So, there I was in Sunday School yesterday, minding my own business when suddenly the conversation took a turn for the (worse?) (more interesting?) (controversial?)...
We had been discussing the story in John where the woman who was taken in adultery "taken in the very act..." (incidentally, it has ALWAYS BOTHERED ME A LOT that they didn't drag the man in to be killed, too). (It also bothers me a lot that these creepy dudes were waiting outside for the deed to go down... Yuck). It was a nice discussion about not judging others and their motives...
Then the teacher brought up the item about the Cake and the Couple. Apparently there have been several bakeries around the country who have refused to bake cakes for gay couples, and these cake slinging Christians have been the subject of various lawsuits. It's a thing.
But, should it be?
First off, I think the whole thing is ridiculous. Private companies should have the market-driven opportunity to deny service to anyone. In this regard, I tend to be a little libertarian. Further, if someone in town was denying cake to gay folks, I'd give out FREE CAKE to gay couples. Think of the publicity! Think of the marketing! Think of the business I'd rake in! Because, ultimately, the cake slingers of the world are in business to sell cakes. Full stop. Who cares who buys them and for what ultimate purpose they're used for?!? Just because I make a cake for someone doesn't mean I approve of their lifestyle - just that I want their money for said cake.
Secondly, the gay couples are silly, too. Sure, it's embarrassing to go to buy a cake and be turned away. Sure, the cake dudes are bigoted and evil. So, why would you want to buy cake from a bigoted, evil dude? Surely there are other purveyors of baked goods in town from which you may purchase said cake... GO THERE. Soon, bigoted, evil cake makers of the world will come to their senses as they watch their dough slip away. (Sorry for the awful pun).
Point is, business owners only exist to promote their business and sell their products. By denying service to someone, they may be sticking true to whatever morals they feel they have, but they're also running themselves out of business. And then the God-fearing, good Christian couples who also happen to be heterosexual will be denied your cake. And who would want that?!?
So, when I raised these points in SS yesterday, it unleashed a torrent of comment - that Christianity is UNDER ATTACK, and that SOMETHING MUST BE DONE in order to SAVE CHRISTIANITY from the onslaught. Further, generally people respected the Christian Cake Crusader ("Crusader" used advisedly) for STICKING BY HIS PRINCIPLES.
Sigh.
Cake makers, please make cakes. Sell them to people who can pay for them. And stop making everything some sort of crusade.
Gay folks, please buy cakes from folks who aren't bigots. You'll be happier, and they will too. Soon there won't be any bigoted cake shops left.
The end.
We had been discussing the story in John where the woman who was taken in adultery "taken in the very act..." (incidentally, it has ALWAYS BOTHERED ME A LOT that they didn't drag the man in to be killed, too). (It also bothers me a lot that these creepy dudes were waiting outside for the deed to go down... Yuck). It was a nice discussion about not judging others and their motives...
Then the teacher brought up the item about the Cake and the Couple. Apparently there have been several bakeries around the country who have refused to bake cakes for gay couples, and these cake slinging Christians have been the subject of various lawsuits. It's a thing.
But, should it be?
First off, I think the whole thing is ridiculous. Private companies should have the market-driven opportunity to deny service to anyone. In this regard, I tend to be a little libertarian. Further, if someone in town was denying cake to gay folks, I'd give out FREE CAKE to gay couples. Think of the publicity! Think of the marketing! Think of the business I'd rake in! Because, ultimately, the cake slingers of the world are in business to sell cakes. Full stop. Who cares who buys them and for what ultimate purpose they're used for?!? Just because I make a cake for someone doesn't mean I approve of their lifestyle - just that I want their money for said cake.
Secondly, the gay couples are silly, too. Sure, it's embarrassing to go to buy a cake and be turned away. Sure, the cake dudes are bigoted and evil. So, why would you want to buy cake from a bigoted, evil dude? Surely there are other purveyors of baked goods in town from which you may purchase said cake... GO THERE. Soon, bigoted, evil cake makers of the world will come to their senses as they watch their dough slip away. (Sorry for the awful pun).
Point is, business owners only exist to promote their business and sell their products. By denying service to someone, they may be sticking true to whatever morals they feel they have, but they're also running themselves out of business. And then the God-fearing, good Christian couples who also happen to be heterosexual will be denied your cake. And who would want that?!?
So, when I raised these points in SS yesterday, it unleashed a torrent of comment - that Christianity is UNDER ATTACK, and that SOMETHING MUST BE DONE in order to SAVE CHRISTIANITY from the onslaught. Further, generally people respected the Christian Cake Crusader ("Crusader" used advisedly) for STICKING BY HIS PRINCIPLES.
Sigh.
Cake makers, please make cakes. Sell them to people who can pay for them. And stop making everything some sort of crusade.
Gay folks, please buy cakes from folks who aren't bigots. You'll be happier, and they will too. Soon there won't be any bigoted cake shops left.
The end.
Comments
Weird.
Back to your post, however, it's the principle of the thing. Sure, it's idiotic on the cake level. But it isn't idiotic when it gets on a more important level. When you are the only "cake baker" in town and you choose to deny cake to the queers, where are they supposed to go? And when a good part of your town agrees with the cake bakers? They won't be going out of business. The queers are just stuck being second class again. I wonder if you'd be so libertarian if it was Jews being denied cake?
I agree that there's a principle here, on both sides. But this isn't a back of the bus thing. This isn't a publicly held company, and it isn't the case that these were the only cake purveyors in town (these folks were in larger cities where there were many choices for cake acquisition). Do I think the cake dudes were wrong? Absolutely. Would I make it a requirement for cakers to sell cakes to people they don't like? No. I may not agree with your point of view, but I would never compel someone to act in a certain way.