In the past few years, it has become fashionable for a business to declare its stance on gay marriage and create a media storm surrounding the revelation.
From Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby to Target and Bud Light, we’ve heard quite a bit recently about who believes what and why from both sides of the issue.
I personally find that encouraging: both support and condemnation of marriage equality attracts major press and keeps the issue squarely on the table, exactly where it should be, to keep the positive momentum toward lasting change moving forward.
What I truly resent, however, is using a civil rights movement as a platform to get attention or drum up business.
Or, in Burger King’s case, distract the nation from the huge blow it’s about to deal our economy.
On July 1, a Burger King in San Francisco unveiled the “Proud Whopper,” a burger that comes wrapped in rainbow paper with the inscription “We’re all the same inside.”
The Whopper only sold for a few days, however, and its release was timed to redirect attention away from Burger King’s purchase of Canadian coffee company Tim Hortons.
By acquiring a Canadian company, Burger King will be able to claim Canadian citizenship and avoid paying American taxes on its $5.6 billion in total assets.
At the end of the day, I don’t care much if you place yourself on the correct side of history or not.
I want you to play by the rules.
While I appreciate the sentiment behind the “Proud Whopper,” I deplore Burger King’s exploitation of millions of Americans fighting for their rights in the hopes no one will notice it’s about to exploit loopholes in tax law, too.
You cannot turn an entire movement into a fan base for support through a round of bad press with one rainbow sandwich.
The battle for marriage equality will continue to make effective change with or ?without Burger King’s support — or the support of any major company, for that matter.
Change is made by individual voters, and it is only a matter of time until “liberty and justice for all” rings true in every state.
I would rather Burger King declare its condemnation of the GLBT community and improve millions of lives another way: stop manipulating the law, and support our economy with its taxes.
sbkissel@indiana.edu
