Originally Posted By Inspector 57 <<I find it hard to believe that people are being "innocently" refused service. You want to bring booze home in a cab?? Keep it inside your luggage or your carry-on. You want to chug Jack Daniels on the cab ride home, perhaps you should find a non-Muslin driver.>> RT, lots of people who go on Caribbean cruises take advantage of incredible savings on liquor at the island shops. You're allowed to bring back about six bottles of booze "duty free." If you buy more, you have to pay duty, which amounts to a mere pittance. The liquor stores and the cruise lines have perfected a routine that works for both of them... The cruise line "sells" a particular liquor store to its passengers before unleashing them onto the island. The cruise line makes a huge percentage of its income from selling alcohol by the drink onboard. So it doesn't want its passengers getting off at an island on the second day of a seven day cruise and stocking up on dirt-cheap liquor that will last them throughout the cruise. So... Customers at the island booze store are given some incentive to identify themselves as cruise passengers. Once they do that, it ensures that their purchases are delivered to the ship by the store "for the passenger's convenience." But when the customer's booze is delivered to the ship, it's held in cargo by the cruise line until the end of the cruise. Passengers pick up their two or six or twelve bottles, packaged by the store in what's obviously a "booze box," with the rest of their luggage on debarkation day. So, yeah, people catching cabs to go home after Caribbean cruises are likely to be carrying big sealed boxes that are obviously full of alcohol.
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy <If you buy more, you have to pay duty> *snicker* This would be funnier if this were a podcast or an MP3 and we heard you say "If you buy more, you have to pay doody".
Originally Posted By melekalikimaka There have been cases when Christian people have refused to give certain services to people, like birth control, morning after pills, hotel rooms, etc.
Originally Posted By AZDLDad ^^But the original story is about people flying into airports with sealed, duty free liquor in their possesion. They aren't drunk, they aren't going to barf. See, the pilots are going to ruin it for the rest of us!
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 <<perhaps you should find a non-Muslin driver>> Call me prejudiced, but I actually PREFER a driver who wears natural fibers.
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy [*2oony gets into cab, closes door, pulls travel-size Febreeze out and sprays like there's no tomorrow*]
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 I learned of this issue months ago, and it's made my head hurt since. On one hand, it's not right that people should be excluded from public sector jobs because of religious beliefs. ("Sorry, your qualifications seem fine, but we don't hire Jews/Christian Fundamentalists/Muslims/atheists/Hindus as DMV clerks/firefighters/housing inspectors/governor's staff/public health nurses...") On the other hand, it's not right that anyone be refused public service because of their (lack of) religious practice. Imagine if you went to pay taxes and the clerk at the county building said, "I can't take your money because you (aren't veiled; don't have a beard; are carrying a People magazine; have cigarettes in your pocket; whatever), which offends me. My co-worker will be back from lunch in an hour. You'll have to wait." This thread has helped me come to an opinion. If you have a public service job, you help the public. All of it. Cabbies being allowed to refuse service to people carrying alcohol sets the stage for a slippery slope. As others have said, "What's next?" Refusing service to unmarried couples? To those who don't subscribe to the "true" religion? To black people? I don't think the Muslim -- or any --cabdrivers should be allowed to pick and choose passengers without consequence. It's not okay that they say, "No, not you. You have liquor. Your dress is unacceptable. You are gay. You are mixing with the wrong race. You must get another cab," and then simply take the next "acceptable" fare. For me, refusing a fare and staying at the front of the line is not acceptable. What I'm having a hard time with now is whether they should even be allowed to proceed to the back of the line.
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Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy <A classic example of this for me is mandating smoke-free bars.> What about smoke-free restaurants though? (Hmmm, I smell another WE topic! ;-) )
Originally Posted By melekalikimaka But it's not like smokers aren't allowed to visit the bars/restaurants...they just can't smoke while in them (or standing 20 feet in front of the doors in Seattle). I don't like government intrusion much either, but I also don't like breathing cigarette smoke. A person cannot smoke without affecting the people around them. I think there should be bars and restaurants where smoking is allowed. I don't think smokers are evil at all. I don't whine and complain about smoke but truth be told, I'd prefer to not breathe it if I have the choice.
Originally Posted By melekalikimaka I mean, there are all sort of limits of what you can do and where you can do it. Doesn't mean it's necessarily right but there you go.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I'm glad there's no smoking in restaurants and bars here in California. I don't like risking my health breathing in that dangerous smoke as I'm eating a burger, fries and having... a... beer.... uh.... um, what was the question again?
Originally Posted By Mr X >>>What about smoke-free restaurants though? (Hmmm, I smell another WE topic! ;-) )<<< What about them? If the owner of an establishment wants to allow smoking, he should be allowed to. If they want to pass a law that requires signage outside or something, fine. Other than that, it's none of the government's business to tell an entepreneur what they should or shouldn't allow at their establishment. It's called freedom. And, back to the cabbies, noone is forcing them to take that job. They want to work as a cab driver, they should pick up fares without discrimination just like any OTHER cab driver would do.
Originally Posted By Mr X >>>I mean, there are all sort of limits of what you can do and where you can do it.<<< Especially in America.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>There have been cases when Christian people have refused to give certain services to people, like birth control, morning after pills, hotel rooms, etc.<< And unlike the muslim cabbie situation, the media have pounded these people, instead of being multiculturally open minded to their religious beliefs.
Originally Posted By melekalikimaka <<the media have pounded these people,>> Eh. The media has reported this story as much as the others I've seen.
