asbestosman wrote:eHarmony agrees to provide same-sex matchesAnother California man sued eHarmony in 2005 for refusing to help him find a date. The company said there was one good reason for that: He was still married. That case was dropped on the eve of trial.
On the one hand we're bigots for discriminating against homosexuals. Are we also bigots for discriminating against adulterers / swingers?
Why on earth does a buisness have to cater to one oddball group but not another?
Interesting question. What’s a bigot?
bigotTaken at the first statement here:
“A bigot is a person who is intolerant of opinions, lifestyles, or identities differing from his or her own, and bigotry is the corresponding state of mind.”
Are there not
levels of intolerance? In the extensive above definition (available in our common denominator of the Internet), the term has various meanings and applications.
You raise a good question. I would ask just how “intolerant” must one be to fairly be called “a bigot”? Perhaps the key is the degree to which we are “intolerant.” For example, we may suspect that someone is homosexual, but lack any real evidence that we are correct in our suspicion. If I treat him/her unfairly or unkindly based on my suspicion, I’ve allowed my own bias (assuming a bias against that person) to turn that suspicion into rigid conclusion.
Adultery is far more common than homosexuality (if we are to believe research on the percentages). In what way do people “discriminate” against adulterers?
Do we deny them employment?
Do we deny them service at a restaurant?
Do we deny them service on their car?
Many of the clerks we meet at a store while shopping are people we know nothing about. It’s difficult to discriminate against them.
I think in the case of discrimination against anyone, it becomes a question of just
how we do that. We might see someone at a distance in a store. They don’t see us, but because we are intolerant of their opinions (or something else), we deliberately take another aisle. We go out of our way to avoid having to speak to them. They never know, but we know (if we do that).
If by “discrimination,” you mean we would deny them a job or a promotion (which they deserve on merit), many would consider that “wrong.” Of course it happens.
asbestoesman, if you were an employer who had a superior candidate for the job you offered, would you deliberately choose
another less qualified person because you were intolerant?
Or would you select the best candidate whom you felt could render you the best service, even if you were intolerant of something about that person?
Is a pot smoker an “oddball”? Is a group of chess players an “oddball group”?
We could list a wide variety of “groups” that might well be considered “oddball” by
other groups.
I think “business” (men or women) can and do select employees and do discriminate. However, they generally don’t state either to the potential employee or to anyone
why they discriminated against an individual.
Would you not agree that this is the case?