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Progressives are big on tolerance. They want people to be tolerant of other for a variety of reasons. They often cite religion as one. Hey, I’m a libertarian. Who am I to argue? We’re all about tolerance too.
However, following the comments by Chic-Fil-A’s CEO last week regarding gay marriage, the left has responded quickly with calls to boycott. Jason touched on that last week, and I have nothing to add to that front except that while I think the boycott to be ultimately useless, it’s certainly their right to do it.
Things have gotten a little more intense since then however. A couple of days ago, the mayor of Boston decided to block a franchise there:
The people of Boston will have to purchase their chicken sandwiches elsewhere: Mayor Thomas M. Menino has sworn that the franchise will have to fight city hall to bring its fast-food empire to Boston after Chick-fil-A’s president, Dan Cathy, said gay marriage is “inviting God’s judgment on our nation.” The Atlanta-based chain is hoping to open a restaurant in a popular tourist spot near the Freedom Trail — a rather ironic choice in Menino’s eyes.
“Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston,” Menino told the Boston Herald on Thursday. “You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against the population. We’re an open city, we’re a city that’s at the forefront of inclusion. That’s the Freedom Trail. That’s where it all started right here. And we’re not going to have a company, Chick-fil-A or whatever the hell the name is, on our Freedom Trail.”
So, screw the jobs that a franchise will create. Those folks didn’t want to work for a company with an uncool stance like that anyways, right?
Menino isn’t alone either.
A Chicago alderman wants to kill Chick-fil-A’s plans to build a restaurant in his increasingly trendy Northwest Side ward because the fast-food chain’s top executive vocally opposes gay marriage.
Ald.Proco “Joe” Moreno announced this week that he will block Chick-fil-A’s effort to build its second Chicago store, which would be in the Logan Square neighborhood, following company President Dan Cathy’s remarks last week that he was “guilty as charged” for supporting the biblical definition of marriage as between a man and woman.
“If you are discriminating against a segment of the community, I don’t want you in the 1st Ward,” Moreno told the Tribune on Tuesday.
Some will applaud these politicians and their stances as the ultimate in tolerance. However, it’s not. It’s intolerant. It’s a case of “if I disagree with you, I will do what I can to hurt you”. It’s deciding who can do business in your area based on the political views of a company.
How would these progressives feel if Lee County, Georgia (a conservative stronghold), refused to permit a company open up there because their CEO supported gay marriage? Would that still be acceptable?
I don’t have a problem with gay marriage. I have a problem with government involvement in marriage, but if they’re going to be involved then it should be free from restrictions on which adults can marry which adults. I also have a problem with people using the force of government to try and make people change their ideas.
Dan Cathy may well be all the things people are calling him. I don’t know the guy, so I can’t say. None of that matters. What matters is that the “tolerant” left is screaming again, and now trying to bully a private company into submission.
Of course, these are the same people who screamed “CENSORSHIP” when radio stations decided to not play the Dixie Chicks after they made some comments. Interesting how that works, isn’t it?