# Restaurant discounts with church flyers **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 2, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439 "2011-05-02T02:55:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/141 "2011-05-04T03:07:09Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Let me know when “people who need to go out of their way to get a coupon” becomes a protected class, then you’ll have a point as well. Sigh. It’s not people who need to go out of their way. It’s “people who need to go out of their way BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT OF A PARTICULAR RELIGION”. Jesus it’s not that hard. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/142 "2011-05-04T03:12:51Z")
> [@treis](#): > > It doesn’t matter that the general public theoretically could go to the mass. The point is that going to this mass is a hardship on the general public, while it is not for members of the church. Have you been reading a different thread? Again, you don’t have to attend a Mass – just grab one inside the vestibule and then run out and get your stupid pancakes. Jesus. What if said coupon is offered in a woman’s magazine, like _Cosmo_, or _Redbook_? Huh? How is that any different? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/143 "2011-05-04T03:13:51Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > So you don’t believe that having a church bulletin is the same as being a coupon holder? That would be the legal argument. The restaurant, as a private business, supports area churches and instead of delivering coupons directly to the churches they do the environmentally responsible thing and allow the bulletin to be the coupon. Is it illegal for the restaurant to give churches coupons? ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/144 "2011-05-04T03:18:36Z")
**Eyebrows of Doom** , you might want to read what I actually wrote, not what you thought I wrote. Here, I will quote it for you: > [@Brynda](#): > > This doesn’t affect the legal arguments, but it is noxious to me (and maybe only me) to have to claim–even indirectly–that I attend church to get equal treatment at a business. \ I didn’t say I will have to attend church. I said I didn’t want to “claim–even indirectly that I attend church.” Claim is the word you missed, I believe. Hope this is clear to you, even though I didn’t use one-word sentences. Before you say I don’t have to claim to attend church, just show a flyer, I know. That’s what “even indirectly” means. Before you say that I can just ask for a discount. I know. Still, to me, having to claim (see, that word again) to be something I am not. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/145 "2011-05-04T03:20:38Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Have you been reading a different thread? Again, you don’t have to attend a Mass – just grab one inside the vestibule and then run out and get your stupid pancakes. Jesus. > > What if said coupon is offered in a woman’s magazine, like _Cosmo_, or _Redbook_? Huh? How is that any different? :rolleyes: Read the thread. Seriously. Already answered. If you don’t buy the answer, fine, but read, please. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/146 "2011-05-04T03:21:55Z")
I read it, and I think it’s ridiculous. You know what? There’s a church just across the street from me. If you guys want, I’ll run in on Saturday, grab a bunch of bulletins, and mail them out to you if all of you poor, put upon, atheists need your discounted pancakes that badly. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/147 "2011-05-04T03:24:11Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Have you been reading a different thread? Again, you don’t have to attend a Mass – just grab one inside the vestibule and then run out and get your stupid pancakes. Jesus. Traveling, say, 20 minutes out of your way and showing up at the appointed time is the hardship. There’s a good chance that you burn more gas than you would save by getting the coupon if you are going out of your way. > [@Guinastasia](#): > > What if said coupon is offered in a woman’s magazine, like _Cosmo_, or _Redbook_? Huh? How is that any different? :rolleyes: It’s different for several reasons: (1) Those magazines aren’t exclusively for women. (2) Obtaining one of those magazines isn’t more difficult for a man than a woman. > [@Magiver](#): > > That would be the legal argument. The restaurant, as a private business, supports area churches and instead of delivering coupons directly to the churches they do the environmentally responsible thing and allow the bulletin to be the coupon. > > Is it illegal for the restaurant to give churches coupons? You can’t look at things like this in a vacuum. If a restaurant puts the same coupon in the PTA newsletter, local newspaper, Elks club stuff, etc. then no it’s not a problem. The problem is going to arise when it looks like you are specifically targeting a protected class. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/148 "2011-05-04T03:25:49Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > Before you say that I can just ask for a discount. I know. Still, to me, having to claim (see, that word again) to be something I am not. A)Having a bulletin (or asking for the discount) does not mean you are part of the church, though I understand what you mean by it B)Who cares? If you are really that concerned about whether or not the waitress at Denny’s thinks your a member of a church, you’ve got to stop taking yourself so seriously before you give yourself a stress induced heart attack. She’s probably never seen you before and probably won’t again, even if she does, she probably won’t remember the bulletin. On top of that, how many tables does she work during her shift? Trust me, no one cares… no one is even paying attention. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/149 "2011-05-04T03:26:08Z")
> [@treis](#): > > (2) Obtaining one of those magazines isn’t more difficult for a man than a woman. It’s more difficult than printing something off of a webpage? :rolleyes: Sometimes, I think people LIKE the idea of being “discriminated” against. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/150 "2011-05-04T03:30:31Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Traveling, say, 20 minutes out of your way and showing up at the appointed time is the hardship. There’s a good chance that you burn more gas than you would save by getting the coupon if you are going out of your way. That would be your problem, not the restaurants then. > [@](#): > > It’s different for several reasons: > > (1) Those magazines aren’t exclusively for women. > > (2) Obtaining one of those magazines isn’t more difficult for a man than a woman. (I’ll bet you saw this coming, I assume you’re doing this on purpose at this point) 1)A church bulletin is not only for members of that church, it’s for anyone who wants one 2)A church bulletin isn’t more difficult for members that don’t go to that church. [Here](http://holyfamily.org/component/option,com_docman/task,cat_view/gid,21/Itemid,143/), I got the last couple weeks worth from a church a few miles away from me. Now you can get your discount without leaving your computer. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/151 "2011-05-04T03:30:35Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > **Eyebrows of Doom** , you might want to read what I actually wrote, not what you thought I wrote. Here, I will quote it for you: > > I didn’t say I will have to attend church. I said I didn’t want to “claim–even indirectly that I attend church.” Claim is the word you missed, I believe. > > Hope this is clear to you, even though I didn’t use one-word sentences. > > Before you say I don’t have to claim to attend church, just show a flyer, I know. That’s what “even indirectly” means. > > Before you say that I can just ask for a discount. I know. Still, to me, having to claim (see, that word again) to be something I am not. I have read this thread, and IMHO your opinion that having a piece of paper in your hand that contains the words “Church” and “Bulletin” even suggests that you go to church is absurd. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/152 "2011-05-04T03:31:30Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > It’s more difficult than printing something off of a webpage? > > :rolleyes: > > Sometimes, I think people LIKE the idea of being “discriminated” against. Discount with a church flyer and a discount with some random thing you print off the web are two different things. It isn’t a matter of whether I like being discriminated against, or even feel that I am being discriminated against. It’s a matter of the law, and the law is quite clear on this matter. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/153 "2011-05-04T03:35:15Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > A)Having a bulletin (or asking for the discount) does not mean you are part of the church, though I understand what you mean by it > B)Who cares? If you are really that concerned about whether or not the waitress at Denny’s thinks your a member of a church, you’ve got to stop taking yourself so seriously before you give yourself a stress induced heart attack. She’s probably never seen you before and probably won’t again, even if she does, she probably won’t remember the bulletin. On top of that, how many tables does she work during her shift? Trust me, no one cares… no one is even paying attention. As for b) Oh, I don’t care what someone else thinks, I care who I am. I don’t want to claim to be other than who I am to be treated equally. Would you feel ok (assuming you are religious of some sort) claiming to be an atheist to be treated equally? ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/154 "2011-05-04T03:36:25Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > That would be your problem, not the restaurants then. No, that would be the restaurant’s problem because they are not treating protected classes equally. Not sure how you have missed this. I addressed the rest of your post already. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/155 "2011-05-04T03:42:37Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > As for b) Oh, I don’t care what someone else thinks, I care who I am. I don’t want to claim to be other than who I am to be treated equally. Would you feel ok (assuming you are religious of some sort) claiming to be an atheist to be treated equally? I can’t really answer that. As an atheist, I’d have no problem bringing in a bulletin to get a discount. Mostly because it’s just a coupon. But also because I really don’t care what the other person thinks. Look at this way, when you hand over the coupon, don’t think to yourself “I’m confirming that I’m religious to get my discount”, instead think “Here’s my 20% off coupon” I think people are confusing “being discriminated against” with “feeling uncomfortable.” To be honest, I can understand that. I don’t think the law should have to change what a business does because someone feels uncomfortable, that’s more of a case where the patrons should vote with their money, but I understand where you’re coming from. I think people feel uncomfortable having to go into a church or feel uncomfortable thinking they have to pretend they catholic to use the coupon or feel uncomfortable having the server think they’re catholic. But it’s available to anyone who wants it, so it’s not discrimination. If I put my mind to it, I’m sure I could come up with analogous scenarios where I would be uncomfortable using a coupon, but that’s the extent of it. I might be uncomfortable, I might not even use them because of it, but I wouldn’t go looking for discrimination because of it. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/156 "2011-05-04T03:44:23Z")
> [@treis](#): > > No, that would be the restaurant’s problem because they are not treating protected classes equally. Not sure how you have missed this. No, it’s your problem that you don’t want to drive out of your way, or, ya know, print out the coupon from your own printer. > [@](#): > > I addressed the rest of your post already. Sure you did. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/157 "2011-05-04T03:46:02Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Discount with a church flyer and a discount with some random thing you print off the web are two different things. Are you blind? The “random thing” IS the church flyer! (We really, REALLY need a “facepalm” smiley) ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/158 "2011-05-04T03:46:19Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > No, it’s your problem that you don’t want to drive out of your way, or, ya know, print out the coupon from your own printer. > > Sure you did. 😉 Obviously you aren’t reading my posts because you are bringing up irrelevant points that have already been addressed. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/159 "2011-05-04T03:48:37Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Obviously you aren’t reading my posts because you are bringing up irrelevant points that have already been addressed. Gotcha, loud and clear 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439/160 "2011-05-04T03:49:28Z")
Yep, now I am talking about feeling uncomfortable, not legality. It still seems to skirt illegality to me, but IANAL. Just wanted to make the point that to me (and maybe only me) handing a bulletin over is akin to lying, and lying about something important to me. I get it that it isn’t like that for you, **Joey P** , or for **Boyo Jim** , but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t bother me. Glad it doesn’t bother you. Maybe you can pay for the pancakes next time, cheapskate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurant-discounts-with-church-flyers/580439.md?page=9)