Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
The Red Hen Is a Canary in the Coal Mine
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked to leave the Red Hen Restaurant in Virginia along with her seven guests. They already ordered, but a snowflake waiter decided he didn’t like her because she worked for President Donald Trump.
The owner came in and asked the employees what “they wanted her to do.” They said expel Sanders, so she was asked to leave, and she did. Why did this remind me of the 1960s lunch counters where blacks were refused service based on skin color?
Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for @POTUS and I politely left. Her actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so
— Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) June 23, 2018
Sanders was belittled by a vulgar woman masquerading as a comedian at the White House Correspondents Dinner, even calling her the “Uncle Tom of white women,” who got a laugh at her expense. The double standard of what is acceptable has become absurd.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kirstjen Nielson, was recently bombarded by protestors chanting “no borders” inside a Mexican restaurant while she was dining. The harassment was allowed by the manager and it forced her to leave.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi was harassed at a recent screening of a new Mr. Rogers documentary. The protestors approached her asking her questions, became very aggressive, and police were called to escort Ms. Bondi from the Tampa Bay theatre. A local paper reported,
“The video they are choosing to share is of the least aggressive portion of the attack that transpired after police arrived to control the scene. What they are not sharing publicly are several previous encounters involving large men getting in the Attorney General’s face, spitting and blocking her exit,” the spokesman, Whitney Ray, said in an emailed statement. “The Attorney General tried to have a conversation with these individuals, however, when it became abundantly clear that they were not interested in a constructive dialog but were only there to cause a scene, the attorney general tried to leave the volatile scene.”
Vulgar threats were recently made against First Lady Melania Trump and her son by former actor Peter Fonda, to the point where the Secret Service was contacted.
The level of vitriol and vulgarity in the public square, in the entertainment world, on college campuses, in social media, even at a movie or restaurant, has increased to a startling level, where people, especially women, feel frightened for their safety. The recent harassment over political differences has overstepped the boundaries of “the right to protest” in our free society.
Further, the media is oddly silent on the recent IG Report showing the vulgarity and level of corruption and manipulation at the highest levels of our government and law enforcement during the last election. Not only was Trump and anyone associated with his campaign a target, but so was Bernie Sanders. The tolerant, progressive, and so-called politically-correct Left have created a new low in civility and decency, by words and example.
Heated issues such as immigration, healthcare, foreign policy, and more (problems that did not begin with the 2016 election) are worked through and solved through debate, votes, and democratic means. There can be no tolerance of violence or violating the rights of citizens, whether public or private, to where they feel unsafe in their public or private lives.
These incidents are our wake-up call, and we must ask ourselves if we should be accepting it as normal. Our freedoms as law-abiding citizens are being threatened; there are no more boundaries between having differences of opinion and actual hate. What should be done in this case and others?
Published in General
Exactly – there’s a difference between the cake baker/wedding planner and a restaurateur. There’s not much difference between the treatment Ms. Saunders got and an African American at the lunch counters in the Jim Crow Days. I don’t believe this should be ‘politely shrugged off’.
I fear the Second Civil War is closer than we think.
Discrimination by race, national origin, gender or sexual preference used to be wrong because these are or attributes one is born with; religion became its own category. It is now mandatory. Because social justice.
But you are right, freedom of association used to be much broader:
• It is now restricted to those with enough victim points
• People with enough victim points cannot safely be refused service.
Among the impossible things we are now obliged to believe before breakfast: Race is born, or a willing identification (e.g. Rachel Dolezal.) Ditto gender.
What is objectionable is the inequality of justice on the grounds of social justice, and the expectation that people on the right must tolerate this. What is your proposed remedy for this state of affairs?
My gut tells me that “punch back twice as hard” needs to be in there somewhere.
If AMLO wins as expected in Mexico, the Aztlan movement and their Democrat allies in the US will constitute a significant fifth column for the proposed
mass migrationinvasion.Conservatives never do this kind of thing. Only liberals do. That’s because, as I think Krauthammer said, conservatives think liberals are stupid but liberals think conservatives are evil.
Like jihadis, the Dems use the insane as shock troops to advance their agenda:
If they keep this up eventually someone is going to lose it or feel so threatened that they will respond with violence.
We are generally peaceful people but if pushed far enough we will respond.
So I have a legal right to provide service for someone if I decide I don’t like who they work for, or have a political opinion I despise? That’s good to know. I remember when some doctors in Michigan decided they didn’t want to treat Malpractice lawyers or their family members. Guess how that turned out. The reality is this is a one way street. We will be forced to provide services to people we don’t want to associate with, they will be able to stand on their little soap box and deny us. Eventually one of us will feel so frustrated or threatened we will fight back.
Yes, you have the right to decide who you will provide service to unless that person’s “group” is protected under the law. You can decide who and how you want to deal with anyone provided they’re not in a “protected classification.” If they are, your argument is with those who passed your laws.
Call and make reservations. When they ask why you didn’t show up, let em know.
I’m pretty sure they are demonstrating they are in fact evil.
Love this. ^
Kodak: ” I’m pretty sure they are demonstrating they are in fact evil.”
I think that opinion that “liberals are stupid” is from much more civil times. For much of the behavior of the Left, the word “evil” kinda jumps out at you right away. An ideology that wants to destroy almost every American institution including the family, the Constitution and the American way of life, I think can only be described as Evil with a capital E. No doubt about it.
Also, no member of the Progressive Left should be described really as “liberal”. The word liberal derives from the word “liberty” which they hate with a passion, and the people termed “classical liberal” are these days thought of as a conservative. “Liberal” is way too good a description for them. They are only for “free thinking” when it benefits them; otherwise free speech and the freedom of thought are to be controlled as much as possible in their eyes.
If you think this is bad wait until the GOP has even a modicum of success in the mid-terms and it will be Katie-Bar-the-Door if Trump wins in 2020. It will be open warfare if the GOP carries both Houses in 2020 as well.
One would think that her fellow Democrats would denounce this. Have any?
It’ll be just as bad if the Dems have some success in 2018. That will signal to them that their strategy is working and they’ll double down for 2020.
Yes. “We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.”
“…for any reason.”
As a young traveller on my first visit to London, I went to Brown’s Hotel for high tea, where the maître d’hôtel informed me that jackets were required. He then asked what size I wore and pulled a nice spare one from the small closet behind his desk. That’s good business!
I’ve been asking myself will this get worse or better if we keep the House and increase in the Senate?
A few months ago I thought it was a done deal that we would lose the House and possibly the Senate… but I think it’s 70/30 we keep both… things could change, but looking at polling since the latest nonsensical accusations about the immorality of enforcing the law at the border… it looks like that’s going to be a wash, or come down on our side… combine that with these unjust kinds of things, fake news magazine covers and so forth… I think it helps us win in the fall…
Then what? Do they back off and just hate in private, or do they get actually violent?
It makes me sick to see them threaten kids. I can’t imagine that is well accepted by most Americans.
I believe you asked what is to be done? Other than get the word out what could possibly be done? They hate, America needs to see their evil, but we can’t turn evil ourselves… so just make sure the tale is told I guess.
These are clear federal violations of the public accomdations law and should be aggressively prosecuted.
John Hinderaker of Powerline posted this. Representative Maxine Waters endoursed similar harassment for cabinet secretaries at restaurants and gas stations. He asked why Maxine Waters doesn’t get similar treatment. In his last paragraph he says:
The harassment Saunders received is only the latest in such incidents. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has been harrassed at his house, where his young children live. He’s been harrassed over net neutrality, which shouldn’t be the biggest issue of our time. Similar treatment has been directed towards Scott Pruitt, EPA chairman and DHS secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
It’s not getting coverage, and most Americans don’t know it’s happening.
At least the poison is coming out in some plain view. The media won’t be able to hide this forever.
There is a young man, whom I like, that I occasionally take wake boarding on my boat. This subject came up and he said, “It was great that she was asked to leave, after all Trump made a law that says Christians don’t have to serve gays”. I responded, “No he didn’t, Trump doesn’t make laws”. Then he responded, “Well, it was an executive order”. I replied, “No, he never made such an executive order, and since you think it is OK not to serve someone based on their political believes, you are not going out on my boat today”.
We left him standing on the dock in disbelief. He thought I was was joking and would come back for him, but we didn’t.
I don’t have any hard feeling toward him. Normally he is open to intelligent debate, which I appreciate. I just decided to make him feel what he was supporting.
Abortion and contraception are basic goods and services too. I will support the right of Catholic doctors and pharmacist to refuse to provide them. I would also support a Jewish deli owner refusing to serve Richard Spencer too. I think it is fine to think such refusals as rude, and to then refuse to patronize such places. But such refusals are in my opinion legitimate actions private citizens can take to express their views.
When has it not been the rule? I don’t recall people here being all, we have to consider each ANTIFA as an individual.
Mrs. Sanders (I believe she is married) got kicked out because of her chosn employment, not an imutable physical trait. It’s nothing like Jim Crow segregation, anymore than Trump’s make shift detention facilities are like Nazi Concentration camps.
If only there was some way for Jennifer and her ilk to easily identify those deplorable individuals who need to be scorned and shunned. Maybe if they wore some kind of symbol it would be simpler to hold them accountable. A triangle or a star maybe.
So it’s OK to refuse to serve Muslims?
So, when someone puts up the No Democrats Allowed sign, you think everyone at the DNC and WaPo and NYT will be Ok with that?
Jennifer Rubin is a sorry excuse for a woman.
Have no fear. When Hollywood turns this moment into a scene in a movie, that’s exactly how they will portray it to make the Leftist restaurant owner look like a saint.
I think you’re asking if it’s ok to not serve Muslims. The answer is it’s not ok to not serve Muslims, even if they’re proselytizing.
It’s ok to not serve Christians though, especially if they’re proselytizing.