My generation often lives up to the stereotype of being over passionate, and it often serves some good. It has called attention to environmental issues, government corruption, and maybe most significantly, civil rights and social justice. While racial and social prejudices have certainly diminished over time, there is still plenty of inequality to conquer, and my generation’s fiery tweets have, if not combated it, at least acknowledged that it’s an issue.
It seems strange then that a generation so focused on confronting social injustice is also entirely infatuated with Chick-fil-A.
The restaurant chain has come under fire for its proactively conservative values before, and doesn’t really go to very extensive efforts to hide them either—but it doesn’t really seem to matter. Profits continue to pile up for the chain, and it appears thanks to the same millennial generation that seems to be against what Chick-fil-A stands for.
Now, I’m not saying that buying chicken sandwiches is necessarily contributing to homophobia, because it isn’t, but it also isn’t necessarily not. It’s sort of the same idea as buying Chris Brown’s music in 2009. Downloading “I Can Transform Ya” doesn’t necessarily mean you’re supporting domestic abuse, but it also does mean you’re supporting someone who committed domestic abuse. The degree to which those two align is certainly up for subjective analysis, but they are undoubtedly, at least slightly, related.
Maybe this shows how my generation likes to play the role of social justice warriors only while everyone is watching, maybe it’s a commentary on how unaware we are, or maybe I’m just reading too much into it. In any case, it’s certainly something interesting to consider.
If it’s the first “maybe,” then perhaps it’s important for us all to remember that a fight as important and detailed as that requires relentless integrity. If it’s the second, then I would argue that the phrase “ignorance is bliss” is defeated by “knowledge is power” in every possible manner. If it’s the third, then I guess this article is awkwardly and massively off point.
I’d like to think that it’s one of the first two, however, and in such a case, I think it’s important to consider the necessary attributes required to take on such a task. Integrity and knowledge are some of the most powerful weapons in anybody’s arsenal. It would be a shame if our chance to push our share toward social equality were inhibited by a (presumably) tasty chicken sandwich.
Feminism Redefined
