Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

The CEO of Twitter got a taste of what shaming is like on social media. Last week Jack Dorsey tweeted that he was at Chick-fil-A and shared a screenshot of the savings by using their mobile app. The criticism was fast and furious.  Dorsey quickly issued an apology and said “You’re right. Completely forgot about their background”. So what's Chick-fil-A's background? The founder S. Truett Cathy set up a business according to Christian principles and they've contributed to conservative groups that support traditional marriage between a man and woman. There's much talk of tolerance and respect for differing opinions, but that wasn't demonstrated here. In fact, it's intolerance. And when public shaming over religiously informed beliefs go mainstream, it undermines the idea of civility and hurts all of us.