Baumhower: Life lessons learned at Chick-fil-A
Written by Jeremy Baumhower | | jbaumhower@toledofreepress.comWednesday August 1st was the unofficial “ Appreciation Day” . This “Appreciation Day ” was created by Former Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee and with no official support from the restaurant chain itself. Huckabee’s Facebook campaign came in response to Chick-Fil-A’s CEO Dan Cathy’s comments on running a Christian Business and believing in a “Traditional Marriage”. The media firestorm that followed put a chicken restaurant chain at the center of a political and religious debate. Over 500,000 people “liked” the Huckabee ‘Facebook movement and apparently all showed up to a local Chick-Fil-A in support.
When I was 15 years old, a man took a chance on me and gave me my first job…the man’s name is Michael Herrick and the job was at Chick-Fil-A. I worked at Franklin Park Mall’s Chick-Fil-A for two years, before the mall expanded, changed ownership and was renamed. Chick-Fil-A was located across from McDonald’s and next to Arthur Treachers. Mr. Herrick was the perfect boss for a 15 year old kid from the West End. I watched in amazement of Mike’s work ethic and dedication. He worked from 9 AM to 7 PM Monday thru Saturday, without any vacations the entire time of my employ. He had three young kids at the time and a dedicated wife who also worked there. My neighborhood was predominately white and Catholic. Working at Chick-Fil-A was my first real experience, not just working but interacting with those different from me. That diversity made me want to show up for work.
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I have maintained my relationship with Mike for the last 22 years… though I admit , it is based on delicious chicken. He has always kept tabs on me and I have always appreciated our conversations. We have discussed everything from the ups and downs of business in Toledo to our families
“Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day” made me happy for the Herricks, but also broke my heart.
My sister and I were both raised in a loving Catholic home, both raised to be “straight” sexually, but God designed her different from me, my sister is gay. Somehow we are not seen as equals under the law as I am allowed to marry, share benefits with my wife, but she cannot. My sister does not have the same civil rights as I do and we are from the same parents in the same house.
People waiting in line for three hours for Chick-Fil-A made sense to me, the chicken is worth every minute. People waiting three hours in a line to express their “freedom of speech” in support of “Traditional Marriage” reminded me of those I read about, who lined the streets to protest racial integration in Mississippi schools some 50 years ago. The phrase “Traditional Marriage” is so beautifully offensive and clever, no one could ever see the hate behind it.
Conservative Talk Show hosts used Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day as a rallying point, a demonstration of “Freedom of Speech”, to show the “Main Stream Media” that everybody was not OK with Gay Marriage. You could hear the Brainwashed talking points in every TV interview of those who “appreciated” Chick-Fil-A, they all sounded exactly the same. They were proud of standing up for their “moral beliefs” and their “right” to say it. Everyone has a right to believe what they want, they have a right to express those very same beliefs, but just because it is a “Right” doesn’t make what you say all right.
Those Mississippians in the 1950s who were morally against the integration of blacks into public schools, used phrases like “Pro-White” and “Separate But Equal”. How do we feel about those people 50 years later? If you held those very same beliefs today, and attended an organized event with those who carried the same morals, society calls those gatherings a demonstration of “Hate Speech”, that’s how we see it today.
Fifty years from now, the legalization of Gay Marriage will be a distant memory. The images and interviews of those who supported “Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day” will haunt our culture the same way the Mississippi integration has.
For those of you in Toledo who waited the three hours to show your support against Gay Marriage, I hold only the greatest of love in my heart for you… you just have to share the love with my gay sister.
“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.” —- 1 John 2:9-11
Tags: Chick-fil-A, gay marriage, Mike Huckabee
Jeremy,
This comment was posted on August 9th, 2012 at 10:09 pmThank you for such a well thought piece. I would say so much more, but that would require an article in and of itself.
Mary
But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Matthew 12:48-50
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
This comment was posted on August 9th, 2012 at 10:26 pmThis cannot be said any better than what Jeremy has said!!! Being openly gay in toledo and in the media is and has been very rewarding and i have tried hard to portray a gay person as some one positive, professional, and caring!!! well all i can say is that Jeremy we need more intellegent people like you in our city!!! GOD LOVES YOU BROTHER!!! AND YOUR SISTER TOO
This comment was posted on August 9th, 2012 at 10:37 pmHomosexual activists, as part of their strategy to change laws and gain social acceptance, are strategically drawing parallels between the African American civil rights movement and their own agenda to promote gay rights. Certainly, there are some similarities. We’ll take an honest look at those. But there are vast foundational differences between these two movements . . .
Hijacking the Civil Rights Bus http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/orob/hijacking-the-bus-homosexuality-scripture
This comment was posted on August 9th, 2012 at 10:38 pmJeremy, I really appreciate this article. I have known of the morals of Chick-Fil-A for quite some time. I choose not support them because I do not want to fuel such hate. However, it is nice to hear that you have such a great experience. More than anything, I’m sure our sisters appreciate our support and love.
This comment was posted on August 10th, 2012 at 8:13 amDear Jeremy,
This comment was posted on August 10th, 2012 at 12:03 pmI can love your sister without approving of the way she lives her life. And because i believe this I am a hater. I don’t think so. You are allowed to question my beliefs as being wrong but I’m not allowed to questions yours or in this case your sisters as being wrong. I am allowed to and that is the message. You and I can disagree.
On August 1st I stood in a jewelry store looking at rings for my soon to be husband while the line for Chick-fil-A formed out through the mall doors right next to me. I had just returned that very day from a vacation where my fiance proposed to me on Mackinaw Island in the garden of the Grand Hotel. “Yea yea how romantic;what a lucky lady; nice ‘traditional’ couple; etc.” I would think the same thing if that’s all there were to the story. What nobody in that line could have known is that a year and a half ago my gay best friend of 30 yrs introduced me the the older brother of his boyfriend. Born of that meeting is what has been the happiest days of my life. It saddened me to look at that line of people forming, essentially in protest of something without which I would never have met the love of my life. So I have to wonder, what would the closed minded people, standing in that line, who protest something that has absolutely no bearing on their personal world what so ever think of that.
This comment was posted on August 10th, 2012 at 5:20 pm@Desi – Obviously the color of our skin may be different from those involved on the winning side of the civil rights movement, but it doesn’t change the fact “religious” people refuse to admit. We, as homosexuals, are born the way that we are. There is no amount of torture, medicine, or scripture readings that can change this. There is no amount of “willpower” we can exude to overcome this. We are who we are, and the fact that your kind discriminates against us will be eventually in vane. I have full confidence in humanity in the United States that the right to marry will be a possibility in the future. The thing that disgusts me, however, is that “religious” take what they want from the Old Testament (which Christianity does NOT hold in same regards as the NEW Testament), and discards what they do not want. For instance, Desi, have you ever touched a football, well then you’re a sinner. Do you wear clothing that contains more than one type of fabric? Sinner. If a situation arose where the man from a married couple died before having a child, would you support and force the widowed woman to marry her late husband’s brother? Pick and chose what you want, but we as the gay community (and more of the public day in and day out) see you for what you are – you’re a bigot that hides behind your “religious beliefs” and think that it is acceptable to hate others and judge them (btw those two things are BIG no-no’s in the eyes of your religion). I live in a country that has a separation of Church and State. I live in a country that when I was in school, I thought it was RIDICULOUS that somebody would have the gull to bring issue to removing “In God We Trust” from our currency. I know see a bigger picture of that issue. I agree we should respect our heritage and religious people should be able to believe whatever they choose. That right to religion STOPS when *I* cannot have simple liberties of MY pursuit of happiness (that’s from the Bill of Rights, by the way).
I thought this article was very well written. And I hope that soon my boyfriend and I will be afforded the same rights as the bigots that say we’re going to hell … for being who we are – Law abiding, respectful, peaceful, caring, hard working, house owning, living breathing and loving human beings.
This comment was posted on August 10th, 2012 at 5:38 pmJeremy, that was a wonderfully written piece. I believe we all have the right (as per our constitution) to believe as we want. I do not believe we have the right to judge anyone for their beliefs. Only God has the right to judge each and every one of us…. I knew Amber Herrick (i know she is married, but don’t recall her married name) thru America’s Pride, and a finer, more loving and caring young woman you will never find…she had wonderful parents who supported her in whatever endeavor she chose….and such a beautiful voice. Love and tolerance is the key here….we need to teach that at an early age that no matter what our differences, we are all Children of God… God bless you and your family…
This comment was posted on August 10th, 2012 at 7:07 pm@Renee: disagreeing about beliefs of homosexuality does not make you a hater. using your beliefs to make it ok for “separate but equal” rights to continue to exsist in this country does make you a hater. our disagreeing on a topics does not make it ok for one set of citizens to impose a 2nd class of rights for others. believe what you want, live and let live, and let God do the judging.
This comment was posted on August 11th, 2012 at 10:24 pmOnce again, far radicals hijack Biblical verses to support their homosexuality which, is also clearly stated in the Bible,as a mortal Sin.
The Chik-fil-A, episode perfectly depicts the intolerant homosexual crowd is all about selfish deception in what they profess.
Kind of like the 100% Lies the radical America haters,utilize to obfuscate everything they do to destroy America’s Great Traditions, including one that’s over 400,000 years old, ie. marriage between one man and one woman !
This comment was posted on August 13th, 2012 at 2:21 pmErieEagle, America, and therefore American Traditions and Values that you believe should apply to everyone, are much younger than 400,000 years. MUCH. Also, homosexuality and the acceptance of it dates back to ancient times and cultures, defenitely before the creation of Christianity. It is only in the eyes of the blind that people supporting pro-gay marriage are “radical.” How about radical thinking belonging to those that use the bible or religion to justify not just freedom of speech or religion but injustice and intolerance? Or those that pick & choose which scriptures to follow and cry for their “freedom of speech” when others ask for equal protection of the law?
This comment was posted on August 17th, 2012 at 9:42 am