Utah Town Faces Terrible Choice Between Tourist Dollars and Bigotry
Posted by
KTK
Some fruitcake evangelical organization distributed a draft “natural family resolution” to every town in Utah, stating that the town policy is that “marriage is between one man and one woman”, that women should be “home makers” and men “home builders”, and that married couples should be encouraged to have “a full quiver of children”. (”Full quiver” is nutjob code for not using birth control, and having as many children as chance allows without making any effort to plan for them.) Every town in Utah rejected it but one - Kanab - which adopted it at the urging of right-wing city council members. Now the town’s business community is up in arms, because the town’s major industry is tourism and they’re being flooded with letters from gay tourists, advocacy groups, and others cancelling reservations and stating they will not visit there if the town promotes bigotry.
So now they’ve got to decide whether they’d rather hate or make money - a heartbreaking choice.
Some business owners have been hurrying to make gay-friendly statements and hang rainbow banners on their shops, while at the same time a local minister announced that he “thanks God for a community that doesn’t think it has to be ‘gay-friendly.’ We don’t mean to be mean-spirited, but the message to a homosexual might be that this is probably not the friendliest town for that type of thing.”
Well, as long as they’re not being mean-spirited . . .
Frankly, I’m just glad to see them fighting it out among themselves. It obviously wasn’t any sense of humanity that led business owners to oppose the ordinance, but the threat of the loss of gay dollars was enough to paste some sickly lukewarm smiles on their faces. And if they want those dollars, they’ve got to face down their own bigots to get them. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving bunch.
Hat tip: Pam at Pandagon
KTK: “It obviously wasn’t any sense of humanity that led business owners to oppose the ordinance”
Ted: Because, God knows, if you are a business owner, you are an evil person.
Comment 3/30/2006
What’s a gay dollar? One that laughs all the way to the bank? Is there a straight dollar?
Do gay dollars go in the wallet face to face or back to face?
Comment 3/30/2006
So, just for the money, some of these supposedly God-fearing folks will make nice.
I have to wonder about the religiosity of people who obviously can’t even get practising the Golden Rule right.
On the level of logic and fair play, I wonder if the Kanabians who feel as the outspoken minister does put visiting male-female couples to some kind of purity test:
You two married?
Do you engage in any of the intimate activities gays and lesbians are known to engage in?
Never done any mate swapping or anything like that, have you?
Somehow, I doubt it.
Comment 3/30/2006
Quote:
“Some business owners have been hurrying to make gay-friendly statements and hang rainbow banners on their shops, while at the same time a local minister announced that he “thanks God for a community that doesn’t think it has to be ‘gay-friendly.’
End Quote:
God almighty! You can almost ‘hear’ the ominous clattering of a thousand bicycles being ridden at break-neck speed by the “chosen ones” to an emergency meeting at Elder Igor’s home…to discuss the frightening turn of events!
Steve S
http://stevesalter.wordpress.com
Comment 11/26/2006