Around 30 years ago, my father waited on a couple of customers at our family's tire, wheel, and auto service shop, located just south of downtown Chicago. They guys came up to the counter, where my dad greeted them and one guy proceeded to explain the issue. My Dad wrote up their order, supervised the inspection of the problem, and ended up selling them a tire. The guys paid for the service and left the store. Not particularly noteworthy.
Except that those guys had shaved heads and publicly displayed Nazi swastika tattoos. And my family is Jewish.
My father explained to me that their money was as green as anyone else's. And, what would be accomplished if he had refused to serve them? They would have gone down the street to another shop, complaining that our shop were a bunch of typical Jews. Instead, these skinheads would have to tell people that they were given good service by our store, preserving a reputation for serving all customers equally.
Now we turn to the Red Hen in Virginia. Instead of giving quality service, showing that gays are good people who are valuable members of society, making a nice tip from people they disagree with politically, then either gleefully spending Sarah Huckabee Sanders' money on something super gay or donating it to benefit LGBT people, they sent the business elsewhere and have irreparably harmed their reputation.
Let's not go back to the days of denying people service. Sure - you could say, "That's what it's like to be denied service, just like my LGBT friends and like blacks and Jews and so many others!" Or, you can be the example of how you want to be treated. You serve them, then you just go about your business like you've been there before. Or, you tweet @ Sarah that you hope she enjoyed her meal cooked and served by gays, that LGBT are just as quality of character class of hard working Americans as any middle-American factory town of church-going Evangelicals. And, maybe over the course of the evening in serving her party that you find that she's not the evil fire spewing witch that you thought she was.
Is this what we're teaching our children - that kids can't sit at their lunch table if they disagree about something they learned in class? You can't be on my team at recess? I won't stand next to you in line? I won't be your partner in art? Because that's the example you've set. Now, you've empowered people to deny gays service at their establishments.
Instead of being pushed around, you show your value in your professionalism. You rise to the occasion instead of sinking to a lower level. Be the change.
