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From: barryg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Barry Gold)
Newsgroups: net.motss
Subject: Re: Attention Californians
Message-ID: <925@sdcrdcf.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 20-Mar-84 13:42:10 EST
Article-I.D.: sdcrdcf.925
Posted: Tue Mar 20 13:42:10 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 22-Mar-84 01:23:56 EST
References: <6067@decwrl.UUCP> <630@bbncca.ARPA>
Reply-To: barryg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Barry Gold)
Organization: System Development Corporation, Santa Monica
Lines: 37

When we were discussing anti-discrimination laws, a gay acquaintance told
me that it seemed people would go ahead and discriminate anyway, but would
lie about their reasons.  He said he'd rather people told him flat out
	"I don't rent to gays"
than that they claim his credit rating wasn't good enough...or the apartment
was already rented...or he didn't have the right attitude for dealing with
customers...or whatever.

Many of the lies could be damaging to his self-esteem, or at best leave
him misinformed about the condition of the market he was trying to rent/
find a job in.  If people told him the truth, he would know it was just
the other person's stupidity.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

As a (non-doctrinaire) libertarian I found his statements reinforced my
hunches about the way the world works.  It's hard to make people change
their attitudes or the results of their attitudes in a mixed market
(part free, but with a hodgepodge of regulations).  The ways people find
to dodge around the regs can lead to a lot of unfortunate side effects.

This was MY reason for opposing anti-discrimination laws, even though
I don't approve of discrimination based on considerations that are
irrelevant and stupid.

I WOULD like to point out that the boycott is a legitimate technique,
both from libertarian principles and within our current laws.  There are
a lot of gays.  Post the names of businesses that discriminate.  Don't
buy from them.  Picket them (but don't block traffic, please).
If they start losing money, they'll mend their ways -- or else their too
stupid to bother with.

Oh, if it makes any difference, I am (so far) straight.
-- 
		Barry Gold
		usenet:         {decvax!allegra|ihnp4}!sdcrdcf!barryg
		Arpanet:        barry@BNL