Women only gyms may be problematic for this topic but not a dating site which. A dating site like “black people meet” (Is that what it’s called) may be discriminating to White, Latinos, Asians, etc, people but that is a separate conversation, as is the women only gyms. In other words, whether or not certain types of “reverse” discrimination should be allowed to exist is a separate debate.
OK, OK. I understand that my position would not have worked very well in 1900 or 1950, etc. But in these modern times I think that the free-market would work better than the government going to a bakery or a trophy shop and saying “You agreed to make a cake/trophy for that one customer, so now you have to make any cake/trophy that anyone requests, no matter what.”
Requiring public accommodations serve all members of the public equally has worked fine for decades now. Why change it for the benefit of bigots who want to discriminate? Has there been any non-bigoted businesses hurt by this policy?
Women’s only gyms aside, none of those are examples of discrimination. A straight person is more than welcome to create a profile on a gay dating website, and an Orthodox Jew is unlikely to find anyone objecting to serving him at a barbeque place. Neither is likely to find anything they’d particularly want at those places, but they are not barred from using their services or buying their goods.
I think that you really honestly don’t understand this. Saying I will not sell product in my store (to anyone) is not the same as saying I will serve product in my store but only to people in category [A],**, and [C] but not for people in category [Y]. When you choose not to carry a particular product that is not the same as discrimination, because, it is equally unavailable to all people.
And, for the bajillionth time, any bakery can decide they don’t do rainbows or whatever. But they can’t decide they don’t serve gay customers.
We already did the “discrimination is okay” think. It led to segregated towns and all kinds of embarrassing and inhumane nastiness, as it has in every country that has tried it.
We have discussed this many times. I am driven to the point that businesses should be allowed to discriminate. as soon as you say they should not be allowed to do so, you start down the hopeless road of defining discrimination and deciding whose views to tolerate and whose not.
Yes…ok. I would prefer to say that as long as the exercise of your freedom doesn’t compromise someone else’s exercise of their freedom, you should be allowed to do it.
Why should there be any legal difference between “reverse” discrimination and garden-variety discrimination? And in any case, who decides whether discrimination is reverse or not? I can’t see any constitutional basis for outlawing discrimination but not outlawing reverse discrimination.
If you want to never bake cakes, do not become a baker.
If you want to bake cakes, but only for certain people, give away your cakes or work informally.
If you want to make money off baking cakes by opening a business that serves the public, it’s going to be tough to sell me on the idea that you are now being forced to bake cakes.
actually, the free market worked against segregation in the south. even racist train operators still wanted their cars to be full with paying customers. the love of profit trumped their racism. The govt had to force these guys to follow the rules about who could sit where.
What is it about these modern times that you think makes us impervious to the kind of systemic discrimination practiced in this country within living memory? Things are better now than they were in the 1950s. We could get rid of all of these anti-discrimination laws tomorrow, and life would probably not be significantly worse for most minorities. But what if they don’t stay better? What if those old attitudes start to gain a toe-hold again? Do we have to let things deteriorate to the point they were at fifty years ago before we remedy it again? Would it not be smarter and more humane to keep laws in place to ensure - to the extent of our ability - that that sort of society is never allowed to come back?
This sounds great. In my heart, I follow this. but when I use my head and think rationally, I think…how much longer before society decides to make me do something that I don’t want to do? If you think it’s just bakers, hang on. It will be you tomorrow.