I just saw a bit about this on The Daily Show, and it gave me thoughts. The gist is: Marys Gournet Diner was giving a 15% praying in public discount to anyone who, you know, prayed before they ate their meal. Some of my atheist brethren got wind of this and filed a lawsuit (as far as I can tell) on the grounds that this practice is in violation of the Civil Rights Act. 1. Is it really? Its not as if Marys is denying service to people who *dont* pray, insisting they use different accommodations or offering separate levels of treatment. Assuming that Marys also engages in fair, non-discriminatory employment practices, how does this practice differ from, say, offering a discount to customers who wear, say, a Marys t-shirt into the restaurant? Im sure during the World Series, plenty of places in San Francisco offered Giants-related discounts or perks, and nobody gave a shit about that. 2. This... isnt really the kind of religious freedom Im looking for when I think about my First Amendment Rights. Marys is a private business on private property. Again, barring discriminatory employment practices, or various local, state and federal non-discrimination practices that Marys is required to comply with, why am I, John Q. Atheist, supposed to care? If I disagree with their expressed religious opinions or practices, isnt it my prerogative not to patronize their establishment?
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 07:36:07 +0000
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