Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Stupid is as stupid does.

Stupid, an adjective meaning: 1. not intelligent; 2. having or showing a lack of ability to learn and understand things; 3. not sensible or logical.
I have been taken to task somewhat severely by folks over my comment at this post indicating that I thought the public banning of all Muslims from a gun range was "monumentally stupid."
It was a quick reaction, but I stand by it. This has nothing to do with property rights, potential lawsuits, or the First Amendment. It is stupid because the problem, if it exists, can be handled by a simple "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone" sign. Making this about perceived Jihadi menaces and extending it to a religious ban is just that -- stupid. A suspicious observer might conclude that it was done for the publicity to boost business among local clientele who are overwhelmingly, I am sure, non-Muslim.

12 comments:

Steve Parker, M.D. said...

I'm not so sure you can refuse to serve someone these days. For instance, a homosexual couple can force you to bake them a wedding cake or take photos at their "wedding," if that's your line of business.

I suppose you wouldn't have to comply if you'd rather pay a huge fine or go to jail.

Sad but true.

-Steve

Anonymous said...

This homosexual cake thing is so retarded (sorry to use politically incorrect language).

I gurantee if a straight couple were to go into a homosexual bar and demand that they cater to a straight wedding and bake a good old fashioned cake with man and woman topper, it would be a hate crime. A part of me was tempted to do this... find a gay bar and try to force them to make me a straight cake. The problem is I probbaly wouldn't even make it out alive.

Forcing someone to make a product they dont want to make is just purely idiotic. I wonder what the launguage of the ruling was. Can I walk into a Gamestop and sue the pants off of them because they don't carry some video game I made up in my head? Can I walk into a bakery and scream at them and sue them if they don't make a cake shaped like a penis for my bachelor party? This is just pure insantiy and stupididity on so many levels.

Paul said...

Simple sign. I like it. Now if they force you over this. Maybe the cake people should have used this as well.

Used to be in every store I visited.

Anonymous said...

ATF gives the right for firing ranges to refuse service in the name of safety at the range.

They should have used this policy on a case by case basis (as all ranges do).

To make an official policy banning a whole religious group is not smart.

Miles said...

Steve, there's ways to 'refuse service' to anyone.

Your two examples were cases of people explicitly stating why they were refusing service. That was the 'stupid way'.

I can think of multiple ways of refusing those four 'people' service that would seem reasonable to anyone.

'Booked Solid' is a start.

Harry_the_Horrible said...

Just paint a picture of Mohammed on the floor in front of the door where customer would have to step on it to enter.
Or keep a pet friendly pet dog in the lobby. Or even a pet pig...
No rules. No lawsuits, just Moslem repellent.

Anonymous said...

If a 99% majority of 100 on a ship bought, built and paid for the shipe and the 99% people are white and the 1% left is "other" and they carried the nails for the ship. And if the 99% said we BUILT this this is our ship I would think that the 99% have a point.
At some location in time all must look after their interest. It is not noble to be all to everyone at all times but rather be for your people.
ISLAM is not my people.

-loyal reader

Paul X said...

I'm with you, Mike. Anyone should be able to ban whomever they please from their property for any reason whatsoever. That does not mean their doing so is going to look intelligent. They may find themselves banned from other places in return.

It's a good idea to avoid appearing to be a Nazi.

John Otis Comeau said...

one of the many things I like about you, and David Codrea as well, is that you don't follow any party line, you write and speak from your own heart and convictions, damn the torpedoes. naturally you're going to occasionally upset those whose philosophies aren't yet as enlightened.

Anonymous said...

Islam is not a "religion".
It is an all encompasing political doctrine.
Free people should fear it.
III

MissAnthropy said...

I would agree that her actions might be "stupid" in the sense that the technicalities of law are likely to work against her should she end up being forced to defend this policy.

Some of her critics in the gun world have gone much further though, and have been quick to heap moral opprobrium on this woman. Those are the ones I find irritating.

It's irritating on a couple of levels. For one, it reeks of the (for lack of a better term) political Right's tendency to make a big show out of chucking its own under the bus, out of some foolish desire to win approval from popular culture that will not be forthcoming anyway.

For two, it's an indicator that many have still not understood the new reality we as citizens of the West must face. Actually it's not a new reality at all, but an old one so long absent that it might as well be a new one. I'm referring to the existential threat of Islam. Islam does not do the whole multicultural thing. It will certainly take advantage of it as a means of entering new battle spaces, but as soon as it has established a defensible bridgehead it transitions into naked conquest.

Islam is an inherently totalitarian ethos. It's far more than a religion. It is important to acknowledge this. Markers need to be thrown down. "Freedom of religion" should not shield Islam any more than it should shield the Mafia or other criminal enterprises.

KBCraig said...

Re: ATF

No, ATF doesn’t have any oversight of shooting ranges. They do tell FFLs that they have the right (and obligation) to refuse a sale to suspicious customers, but that is for sales of guns.

As for the original article, I agree. I’m from Arkansas, was politically involved in the ArkLaTex region until I moved away last year, and I can tell you this much for sure: Jan Morgan is a heavily-painted, self-aggrandizing, tone-deaf attention whore who loves preaching to the choir and having them tell her how great she is. Her audience is a classic echo chamber.

Should she have the right to discriminate against any person or group she wishes? Absolutely. It’s still a stupid thing to do — as if she can even tell when a Muslim walks through the door.

Dollars to donuts, if a Sikh came in, he would be refused service. Same for a Hindu. Because let’s face it, cultural ignorance that is this determined to stay ignorant really isn’t interested in facts.