Rich Copley, culture editor for the Lexington Herald-Leader, shared his well-considered thoughts on the Chick-Fil-A controversy, and just so happened to quote a semi-famous recovering muser:
The idea of ideological consumerism was lampooned on The Daily Show earlier this week in a sketch in which comics Wyatt Cenac and Jessica Williams sat down with host Jon Stewart to discuss the controversy.
Williams, representing the conservative point of view, chows down on a Chick-fil-A sandwich, and when Stewart attempts to have a bite, Cenac smacks it out of Stewart’s hands, saying, “Liberals buy liberal products!”
A moment later, when Cenac pulls out his iPhone, Williams complains that she wants one but won’t buy it because Apple supports gay marriage. Cenac laughs, then Stewart points out that Apple has some “labor issues,” referring to complaints about practices in its Chinese factories. Then he says Chick-fil-A does good things for its workers, including paying for them to go to college.
At the end of the bit, Cenac concludes that he can eat at Chick-fil-A in good conscience, as long as he follows it with some Ben & Jerry’s, and Williams decides to buy an iPhone and load it with tunes by right-wing rocker Ted Nugent.
On former state treasurer Jonathan Miller’s Recovering Politician blog, former Kentucky secretary of state John Y. Brown III, son of former governor and chicken magnate John Y. Brown Jr., joked, “This creates a frenzy among the remaining fast-food chicken chains to see who will try to appeal to the gay-friendly chicken-eating population.”
In the end, everyone needs to act on his or her own conscience. If you strongly support gay marriage, you probably will find it hard to go to Chick-fil-A. But if you start researching the fast-food joints surrounding our local Chick-fil-As, you might find some politics that are equally disturbing or affirming, depending on your leanings.
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Aug 3, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Inspirational Facebook Stories
It is hard to move ahead in the present until we can make peace with our past.
Facebook has allowed us to have an unprecedented opportunity to find people from our past and find ways to work through past differences.
Last night I looked up a guy who bullied me mercilessly in 6th grade. I hadn’t seen him since middle school.
I looked at his pictures on Facebook and at his life and saw him as he really was (and still is): A scared and lonely and lost boy with a seemingly empty life. I looked into his eyes and felt sorry for him and let go of the anger I had felt toward him for all these years.
I forgave him.
And then, in my imagination, I walked over from my Facebook page to his and beat the crap out of him.
As I was walking back, I turned and saw him getting up and about to come toward me.
“No, no. You don’t want to do that.” I said.
He had that resigned look on his face as if to say, “I know. You are right,”
“Be glad you caught me in a forgiving mood. If I ever see you on my Facebook page, I’ll knock you into last year’s Facebook Timeline. We clear? We good?”
“Yes, sir.”
And just like that, thanks to Facebook, I was able to make peace with a part of my past. And then some.
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu Aug 2, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
It wasn’t long ago that this was the only option for TV entertainment after 1 am.
And now you can’t find the DVD series anywhere. I guess that shouldn’t come as a surprise.
The writing was weak. Nothing much happened. Yet it was nice knowing it was an option. And when I did stare at the Indian test pattern, it had a calming effect on me.
And it became a TV institution.
I suspect someone somewhere in Hollywood is thinking of a modern remake of this time honored piece of TV history.
Maybe starring the Indian guy from the Twilight series who turns into a werewolf. I actually liked him a lot. He inspired me to start working out and I thought he was a more compelling and interesting character than the guy who played Edward Cullen.
On the other hand, the Indian role in the test pattern is eerily similar in breadth and scope to the Edward Cullen character. Quiet, stoic, brave, eccentric, bit of an outcast, and up all night without much nuance. Yeah, maybe the guy who plays Cullen would be a better fit.
This remake idea could be big. I am already seeing a sequel in the works before the first one is finished.
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Aug 1, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
The Onion dominates print humor on the web leaving an opening for video humor, which seemed more difficult by comparison.
Until Will Ferrell and some friends tried their hand at it by creating an oddly named website, Funny or Die.
And now they excel and dominate in this niche.
If you like dry humor and modern comedy, you gotta spend some time tooling around the Funny or Die website.
It’s been around for a while but recently seems to have made a significant leap in content. The quality has always been good. Now there’s plenty of it to check the site regularly
By John Y. Brown III, on Mon Jul 30, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Used to be if you were hungry for chicken and in a hurry–and against gay marriage–there wasn’t a clear fast food option.
Not anymore.
Chick-fil-A has finally articulated what most suspected. They want to dominate market share of the heterosexual chicken eating population by coming out against gay-marriage.
No surprises here. I mean, c’mon. “Chick” is in the name.
“I’ve loved Chik-fil-A from the first time I tried it. That’s got to count for something.”
I’ll be watching next month for the new Chick-fil-A “Hetero Combo” featuring a masculine looking sandwich with two chicken breasts and straight looking garnishments.
This creates a frenzy among the remaining fast food chicken chains to see who will try to appeal to the gay friendly chicken eating population.
Apparently rumors that Popeye’s is considering moving their headquarters to Fire Island, NY and that KFC is introducing the “Judy Garland Over the Rainbow” sandwich are false. However it does appear that Dairy Queen is working on playing both sides with the “Big Butch Chicken Basket”
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Jul 27, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Costco and Theological Insights.
As I walked in Costco today I had a serene feeling overtake me. It was bustling with pleasant people and had almost everything imaginable to choose from and at bulk rate pricing.
In some weird way it got me thinking about Heaven.
No, not about shopping in heaven but something more metaphysical and deeper; namely; I wondered if Heaven isn’t more open and accessible to the than many imagine. I always expected it would be….and still hold out hope it will be.
There’s something about the feeling of being in Costco that I just like. Very different than shopping at a over-priced formal place like, say, Tiffany’s, which I dislike and have only been to once or twice.
A lot of Christian spokespeople talk about Heaven more like it’s in the mold of a Tiffany’s than a Costco. I disagree with them. I think God is more forgiving and gracious than that. I can’t really explain why I think this. I just always have. I have never been able to imagine God as being petty and punitive as his primary raison d’être or “reason for being.” Though some of his loudest publicists would have you believe otherwise.
And I don’t believe that God has broadened the entry barrier to Heaven (as Costco has to shoppers) in response to market pressures. I think it’s always been that way. God was way ahead of the market on this one.
I left Costco today without buying a single thing but felt spiritually uplifted and grateful for a loving God that is as comfortable hanging out in the corners of Costco as the greeting lobby at Tiffany’s.
Full Disclosure: I did become a Costco “Executive Member” to cover my bases in case Heaven is somewhere between Costco and Tiffany’s.
