Hamster Buddha
DP Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2013
- Messages
- 3,675
- Reaction score
- 1,237
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Libertarian
I get what you are saying, and it was my position for quite some time. But the harm inflicted may be less if just one baker says no as opposed to 20, but a harm is committed nonetheless. To me, the area that is black and white is the extreme scenario I presented where everyone denies a black man service. I know with certainty that is wrong. I have not found an argument that can reconcile allowing some discrimination but not allowing everyone to discriminate.
It might be, but I doubt it. Some churches still refuse to marry interracial couples, and nobody has forced them to change. If anything, the people who create the change our the members of the church who end up pressuring the church to change from the inside out.
I guess ultimately where I have conflicted feelings in this is that, unlike the scenario with all the racist white people (ie Jim Crow South) I do find myself sympathetic to the bakery owner. Not because of their views per say, but because the couple did have other options I'm sure, and that bakery owner just happened to be the ones chosen to be crucified (pun intended).
However, and you may disagree but follow me on this, I'm very proud of the way race relations are in this country today. Some people go around pretending it's as bad as it was back then, but for me, a millennial, who went to school that was integrated, Racism is a remnant of the bygone era. Even for those in my circles that are black, they don't talk about race in the same way I hear much older folks talk about it. And there's no way we would of progressed as a society were it not for government stepping in and forcing integration. I think because of that lesson, and while SSM is a much smaller issue than racism (especially in the 60's), I do agree that discrimination in any of it's form simply can't be tolerated, and the best way to progress as a tolerant society is to stamp out these situations when they crop up.
My one fear is that we will push this envelope to far, and in the name of equality, will push things that our society aren't ready for, or shouldn't ever occur.