As most of you are likely aware, this past Friday night a restaurant in Lexington, Virginia refused service to White House Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders. The owner cited that Ms. Sanders support of the President and her daily defense of him as her reasons for asking Ms. Sanders to leave. While I feel the restaurant owner and empathize with her disgust with this administration, she was WRONG! Yes, I said she was wrong.
I am sure many of my left leaning friends are about to get upset with me. And, I hope my right leaning friends will continue reading despite my saying I'm disgusted with this administration. But, the fact I even have to say that is what is wrong with this country. We have thrown civility out the window. We are so flippin tribal. It's an attitude of either "you're totally with me or you're totally against me". We are really at the point where we can't disagree without being disagreeable. And, most people of both political bents aren't exempt despite what delusions they may have.
Now, look, I'm no Sarah Huckabee Sanders fan. I find her to be arrogant and condescending to most of the White House press corp despite the fact they're just doing their jobs. And, they are doing their jobs regardless of the criticisms from the right and the left. I believe, no, I know she lies daily to the American people. And, unlike Sean Spicer, she expounds upon the lies and seems to enjoy her job of often defending the indefensible. However, with that being said she has the right to sit down to a meal at the restaurant of her choosing. Denying service to someone based upon their political beliefs just isn't acceptable. Honestly, if I owned a restaurant and Richard Spencer along with David Duke came in I'd serve them. Now, if they started spewing their racist shit I'd make sure a pitcher of tea "accidentally" spilled on them and I'd tell them to get out. Then, I would donate to the United Negro College Fund in their names and made sure all of their small minded buddies found out. But, if they sat there peacefully I'd serve them. Why? Because I believe in what the Bible says about "do unto others". However, if they acted a fool...It's better to ask for forgiveness. 😉
Anyway, it is wrong to be uncivil to someone patronizing your business simply because you don't like their politics. It wasn't right when a few years ago that jackass in Oklahoma refused to serve Obama supporters or "welfare recipients" people on disability along with any homosexuals or Blacks. That dude was an assclown and people were rightfully livid about it. This is no different. It's ignorant.
The problem is we are a society of incivility. If we don't like someone's politics, ostracize them. It appears the same is becoming true of race. And, I'm not really sure it ever stopped being that way for the LGBQT community. And, quite frankly, our current president has spearheaded this trend toward a lack of civility. Sorry, Trump supporters, it's true. And, your refusal to acknowledge it only exasperates the problem.
I know most (probably all) of my left leaning friends and followers are saying, "Boo-hoo to Sarah Sanders. She deserves it." Honestly, on it's face, I can't put up much of an argument against that position. At times she's been downright hateful to people. She sure didn't display much empathy toward the gay couple in Colorado where the baker refused to bake them a wedding cake and the ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court. I am not getting into the fallacies of that stance and ruling. Believe me the hypocrisy of it all isn't lost on me, but people have to be better. "When they go low, go high". Two wrongs don't make a right. They don't. Some people go so low the bar for going high isn't very high. Again, be better.
I'm not defending Sanders per se. I'm defending what's right. It's not a partisan issue. For example, the Oklahoma restaurateur I referenced earlier. For all the Conservatives I saw in Facebook and Twitter feeds decrying what happened to Sarah Sanders I don't remember one of them calling this douchebag in Oklahoma out. I've seen very few of them ever take the President to task for the heinous uncivil things he says. See, we can't fix the lack of civility in society until we call it all out; not just when "our side" is the aggrieved party. It shouldn't be difficult to disagree without being disagreeable, vindictive, dismissive and hateful.
I have a plethora of Trump supporters on my Facebook and Twitter. I feel I'm always respectful to them regardless if we agree. Frankly, I've been respectful when some have been anything but.
Again, this owner of the Virginia restaurant was wrong in my opinion. But, Trumpsters, allow me to ask if this had been the other way around and it had been Josh Earnest (Obama's press secretary) or Valerie Jarrett or Jennifer Palmieri (Hillary Clinton's communications director) that had been refused service, would you be this upset? Would you be upset at all? Would you even offer a cursory criticism? If the answer is "no", then you're part of the problem too.
Also, I would be remiss if I didn't say what Maxine Waters said was indefensible. I like her but she was 100% wrong.
