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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBeware, homophobes: Yelp commenters are watching you
When an Oregon bakery refused to make a same-sex couple's wedding cake, Internet reviewers excoriated them for it
BY MARY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS
The ostensible right of an independent business operator is to choose the jobs he or she wants to take on. If youre, for instance, a baker and you dont want to make a cake for somebody, thats your decision, and the consequences of that choice are yours to accept. But just remember Yelp is watching.
Sweet Cakes in Gresham, Oregon, looks a lot like the kind of confectioner youd want to do your wedding cake. On the bakerys website, youll find an image of a set of wedding rings and the promise, Are you looking for a wedding cake or for ANY occasion? Our cakes are custom made and designed to fit you. But when you scroll down the page, their claim of ANY occasion may strike many as disingenuous, for right above the smiling photo of owners Melissa and Aaron and their three children, theyve posted a passage from John 3:16.
And so they were, for the conservative Christian bakers were approached last month by a lesbian couple looking for a wedding cake. And owner Aaron Klein refused to serve them. The brides-to-be say Klein told them flat out they were abominations to the Lord. The bakery is now under investigation for discrimination. Klein denies the incendiary remark but does say, Theyre making a choice to do what theyre doing; Im making a choice to not be a part of it. He also admitted that hed refused to make wedding cakes for same-sex couples several times in the past, but added, They can buy my stuff. Ill sell them stuff Ill talk to them, its fine. Last summer, a Colorado bakery gained national attention and a boycott when it too refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.
Since the story went public, Ace of Cakes baker Duff Goldman has stepped in to offer to make the couple their wedding cake for free, saying, I can do something, theres injustice involving a cake! The Kleins, meanwhile, have been accused of posting and hastily deleting a racist, sexist screed on Facebook. (It may not be real, but the inconsistent alphabetizing is similar to the couples, whose site also tragically promises, Its not just cake, its dessert! [sic]) The Kleins told The Oregonian this week that all the attention has been a boon for their business, saying, Its been hard to handle the demand. After all, if Chik-fil-A has taught us anything, its that plenty of Americans really love Christian, gay-shunning eating establishments.
more:
http://www.salon.com/2013/02/06/beware_homophobes_yelp_commenters_are_watching_you/
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Beware, homophobes: Yelp commenters are watching you (Original Post)
DonViejo
Feb 2013
OP
tblue
(16,350 posts)1. Fred Phelps Bakery
Reaping what they sow. Oh well. I love that so many people have gay folks' back!!!!
rbixby
(1,140 posts)2. I'm sure they'll be saying they're being treated unfairly
but eh, you act like a douche, expect people to talk about it.