"Having a sandwich then incidentally taking up a cause" is exactly what they're doing. It doesn't matter whether they're saying "I'm gonna show them liberal queer-lovers a thing or two" on their way to the restaurant, at the register, or on Facebook afterwards. There's absolutely no down side or sacrifice involved. It's not taking a position any more than I'd be taking a position by saying I'm pro-oxygen.

As for the money, if they were actually putting money to a cause, they'd be donating to Exodus International or Focus on the Family or NOM or whomever. What they're doing is putting their money towards the purchase of lunch.

For a counter-example: To this point, I've done jack shit to actually protest Chick-fil-a. I've retweeted some messages and put stuff on Facebook, and written a couple of blog posts. Even if there were a restaurant in the area, I wouldn't go there knowing what I know now. But that's just common sense, it's not a statement.

For me to be protesting, I'd have to be making a donation to GLAAD or the like, as some of my (straight) friends have already done. Or doing anything that takes any amount of effort or risk at all, actually.

At this very second, tons of homophobes are saying nasty shit on the internet. But it's not a message, it's background noise. It'd be stupid to pay any attention to it; it's almost giving it too much credit to even link to it here. It doesn't do anything. With free speech, you get what you pay for.

I'm saying don't even dignify it as lazy activism. Call it for what it is: meaningless.