SLD

Sorry Spurly that is not correct. Discrimination laws do not require that you pose as something you're not in order to get the service. One could just as easily argue that restaurants could only serve whites since it wouldn't be too hard for a black man to put on make up or a good mask and look like a white man. Discrimination laws simply do not force you to be, or even act like, something you are not. The point of the civil rights laws was that we don't have to do this.

This is most definitely not what our civil rights laws are about and we should never have to compromise our integrity in order to get equal service.

R/ SLD

fromtheright

C'mon, SLD, assuming that the only complaint is the discount for the church bulletin, there is no (again, still assuming) refusal to serve and no "to the back of the line, you evil infidel" going on there. Wasn't Ollie's about refusal to serve? If that were happening at this Taco Hell, I would absolutely agree with you all. Also, though it isn't in the statute, is it not true (assuming its protection would somehow extend to age) that by your argument, senior citizen discounts are a violation of the civil rights of the rest of us?

BTW, from a civil libertarian point of view, Cookeville sounds like hell. That's where the cop shot the puppy on the highway, wasn't it?

R/

FTR

ashibaka

Yeah, ditto. Just make a bunch of copies of some fake church bulletin, and you'll get to eat there at 90% of full price. Beats suing them, anyway.

Rusting Car Bumper

Nor does this. Go to any church or even download a bulletin from a webpage and print it off.

DC

SLD

Wrong again, FTR. (respectfully). The standard for discrimination does not require that the discrimination rise to a certain level. It may seem trivial, but it is the classic camels nose under the tent - the next thing you know you're shoveling Camel S--t out the back. Again, if the discount was being applied to white people we would all immediately recognize that as a serious problem. Can you see the NAACP coming to town in droves to pay a visit to the Taco Bell? Heck, the U.S. Justice Department would be on their butts before you could even file a lawsuit. Funny thing though, the statute makes no difference with respect to race or religion - the standard is the same.

Now yes I realize that the proper way is to tell them or tell the local ACLU or write a letter and resolve the thing quietly. But, sigh, it's just not the fun way for us lawyers to resolve the issue.


Also, the statute does not mention age therefore senior citizen discounts are OK. Also WRT age discrimination in employment, reverse age discrimination has been held to be legal by the Supremes. i.e. you can fire someone and replace them with an older person and you are OK. That is how Congress crafted the statute and if they were to create a new civil rights protection for age, it would probably inure only to the benefit of older people, and not younger.

SLD

RufusAtticus

FTR,

What if Taco Bell offered a discount if you brought in a KKK bullitin?

Jackalope

Snigger. The idea of bringing in a flyer from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence holy communion done with condoms would probably cause certain fundies to have coronaries on the spot.

StrongMan

Jarrod Paine, is it?

fromtheright

RufusAtticus

What if Taco Bell offered a discount if you brought in a KKK bullitin?

Good question. I, as I'm confident most, would quit doing business with that Taco Bell and would urge that Taco Bell generally take action against that store. But it seems quite a stretch to equate a hate organization with, despite what many on this forum would probably argue, the vast majority of churches.

Also, I would imagine that one of the purposes behind this is to encourage non-churchgoers to go to church. Which is why I think the white/black analogy is invalid--nonchurchgoers can become churchgoers and vice versa but I don't think the same is true of skin color. I agree that such a racial preference is wrong and quite correctly illegal. Extending that to a discount for church bulletins is quite frankly extremist IMO.

braces_for_impact

I dissagree. I'm no lawyer. But it seems to me civil rights laws are in place to prevent this thing from happening. What if it said bring in you Jewish church bulletin? The Christians would be up in arms!

Could you imagine if this were to be allowed to slide? What if virtually everyone decided to do this? Could you imagine getting your elcetric bill with a 10% off church discount? What about getting your car repaired? At the grocery store? It could become much more expensive simply because you refuse to compromise your principals and pretend to be something your not.

The pretext behind this is that you are bringing in 'proof' of sort that you are a theist. Just because it's easy to defraud this particlular system by walking into a church and snagging a bulletin is beside the point. Not to mention, it seems dishonest to me to walk into a house of worship and grab a piece of paper just so I can get 10% off a crap ass grilled stuffed burrito.

It simply serves to further divide peope in this case. If it was not about religion then the taco bell would simply offer 10% off on Sunday. I think the entire Taco Bell should be drug out into the street and stoned to death for working on the sabbath anyway!