Just as the pro-slavery elements during the lead up to the Civil War and the segregationists nearly one hundred years later doubled down on the anti-equality efforts before ultimately being overcome by the tide of history we are now seeing the forces of anti-gay bigotry dig in for one last stand against the tide of equity and modernity. A case in point is the Chick-Fil-A foundation which has doubled its giving to anti-gay organizations even as a new Southern Baptist Convention backed survey found that 64% of Americans deem marriage equality on a national level to be inevitable. Hate and bigotry do not die easily or quietly. All one can do is boycott such founts of discrimination and encourage friends and family members to do likewise. Think Progress looks at Chick-Fil-A's stepped up anti-gay efforts. Here are highlights:
[D]espite suggestions by some that the company’s WinShape Foundation had already scaled back its anti-LGBT giving before that point, its newly released annual IRS filings for 2011 indicate nothing of the sort.
Most of the WinShape’s anti-LGBT giving in previous years went to groups like the Marriage & Family Foundation ($1,188,380 in 2010), the Fellowship Of Christian Athletes ($480,000 in 2010), and the National Christian Foundation ($247,500). Additionally, the group made small donations to the “ex-gay” group Exodus International ($1,000) and the hate group Family Research Council ($1,000).
In 2011, the group actually gave even more to anti-LGBT causes. Its contribution to the Marriage & Family Foundation jumped to $2,896,438 and it gave the same amount to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and National Christian Foundation as it had in 2010. In total, the anti-LGBT spending exceeded $3.6 million — almost double the $1.9 million from the year before.
While the group gave nothing directly to Exodus International or FRC, a large amount of Chick-fil-A/WinShape money still made its way to those groups. The National Christian Foundation (aka the National Christian Charitable Foundation) gave $4,100 to Exodus International and a stunning $1,260,040 to FRC. This was possible, in part, because of the $247,500 it received directly from WinShape and because the WinShape-backed Marriage & Family Foundation also transferred $870,834 to the group — the self-described “largest Christian grant-making foundation in the world.”
In essence, Chick-fil-A’s “charitable” contributions in 2011 were no less hateful than in 2010 — just less transparent.
If readers have friends who continue to patronize Chick-Fil-A, they truly need to confront these people and make sure they are aware of the hate and bigotry that they are helping to finance. Personally, I go even further and tell my friends its either me or anti-gay organizations like Chick-Fi-A. If they continue to support Chick-Fil-A it's obvious that they are not really friends and I don't waste my time with them. Eventually, it is they, not me, who will become the social pariahs.
No comments:
Post a Comment