Chick-fil-A and Tolerance

So this last week I learned that my gay friends are not as tolerant as I thought they were. See, Dan Cathy, owner of the Chick-fil-A franchise, came out last week in support of the Biblical definition of marriage. Gasp! Needless to say, liberals were beside themselves with the agony of having to endure anyone who followed Biblical standards. Besides, Cathy somehow managed to insult gays or something, so Cathy is obviously a jerk.

Democrats respond to perceived intolerance with real intolerance. This is, in a nutshell, the difference between liberals and Conservatives. I don't know one Conservative who appreciates, say, Westboro Baptist Church, but we don't go around demanding that they made to be quiet. We all really wish Westboro would go back to wherever they came from and just stay there, and protesting funerals is a new kind of low, but we understand that if we take away Westboro's rights to be a group of jackwagons, then what will stop anyone from taking our rights to freedom of speech? Everyone has the right to say to what they want, within reasonable limits, and being a Conservative you learn early on that all you can do is deal with it.

But liberals don't see it that way. There is only one way of thinking and it's their way. No dissent allowed.

So Cathy was flagellated in the media for having an opinion and not being afraid to say it. Liberal liberal mayors banned Chick-fil-A from their city only to have the ACLU of all groups pipe up and say that the mayors weren't allowed to ban Chick-fil-A. According to CBN:

[T]he ACLU "strongly supports" same-sex marriage, but explained that "if a government can exclude a business for being against same-sex marriage, it can also exclude a business for being in support of same-sex marriage."

Even the ACLU understands. (Incidentally, I haven't any reports of pigs flying - yet.) If the ACLU gets it, I would certainly like to know what's holding other liberals back.

And then there was the support day on the fist of August, which was a smashing success, and then there was the kiss-in response, which was a flop.

But the day after the Chick-fil-A support day, one of my friends on Facebook posting a picture to his wall that said they hoped that when someone who ate Chick-fil-A started choking on thier food, that the only person who knew CPR wasn't gay.

Now, I also support the traditional view of marriage, that is, the Biblical one. Since I learned my friend was gay, however, I have toned down my rhetoric and don't discuss my opinion as much. I haven't backed down from my beliefs, but I try to be considerate of other people. As long as they are not attacking me or my beliefs, there is no point in attacking them.

To be brutally honest, I don't care who you sleep with or why. I don't want to hear about it, regardless. I absolutely condemn homosexuality, but I don't generally condemn those who practice it. You have to attack my beliefs first, before I get riled up. But I have never discussed my views with this friend.

And I was very insulted to see that picture on his wall. Thank you for wishing that I would choke when I eat at Chick-fil-A.

I always thought he was a very tolerant person. It was a quite a shock to discover that I, who hold to beliefs so tightly and see the world very much in black and white, was far tolerant of his beliefs then he was of mine.

I understand that it happens, but is still a mystery to me: why is it that the people who are always talking about tolerance are the most intolerant of all?