Let Sarah Sanders eat in your restaurant
It was a bad week for Trumpsters to go to restaurants. It started with the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kjersten Nielson, being heckled while dining at a Mexican restaurant. It was bad enough that she had to leave. The next night, the same thing happened to White House senior adviser, Stephen Miller. The finale of this trifecta happened to Press Secretary, Sarah Sanders. She and her group didn't even make it to a table before being asked to leave.
I don't have a problem with the first two incidents. They were hassled by other paying customers and left by their own choice. What happened to Sanders was different. It was the employees that decided she wasn't welcome and they called the restaurant owner to back them up...and she did.
Stephanie Wilkinson, the owner of the Red Hen restaurant, made it clear that her standards, morals and values were different from Sanders and the Trump administration, and wasn't comfortable serving her and her party. I understand a lot of that. I'm a guy who once wrote a piece about her titled "Sarah Sanders is a lying fucking bitch" so obviously my political views line up with Wilkinson. I just have a problem with any business owner refusing to serve anyone based on their beliefs. It gets slippery.
Remember the bakery that wouldn't make a cake for a gay couples wedding? Remember how pissed off we became over this? Remember when the Supreme Court said it was okay to do this? Again, remember how pissed off we were with this decision?
Is this so different? Are we supposed to think this is okay because everything about Sarah Sanders makes our skin crawl? If this is okay, what's next? Will we refuse to provide services based on religion, skin color or whatever you think? I told you it gets slippery.
I'm not naive. The United States is as divided a country now as I've ever seen it. It's very much us vs them with very little room for debate and acceptance. I think there are times where you have to suck it up and get on with it. Owning a business and providing is service is one of those times....especially since the main goal of the business is to make money.
So Sarah, if I ever open a restaurant, you're more than welcome to come in and have some food. Bring your friends....bring your family....even your dad and your boss. Oh man, I just threw up a little writing that. Business owners should live by Michael Jordan's motto, "Republicans buy sneakers, too."
Related Post: The irony of Sarah Sanders press briefing (originally titled Sarah Sanders is a lying fucking bitch)