Protesters carry signs as traffic passes a Chick-fil-A restaurant Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in Little Rock, Ark. Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy told the Baptist Press last month that the Atlanta-based company was “guilty as charged” for backing “the biblical definition of a family.” Gay rights groups and others answered with calls for boycotts. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister, declared Wednesday “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.” (AP Photo/Danny Johnston) (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

In the mien of “What the hell were they thinking?!” Chick-fil-A did an about face in its longstanding tradition of giving to Christian Charities such as the Salvation Army. Citing a desire to be more focused on its charitable giving and being “clear on who we are” The company is now aligned with different charities, some of which are openly and directly tied to promotion of the LBTQBR549 agenda, something sure to offend founder Truett Cathy’s foundational values.

“Clear on who we are?!” What a crock. This was merely an attempt to mollify the loony left along with some of the emotionally/psychologically disordered people they cater to. Not satisfied with being the Number 3 fast food entity in America (and still growing despite being closed on Sundays) somebody decided that they needed to make inroads into the very segment of the market that is overtly and sometimes violently hostile to them. That segment promotes boycotts and pressure campaigns to remove stores from college campuses and prohibit their opening in certain airports.

What the management geniuses seem to ignore, is that much of their increased market share, has been due to the support of Christians who flock to their restaurants in loyal support, whenever the leftists begin one of their boycotts. Don’t think that that support is powerful? Here’s one example. I have direct, personal knowledge of one person, who so outraged by the boycott and disruption of Chick-fil-A store operations a few years back, withdrew $1,000.00 in cash from the bank. This person then drove to the nearest Chick-fil-A and gave it to the store manager with instructions to feed every Uniformed Service Member who walked thru the door, until that money ran out. I know that’s anecdotal, but I bet there’s more where that came from.

So, Chick-fil-A senior management turns its back on the very folks who form their base customers in hopes of entering a hostile market segment. How did that work out? Dan Bongino tells us in the lede for his piece describing continued protests and boycotts, despite the company’s change in charitable giving policy.

If there’s a rule book out there for dealing with social justice warriors, never apologizing must be the first rule. While far-left activists do seek social change, their main motivation is control. Could we expect anything less from the same kind of people who want to shape every conceivable part of society in their own image?

Final assessment? Chick-fil-A, in a misguided attempt to gain market share in an demographic that is intensely hostile to them and was never going to change their spots, has failed in that endeavor while totally alienating their loyalest customers. As my good friend and colleague Barbara Fox put it:

“Chick-fil-A’s new marketing strategy is ‘Let’s make everybody hate us!’”

Mike Ford, a retired Infantry Officer, writes on Military, Foreign Affairs and occasionally dabbles in Political and Economic matters.

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