Discrimnation

Discrimination

Reading several articles yesterday about bakers who refused to bake wedding cakes for upcoming same-sex weddings left me scratching my head wondering what’s next.  First, the same issue arose in different states—Oregon and Colorado. In both cases, the bakers are being told they are violating the law by discriminating against Gays.  Secondly this thing presents weird resolution possibilities.

That made me stop and think a bit more. What, I wondered, if the baker had told a Black couple that he would not bake their wedding cake because he doesn’t serve Blacks (or Latinos, or Republicans, or . . .)?  Does that provoke a different reaction among the folks paying attention to this little protest? I think that both bakers are citing their right to religious freedoms as their reason—God has apparently told them that Gays are a No-No, so they really cannot bake their cake.  I mean, what would they tell God? Plus, they might get struck down, ruining their credit rating entirely.

So, as my brain tries to wrap itself around this annoying little issue, one of hundreds in this increasingly annoying land of ours, other little thoughts keep creeping into my brain. I mean, what if the baker acceded to their request, or simply gave in to the demands of the court system and agreed to bake their cakes. If you were that couple, would you actually eat his cake?  I can already envision the aftermath court hearing. “No, your Honor, I have no idea how the Jalapeno peppers got into the cake, and, as for the rat poison, well, that truly baffles me.” If a baker told me that he would not bake me a cake,  I would certainly want to haul his ass into court, but eat his cake??? Hmmm, I don’t think so. I may be old, but I’m not stupid.

So, I’m left wondering how one could ever resolve satisfactorily such a thorny question.  Can one ever discriminate about doing business with someone who is part of a class of people (Gays, Blacks, Republicans) if the discrimination is based on religious beliefs? “Your Honor, my God and I had a conversation about this issue and he instructed me that to serve Republicans would be to dishonor his name. I mean, look at all the crap they are into—cutting off food stamps to poor people, destroying the public’s access to a free quality education, denying healthy care, turning the banking system into a giant gambling machine. So, I really cannot in good conscience supply them with their ration of my high quality marijuana (assuming I live in Colorado).”

So, I don’t have any idea how we can seriously cause everyone to suddenly become rational on this issue of religiously based discrimination.  Unless we tell the bakers that they need now to move their asses to Tehran on the first available flight out. I’m sure they would love living in AllahLand.

And on that exoplanet called Kansas, apparently the righteous lawmakers there have decided that anyone who wants to is now allowed to carry a concealed weapon into any public place he wishes, including your kids school. But, since they are also committed to ridding the state of that annoying tax-sucking machine called public education, it is perhaps not surprising that  we should all start carrying guns into schools.

And in an amazing feat of weight-loss prowess, the New Jersey Gubernator, Mr. Christie has managed to defy all physical laws by losing 450 pounds and shrinking himself into a size one suit.  I mean, his Press conference was truly awe-inspiring, watch him shrink over the 2 hours as he explained his non-involvement in that messy little traffic jam his guys created without ever telling him about it. Wow, is he really tiny now, or not??