"Woka Woka!" Jim Henson Company Tells Chick-fil-A Good-Bye

The Jim Henson Company, the company responsible for The Muppets, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock, on Friday told Chick-fil-A that it would be severing ties to the restaurant. The chicken chain is already under fire for their stance on same-sex marriage. The Jim Henson Company had been working with Chick-fil-A on creating products for kids' meals. When Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy stated he and his company is "guilty as charged," the Henson Co. nixed it's partnership with the billion-dollar chain.

On Friday, July 20, the following statement was posted on its Facebook:

“The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over 50 years and we have notified Chick-fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors. Lisa Henson, our CEO, is personally a strong supporter of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment we received from Chick-fil-A to GLAAD”

The Jim Henson Company is the latest in a string of public officials denouncing Chick-fil-A. Actor Ed Helms (of The Office, The Hangover, and The Hangover Part II) has expressed his distaste for the organization. 5-time Tony Award-winning actress Audra McDonald (Carousel, Ragtime, and Porgy and Bess), recently tweeted, "Not that I ate much Chick-fil-A before but I sho nuff don't have an appetite for it now."

Probably most significantly was the support of current Boston mayor, Thomas Menino. In an interview in The Boston Herald, Menino vowed to block the chain from opening up shop in his city, promising to make it extremely difficult for the company to procure the required licenses. He says, “Chick-fil-A doesn’t belong in Boston...You can’t have a business in the city of Boston that discriminates against a population. We’re an open city, we’re a city that’s at the forefront of inclusion.”

Former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee, has expressed his support of the chicken restaurants, and has declared August 1st, "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day." On his Facebook page, he states, "Too often, those on the left make corporate statements to show support for same sex marriage, abortion, or profanity, but if Christians affirm traditional values, we're considered homophobic, fundamentalists, hate-mongers, and intolerant."

We as a group should ask the other companies that partner with Chick-fil-A to pull products as well. This would include: Oreo, Hershey's, Coca-Cola, Buddy Fruits, Sargento, Royal Cup, Tetley, Dr. Pepper, Welch's, Heinz, Dart Styrofoam (Cups), Del Monte, Sunkist, Dixie Crystals, Splenda, French's, Texas Pete, Tabasco, Kraft, Mello Smello, and many others.

Batman Tragedy in Colorado

My heart is heavy for the victims, the victims' families, and anyone who was in Theater 9 of the movie theater in Aurora, CO. As people who were excited about seeing the final installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, a gunman entered an emergency door and senselessly killed 12 people and left over 50 injured.

The last couple of days, we've been watching the Chick-fil-A sage unfold, and we've claimed the organization of promoting hate (a stance we stand by), but this tragedy is evil and hate in it's highest form. This is a true act of hate in which innocent people were shot in cold blood.

We're left with questions and we're left with fear. Why these people? What kind of experience has led the alleged suspect to commit such a violent act?

As I was watching the events unfold this morning on the news, I was reminded of an event close to home. On July 27, 2008, a politically motivated fatal shooting took place at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Motivated by a desire to kill liberals, mainly homosexuals, and Democrats, gunman Jim David Adkisson fired a shotgun at members of the congregation during a youth performance of a musical, killing two people and wounding seven others.

Tragedy in any form is devastating. My thoughts are with those who are dealing with this act. Whether it's in Aurora, CO, or anywhere else in the world. Now is the time to show love.

Bear Community Connection: Bear Underground

From time to time we at Bear Claw Blog want to share some of the precious gems out there that benefit the LGBT community.

One of the fastest-growing Bear Social Networks available today is Bear Underground. Bear Underground started in October 2010 and has rapidly grown to what it is today. The network is 100% free. You get a full profile, with public and private photos. It's mobile optimized and can be viewed from iOS, Android, and more. The site also includes free chat rooms with webcam access. There are many other features such as forums and events.

Check it out. It's worth it!

Bear Underground

The Chick-fil-A Response to 'Alleged Bigtory'

Today, on the official Chick-fil-A Facebook page, the company issued an official response to the anti-gay comments of it's COO, Dan Cathy.

The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. We will continue this tradition in the over 1,600 Restaurants run by independent Owner/Operators. Going forward, our intent is to leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.

Chick-fil-A is a family-owned and family-led company serving the communities in which it operates. From the day Truett Cathy started the company, he began applying biblically-based principles to managing his business. For example, we believe that closing on Sundays, operating debt-free and devoting a percentage of our profits back to our communities are what make us a stronger company and Chick-fil-A family.

Our mission is simple: to serve great food, provide genuine hospitality and have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.

They are leaving "the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena." This is clearly a scramble to try and stop a coming windstorm. To some, it's too little, too late.

Admittedly, I got curious last night and went to the Chick-fil-A Facebook page. It's first post was a post promoting their Peach Milkshake. Apparently, thousands of gays and/or gay supporters decended upon the chicken chain's page and posted their own views, one person even asking if the secret ingredient of the new shake was "hate." There were also a majority of posts calling homosexuality sin, sinful, and mental illness.

Today's post also has a barrage of comments (over 6,000 as of this post) in support of Chick-fil-A, as well as in support of full equality. Some comments, as one could imagine are well-educated, and thought-provoking for both sides of the argument. Some are comically supportive of the company, such as, "Just look at JC Penney. They have turned from the Biblical foundation...and have since been rated as "junk" by S&P. Coincidence.....I think not!" There are others, are bigotry in it's most sincere form: "If you support Chick Fil A change your facebook profile photo to a Chick fil related photo! Or - change it to a photo of a homosexual being beaten in the street." That's flat-out despicable. 

So, the Chick-fil-A Saga continues. My stance? I won't be giving my hard-earned money to Chick-fil-A. 

CFA's Cathy: "Gay Marriage is Inviting God's Judgement"

As if Chick-fil-A didn't alienate a group of people with it's mundane ideologies, COO Dan Cathy appeared on "The Ken Coleman Show," a weekly syndicated radio show, and issued the following statement:

“I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,’” said Cathy. “I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about,” he added.

Hmm. "The audacity to define what marriage is about." Like defining marriage as man and woman? Interesting, Mr. Cathy.

I Was Never A Boy Scout

The Boy Scouts of America, after a two-year review, reaffirmed its stance on excluding gays. The Scouts' national spokesman, Deron Smith, told The Associated Press that an 11-member special committee, formed discreetly by top Scout leaders in 2010, came to the conclusion that the exclusion policy "is absolutely the best policy" for the 102-year-old organization.

I should probably point out that I was never a boy scout. My family couldn't afford the fees and the equipment, but I also know that in a world that is becoming more and more divided in regards to gay rights, this is a real issue.

I knew I was gay from the time I was about 6 years old. I just knew I was different. It wasn't easy. I was the sissy in most cases. My dad wasn't really in the picture, and so I was called mama's boy in top of that. What I needed was a good, positive gay role model. I think, to a point, we've become more accepting of "gay" in today's society. It's just a shame that the Boy Scouts of America are choosing to blatantly teach intolerance.

I'm picturing the meeting where they decided this hatred. They were all probably sitting around a big cushy table slurping down lemonade and eating those Chick-fil-A sandwiches.

"Guilty as Charged" Says Chick-fil-A's Cathy

I remember those days growing up when my mama and I would have to travel to the next biggest city, just to eat at Chick-fil-A. Those days were calmer then. I was concerned about how I was going to play with my action figures, my legos, or digging that hole deeper in the backyard. I didn't worry about how I was going to fight for equality. Life is different now.

Recently, we've seen an increasing divide between the LGBT community and Chick-fil-A. I used to defend them. I read the facts. I looked into the information provided. Chick-fil-A's are independently owned/operated...and any monetary donation decision came from the individual owner/operator. I couldn't see a company blatantly spreading hate in fear of losing funds in the wake of a bad economy.

Recently, Baptist Press interviewed Dan Cathy, COO of Chick-fil-A, Inc and what he said is shocking (to a point) and downright disrespectful.

Cathy says, ""But as an organization we can operate on biblical principles. So that is what we claim to be. [We are] based on biblical principles, asking God and pleading with God to give us wisdom on decisions we make about people and the programs and partnerships we have. And He has blessed us."

The baptist press also states:

Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company's position.

"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.

"We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that," Cathy emphasized.

"We intend to stay the course," he said. "We know that it might not be popular with everyone, but thank the Lord, we live in a country where we can share our values and operate on biblical principles."

It's blatantly Anti-Gay. "Guilty as Charged." It think it's apparent how cocky this organization has become. They have longed to be in the list of top 10  fast food chains for years. In 2011, Chick-fil-A's growth was a staggering 15% and they earned a record $4.05 billion. This growth has put them at number 10.

That's a lot of sales...a lot of dollars that can do major damage to our community. We must take a stand. This flat out hate mongering must be challenged.

Thank goodness for Willam Belli.