Flutterby™! : Mob Rule 2002-03-07 23:11:43+00

Mob Rule

2002-03-07 23:11:43+00 by Shawn 9 comments

Right here in my own back yard: Auburn WA. Where my in-laws live. A man hoping to open an adult novelty/gift shop is confronted by an angry mob when he goes to a meeting with "a few concerned citizens". Scared and confused, he attempts to reason with the crowd before eventually giving up entirely. He says he won't open the store now.

Words fail me. I'm absolutely furious.

Sigh. Once again the violent hateful few triumph over the silent masses. The whole "protect the children" angle especially pisses me off.

It's a tainted story as well, it starts with you thinking this is a fresh off the boat immigrant with an unpopular idea, then you find out that he's an existing businessman, renting more space in a strip mall he already rents space in for a legitimate business. I am assuming 'Adult Gifts and Novelties" includes the stuff you'd find at the Mall in Spencers and Fredricks, plus plus some more explicit stuff... maybe even a few DVD's and Video's?

Normal healthy people need some fun too. But I'll bet you there's a fundementalist preacher feeding that crowd that surfs the 'net at night as 'Buffy 19 and willing'.

And this makes a difference why? I got this on the first reading and I didn't feel mislead. It wouldn't have mattered to me if the guy was a 45 year old, white, middle-to-upper-class male. The crowd's actions are still despicable.

I don't see what the big deal is. Down here in New Orleans, where one can find plenty of "Adult" stores, churches are accosted by neighborhood groups for purchasing a house to use for activities ("it would increase traffic", but the church is on a main road), and those same groups prevent a pharmacy from putting in a parking lot. These are just two incidents that happened less than a mile from where I live. Slightly farther away, but still in the city, some residents (and business owners) are protesting the introduction of an urban Wal-Mart.

It must be nice to live under the illusion that the public has no say in what businesses and other organisations do in the neighborhood. My experiance, though, is dramatically different. The public has a very large say in what they accept or do not accept as legitimate activity.

Given all the recent revelations (well, not really if you've been paying attention, but now it's above the fold) about the Catholic Church, I'd propose that if you really

want to protect the children, you'd lobby for laws that would keep houses of worship at least a quarter mile away from schools.

Mark, the public has lots to say about what sorts of businesses they'd like in their neighborhood. They can, for one thing, not shop there. My guess, however, is that this was a small minority of the potential customers, that a huge number of the neighbors would patronize this store, but won't come out and speak up for it because they fear being firebombed.

Mark: I don't see what the big deal is. Down here in New Orleans, where one can find plenty of "Adult" stores, churches are accosted by neighborhood groups for purchasing a house to use for activities

That is not the case around here. In the area where I live, there is literally a church every other block. But adult businesses that move into commercial areas are routinely picketed, accosted and threatened. Further, ridiculous zoning laws are constantly being passed that are really nothing more than thinly veiled attempts to destroy adult businesses entirely - things like requiring that such businesses be more than 1000 yards from any church, school, park, residential area, public place... you get the picture. Heck, I remember a time when I was back in high-school that a local city council held an emergency council meeting on hearing that Deja Vu was considering buying a building in the middle of the downtown sector. Their solution was to use taxpayer money to buy the option on the building in order to prevent Deja Vu from buying it.

Dan: lobby for laws that would keep houses of worship at least a quarter mile away from schools.

Now that is an initiative I could really get behind! (Thank you Dan, for letting me know that I'm not the only one to have this idea.) Personally, I believe (and yes, I really believe it - I'm not just trying to be inciteful) that religion has a much more insidious and detrimental affect on children than their awareness of the existence of dildos, lingerie and what naked people might like to do.

My point was, he was a local businessman with a track record of some kind. It counts. I meet 5 people a week 'starting a business'. OK, I wish his english was better, but he must think there was a market for the business to do this and in America, him putting his money where his mouth is is good enough for me. If it was a bad idea, he'll close the place in 3 months because there was no business if he's a businessperson. If the business thrives, then the vocal minority is wrong. He should have the freedom to fail, or thrive on his own merits. I'd like to know the 'rest of the story'.

As for 'zoning' restrictions and such.. how about one keeping Schools from kids, the real source of all these dangerous idea's is out public education system operating WITHOUT direct parental and community involvement.

I'm sure you guys realize that this is probably too broad a brush to use. Yes, the Catholics have been too protective of their priests (and they are now suffering the results of that), but I don't think this protection of the leaders is limited to the Church (heard any really loud critizism of Bush recently that wasn't quickly denouced as "unpatriotic"?). People tend to be thoughtless about such things. But, we should be careful that our reaction isn't just as thoughtless.

The same could be said of schools (public and private). There are a lot of bad ones out there, but to claim that children should be kept "safe" from all of them is just as thoughtless as saying that they are all just fine.

I propose that it is thoughtless reactions that we should keep our children safe from.

Which was exactly my point. (That, and that "sex is not evil" ;-) Looks like we're in one of those "hey, we're saying the same thing" things...

Mark, I propose that it is thoughtless reactions that we should keep our children safe from.

Exactly. I'm not talking about the church's recent (ongoing?) problem with its priests. I'm talking about their very ideaologies. It is thoughtfulness that I am championing here. I don't find that kind of teaching coming from the church - rather, I see blind faith (and obedience), narrow-mindedness and [false] absolutes being taught. I find these teachings dangerous and worth protecting children from. Not in the sense of censoring their knowledge/awareness of it, but by encouraging them to think and reason for themselves.