I'm happy to boycott Chick-fil-A – but that doesn't make Popeyes progressive

When you live in a racist society, even something as simple as a chicken sandwich may not be just a chicken sandwich. The sandwich wars reignited on Sunday when Popeyes reintroduced their popular fried chicken sandwich, in direct competition with Chick-fil-A. The sandwich had been so popular earlier this year that Popeyes literally ran out of chicken.

It’s a cultural moment and, for better or worse, it was impossible to ignore how black Twitter virtually exploded in debate over which sandwich was better. Like a lot of progressives, I can proudly say that I’ve never had a Chick-fil-A sandwich. The summer launch of the Popeyes sandwich ran smack into my aggressive beach body goals, so I haven’t had one of those either.

While I make an excellent fried chicken sandwich – I personally would give it an award if I ran an institution that bestowed such honors – I must admit that I hit pause a couple of times before moving forward with a piece centered around this. There’s been no shortage of online shaming over this conversation, some of it animated by the respectability politics that have black folks taking other black folks to task for feeding stereotypes. Many of the exhaustive media takes on the sandwich wars have been penned by black writers linking the sandwich to black culture, and defending the right to enjoy it despite that.

This tension has turned the cultural moment into a political one. For many, that included casting Popeyes as the conquering hero and Chick-fil-A as the evil king in need of dethroning. There’s a clear reason for that: Chick-fil-A is a bad company with immoral politics. Boycotting them in favor of Popeyes is a choice I’m happy to make.

Chick-fil-A has long supported rightwing politics. It’s best known in progressive circles for opposition to LGBT rights, but like most projects of the right wing, that work is intertwined with anti-blackness and patriarchy. The company has given millions to anti-gay political groups, including the known hate group Family Research Council, run by Tony Perkins. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Perkins has spoken to an avowed white supremacist organization and railed against the growth of Islam in America. When running the Senate campaign of his mentor, Woody Jenkins, he paid Klan leader David Duke $82,000 for his mailing list, then hid it from election officials. He is one of a group of rightwing, pseudo-Christian advocates who have boosted and defended Donald Trump despite the president’s total lack of Christian morality and flagrant racism.

Chick-fil-A’s political record meant many were ready to back Popeyes, which is clearly going after Chick-filA’s market share. Their sandwich is remarkably similar, right down to the wrapper. The two companies threw shade at each other on Twitter. In a new ad last week, Popeyes even trolled Chick-fil-A’s famous decision to remain closed on Sundays for church.

But that last dig is the only reference Popeyes has made to the conservative views of Chick-fil-A’s owners. The company has done very little else to brand itself as a progressive alternative to its rival. It has no history of standing up for racial justice, even though black folks, culture and colloquialisms are prominent in their advertising. In fact, a look at their advertising shows no prominent history of aligning with causes beyond selling chicken, biscuits and sides, which of course is the only thing they care about. That hasn’t stopped many people from placing their support for Popeyes squarely in a political context. The LGBT publication the Advocate titled its review of the sandwich “More Flavor, Less Homophobia”.

But it’s a mistake to think that Popeyes, or any corporation, is a part