Posts by Hisclarkness

286

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Baker Who Refused to Bake Cake for Gay Couple

by Simon in

seems like such an obviously correct decision to overturn the previous overreach - it should never have been necessary to go to the supreme court but happened because the rights of the religious were being ignored.. as the fundamental level, no one should be able to compel you to work for them or to provide services that go against your beliefs, and certainly not have the government be able to force you to comply.. if this was allowed there would be so many unreconcilable situations that would clog up courts over nonsense.. i also have little patience for these activists that intentionally look to be offended.

it really doesn't do their cause any good to go round looking to make trouble for people.

it's also misguided because it ends up strengthening religious rights over effectively stupid issues.. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/us/politics/supreme-court-sides-with-baker-who-turned-away-gay-couple.html.

Hisclarkness

Hi simon,

What you said with religion is precisely why the baker is wrong. Anybody could use religion as a shield to what really amounts to discriminatory behavior. Which is why there has to be a line drawn between your personal life and interacting in a commercial setting. Which is why the baker is entitled to his religious beliefs but they shouldn’t have to adversely affect others in a commercial (neutral) setting. If the baker chooses to open a business then he is choosing to interact with the general public and should not be able to bring his religious beliefs into the picture. Otherwise, he should decide not to offer certain services that he knows might cause potential conflicts with his personal beliefs.

According to the law, you are either married or single. You are not “gay” married or “straight” married. You are just married. A person’s religious beliefs might not recognize that and that’s fine. But businesses will have a hard time in the future defending these discriminatory actions in the future.

I know you feel differently. I love the discussion. I just hate the anger, sarcasm, ridicule, etc that often accompany these discussions.

286

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Baker Who Refused to Bake Cake for Gay Couple

by Simon in

seems like such an obviously correct decision to overturn the previous overreach - it should never have been necessary to go to the supreme court but happened because the rights of the religious were being ignored.. as the fundamental level, no one should be able to compel you to work for them or to provide services that go against your beliefs, and certainly not have the government be able to force you to comply.. if this was allowed there would be so many unreconcilable situations that would clog up courts over nonsense.. i also have little patience for these activists that intentionally look to be offended.

it really doesn't do their cause any good to go round looking to make trouble for people.

it's also misguided because it ends up strengthening religious rights over effectively stupid issues.. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/us/politics/supreme-court-sides-with-baker-who-turned-away-gay-couple.html.

Hisclarkness

On another side note, I find it very interesting that opinions are so varied here on this site where we mostly all come from a JW background.

As Witnesses, and as strongly as we held our beliefs, we would never have forced our beliefs on to others in a commercial setting. A witness doctor would not turn away patients because he didn’t believe in blood transfusions; he would simply get a colleague to do it. A witness waiter in a restaurant would simply ask his fellow waiters to sing happy birthday to his customers; he wouldn’t refuse the customers’ business.

We always sought to find alternatives.

I know. I know. The baker didn’t refuse service to the couple. I wonder if there was someone else he could have gotten to do the cake instead of himself?? Though I fear this still would have been an issue because he spoke of being concerned that the name of his business would have been affiliated with the wedding.

I just feel like there could have been many alternatives in this situation that should have resolved both the baker’s conscience and the couple’s desire for a custom cake.

286

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Baker Who Refused to Bake Cake for Gay Couple

by Simon in

seems like such an obviously correct decision to overturn the previous overreach - it should never have been necessary to go to the supreme court but happened because the rights of the religious were being ignored.. as the fundamental level, no one should be able to compel you to work for them or to provide services that go against your beliefs, and certainly not have the government be able to force you to comply.. if this was allowed there would be so many unreconcilable situations that would clog up courts over nonsense.. i also have little patience for these activists that intentionally look to be offended.

it really doesn't do their cause any good to go round looking to make trouble for people.

it's also misguided because it ends up strengthening religious rights over effectively stupid issues.. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/us/politics/supreme-court-sides-with-baker-who-turned-away-gay-couple.html.

Hisclarkness

For the record, I think it was wrong for sanders not to have been served regardless of her political beliefs. However, this isn’t the same issue.

Businesses can refuse service to anyone they want for whatever reason as long as it’s not discriminating based on a protected class.

The issue of whether or not the baker discriminated against the gay couple has already been discussed at length. But sexual orientation is a protected status. Political belief is not. So while I disagree with it, there is no legal issue here.

On on a side note, it can be difficult to have these discussions where we have real differences of opinion on issues that affect real people in real situations and then just pretend everything is normal and we can sit and eat together.

It can be difficult for someone who has family members that are directly affected by certain laws and policies to treat those who support and are affiliated with said policies as if everything is peachy. I’m not saying that we should be hating each other but we should keep in mind that at the end of the day it’s more than just policies and ideals; it’s actual people and lives.

Just saying.

12

Serana Williams coginative dissonance.

by blownaway in

i just heard her on the news saying how much time it takes for her to play tennis.

lmfao she thanks "jehovah" and seems to think in her pea mind that she is a "good jw" i bet the gb does not mess with her because they want the positive attention.

but she is about as far from a "good jw" as one could get.

Hisclarkness

Hi Carla,

i agree that to the outside world, for all intents and purposes, she is a JW. The point that I was trying to make is that as former JWs we all know that she was never “truly” a JW so we all should know that it is silly to try and find some double standard/hypocrisy/greed from the WT in this case.

Nobody is giving her a pass because she is a celebrity. Since she’s not officially a JW then she is technically not accountable to the organization or any congregation.

286

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Baker Who Refused to Bake Cake for Gay Couple

by Simon in

seems like such an obviously correct decision to overturn the previous overreach - it should never have been necessary to go to the supreme court but happened because the rights of the religious were being ignored.. as the fundamental level, no one should be able to compel you to work for them or to provide services that go against your beliefs, and certainly not have the government be able to force you to comply.. if this was allowed there would be so many unreconcilable situations that would clog up courts over nonsense.. i also have little patience for these activists that intentionally look to be offended.

it really doesn't do their cause any good to go round looking to make trouble for people.

it's also misguided because it ends up strengthening religious rights over effectively stupid issues.. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/us/politics/supreme-court-sides-with-baker-who-turned-away-gay-couple.html.

Hisclarkness

But I will acknowledge that the whole argument of forcing an artist to create art is a compelling one. But does a custom cake meet the threshold of artistry? That’s actually what the court spent most of their time pondering over. Because then where would you draw the line?

286

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Baker Who Refused to Bake Cake for Gay Couple

by Simon in

seems like such an obviously correct decision to overturn the previous overreach - it should never have been necessary to go to the supreme court but happened because the rights of the religious were being ignored.. as the fundamental level, no one should be able to compel you to work for them or to provide services that go against your beliefs, and certainly not have the government be able to force you to comply.. if this was allowed there would be so many unreconcilable situations that would clog up courts over nonsense.. i also have little patience for these activists that intentionally look to be offended.

it really doesn't do their cause any good to go round looking to make trouble for people.

it's also misguided because it ends up strengthening religious rights over effectively stupid issues.. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/us/politics/supreme-court-sides-with-baker-who-turned-away-gay-couple.html.

Hisclarkness

Freemindfade,

its not about events. The government doesn’t recognize events. They recognize services. If you offer a service, you have to offer a service to all.

Morpheus,

offering a generic cake doesn’t solve the issue if you offer custom cakes as a service and the gay couple wants a custom cake. That’s basically a separate but equal argument.

286

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Baker Who Refused to Bake Cake for Gay Couple

by Simon in

seems like such an obviously correct decision to overturn the previous overreach - it should never have been necessary to go to the supreme court but happened because the rights of the religious were being ignored.. as the fundamental level, no one should be able to compel you to work for them or to provide services that go against your beliefs, and certainly not have the government be able to force you to comply.. if this was allowed there would be so many unreconcilable situations that would clog up courts over nonsense.. i also have little patience for these activists that intentionally look to be offended.

it really doesn't do their cause any good to go round looking to make trouble for people.

it's also misguided because it ends up strengthening religious rights over effectively stupid issues.. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/us/politics/supreme-court-sides-with-baker-who-turned-away-gay-couple.html.

Hisclarkness

Simon, you’re right. And that’s why he won the case. And that’s why the court said future cases might be different

286

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Baker Who Refused to Bake Cake for Gay Couple

by Simon in

seems like such an obviously correct decision to overturn the previous overreach - it should never have been necessary to go to the supreme court but happened because the rights of the religious were being ignored.. as the fundamental level, no one should be able to compel you to work for them or to provide services that go against your beliefs, and certainly not have the government be able to force you to comply.. if this was allowed there would be so many unreconcilable situations that would clog up courts over nonsense.. i also have little patience for these activists that intentionally look to be offended.

it really doesn't do their cause any good to go round looking to make trouble for people.

it's also misguided because it ends up strengthening religious rights over effectively stupid issues.. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/us/politics/supreme-court-sides-with-baker-who-turned-away-gay-couple.html.

Hisclarkness

And I’m not saying the baker is hateful. I completely accept that he may have no problem with the gay couple other than his sincerely held religious beliefs. But it’s still discrimination. And this is why the court cautioned that this ruling was case specific to his situation and alluded that future similar cases would have a different outcome.

286

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Baker Who Refused to Bake Cake for Gay Couple

by Simon in

seems like such an obviously correct decision to overturn the previous overreach - it should never have been necessary to go to the supreme court but happened because the rights of the religious were being ignored.. as the fundamental level, no one should be able to compel you to work for them or to provide services that go against your beliefs, and certainly not have the government be able to force you to comply.. if this was allowed there would be so many unreconcilable situations that would clog up courts over nonsense.. i also have little patience for these activists that intentionally look to be offended.

it really doesn't do their cause any good to go round looking to make trouble for people.

it's also misguided because it ends up strengthening religious rights over effectively stupid issues.. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/us/politics/supreme-court-sides-with-baker-who-turned-away-gay-couple.html.

Hisclarkness

Freemindfade, it’s not quite as simple as you make it.

The Baker chooses not to make other types of cakes because of his religious beliefs such as Halloween cakes or adult themed cakes but the difference between those examples and the gay couple is that he doesn’t make Halloween cakes for ANYBODY. He doesn’t make adult themed cakes for ANYBODY. But he DOES make custom cakes for weddings. So if he makes custom cakes for everybody’s weddings except the gay couple, then there is a solid case to be made for discrimination. On what other basis is he refusing to make the custom cake for the gay couple?

i understand he is entitled to his religious beliefs. And if it means that much to him then he should cease to make custom cakes PERIOD. But since he offers a service of making custom wedding cakes, he has to offer that service to all and can not discriminate based on race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

He could choose to not make custom cakes and avoid the situation all together because of his conscience. But once he chooses to offer a service he must be prepared to offer that service to ALL. In this case, the service is providing custom wedding cakes.

12

Serana Williams coginative dissonance.

by blownaway in

i just heard her on the news saying how much time it takes for her to play tennis.

lmfao she thanks "jehovah" and seems to think in her pea mind that she is a "good jw" i bet the gb does not mess with her because they want the positive attention.

but she is about as far from a "good jw" as one could get.

Hisclarkness

How many times will this Serena Williams/JW thing be rehashed?? Guys, she’s not baptized and in all likelihood is not in any active association with JWs.

Come on guys, we ALL know people who have had some exposure to JWs and then claim themselves to be witnesses even though we all know they’re really not. This is not a situation of WT turning a blind eye because she has money! This is a situation of someone who went to meetings growing up and claims the JW title, but otherwise lives her own life. What do you expect WT to do?!?

If John Smith claims he’s a witness and starts telling everybody that, even though he’s not baptized or even associated, then there’s nothing WT can really do!