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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: one_less who wrote (76829)	10/7/2003 8:09:44 PM
From: The Philosopher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

Thank you for what I think may be your first post to me in a week or two without any overt personal attack. I think you technically misuse the term sexualized, but I think I understand what you mean. I didn't find the dialogue between you and Neo convincing at the time. However sincere Mojo's beliefs, and I have always assumed that he is completely sincere, there is still a fundamental conflict between two principles. One is his right not to be forced to be put into a situation where either he or his client or both may (not necessarily will, but may) become sexually aroused. The other is society's right to demand that those who choose to offer goods or services to the public may not condition their offer of goods or services on the race, gender, or sexual preference of the prospective customer. Of all the thousands of careers open to him, Mojo has chosen to enter one of the few where that conflict is likely to arise. He could be a check-out clerk, a car salesman, a computer programmer, a legislator, a lawyer, a factory worker, a farmer, and on and on, without facing that conflict. But he has chosen one of the few careers where his beliefs are in conflict with society's beliefs. And he asks for a waiver from society, that society will let his personal belief prevail over society's belief. That, it seems to me, is the conflict in a nutshell. And my position is clear. He doesn't get the waiver. If society started modifying or overlooking its core principles (of which non-discrimination is one, IMO) to accommodate the non-religious beliefs of individual businesses, we start what is, in my opinion, a very dangerous precedent. It won't be long before members of the KKK start refusing service to blacks and use the waiver granted to Mojo as their justification. Hard right wing Christians who still blame Jews for the death of Jesus will refuse service to Jews. And on and on. Every case will have to be examined to see whether this or is not a "Mojo exception" to societal rules. That's a process I'm not willing to see get underway. If you claim that Neo is, I'm frankly surprised. Anyhow, that is MY principled belief. You may not agree with it. You may not approve of it. But I am every bit as entitled to that principled belief as Mojo is to his.