the ugliest thing in the world
I really enjoyed the February 2005 issue of GUNNEWS, a publication of “Guns Save Life” in Downstate Illinois, which I picked up on my recent road trip. I understand from this newspaper that the group is organizing boycotts of businesses which post signs like”[this business] prohibits firearms of any kind upon company property and/or vehicles”. The quasi-libertarian mindset that the “right to bear arms” overrides other people’s property rights just amazes me. I had no idea southern Illinois was so dangerous that it’s not safe to enter the bottling facility of Central States Coca-Cola without packing heat.
Possibly the most disspiriting thing I see everyday is a hand-written sign in the window of a local restaurant which states, “Restrooms are for customers only.” It just makes me sad on so many levels. Clearly, my quasi-libertarian mindset holds that the “right to pee” overrides other peoples property rights.
That’s a pretty interesting observation. However, you’re overlooking the fact that in the latter situation, a paying customer /would/ be allowed to use the restroom. (And a gun-toting customer, of course, wouldn’t need to pay.)
This weekend I was watching soccer at a bar and a homeless guy walked in and went into the bathroom to take a shit. The owner kicked him out within a couple of minutes, but the smell of the guy in such close quarters rendered the bathroom unusable without a serious cleaning. This might be the kind of situation the sign is trying to avoid. Which doesn’t really make it any less disspiriting.