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Comment by vaishaksuresh

9 years ago

Because you choose to be a neo nazi, you don’t choose to be gay. I’m not talking about denying service. I’m saying one of them did not choose to be what they are.

11 comments

vaishaksuresh

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Stratoscope  9 years ago

No one is comparing gay people with neo-nazis or saying there is some equivalence, they were just two very different examples to illustrate a point. In fact, what makes it such a good illustration is how different they are from each other.

Let me change it to an example more dear to my own heart:

> Don't wanna hire old programmers or host pro-Nazi sites? Don't start a business serving the public then.

I certainly didn't choose to be an old programmer! It seems to have just happened, maybe by some law of nature. But I'm not offended by being mentioned in the same sentence with pro-Nazi sites. It's pretty obvious that no comparison is being made between the two.

  • invisible  9 years ago

    No comparison is being made but they are being equated as two of the same types of "discrimination." They are very different in that one group, Nazis, are most notably known for their discrimination against others (e.g., a choice).

    • everheardofc  9 years ago

      What if neo nazis get rebranded under some other name? They'd still be discriminating against others but hey at least they are no longer neo nazis, right?

      1 reply →

edraferi  9 years ago

> Because you choose to be a neo nazi, you don’t choose to be gay.

I agree with you, but many people do not, making it a political statement. Things get very complicated as soon as you abandon the bright line test of "you must serve the whole public."

sandaru1  9 years ago

But the religious groups are a protected class. Religion is something you choose. By that logic, it would be possible to discriminate against "Christians", "Muslims", etc.

  • fusiongyro  9 years ago

    I feel like you can see the problem with this line of reasoning if you finish that list you started there.

leereeves  9 years ago

It's not clear that people choose their beliefs - or anything else. That's essentially the free will debate, which is still unsettled.

baddox  9 years ago

Suppose one could choose who they have romantic/sexual relationships with. Would that really change the argument here?