Today's "news our fathers wouldn't have understood" entry:
If the 40-year relationship of Bert and Ernie wasn't enough to convince you, know that the Muppets are officially supporting gay marriage.
In the wake of Chick-fil-A declaring its opposition to same sex marriage, Kermit and the gang are the latest in a growing list of Hollywood stars, including "The Office" actor Ed Helms, who are now boycotting the fast food chain.
Chick-fil-A had recently joined forces with the Jim Henson Company to offer five customizable puppet toys from Jim Henson's Creature Shop in children's meals.
That does it. If a place isn't good enough for Kermit and Miss Piggy, you certainly won't see me setting foot in the place. It's just that, er, I don't think I ever ate at a Chick-fil-A. Do I have to go there at least once to make my boycott meaningful? But wouldn't that be rewarding the restaurant, which is what I don't want to do? Maybe the boycott police will give me a pass because I'm vowing to never do something I could very well have done if I had chosen to.
I can't remember if I've told this story before, but it makes me look silly, so some of you might appreciate whatever repitition there is. I kept seeing the Chick-fil-A signs for years and wondering to myself why anybody would name a restaurant something as stupid as Chickfilluh. I finally made the mistake of wondering out loud in somebody's presence.
"You're mispronouncing it, Einstein."
"Huh?"
"Sound out each syllable separately."
"OK. Chick. Fill. Uh."
"Really? Uh? That's the way you pronounce a stand-alone 'A,' genius? Try again."
"Chick. Fill. Aaaaaee. Oh, I get it now. ChickfillAAAAAeeee."
On a more serious note, I know I've mentioned this before, but I'm not crazy about boycotting places because of their politics. Whether or not Domino's is owned by a rightwing zealot or Ben & Jerry's is produced by keftwing kooks should be beside the point if we like their pizza and ice cream. Now, if we knew patronizing a place fostered true evil --- if their profits were used, say, to finance terrorism, that would be one thing. Otherwise, it seems to me such boycotts are a pretty friviolus exercise in posturing as protest.
