Reddit Is Mocking This Chick-Fil-A Welcome Sign

While serving up sandwiches, burgers, fries, and sauces, fast food chains sometimes attract negative attention with a social or political message meant to achieve the opposite. Take for example a tweet McDonald's sent out, seemingly in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, in 2020. It listed the names of George Floyd and other people who had been killed by police or citizens in controversial incidents. But the chain faced criticism from those who accused it of prioritizing its bottom line above workers in general and treating employees of color, in particular (via Today).

Chick-fil-A has had its fair share of controversies. The chicken sandwich giant has been infamous for donating large sums of money to charities associated with anti-LGBTQ views over the years. Although in 2019, the chain released a statement saying that it would be broadening its philanthropy to include a wider scope of charitable causes, Vox reports that Chick-fil-A did say that it would stop supporting anti-LGBTQ organizations altogether.

Now Chick-fil-A has caused a stir on Reddit for an unusual reason: a welcome sign at one of its outlets. While trying to present itself as an inclusive restaurant, it faced mockery for what some perceived as an intentional exclusion.

The sign spotted outside a Chick-fil-A outlet reads (via Reddit): "We do not discriminate against unvaccinated, religion, race, sex, vaccinated, maskless, mask. All neighbors are welcome."  Multiple commenters pounced on the fact that while the message says Chick-fil-A doesn't discriminate against anyone based on their sex, it doesn't mention gender or sexuality. As one person put it, "We don't discriminate based on your sex, but we sure do on your gender and sexuality!" 

Redditors also took issue with the fact that the sign characterized welcoming unvaccinated customers and people without face masks into its outlets as non-discrimination. "Umm, yeah... There is a difference between discrimination and public health safety. Discrimination is donating money to anti-LGBTQ programs. Public health protocols are vaccinations and masks," one person argued. Someone else joked that soon, requiring shoes and shirts will be considered discrimination.

Others considered Chick-fil-A's sign a PR gimmick. One user suggested, "They should just put up a much much simpler sign: We want your money and will say anything to get it." Another person pointed out that the law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, and religion, adding, "They're bragging about following the law."