An open, community-edited space for grass-roots action and reconciliation on 8
A life thrown into turmoil by $100 donation for Prop. 8
Los Angeles Times is reporting that El Coyote Manager Marjorie Christoffersen resignes amidst Prop 8 Fallout.
[...] "I've almost had a nervous breakdown. It's been the worst thing that's ever happened to me," she sobbed as curious patrons at a Farmers Market coffee shop looked on, wondering what calamity had visited this poor woman who's an honest 6 feet tall, with hair as blond as the sun.
Well, Christoffersen was a manager at El Coyote, the Beverly Boulevard landmark restaurant that's always had throngs of customers waiting to get inside. Many of them were gay, and Christoffersen, a devout Mormon, donated $100 in support of Proposition 8, the successful November ballot initiative that banned gay marriage.[...]
My Comment: It is very painful to see anyone suffer in this way. Many of us feel that many Proposition 8 supporters simply didn't realize that discrimination is wrong event when based on a personal belief. As I have noted on many occasions, discrimination in America can cost you your job; but I (and many others) do believe in second chances.
[...] A boycott was organized on the Internet, with activists trashing El Coyote on restaurant review sites. Then came throngs of protesters, some of them shouting "shame on you" at customers. The police arrived in riot gear one night to quell the angry mob. The mob left, but so did the customers.
Sections of the restaurant have been closed, a manager told me Friday during a very quiet lunch hour. Some of the 89 employees, many of them gay, have had their hours cut, and layoffs are looming. And Christoffersen, who has taken a voluntary leave of absence, is wondering whether she'll ever again be able to work at the restaurant, which opened in 1931 (at 1st and La Brea) and is owned by her 92-year-old mother. [...]
My Comment: Now that this support for discrimination has been made public it poses a problem for the restaurant. Certainly the LBGT community has the right to support any businesses they choose, but it is unfortunate that anyone should be losing their job. Reconciliation may be possible, but even Mel Gibson apologized for his anti-semetic remarks. He did not go on record to say "I would do it again." There can be no reconciliation without an affirmation of equal rights.
[...] Christoffersen, raised Mormon by her late father, told me she has no problem with gay people. "I love them like everybody else." But she supports her church's position that marriage is between a man and a woman. [...]
My Comment: Marriage is a civil contract. As I have said on many, many occasions, freedom of religion means that you can practice your religion in your own life but it is wrong to force the majority religion on others. If Ms. Christoffersen feels strongly that marriage is between a man and a woman, she does have the right to take that into consideration when choosing the person with whom she will marry.
The Mormon church has every right to offer a sacrament of "sacred marriage" or "holy marriage" and to refuse this sacrament to same-sex couples. But circumventing the promise in our constitution that all will be treated equally, and adding discrimination into the state constitution, does not seem like a fair solution.
[...]As for the Mormons, I have trouble taking any cues on social mores from a group whose founder and early leaders believed they were acting on directives from on high when they took enough wives -- many in their teens -- to fill every booth in the cavernous El Coyote.
But I didn't like what I was hearing about the vilification of Margie Christoffersen and others in California being targeted for the crime of voting their conscience.[...]
My Comment: No one wants to see another person suffer in this way. But can you imagine the reaction had Mel Gibson affirmed his remarks the next day? While no one would want to see Mr. Gibson suffer for any reason, it is difficult to feel compassion for remarks that discriminate against someone else.
Discrimination is wrong, even when motivated by personal belief. Should that discrimination somehow be made public, there should be public accountability.
Discrimination against our community is no different than discrimination on the basis of race, religion, or gender. And I feel that the same rules of tolerance must apply.
Personal belief reigns supreme in this country until you use it to discriminate against someone else. That is where America draws the line. Mel Gibson's drunken remarks, for example, reflected a personal view that became a public knowldge. He did more than apologize, he promised to change.
There is nothing to prevent an immoral initiative from appearing on the ballot. It is up to each personal to make a moral choice. In my opinion Proposition 8 supporters made the wrong one...
[...] "I've almost had a nervous breakdown. It's been the worst thing that's ever happened to me," she sobbed as curious patrons at a Farmers Market coffee shop looked on, wondering what calamity had visited this poor woman who's an honest 6 feet tall, with hair as blond as the sun.
Well, Christoffersen was a manager at El Coyote, the Beverly Boulevard landmark restaurant that's always had throngs of customers waiting to get inside. Many of them were gay, and Christoffersen, a devout Mormon, donated $100 in support of Proposition 8, the successful November ballot initiative that banned gay marriage.[...]
My Comment: It is very painful to see anyone suffer in this way. Many of us feel that many Proposition 8 supporters simply didn't realize that discrimination is wrong event when based on a personal belief. As I have noted on many occasions, discrimination in America can cost you your job; but I (and many others) do believe in second chances.
[...] A boycott was organized on the Internet, with activists trashing El Coyote on restaurant review sites. Then came throngs of protesters, some of them shouting "shame on you" at customers. The police arrived in riot gear one night to quell the angry mob. The mob left, but so did the customers.
Sections of the restaurant have been closed, a manager told me Friday during a very quiet lunch hour. Some of the 89 employees, many of them gay, have had their hours cut, and layoffs are looming. And Christoffersen, who has taken a voluntary leave of absence, is wondering whether she'll ever again be able to work at the restaurant, which opened in 1931 (at 1st and La Brea) and is owned by her 92-year-old mother. [...]
My Comment: Now that this support for discrimination has been made public it poses a problem for the restaurant. Certainly the LBGT community has the right to support any businesses they choose, but it is unfortunate that anyone should be losing their job. Reconciliation may be possible, but even Mel Gibson apologized for his anti-semetic remarks. He did not go on record to say "I would do it again." There can be no reconciliation without an affirmation of equal rights.
[...] Christoffersen, raised Mormon by her late father, told me she has no problem with gay people. "I love them like everybody else." But she supports her church's position that marriage is between a man and a woman. [...]
My Comment: Marriage is a civil contract. As I have said on many, many occasions, freedom of religion means that you can practice your religion in your own life but it is wrong to force the majority religion on others. If Ms. Christoffersen feels strongly that marriage is between a man and a woman, she does have the right to take that into consideration when choosing the person with whom she will marry.
The Mormon church has every right to offer a sacrament of "sacred marriage" or "holy marriage" and to refuse this sacrament to same-sex couples. But circumventing the promise in our constitution that all will be treated equally, and adding discrimination into the state constitution, does not seem like a fair solution.
[...]As for the Mormons, I have trouble taking any cues on social mores from a group whose founder and early leaders believed they were acting on directives from on high when they took enough wives -- many in their teens -- to fill every booth in the cavernous El Coyote.
But I didn't like what I was hearing about the vilification of Margie Christoffersen and others in California being targeted for the crime of voting their conscience.[...]
My Comment: No one wants to see another person suffer in this way. But can you imagine the reaction had Mel Gibson affirmed his remarks the next day? While no one would want to see Mr. Gibson suffer for any reason, it is difficult to feel compassion for remarks that discriminate against someone else.
Discrimination is wrong, even when motivated by personal belief. Should that discrimination somehow be made public, there should be public accountability.
Discrimination against our community is no different than discrimination on the basis of race, religion, or gender. And I feel that the same rules of tolerance must apply.
Personal belief reigns supreme in this country until you use it to discriminate against someone else. That is where America draws the line. Mel Gibson's drunken remarks, for example, reflected a personal view that became a public knowldge. He did more than apologize, he promised to change.
There is nothing to prevent an immoral initiative from appearing on the ballot. It is up to each personal to make a moral choice. In my opinion Proposition 8 supporters made the wrong one...
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