TPM Reader BC on why the ‘Chick-Fil-A’ Appreciation Day crazy yesterday was no joke …

I just saw your picture of the day and felt it was a good opportunity to express some of my thoughts and feelings about what happened yesterday in regards to Chick-Fil-A appreciation day. I do not think that any of the stories that have been written (at TPM or otherwise) capture, in the slightest bit, how this has effected people within the LGBT community.

This photo was taken at the Chick-Fil-A directly across the street from my office in Arlington, Virginia. As I worked through the day i was reading about the controversies and the arguments for and against Mr Cathy’s statements. It was like any other day when I would read about the current LGBT controversies or political battles that are happening. I have always seen the struggle for Marriage Equality as something that would be hard fought for. I lived in Hawaii when the state was trying to pass a civil unions bill in 2009 and I sat in the state capital building and listened to people say horrible things about the gay community. But none of that effected me as much as coming out of my office yesterday and seeing a line stretching down the block of people waiting to get into Chick-Fil-A.

People waiting with excitement and pride to show that they do not support equality. I suddenly felt like an alien in my own town, surrounded by people that i see everyday who jumped at the chance to show their evil side. I have spoken with my friends and many of us feel the same way, just utter shock and sorrow. The very existence and support of yesterday’s Chick-Fil-A appreciation day has negative impacts on the well-being of countless gays around this country. I could only wonder what the people in that line would have done had they known that I was gay as I walked by. To fear the anger and resentment of your neighbors for being who you are is not the freedom that the American dream promises. I hope for more, and I hope for better from my fellow Americans.