Not long ago, St. Mary's Medical Center, a hospital in Duluth, Minnesota, distributed free chicken sandwiches to staff members. That's good, right?
No, that's bad. Chick-fil-A, a popular fast-food chain, donated the sandwiches, and some St. Mary's employees complained. Why? The company's CEO once expressed his opposition to same-sex marriage.
The hospital quickly issued an apology, written in classic wokespeak.
We have received feedback from some colleagues who were concerned or offended by this occurence [free sandwiches] , and we value colleagues feeling comfortable expressing their reservations. . . .
We would like to thank our colleagues who had the courage to speak up to widen our lens of inclusivity, and we appreciate all colleagues continuing to live our values of respect and justice.
A couple of thoughts.
First, Chick-fil-A restaurants make a very good chicken sandwich, and their employees are invariably courteous. I live not far from a cluster of popular fast-food outlets: Chick-fil-A, Atomic Burger, McDonald's, and Whataburger. When I drive by, the take-out line is always longest at Chic-fil-A.
Second, St Mary's Medical Center is in the healing businees, and its staff should be focused solely on its patients' health and wellbeing. Do hospital employees have time to complain about a free and delicious chicken sandwich?
One thing for certain, people who are admitted to St. Mary's should keep their political opinions to themselves. You wouldn't want your doctor to let you bleed out because you let it slip that you once ate a sandwich at Chick-fil-A.
Photo credit: NPR |