This fight has taken the entire country by storm with many people calling it another battle of oppression v freedom in the US while others compare it to the plight of African Americans during the institution of Jim Crow Laws and the hard-fought battles of the Civil Rights Movement. However, what really gets me is something almost off topic- I'll get back to this argument in a bit, stay tuned- that not many people are even thinking about.
I just really do not understand why people are even wanting these "anti-gay" businesses to be forced to accept business from anyone, much less people they clearly disdain...
Why would a lesbian couple want a bakery that they know is "anti-gay" to be making their wedding cake? Why would a gay couple want a "homophobic" photographer taking pictures of them on their wedding day? Is it a matter of principle or is it just out of spite?
Personally though, I wouldn't want someone who is clearly and vehemently- enough to go to court- against my beliefs to be snapping pictures or baking cakes for my wedding day. But hey, maybe that's just me. Or you know, maybe it's my "ignorance" of the plight of so many minorities talking. Or maybe it's my bigoted cis, straight, white, male privilege at work again.
DAMN YOU PRIVILEGE! *shakes fist in the air violently while scowling*
Okay, back to reality and to the real issue at work here.
The freedom to deny service is one of the biggest fundamentals that businesses have (or had). That's one of the main reasons why we have private businesses; so that they can serve who they want, when they want, where they want, for a profit. That profit then gets spent on goods and those goods come from other retailers which gets the goods from the maker who then spends money at that business and thus an economy is born!
If you don't like a laundromat's choice in music you can ask them to change it and if they won't, go to another laundromat. If you are a vegan and go to a steakhouse don't expect them to have vegan food. Chick-fil-a doesn't support gay marriage, if you are gonna try to show them up you don't eat there instead of attempting to force them to change by getting a law passed (or struck down). (Oh and you don't stage a completely unsuccessful "Kiss In" just to spite them, that's just childish)
If you don't support a business's choices then don't go to them, simple as that. There are thousands of laundromats, restaurants, bakeries and photographers out there, go find one that will cater to your needs. It's really the beauty of the free market.
Why would a lesbian couple want a bakery that they know is "anti-gay" to be making their wedding cake? Why would a gay couple want a "homophobic" photographer taking pictures of them on their wedding day? Is it a matter of principle or is it just out of spite?
Personally though, I wouldn't want someone who is clearly and vehemently- enough to go to court- against my beliefs to be snapping pictures or baking cakes for my wedding day. But hey, maybe that's just me. Or you know, maybe it's my "ignorance" of the plight of so many minorities talking. Or maybe it's my bigoted cis, straight, white, male privilege at work again.
DAMN YOU PRIVILEGE! *shakes fist in the air violently while scowling*
Okay, back to reality and to the real issue at work here.
The freedom to deny service is one of the biggest fundamentals that businesses have (or had). That's one of the main reasons why we have private businesses; so that they can serve who they want, when they want, where they want, for a profit. That profit then gets spent on goods and those goods come from other retailers which gets the goods from the maker who then spends money at that business and thus an economy is born!
If you don't like a laundromat's choice in music you can ask them to change it and if they won't, go to another laundromat. If you are a vegan and go to a steakhouse don't expect them to have vegan food. Chick-fil-a doesn't support gay marriage, if you are gonna try to show them up you don't eat there instead of attempting to force them to change by getting a law passed (or struck down). (Oh and you don't stage a completely unsuccessful "Kiss In" just to spite them, that's just childish)
If you don't support a business's choices then don't go to them, simple as that. There are thousands of laundromats, restaurants, bakeries and photographers out there, go find one that will cater to your needs. It's really the beauty of the free market.
The other side of the aisle will argue the opposite, in fact they'll argue the almost 180 of this position. "If you don't allow gay people to get cakes and photos from the same place that their straight counterparts do, it's discrimination and illegal!" "Our freedom to live the way we choose to live is being taken away because we can't get our cakes from Bob's Cake Emporium and instead have to drive an extra mile to go to Wendy's Cake Bakery!" Okay, it's not that simple but you get the point; you have to serve everyone or else it's discrimination.
So, let's just get this all straightened out. An anti-gay bakery will be forced (?) to bake wedding cakes for gay weddings. An anti-gay photographer will have to go to (?) a gay wedding and take pictures as if it were any heterosexual marriage. So, no bakery or photographer will be able to turn down a gay wedding, ever, no matter the reasoning behind it?
I can just see it now: "Tonight at 11: Was Bill's Cakes and Cookies shutdown because he already had three other weddings happening the same day and couldn't make time for Gordon and Luke Smith's wedding or because he's actually a raging homophobe!? Stay tuned for the live story."
I can just see it now: "Tonight at 11: Was Bill's Cakes and Cookies shutdown because he already had three other weddings happening the same day and couldn't make time for Gordon and Luke Smith's wedding or because he's actually a raging homophobe!? Stay tuned for the live story."
Okay, so that's not what the bill stated, but if you haven't caught on, I am not a fan of this bill anyway. The bill would have forced businesses to provide some sort of evidence of their religious affiliation and then prove they were only denying services because of those religious beliefs. Not only is that an almost impossible task, but it seems to me to be a bit excessive when you could just allow businesses to run their shop the way they wanted and raise a competitive market and not worry if someone was offended by someone else's beliefs.
Either way this bill ended up someone was gonna get offended because you were left with either a bill saying people can deny you a service because of your sexual orientation or you don't have a bill and you force businesses to service people they don't want to serve. It's a no win situation for anyone. (Of course if you look at the LGBT lobby you'd think they won a huge victory)
If you've been reading my blog for the past few months you know I'm a bit of a traditionalist and I agree with multiple seemingly "outdated" ideas. So, why change that pattern when it comes to how to run a private business?
Of course, as many traditional ideas seem to do nowadays, this line of thinking may startle many people and will probably have people thinking I'm an oppressive, racist, sexist blockhead from the 19th century who thinks Negroes are only 3/4 of a person, women belong in the kitchen, and children are to be seen but not heard. To all of you, I thank you for visiting my blog and encourage you to go ahead and leave before you get all passive aggressive, internet-frustrated on me because what I'm about to say will certainly get you hotheaded. (Of course, you can stay and leave your thoughts in the comments below if you'd like, but this is just fair warning)
Businesses should be allowed to service whomever they want. Simple as that. The flip side of that coin? They should also be able to deny service to whomever they want for any reason.
Just like bars and restaurants are allowed-and sometimes encouraged- to stop serving alcohol to obviously drunk patrons even if they demand it and can pay for it, a bakery can decide not to serve you if they don't want to do so. A photographer doesn't have to take your business just because you came to him. A cantina in the Mos Eisley spaceport doesn't have to serve droids just because you're a Jedi meeting up with Indiana Jones (or was it President Marshall?).
But wait, what happens when businesses refuse to serve people based on race?
Well I'd imagine they would lose quite a lot of business, but why should you care if someone wants to be a racist ass and lose money just because of someone's skin color? Because it's discriminatory! Well, guess what, people are discriminatory no matter what anyone tells you and if they want to run a crappy business then let them fail. The real question would be why would we want to force a racist asshat to take people's money just to be able to say we are in a "post-racial" society?
Uh, Nate, what about when people decide they don't want to serve you?
Oh, you mean like restaurant-bars that refuse to let me enter after 9 on the weekend? That's easy, I go somewhere else and make sure to spend good money where I can go. If someone doesn't want my money, that's fine by me.
You actually expect this to catch on?
Unfortunately not, but I wish it could. Seriously, if people could acknowledge this whole idea of private businesses running things their own way it would make this entire notion actually reasonable. However, because we live in a childish society that can't handle getting its feelings hurt, this is a seemingly unrealistic, unreasonable, ignorant opinion to have.
Either way this bill ended up someone was gonna get offended because you were left with either a bill saying people can deny you a service because of your sexual orientation or you don't have a bill and you force businesses to service people they don't want to serve. It's a no win situation for anyone. (Of course if you look at the LGBT lobby you'd think they won a huge victory)
If you've been reading my blog for the past few months you know I'm a bit of a traditionalist and I agree with multiple seemingly "outdated" ideas. So, why change that pattern when it comes to how to run a private business?
Of course, as many traditional ideas seem to do nowadays, this line of thinking may startle many people and will probably have people thinking I'm an oppressive, racist, sexist blockhead from the 19th century who thinks Negroes are only 3/4 of a person, women belong in the kitchen, and children are to be seen but not heard. To all of you, I thank you for visiting my blog and encourage you to go ahead and leave before you get all passive aggressive, internet-frustrated on me because what I'm about to say will certainly get you hotheaded. (Of course, you can stay and leave your thoughts in the comments below if you'd like, but this is just fair warning)
Businesses should be allowed to service whomever they want. Simple as that. The flip side of that coin? They should also be able to deny service to whomever they want for any reason.
Just like bars and restaurants are allowed-and sometimes encouraged- to stop serving alcohol to obviously drunk patrons even if they demand it and can pay for it, a bakery can decide not to serve you if they don't want to do so. A photographer doesn't have to take your business just because you came to him. A cantina in the Mos Eisley spaceport doesn't have to serve droids just because you're a Jedi meeting up with Indiana Jones (or was it President Marshall?).
But wait, what happens when businesses refuse to serve people based on race?
Well I'd imagine they would lose quite a lot of business, but why should you care if someone wants to be a racist ass and lose money just because of someone's skin color? Because it's discriminatory! Well, guess what, people are discriminatory no matter what anyone tells you and if they want to run a crappy business then let them fail. The real question would be why would we want to force a racist asshat to take people's money just to be able to say we are in a "post-racial" society?
Uh, Nate, what about when people decide they don't want to serve you?
Oh, you mean like restaurant-bars that refuse to let me enter after 9 on the weekend? That's easy, I go somewhere else and make sure to spend good money where I can go. If someone doesn't want my money, that's fine by me.
You actually expect this to catch on?
Unfortunately not, but I wish it could. Seriously, if people could acknowledge this whole idea of private businesses running things their own way it would make this entire notion actually reasonable. However, because we live in a childish society that can't handle getting its feelings hurt, this is a seemingly unrealistic, unreasonable, ignorant opinion to have.
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