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gemini://circadian.gemlog.org/2023-07-15-fading-echoes.gmi
@circadian very reasonable, but perhaps incorrect about some finer points.
The original post of mine was not about gay rights, or racism. It was about consent and the right of the State to compel you to do things against your will.
Consent is viewed as a basic principle in a free societly. Lately it has been brought to the forefront as the younger generation is trying to avoid harmful sexual interactions. But in any setting, if your consent is lacking, it is an abusive situation. Someone is forcing you to do what you do not want.
It may seem terrible that the Supreme Court failed to compel a bigoted web designer to build a web site for a gay couple. What if the situation was flipped?
What if you were forced by the court to build a web site for the KKK, or the NRA, or whatever organization you find despicable? Cater a lunch for Trump or the Federalist Society? Publicity work for a child molester who got off on a technicality? Make weapons for a crooked government?
You must be careful what you wish for. If you beg the government to step in and force others to do what you think is right, they may do it; but they may just as easily turn around and force you to do what someone else thinks is right. The door swings both ways, and there are a lot more of _them_ (people whose idea of 'right' may not be good for you).
And then, there is a question as to why you would want to force someone who hates you (for whatever reason) to do business with you. Other than spite -- to prove that you are right! -- there is no sensible reason. They will not do a good job. It will cost you time and money to fight them. You should instead support other businesses, ones that are friendly to your group.
It may be less convenient. So you don't go to the drugstore down the street, and walk a few blocks, maybe to a gay-friendly drugstore, which also hires gay people and supports the LGBTQIA2S+ (apologies for leaving out any remaining letters out of ignorance :) community, instead of giving your money to a fascist, because some court decision compels them to serve you without their consent. Can you trust them with your life? I wouldn't. Screw them.
It won't matter to big corporations - they have compliance departments to deal with things like that, and no one there cares about what they do anyway. But small businesses are built on relationships, and being forced to work for hateful clients will destroy them, causing much hatred in the process. Maybe you don't care, because you work for a big corporation. I couldn't.
I was accused of dreaming up a weird and screwed up world, in which we are a little responsible for our own actions. The world in which a corrupt government makes decisions for me under the threat of kidnapping and death scares me even more.
You didn’t choose who you are, I didn’t choose who I am; I should act as if we could be instantaneously swapped at any time.
Indeed.