Some thoughts re: Chick fil a news

Yes, I am going to post about the Chick-fil-a thing going on. I did not originally intend to, but after reading various articles, facebook posts, mocking pictures on both sides, etc, I've decided I want to. There are some things about this debate that have been bothering me a lot, and I want to address them. And yes, I do have a strong opinion when it comes to LGBT rights, so this post will come across as "biased" (although what isn't?), but I want to make it clear that I think there are two separate issues regarding this whole thing, and I want to address the second. I'm not going to write about gay rights, as there are many articles and youtube videos all over that say what I think about that, and I don't have much to add what they have to say; instead I want to write about a second issue that has come up regarding the recent news with Chick-fil-a, and I think seems to be largely ignored in this whole debate.

Many of the responses I've been reading includes phrase that people are tossing around, regarding those being denied their "first amendment rights." I have trouble seeing what all this stuff with Dan Cathy has to do with the first amendment, which is the right to free speech. The way I see it, people (or maybe it's just me) are getting more upset over where a fraction of the money spent at Chick-fil-a actually goes, which is to their philanthropy, the WinShape foundation. There is nothing illegal about what they do, and it is Cathy's choice to donate to the organization he sees fit. However, as I personally do not agree with many of WinShape's views and actions, most notably their strong stance on "traditional" marriage, I do not want to spend my money at Chick-fil-a knowing that a portion of it, however small, goes to that organization. (not to mention the large amount of money that WinShape has donated to other organizations such as Focus on the Family, and the Family Research Council, which are, if anything, far more vocal on their views of "family life" than WinShape). And quite frankly, if someone chooses not to spend their money at Chick fil a simply based on the company's statement, or even be vocal in response to his views, then that is also their choice, just as it is Cathy's choice to make a statement in the first place. 


(I would like to add that Cathy's relationship with this foundation is nothing new; the only thing has has caused a stir recently is the combination of Henson's withdrawal of the Muppets toys and connections from Chick fil a, the response of Chick fil a to that withdrawal, and the letter from the mayor of Chicago). 

In making this decision to not buy from Chick-fil-a, I am not trying to say that Dan Cathy is wrong in voicing his opinion, regardless of whether or not I agree with it. We all have the right to do the same, which is a wonderful (and powerful) right. But just as Cathy is allowed to choose where he donates the profits of his company, I am allowed to choose where I spend my money. The whole "first amendment rights" argument I've been seeing annoys me for that reason. People tend to throw the phrase around to validate their opinion, or invalidate those who argue with them (he's being denied his first amendment rights because he is under attack), but my decision (I can't speak for everyone) is not the result of Cathy saying what he believes, but of where some of my money goes. And I can't feel good about giving my money to organizations like WinShape and Focus on the Family when I disagree with their statements so strongly. Whether or not they are wrong for doing so, I retain my right to choose where I buy food.

Again, I'm not really going to get into the subject of gay marriage. I am glad that Chick fil a does not discriminate based on sexual orientation when they hire; I do respect them for that. I could write paragraphs delving into Biblical arguments explaining why I believe using religion to argue against homosexuality is kind of silly (throwing out the standard Leviticus passages about pigskin, stoning, and rape, or Paul's views on women), but I'm not going to. I could also argue about civil rights, and genetics, or choices (rather, lack thereof), but I also won't do that. That is kind of irrelevant to this post. If anybody wants to hear my arguments, they're welcome to send me a message, and I will write them back with much more than they asked for. I would add that I genuinely respect all religions, and even would consider myself a Christian, just as much as I would consider myself someone who believes in the power of questioning. But in all honesty, I think that those who would agree with me would already be agreeing with me before reading what I have to say, while those who would initially disagree would not be swayed by what I have to say, because it would not be anything that they have not heard before, and I don't think I have the eloquence to write it very persuasively. I'm not one for debate.

I also do not think that my not eating at Chick-fil-a will change anything. I dislike the word "boycott" for what I'm doing here, because it implies that I believe this will cause a change. I don't think it will-- not from my part, anyway. I never ate there much in the first place, anyway, although I do like their chicken. So why am I not eating their food? Put simply, I just can't feel good about myself if I'm donating (however marginally) to a cause I absolutely do not support, and there really isn't much more to it than that.

Elegy for my Phone

You were a good phone;

You were not perfect,

But you were mine.

You sometimes froze

Or I could not unlock you,

And you had scrapes on your corners

From all the times I dropped you.

Sometimes you would accidentally call people

Or send nonsensical texts from inside my purse

Even though you had a touchpad--

I thought that was so silly.

But you were my phone. 

You knew my entire internet history,

You knew that I had a Pokedex on my phone,

Knew the songs I listened to, 

And which ones I liked the most.

You knew that I loved Mahler

And the soundtrack to Kingdom Hearts,

And that I had a separate playlist for when guests were in the car

So I would seem more normal.

You knew that I was determined to beat Cut the Rope, 

That I had little interest in Angry Birds,

And I liked the Spanish explorer from Temple Run. 

You knew I liked taking pictures of cats. 

You saw all of my texts and all of my emails,

Endured my habit of repeatedly pressing the "hold" button

So your screen would turn on and off,

And made a quacking noise for your ringtone. 

But you were taken from me,

So I wiped your memory

With iCloud

And now you don't remember me.

You were my phone.

**********************************************

RIP Emily's Phone (June 2011-June 2012)

Melkor, Belkor, and the Two Carrots

(taken and edited from a draft of the unpublished The Even More Lost Tales, by J. R. R. Tolkien)

In the time when the Children of Iluvatar were just beginning to wake on the shores of Cuivienen, Melkor was imprisoned in the Halls of Mandos, and after three hundred and ninety four years he grew hungry, so he sang into existence with his own music a beautiful garden, so that many vegetables might grow to be cooked  into a Magnificent Soup, a Soup that would surpass all other soups ever cooked by the Valar, a Soup that not a single Ainur could ever imagine, a Soup that would fill even the most infinite stomachs. This garden Melkor named Belkor, which means Garden of Dark Vegetables, and he grew peppers of the most delectable variety that the finest grocer in Tuna could not refuse, tomatoes brighter and rosier than the fires of Aule, and squash for which Feanor offered two of his own shining Silmarils only to be refused by Melkor; even the great Manwe could never produce a single crop that brimmed with as much life as Melkor's peas or corn or transcendent cauliflower which caused the Valar to weep with envy.

Most precious of all to Melkor were two carrots that he grew with his powerful songs, melodies very much unlike those of his brethren while still beautiful in their own right, but he remained ignorant that his own vegetables could never have been possible but for the first creation of the omnipotent Eru, without whom there could be no Melkor to sing a single leaf into existence, and this ignorance continually placed Melkor under a dark shadow that even his beautiful vegetables could not save him from. Melkor loved these two carrots, and they were called Helkor and Gelkor, and also Finmelkor and Melkorfin, and also Denethor and Denethor, but to the Noldori they were known simply as Anduilenywen, which means Two Carrots. Melkor saw these carrots and understood that they would make his soup surpass all previous culinary endeavors by any being on Arda, and his eyes gleamed with pride and also jealousy, as he feared deeply that Namo would leave his cold throne in the Halls of Mandos in order that he might take the two carrots for himself.


But it was not Mandos who first found these two carrots, but his brother Lorien, who came upon Belkor after a lengthy, wandering stroll around Valinor, and found his own stomach making music louder than the thunders of Manwe and more disconcerting than the striking of Aule's hammer by his strong right arm, shaping the stones into living Noldor, and Lorien looked for something that he might satisfy his vast appetite. Melkor happened to choose this time to take a great nap, which was called Telkor, which means Dark Nap. And thus, as Lorien strode down the endless Halls of Mandos, he beheld the two carrots, Helkor and Gelkor, planted side by side, in the dark soil that was filled with Melkor's despair and his love of creation, and he took the two carrots and ate them, and lo, his eyes indeed glistened with wonder, and a fire in his heart awoke the moment the carrots passed his lips, and he wept at the beauty he had just eaten.

Immediately, a powerful force seized Lorien's body and his eyes turned red and he tore all the vegetables out of Melkor's garden in a wild frenzy, fleeing from the Halls of his brother, and Valinor, past the Tol Eressea, over Belegaer, across Eriador, and through the Misty Mountains, and over the in a fit of exhaustion collapsed upon the ground, dropping all of his vegetables, and there a mighty forest grew named Lothlorien meaning "dreamflower" because Lorien fell asleep upon lying down on this ground because he was full and also because he is the god of sleep and dreams, and he had a dream about eating more carrots.

Melkor woke from his nap and cried out upon seeing his pulchritudinous garden destroyed, and beat his breast and tore his hair, and vowed revenge on his brothers and sisters for the Magnificent Soup that would now never be made.