption are products of progressivism.

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  3. A rather ludicrous deflection from yet another hater on the right.

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  4. "Hypocrisy and corruption are products of progressivism"

    Yes, and I would say that they even comprise the 'life blood'of Liberalism (I refuse to dignify it with the appellation of "progressive")! Progressive, in this context, is just another euphemism to mask the offensive nature of their cause. It not only corrupts the original meaning but, in this case, it's completely antithetcial!

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  5. I won't be going to Chick-fil-A on Wednesday, I wish I could but time restraints being what they are, so, we're going to have lunch at the local Chick-fil-A tomorrow...

    AOW, being called a hater on the right by Liberalturd, hey, that's a good thing!! Proud of ya gal!

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  6. I completely agree with Jon. The meaning of progressive is irregular. It has nothing to do with real human growth. It is all about moving forward a socialist agenda.

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  7. Please note that there is no reference to gay or gay marriage in that particular article. There IS reference to the traditional family:

    ------
    Let's get it straight, "traditional family" is code, a dog whistle.
    Cathy gives millions to "Focus on the Family" which is a hate organization.

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  8. Can any of you point to a publication, podcast or anything that supported Menino?

    He said something stupid and got a lot of flak for it. What's your beef?

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  9. Wrong, Ducky's (Not All) Here. Focus on the Family is not a "hate group," although you liberals dishonestly use that slur on any and all individuals and organizations who oppose the Marxism that all libtards support.

    When it comes to hatred, there is nothing so hateful, intolerant and hypocritical as the "progressive" (ly mad) Left.

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  10. Ok, so I must begin by letting you all know that i am a proud, vociferous, FAR-left leaning liberal who also happens to be gay. But before you begin making an assumption of me based on that little tid-bit of personal info, I must ell you all that I actually AGREE with the view you are all expressing. I mean, what kind of "hypocrite" would i be if i endorsed the stifling of an individual's opinion by a government official (even if I happen to find that individual's opinion loathsome) , yet at the same time vehemently declared as oppressive the stifiling of an opinion I myself hold. It is easy to want to protect your own views from being suppressed, but to fight to sheild from suppression those views that you yourself find preposterous and even REPREHENSIBLE is a true showing of integrity and moral character.

    ~ "B"

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  11. And I would implore you all to read an article from journalist Glenn Greenwald entitled "Rahm Emmanuel's Dangerous Free Speech Attack" if you want to hear from another Liberal/Progressive who, like me, also shares your views on the matter. I might also add that Greenwald happens to be (like me) a gay man, not that that really matters much.

    ~ "B"

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  12. "B,"
    I was hoping that you'd comment (although I didn't write any part of the post with the idea in mind that you would be reading this post!

    Thank you for commenting. You have made excellent points, IMO.

    After I finish typing in this comment. I will look up the article that you mentioned.

    When you and I met and you told me that you are gay, how did I react? Perhaps if you stop by this thread again, you will give your response to that question.

    Part of the answer to the above question should be obvious to all here, including Duck.

    I invited you, B, to visit my web site, did I not? We also had as long a conversation as I could have; my husband was waiting for me, or we'd have talked longer.

    We were both up-front about our political views, such as they are, and had what I consider to be an excellent and friendly conversation. I am a conservative, perhaps defined in part as a "Christian conservative," but I am NOT a screaming bigot -- or a bigot of any kind.

    As I said in the body of the post, I'm sick and tired of agendas all the time.

    ------------

    I stand by what I said about you several weeks back: You are a polite young man!

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  13. Duck,
    Let's get it straight, "traditional family" is code, a dog whistle.

    Code it may be, but "traditional family" is what opposite-sex marriage IS!

    What would you have Dan Cathy say instead" That marriage is between a man and a woman? From the Christian point of view, marriage is a covenant and one that is entered into among three parties: the man, the woman, and the Lord.

    When Mr. AOW and I married, the first thing we did as man and wife (besides the kiss at the altar, of course) was pray the Lord's Prayer with all present.

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  14. Stogie,
    When it comes to hatred, there is nothing so hateful, intolerant and hypocritical as the "progressive" (ly mad) Left.

    Isn't that the truth? At least, that is the truth about these agenda pushers. I've read some of their material on the web and somehow got on one of their mailing lists. The vitriol!

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  15. I think you need to check the pitch of that whistle Ducky, as it always seems to garner more attention from the left. Either they're just speaking English, or someone forgot to mail me my secret decoder ring.

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  16. Excerpt from the essay that "B" mentioned above:

    Rahm Emanuel’s dangerous free speech attack

    ...Obviously, it’s perfectly legitimate for private citizens to decide not to patronize a business with executives who have such views (I’d likely refrain from doing so in this case). Beyond that, if a business is engaging in discriminatory hiring or service practices in violation of the law — refusing to hire gay employees or serve gay patrons in cities which have made sexual orientation discrimination illegal — then it is perfectly legitimate to take action against them.

    But that is not the case here...


    Much more at the above link.

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  17. Alright Ducky, we're all tired of your crap. You come in here and make wild statement that have no factual basis.

    So, professor, define hate, and then explain how Focus on the Family meets that definition.

    As someone else astutely pointed out, Mr. Cathy's statement about traditional marriage and being married to his first wife was also a criticism of our divorce-happy society.

    Heterosexuals have done more damage to the institution of marriage than homosexuals have, by a long shot.

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  18. I am a little confused. Rahm Emmanuel is cited as the example of liberal enlightenment but Rahm is one of the liberals trying to use the power of his government position to enforce his views on others. These are his actions. Like many liberals he says things that are part of the conservative mindset but his actions are fascist. Liberals are typically people that are mesmerized by words. But it is actions that matter. Which is the point of this post, rahm and others like him are hypocrites.

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  19. Like many liberals tactics, you can argue because there are no stats. So the charge sticks even though the liberals have no stats themselves. It is the seriousness of the charge that matters not the validity of the charge. What I mean is show me the proof that Christians hate gays. Show me stats on how many gangs of Christians are roaming around beating up gays. The buring of crosses in front of gays houses. the signs like when the Irish arrived that say gays need not apply. It is pure crap, Christians do not hate gays. We family the convenant of marriage as laid out in scripture (period). We do not tell gays they can not open businesses but gays tell us we can not have a business with Christian values---hypocrisy). Using the current legal system, a same sex couple could create almost the same legal construct of marriage with the exception of the tax code which honestly should be based on consumption and not income as the weathly routinely find ways to avoid paying income taxes. I am a Christian and I do not hate gay people. I hate that gay people try to force us to accept their values while denying that we can have our own values.

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  20. As far as I'm concerned, having lunch at CFA on Wednesday is as much a show of support for the company unapologetically standing by their values as a renunciation of leftist hypocrisy!

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  21. ""Focus on the Family" which is a hate organization."

    What a revealing comment, Ducky. And so ridiculous.

    AOW, you nailed it about the 'traditional marriage' comment...well done. "code it may be..." right. Now we can't be for traditional marriage unless we hate gays, right? which is EXACTLY the inference of the leftwing :-) Unbelievable.

    "B"..good for you. Thanks for your comments and I look forward to hearing more from you here on other subjects, I hope! Blessings! z

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  22. Blogginator:

    There is nothing more doctrinaire, constipated and un-liberal as today's self-described American "liberal."

    Liberals are anything but. They are dogmatic and controlling and can't stand the thought of people ordering their own lives and having sovereignty over themselves as envisioned by the founders.

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  23. Silverfiddle,

    Amen to that, my friend! There will be a 'tipping point' to this or, otherwise, we are done!

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  24. Mrs. AOW,
    When quite early into our conversation I told you that I was gay, your reaction was somewhere along the line's of "So what, doesnt't bother me, I don't judge or have ANY problem with that!" I can't remember the exact words you used, but what I do remember is the feeling I got from them: they put me at ease. They let me know, in the most blatant and sincere way possible, that you didn't think any differently about me than you did prior to being given that personal bit of knowledge. It was perfect because it was comforting yet also challenged my own assumptions, presuppositions, and stereotypes that I may have had about the "Christian Conservative" and what I belived to be their view of me. So, you may be alot of things Mrs. AOW, (an astute blogger, an erudite and devoted teacher, and a loving wife) but let the record show that you are NOT a bigot!
    (Oh, and in hindsight I think I was more nervous of telling you or others at the Romney rally about my "liberal-ness" than about my "gay-ness", more nervous about revealing my attraction to the philosophy of Noam Chomsky than my attraction to other men!!
    Hahaha)

    ~ "B"

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  25. Political Correctness does have its contradictions, doen't it?

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  26. HAVE YOU SEEN THIS???

    http://2016themovie.com/

    It's hitting 400 theaters in August.

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  27. B,
    Thank you for responding to my question.

    I, too, do not recall my exact words. I may have said, "So? None of my business or concern."

    The point IS, of course, that you felt at ease. Yes, I am a "people person," after all.

    I am not on this earth to judge others. Yes, I have strong political opinions and convictions in matters of faith, but I am NOT "the judge."

    We were at a political rally that day, B. I WANTED to talk politics with you! So, we did.

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  28. B you said "Oh, and in hindsight I think I was more nervous of telling you or others at the Romney rally about my "liberal-ness" than about my "gay-ness", more nervous about revealing my attraction to the philosophy of Noam Chomsky than my attraction to other men!"

    That's easy! It's easier to say "this is how I am" than "I actually believe Noam's got it right, can you BELIEVE THAT?!" :-)

    (just had to pull your chain!)
    Not a fan of NC's myself, to say the least.

    As for Mrs. AOW, she's a terrific person! You're right. And for the record, this Conservative Christian agrees with her on gays....and Chomsky, come to think of it! :-)

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  29. Black Sheep,
    I had heard SOMETHING about the film but didn't know the details -- until now.

    I wonder if it will play in the D.C. area? I don't see the D.C. area on the schedule.

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  30. HAHAHA!!! Well played "Z" , well played...

    ~ "B"

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  31. Great post AOW. Saw u on The Dude's blog and wanted to take a look see. Glad I did.

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  32. B Ditto for me as AOW...I coud care less what you are interests are in mates.

    I ask one thing of you. Agree with me that we should live in a country where our businesses can be whatever we want them to be. I will not try to destroy the businesses that are owned by peoplee that share your values so long as you agree to allow me to patronize businesses that have values like me. That is the true meaning of diversity and tolerance.

    and no we do not hate you or folks like you.

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    Replies
    1. Blogginator,
      Agreed, whole-heartedly!! I'd say lets shake on it, but at present time I don't think thats quite possible. So I suppose our verbal/written agreement will have to suffice for now. ;-)

      ~ "B"

      Delete
  33. The Chik Fil-A flap is another example of the demonizing and eventual criminalizing of speech the liberals deem offensive.

    You've pointed out the hypocrisy with the radical Imam. This isn't about gay rights or even the issue of traditional marriage. This is about silencing any speech by conservatives that fails to pass the liberal litmus test.

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  34. "B,"
    I don't know how familiar you are with blog cycles.

    I've been at this for over seven years and am so familiar with seasonal variances.

    The last several months of the pre-election season -- how to describe such time?

    Roiling.

    Tumultuous.

    Tempestuous.

    You can probably come up with better adjectives. I'm still on my first cup of coffee.

    Anyway, we get rowdy in the blogosphere. Stick around for a while, and watch what happens. And this is one of the smaller blogs, too! As you have noticed, I myself don't get easily agitated. Too old for that, and I have to watch my blood pressure.

    But, hey, all this uproar makes for interesting days during the soporific month of August.

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