I have made no secret of my displeasure with Indiana’s newly passed RFRA law.
I would go as far as to say that it is a dumb law.
Unfortunately, there are people who are protesting this dumb law in a very dumb way especially the high school coach in Elkhart, Indiana who threatened to burn down a pizza joint when the owner stated they would not cater a gay wedding. As a result of this threat and of the hostility directed at Memories Pizza in Walkerton, Indiana, the restaurant has closed and the owners are considering leaving the area.
Now when I think of the kind of food served at a wedding, pizza is pretty far down on the list. Neverthless, if I were a resident of Walkerton, Indiana and were a patron of Memories Pizza and learned they would not serve a same sex wedding or otherwise heard them make untoward remarks toward LGBT people I would be inclined, as a matter of principle, to take my business elsewhere and perhaps politely voice my opinion. But no farther.
Indeed, there have been several occasions when I have stopped patronizing businesses for untoward and intolerant behavior or displays. The other day I wrote an obit for my old friend Logong Raditlhokwa. Many years ago, I took him to my favorite Chinese restaurant in Ottawa. It wasn’t long before the wait staff made it clear they did not care for Logong’s racial composition (he was a native of Botswana). They would not acknowledge him. I asked him if he wanted to leave. He did not want to give them the satisfaction. When I asked for a large hot & sour soup they insisted on giving us small bowls instead, but I would not budge. When our orders came, the waiter dropped the bowl in front of Logong. Amazingly it did not spill. Needless to say, they did not get a tip and I never went back there and satiated my cravings for hot & sour soup elsewhere.
When I was in London as a parliamentary intern two decades ago, I used to buy batteries for my walkman from this street vendor who sold them at half the price I could get them anywhere else. But when he went on a rant about Pakistanis and how much he hated their dark skin, I purchased my batteries elsewhere.
And here in Boston, I stopped shopping at a neighborhood convenience store when it posted a sign accusing Israel of genocide during its war with Hezbollah in 2006.
But never in my wildest dreams would I threaten to burn down any of these establishments or otherwise resort to violence as a means to address my displeasure.
With this in mind, let’s hope that the Indiana legislature and Governor Pence can agree to a compromise with which people can live.
