Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Will the nonsense ever end?

Shouldn’t Bakery Be Allowed to Refuse Gays?

http://current.com/156lv4c

According to this article, a bakery in Indianapolis has refused to accept an order from a gay student group giving the reason that it “violates the values of their business.”  Now, I’m not currently a business owner, but I have been in the past and I can tell you that the only goal of my business was to ACCEPT business.  I did not find it my place to judge my customers.  However, this bakery must be rolling in the dough (ok, maybe a pun was intended) since they chose to alienate an entire community (and their supporters) to make a point.  Oh and the owner’s quote isn’t helping his case.  “I explained we’re a family-run business, we have two young, impressionable daughters, and we thought maybe it was best not to do that.”

Do what?  Make some cupcakes?  Or show tolerance for people who are different from you? I tend to think it’s worse to demonstrate intolerance and hate to children, but maybe that’s just me.

He goes on to compare the situation to someone requesting XXX baked goods.  Hmmm.  Well, we are some dirty, obscene gays…maybe we shouldn’t be allowed in public either.  Why is it that heterosexuals make everything about SEX???  Our relationships are about LOVE just like yours are.  Sex is something we do privately, duh.  To insinuate that love between two consenting adults who aren’t related is obscene is as dumb as the people who subscribe to the idea.

Just so you know, I actually support this man’s right to deny service based on his beliefs.  And in his state, the law supports him because there is no anti-discrimination legislation.  Federally, sexuality is not a protected class anyway.   I am not advocating that this man be forced to take my money and I’m kind of glad this dude came right out and said it so the student group could take their money elsewhere. 

I just find it terribly discouraging that in this day and age in America this is even still an issue.  There are now multiple other countries with rights and freedoms well beyond ours and our country no longer deserves to be called the “Land of the Free.”  As a people, we are not.  And we will be torn apart as a nation unless we can find a reason to come together…and I don’t mean against others.

I am also disappointed that, in an atmosphere created by a young man leaping to his death out of pressure he felt to NOT be gay, a business owner actually went out of his way to make this group of young people feel like they had a reason to be ashamed of themselves.

Young gay people continue to commit suicide at an alarming rate.  For those of you who need it spelled out for you, YOUR MOTHERS, FATHERS, BROTHERS, SISTERS, DAUGHTERS, SONS AND FRIENDS ARE GAY.  Do you think we just popped into the world with no one who loves us?  And the people who love us are…you. Chances are that there is a gay person in your life—who is afraid to tell you out of fear of losing your love.

I sincerely hope, for their sakes, that neither one of these “impressionable daughters” of the baker are gay.