Light On Dark Water

I sort of thought this might happen

On my way to work this morning I passed the Chick-fil-a restaurant located not very far from where I work. I don't usually notice it, but today I made a point of looking to see if it seemed busier than usual. I'd been to the dentist and so was getting to work later than usual, passing the restaurant at about 9:45. The parking lot was full and the drive-thru line wrapped around the building, the way it often does at the lunch hour. I thought this seemed unusual for that time of day–late for breakfast, early for lunch–but since I'd never paid attention before I didn't know if it really was. Well, apparently it was. The first picture in the gallery accompanying that story is the location I'm talking about. That picture was taken around lunchtime. When they say those people "brave[d] the hot sun," it's the truth. It was seriously hot today. And apparently this scene was occurring all over the country. 

Update: it's pretty striking that these two stories, one from the New York Times and one from the Los Angeles Times, treat today's events as being motivated entirely by the desire to make a statement against "gay marriage." Neither of them so much as mentions the actual events that provoked the protest. I mean, not a word–it's completely erased, leaving a seriously distorted picture. It's no wonder the reputations of these big journalistic institutions are in tatters, that they're frequently compared to Pravda, and so forth.

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19 responses to “I sort of thought this might happen”

  1. grumpy

    I was cheered to hear on the radio this morning that Chikfila has run out of supplies in many shops because of the crowds of people going to show their support. As you say, people think it’s about ‘gay marriage’, when in fact this is specifically about freedom of speech.
    It is delightful in general to hear the American radio – even the Martins ads make me feel happy to be back in the USA.

    Reply
  2. Mac

    I’m not surprised some of them were running out. I was wondering whether they were equipped to handle a sudden massive demand like this.
    I don’t know how many people who are supporting Cfa are thinking about free speech, but that was certainly the catalyst, and the other side seems to be resolutely ignoring that. This is a case where they overreached and put themselves on the wrong side of American instincts.
    I’m glad you’re happy to be back, but I have to wonder what’s delightful about American radio.

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  3. Janet

    I think it’s interesting that when J.C. Penney and Starbucks came out with strong pro-gay marriage statements, no one opposed to that said that they shouldn’t be allowed to do business, they just quietly withdrew their business.
    I’m glad to hear that you are happy to be back.
    AMDG

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  4. Mac

    It was encouraging that a lot of people on the left disavowed the threats. But pretty revealing about what might be coming.
    I’m trying to decide if I have to quit using Amazon now. I sort of disapprove of it on other grounds anyway, but gosh, it sure is handy.

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  5. Janet

    If you have a Kindle, this is a really big issue. I had a discussion with someone Sunday who explained to me why one didn’t have to quit using Amazon, but it’s a long explanation and I don’t have time to write it, but it made sense.
    AMDG

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  6. Mac

    Hmm, hadn’t thought of that. Yeah, that is a problem.

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  7. Janet

    For one thing, I’m buying books that I wouldn’t otherwise buy from authors and publishers that I want to support, so I would also be taking money from them, and since some of them, like Heather King, aren’t making great lashings of money it would have more of an effect on them than on the CEO of Amazon to whom my sales are but a flyspeck.
    AMDG

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  8. Marianne

    An alternative to Amazon that you might want to consider is Oxfam’s Good Books site http://www.usegoodbooks.com/ . All the money they make goes to Oxfam’s charitable projects. Their prices are comparable with Amazon’s, but they don’t have the free postage on $25 and over that Amazon offers, and delivery probably takes longer. I’ve used it to have stuff sent to me here in New Zealand and that was pretty fast.

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  9. grumpy

    what did amazon do?
    The thing about American radio, Mac, is that it is so American.

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  10. Mac

    The head of Amazon just gave $2.5 million to gay-marriage activist groups. I’m sure that’s not all the company does in that line, either.
    Indeed it is. I’m a little surprised that you’ve developed an affection for it.

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  11. Mac

    Interesting possibility, Marianne. I just searched for books by Caryll Houselander there, not expecting to find any, but there are 8. I could switch at least some of my buying to them.

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  12. grumpy

    I find it difficult to envisage life without amazon. I hope Janet has a good explanation up her sleeve!

    Reply
  13. grumpy

    Six months ago, I tried using a different company to get a DVD. Just for the heck of it. Making a change ended up with a two week wait for the DVD. They couldn’t supply it for some reason, and I had to get my money back and try again. It was a mainstream soap – ‘Justified’. Ultimately, I got it from amazon.
    Rereading that, it is a bit shocking that I now become indignant about having to wait two weeks for a DVD.

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  14. Janet

    I have asked he who explained it to me to explain it to thee. I’m waiting for an answer. For me, what I’ve said above about supporting those authors is enough, I think.
    AMDG

    Reply
  15. Mac

    I plan to have an e-book out there, too, within the next year. I don’t think patronizing Amazon would be positively sinful in any case, I just might prefer to send my business elsewhere when there’s a reasonable alternative.
    I agree, Grumpy, it is shocking to find oneself feeling that way. Once when we were in the middle of The Wire and the next disk didn’t arrive from Netflix when we wanted it, I drove 8 miles or so to a Blockbuster I hadn’t patronized for several years to find it. They had it.

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  16. Anne-Marie

    This evening I heard two young women conversing:
    A: I have to admit I’m glad I didn’t have to deal with the crowds, but I feel kind of guilty for not going to Chik-fil-A today. Maybe I’ll go tomorrow instead.
    B: I hear it’s going to be just as bad tomorrow because so many people are saying the same thing as you.

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  17. Mac

    Interesting. Tomorrow is also supposed to be the gay kiss-in. The one I pass on the way to work looked back to normal today. I’ll be sure to notice tomorrow.
    All this fuss has made me want to try their breakfast sometime.

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  18. Paul

    I can heartily recommend the Chick-fil-A breakfast to anybody who likes fatty and/or sugary foods and isn’t particularly fussy about presentation.

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  19. Mac

    That’s what fast food is all about.:-)
    The reason I mentioned the breakfast menu, btw, is because I’m familiar with the lunch one. I nearly always bring my lunch to work, but when I don’t Chick-fil-a is my second choice. I like it better than the burger places because I can get something that isn’t a sandwich + potatoes, so I like to think it isn’t quite as high-calorie. And they have a drink that has no caffeine and not much sugar. First choice is a deli sort of place, which is slower and more expensive. But I am a big biscuit (in the American sense) lover and seeing those folks lined up outside Cfa Wednesday morning put biscuits on my brain.

    Reply

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