In July 2012, the fast food chain Chick-Fil-A faced additional opposition from the Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender community (LGBT) over public comments by CEO Dan Cathy expressing his support for "traditional" and "bibical" values in regards to marriage. This is seen in the LGBT community as being against same-sex marriage. This backs up earlier news of the chain's financial support of organizations for marriage between one man and one woman. This is seen mostly as "hate" by the LGBT community and is frequently expressed in opposition to Chick-Fil-A. There are calls for boycotting the chain and efforts exist to prevent the chain from expanding into new areas or to have them removed from some locations.
As a member of the LGBT community and a customer of Chick-Fil-A for decades I am certainly concerned about the issues with the chain and this blog will address those issues in many posts over time. But this is the first of many posts talking about Chick-Fil-A and its alternatives. This is a comparison of my average experiences that include Chick-Fil-A
Sunday, July 22, 2012: Well it's Sunday and Chick-Fil-A is closed on Sunday so IF I wanted to eat something out that wouldn't be an option today. But I was out and about and facing an hour of driving on the interstate I stopped by a KFC drive-thru and ordered one of their chicken sandwiches. Something that can be easily eaten while driving. I ordered a combo of 2 KFC "Stackers", a side order of their potato wedges and a medium drink. I always prefer a sweetened Ice Tea but getting that from KFC is always a crap shoot. Either its too sweet, too warm because they just made a batch or getting spoiled because the batch they made is several hours old. So my drink of choice was a Sierra Mist and it was a disappointment.
And so I placed my order, spent less than $5 dollars and continued on my drive. 90 minutes later I am at a supermarket close to my home and just before I reached the checkout I felt a VERY sudden urge to use the restroom. I hate using public bathrooms but luckily I was at a supermarket that is known to have VERY clean restrooms. So I pushed my shopping cart aside and quickly made my way to the restroom. And not to get graphic, lets just say I was in the right place at the right time. Had I been anywhere else I would have been in pain or in fear of messing myself. I did what I had to do and resumed my shopping. This was less than 90 minutes AFTER consuming food from a KFC and it is not the first time experience for me. Any time I eat something from Kentucky Fried Chicken usually requires a bathroom visit within 2 hours. If it is a sandwich I have eaten by KFC, the need for a restroom comes much sooner with slightly extreme results pending.
Compare to earlier this month (Before Dan Cathy's confirmation of anti-gay policies), I went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch. I ordered a deluxe chicken club sandwich combo that came with their famous waffle fries and I ordered a large sweet Ice tea. The Tea was just right. Perfectly chilled and on ice and when I asked for lemon in my tea I got what I ordered.
My Chick-Fil-A order was at lunchtime and I continued with my day feeling great and no issues were had. There was no rush to find a restroom and no ill feelings at all.
For me a gay man in 2012 to admit that I ate at Chick-Fil-A can be seen by some as my supporting hate. Well here is a comparison of "hate". One sandwich tasted horrible and forced me to interrupt what I was doing to go to the rest room. The other tasted pretty good and I suffered no effects after eating it.
One chain is known for anti-gay donations and we don't know anything about KFC, its franchise operators or its CEO's donations for or against LGBT concerns. But some of my fellow LGBT community members would suggest I purchase food from KFC over Chick-Fil-A.
But in this case, the physical HATE came from eating the KFC sandwich. Something I have never experienced at a Chick-Fil-A.
I had an even worse experience after eating a KFC "double down" sandwich. I had to rush to find a rest room only 45 minutes after eating and almost didn't make it. That means I experienced a little more direct "hate" from KFC than Chick-Fil-A
I'm just being honest about it.
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