To Eat or Not to Eat More Chicken?

There's been a lot of controversy and discussion about the recent Chick-fil-a fiasco.  It first started with the president of the company stating his personal opinion on marriage...that he believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman.  There was a lot of media and press about what he said and people started expressing opinions back.  There seemed to be a lot of disagreeing opinions (what about gays being able to get married?) which the resulted in a Chick-fil-a appreciation day.  The idea was that people who agreed with what the president said should eat at the restaurant to show their support in his opinion.  It seemed that once this day was created, word of Chick-fil-a "hate" groups on gays started coming up and mean things were just being said back and forth.

Now, I don't know what is true about these "hate" groups since I feel like every other article is saying different things, but I do know that any sort of "hate" group is not right.  I know that this is a big part in why people will not support Chick-fil-a anymore.  It is a part in why people who did go out to eat and support got severely criticized for it.  There's been so much banter back and forth about what is right and what is wrong that it's making me upset.  I feel like opinions are being shoved down people's throats instead of being politely discussed, especially on the support side.  That if you agree on the matter, then you agree and support with what every other single person out there who agrees says, no matter what else you say that's different. (I hope that sentence made sense)

I told Scott earlier today that I am becoming afraid to share my opinion on the matter because if I agree, then I am a hater on the gays and if I disagree, then I am not true to my religious beliefs.  Really? I'm a hater?  I've been seeing that word thrown around a lot online in the many discussions I've read concerning the matter.  A few friends shared this photo on facebook that I really liked.

I feel like basic respect is being lost in conversing about all the issues that are happening.  I've never really been a huge fan of debate and discussing politics.  It's just not my thing to do.  So, I'm not going to share my opinion on here.  The point is that things need to change in the way people communicate with one another before a positive change on any issue can be made.  Now, I don't know how things need to change, I'm just tired of useless conversations and I hope things will change for the better.