On April 13, writer Dan Piepenbring wrote an article in “The New Yorker” about  “Chick-fil-a’s Creepy infiltration of New York City.” There has been a lot of controversy towards Chick-fil-a, with their conservative mindset and especially in New York City, which is very liberal.

 Although Piepenbring makes some good points about questioning people’s support for Chick-fil-a, he mentions that Dan Cathy, CEO, of Chick-fil-a, has supported and funded some anti-gay causes, though he gives no specific anti-gay organizations.

But the majority of the article seems to be against Chick-fil-a’s Christian beliefs. This is not the first time Piepenbring has written an article against primarily Christian products.

On November 4, 2017, Piepenbring wrote an article about the movie “Let There be Light,” a movie about an atheist finding God, saying that it was a cynical, a xenophobic mortality tale, and that it is as bitter as it is saccharine.

The article starts off with Piepenbring describing him visiting the largest Chick-Fil-A in the world.

“The brand’s arrival here feels like an infiltration, in no small part because of its pervasive Christian traditionalism,” Piepenbring said.

Piepenbring made complaints that the restaurant’s corporate purpose begins with the words “to glorify God,” following up with implying that Chick-Fil-A is trying to convert people to Christian beliefs.

“If the restaurant is a megachurch, the Cows are its ultimate evangelists,” Piepenbring said.

Piepenbring then divulges into a segment about Chick-Fil-A’s advertising, the cows. To clarify, the cows in Chick-Fil-A’s advertising are cows that tell people to “Eat Mor Chikin.”

“It’s worth asking why Americans fell in love with an ad in which one farm animal begs us to kill another in its place. Most restaurants take pains to distance themselves from the brutalities of the slaughterhouse,” Piepenbring said.

Finally, the most absurd comment in the article (and that is saying something) is that Chick-Fil-A portrays itself as better than other fast food. He is right, but the absurdity of the comment is that Chick-Fil-A is no different than any other fast food restaurant.

“Skip the hamburgers at the Frozen Arches, head to Wendy’s…” said Wendy’s in their ad “Flash Frozen? We Prefer Fresh, Never Frozen.”

Of course Chick-Fil-A wants to portray itself as better than other fast food, because if they do not then why should people go to Chick-Fil-A when they could go to McDonald’s, Wendy’s or Burger King?

What Piepenbring fails to understand throughout the article, is that just because someone enjoys a product, does not mean they have to agree with the company politics or its beliefs.

Sources:

• nationalreview.com
• newyorker.com