Did Dan just change the headline? I don't think there was any indication initially that this was in Canada, so I initially assumed this was happening in the US, where this type of thing seems to be an everyday occurrence. I have to say, while I'm not shocked at casual small-town homophobia, even in Canada, I am surprised by how vicious it seems to have been in this place.
We appreciate the concern that has been voiced, but please remember that painting an entire town with the same intolerant brush is akin to the ignorance that made this front page news to begin with," the town council said.
They must have predicted Dan's "way to put yourself on the map"....
This isn't really related to the topic of the story (which is frustrating and depressing), but to a feature of the site that ran the article: the article history log, clearly calling out updates and corrections, is really great. I've seen other sites update articles to not corrections and call it out in some way, but I really love how unobtrusive and yet accessible this format is. OK, ending tangent now...
"We were asked if somebody was going to catch something off of the plate because we had prepared the food on it," Claringbould recalled Tuesday.
Well.
It IS true that if someones personal practices involved routine contact with feces (and, of course, we have NO idea that these gentlemen's personal practices DO.....) one would be negligent and naive not to harbor some concern that their hand washing procedures were adequate.
Who knows.
These fellows may not yet have mastered the fine art of doing anal "right".....
My favorite quote, "A lot of people don't like it... You don't know what they're doing in the kitchen." Cooking mostly would be me guess, but I guess I really don't know what happens in the kitchen's of heterosexual restaurants so maybe I shouldn't comment.
I find it hard to believe they had no clue they'd have to put up with this shit in a fundamentalist redneck area. It sounds like they made plenty of friends and allies in the four short months the restaurant has been open, though. Unless they've had credible threats against their lives, I do wish they had tougher skins and would stick around for a few more months to see if they made even more allies.
@5, Perhaps. But if they knew anything about Dan they would have known that:
'We appreciate the concern that has been voiced, but please remember that painting an entire town with the same intolerant brush is akin to the ignorance that made this front page news to begin with," the town council said.'
Sounds very much like NALT Christians and we know that Dan says to them. Don't get pissy with us for thinking ill of your town because of how some of your people behave. Get pissy with the people giving your town a bad name in the first place.
There's a certain kind of spiteful nastiness in very small towns that doesn't have much to do with homophobia, really. Insular mean-girl behaviour that's a direct descendent of high school - it's like the people who stay in the small town after high school never move on to adulthood but are stuck in some sort of bitter time-warp. These guys were targeted because they're gay, but I've also seen people targeted and businesses ruined because of race, or just because they were perceived as urban and "stuck up". My really quite nice small town has a Facebook "rant and rave" page that is like a cesspool of small minded malice some days.
I don't think it's so much homophobia but more xenophobia - a hatred of the other and the outsider.
@21: If you've ever worked at a restaurant-especially one with a small staff- you'd know that, during business hours, time for "hanky-panky" (hetero or homo) is non-existent. Just the suggestion is laughable. Sad and nasty and laughable.
My mom's family is from Morris (no joke), and it's really a great town. Are there some crazy bigots? Yes, but those people are everywhere. I wish they wouldn't give into the bullying.
@18 There are only three 'fundamentalist' spots in Canada, and as far as I know, Manitoba was free of them. This is bullying and homophobia. Polite Canadians don't even talk about religion, except to make fun of Harper's cabinet picks.
I am with @20 on the xenophobia (at best and more often, benign indifference) of small prairie towns, it takes years to fit in no matter how well you blend.
These guys have a history of quitting, maybe they are in the 'little-bit disingenuous' subset of gay men? You know the small town council would pull out their own teeth to keep a business going, and no Canadian town wants a Charter of Rights and Freedoms case. And the couple is leaving, not going to a complaint resolution stage, which the couple would easily win.
Southern Manitoba most definitely IS one of them - check out the news stories on Gay/Straight alliances.
UrbanDuck, your legal knowlege is sadly lacking - a bigot saying something nasty is not an easily winnable Charter case. For one thing, the Charter has to do with GOVERNMENT discrimination, not nasty bigots. And what's the point? Why should they live in that little shithole of a town and wait for someone to go beyond words? Tell you what, why don't you buy their restaurant and go live there yourself?
George Ifandis, who runs George's Burgers & Subs in town, said he has nothing against the eatery's owners, but understands some customers might be uncomfortable with the men's sexuality.
"A lot of people don't like it," said Ifandis. "You don't know what they're doing in the kitchen."
dear Mr. Ifandis. I wonder if there wasn't some benefit that you received from all this whoo hah, eh? And maybe the ones who were worst towards these fellas were YOUR friends, eh? And maybe you are glad to see the backside of them chef types. because, y'know, you can't compete with FABULOUS, eh?
Department of Redundancy Department.
We appreciate the concern that has been voiced, but please remember that painting an entire town with the same intolerant brush is akin to the ignorance that made this front page news to begin with," the town council said.
They must have predicted Dan's "way to put yourself on the map"....
Perhaps they just had a shitty business model and find it easier to blame rednecks when the business goes belly up.
Well.
It IS true that if someones personal practices involved routine contact with feces (and, of course, we have NO idea that these gentlemen's personal practices DO.....) one would be negligent and naive not to harbor some concern that their hand washing procedures were adequate.
Who knows.
These fellows may not yet have mastered the fine art of doing anal "right".....
Headline:
A Unhinged Gay Bigot in Seattle Forces Gay Couple to Close Park City Restaurant
But that is OK.
Right?
Wow....Hilarious and mortifying at the same time.
just rest assured it involves feces and the food you are about to eat.
'We appreciate the concern that has been voiced, but please remember that painting an entire town with the same intolerant brush is akin to the ignorance that made this front page news to begin with," the town council said.'
Sounds very much like NALT Christians and we know that Dan says to them. Don't get pissy with us for thinking ill of your town because of how some of your people behave. Get pissy with the people giving your town a bad name in the first place.
I don't think it's so much homophobia but more xenophobia - a hatred of the other and the outsider.
I know, right? That was what struck me the funniest. Like NO HETEROSEXUAL HANKY-PANKY has ever gone on in a restaurant kitchen.
Sorry, but it is what your little town is about. Those of you who are not about that didn't make enough noise while it might have done some good.
I am with @20 on the xenophobia (at best and more often, benign indifference) of small prairie towns, it takes years to fit in no matter how well you blend.
These guys have a history of quitting, maybe they are in the 'little-bit disingenuous' subset of gay men? You know the small town council would pull out their own teeth to keep a business going, and no Canadian town wants a Charter of Rights and Freedoms case. And the couple is leaving, not going to a complaint resolution stage, which the couple would easily win.
UrbanDuck, your legal knowlege is sadly lacking - a bigot saying something nasty is not an easily winnable Charter case. For one thing, the Charter has to do with GOVERNMENT discrimination, not nasty bigots. And what's the point? Why should they live in that little shithole of a town and wait for someone to go beyond words? Tell you what, why don't you buy their restaurant and go live there yourself?
"A lot of people don't like it," said Ifandis. "You don't know what they're doing in the kitchen."
dear Mr. Ifandis. I wonder if there wasn't some benefit that you received from all this whoo hah, eh? And maybe the ones who were worst towards these fellas were YOUR friends, eh? And maybe you are glad to see the backside of them chef types. because, y'know, you can't compete with FABULOUS, eh?