Zander
Platinum Member
- Sep 10, 2009
- 22,519
- 9,106
Regarding "DISCRIMINATION:, the brilliant Lawrence Vance writes:
It's time to stop considering discrimination to be a dirty word.
I prefer Wal-Mart to K-Mart, ketchup to mustard, blue to pink, Chevy to Ford, blonds to brunettes, and Coke to Pepsi. Pepsi may be cheaper, healthier, and better tasting, but I still prefer Coke. Perhaps I just like the color, the smell, or the Coke logo on the can. My preference for Coke over Pepsi may be completely irrational, but in a free society it is my choice to discriminate against Pepsi as long as I don't violate the rights of Pepsi drinkers.
By the same token, if I prefer to rent my home to married couples instead of unmarried ones, serve in my restaurant Whites instead of Blacks, allow into my theater heterosexuals instead of homosexuals, put up in my hotel Democrats instead of Republicans, sell merchandise in my store to Christians instead of Jews, and permit to join my club men instead of women, then I have the natural and moral right to do so. The fact that I don't have the legal right to do any of these things means that the state is violating my rights instead of protecting them.
To say that proponents of liberty and a free society long for the return of Jim Crow laws is a gross misrepresentation. Jim Crow laws, which banned White businessmen from serving Black customers, are just as wrong as anti-discrimination laws. These government-mandated and government-enforced laws denied the fundamental right of Whites to associate and conduct business with Blacks. The real problem with segregation and discrimination is that they were de jure, not de facto; mandatory, not voluntary; public, not private.
In a free society, discrimination could serve as the mother of innovation and entrepreneurship. If a restaurant is for Whites only, someone can open a similar one for all races or for just Blacks. If a store is for Christians only, someone can open a similar one for all religions or for just Jews. But discrimination could also function as a death knell for any business due to bad publicity, boycotts, and too narrow of a market to generate sufficient profits.
In a free society the possibilities are endless. As much as some enemies of liberty and a free society don't want to hear it, and as much as some defenders of liberty and a free society have waffled on the issue, a truly free society means the freedom to discriminate — against any group for any reason.
It's time to stop considering discrimination to be a dirty word.
I prefer Wal-Mart to K-Mart, ketchup to mustard, blue to pink, Chevy to Ford, blonds to brunettes, and Coke to Pepsi. Pepsi may be cheaper, healthier, and better tasting, but I still prefer Coke. Perhaps I just like the color, the smell, or the Coke logo on the can. My preference for Coke over Pepsi may be completely irrational, but in a free society it is my choice to discriminate against Pepsi as long as I don't violate the rights of Pepsi drinkers.
By the same token, if I prefer to rent my home to married couples instead of unmarried ones, serve in my restaurant Whites instead of Blacks, allow into my theater heterosexuals instead of homosexuals, put up in my hotel Democrats instead of Republicans, sell merchandise in my store to Christians instead of Jews, and permit to join my club men instead of women, then I have the natural and moral right to do so. The fact that I don't have the legal right to do any of these things means that the state is violating my rights instead of protecting them.
To say that proponents of liberty and a free society long for the return of Jim Crow laws is a gross misrepresentation. Jim Crow laws, which banned White businessmen from serving Black customers, are just as wrong as anti-discrimination laws. These government-mandated and government-enforced laws denied the fundamental right of Whites to associate and conduct business with Blacks. The real problem with segregation and discrimination is that they were de jure, not de facto; mandatory, not voluntary; public, not private.
In a free society, discrimination could serve as the mother of innovation and entrepreneurship. If a restaurant is for Whites only, someone can open a similar one for all races or for just Blacks. If a store is for Christians only, someone can open a similar one for all religions or for just Jews. But discrimination could also function as a death knell for any business due to bad publicity, boycotts, and too narrow of a market to generate sufficient profits.
In a free society the possibilities are endless. As much as some enemies of liberty and a free society don't want to hear it, and as much as some defenders of liberty and a free society have waffled on the issue, a truly free society means the freedom to discriminate — against any group for any reason.
