People can't choose their room mates any more? (Detroit, Grand Rapids: apartment, attorney)

[rdub1968]

This just makes me sick. If it was a government institution I see, but a citizen should have the right to choose who they want to live with! Christian, Muslim, Jewish - it shouldn't matter.

Civil Rights Complaint Filed Over Roommate Ad (http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/25479409/detail.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed& utm_campaign=Feed%3A+clickondetroit%2Flocal+%28Cli ckOnDetroit.com+-+Local+News%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo - broken link)


DETROIT -- A Michigan organization has filed a civil rights complaint against a woman who posted a flier seeking a Christian roommate.

The Fair Housing Center of West Michigan filed the complaint against the 31-year-old Grand Rapids woman, saying she was being discriminatory by excluding people of other faiths when she posted the flier.
The flier reads, "Christian Roommate Wanted" -- along with the woman's contact information -- and was posted on a church bulletin board.
The woman is being represented by an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund.

[MaryleeII]

Originally Posted by rdub1968

This just makes me sick. If it was a government institution I see, but a citizen should have the right to choose who they want to live with! Christian, Muslim, Jewish - it shouldn't matter.

Civil Rights Complaint Filed Over Roommate Ad (http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/25479409/detail.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed& utm_campaign=Feed%3A+clickondetroit%2Flocal+%28Cli ckOnDetroit.com+-+Local+News%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo - broken link)


DETROIT -- A Michigan organization has filed a civil rights complaint against a woman who posted a flier seeking a Christian roommate.

The Fair Housing Center of West Michigan filed the complaint against the 31-year-old Grand Rapids woman, saying she was being discriminatory by excluding people of other faiths when she posted the flier.
The flier reads, "Christian Roommate Wanted" -- along with the woman's contact information -- and was posted on a church bulletin board.
The woman is being represented by an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund.

The way I understand it, all that Fair Housing stuff only applies to housing units of 4 or more, not an individual seeking a roomate.

So what next, a guy asks a girl for a date, she only wants a Christian partner, turns him down, and he sues? Strange world we live in..............

[icebeamer]

I wish people would understand the context of what seeking a Christian roommate means....it means she wants to share a dwelling place, (which is a big deal) who shares the same morals, ethics, etc and not someone who is going to bring home people all the time or drug use or whatever else. Saying Christian will start that process of finding someone she'd be compatible with. People are getting WAY too upset about this. I'm sick of the way people have to tip toe over everything nowadays.

[canudigit]

She has a right to advertise for a roommate who shares her personal faith and values, this is America and the last I heard, we still have freedom of the press and freedom of speech. This also opens a very interesting can of worms, namely, what if a woman advertises for a female roommate? Can she be charged with discrimination because she doesn't want to live with a man who is not her husband? The PC police are sure working overtime these days, aren't they?

[edub]

I can't think of anything less Christian that using the term "Christian" to mean a person with values. It insinuates that Christians are good people and others are not. It is about one of the most nasty vicious statements a person can make.

What if someone was a convicted felon, prostitute and drug addict, but Christian? Would that person count? Why not post something like "religious Christian seeks like minded person"?

Nope, I can't think of anything as despicable and insidious as using the term 'Christian" to mean "a good person." And I am frequently a defender of Christians.

[rdub1968]

Originally Posted by edub

I can't think of anything less Christian that using the term "Christian" to mean a person with values. It insinuates that Christians are good people and others are not. It is about one of the most nasty vicious statements a person can make.

Who said that? Someone said "the same values", which does not mean only they have values. Stop stirring things up that aren't there.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by rdub1968

This just makes me sick. If it was a government institution I see, but a citizen should have the right to choose who they want to live with! Christian, Muslim, Jewish - it shouldn't matter.

Civil Rights Complaint Filed Over Roommate Ad (http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/25479409/detail.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed& utm_campaign=Feed%3A+clickondetroit%2Flocal+%28Cli ckOnDetroit.com+-+Local+News%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo - broken link)


DETROIT -- A Michigan organization has filed a civil rights complaint against a woman who posted a flier seeking a Christian roommate.

The Fair Housing Center of West Michigan filed the complaint against the 31-year-old Grand Rapids woman, saying she was being discriminatory by excluding people of other faiths when she posted the flier.
The flier reads, "Christian Roommate Wanted" -- along with the woman's contact information -- and was posted on a church bulletin board.
The woman is being represented by an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund.

Y'know, I ONLY hear about these things in Michigan itself. I am wondering if its just some oddball civil rights group that is located in Michigan, that seems to be off-kilter.

I also wouldn't worry too much about it. I doubt if they have much clout. It would be interesting to research this particular civil rights group, and see what other madness/pecularities they are up to.

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Y'know, I ONLY hear about these things in Michigan itself. I am wondering if its just some oddball civil rights group that is located in Michigan, that seems to be off-kilter.

I also wouldn't worry too much about it. I doubt if they have much clout. It would be interesting to research this particular civil rights group, and see what other madness/pecularities they are up to.

I have seen Christians being persecuted more and more everywhere, not just in Michigan. For an increasing number of people, it seems that seeing the word "Christian" is just like waving a red flag in a bull's face. I feel sorry for people who hate someone that much because of their religious preference. It indicates that they are anything but happy with their own life.

If this was about any other ethnic or religious group, it would either be a non-issue or the ACLU would be jumping in with both barrels to defend them.

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by edub

I can't think of anything less Christian that using the term "Christian" to mean a person with values. It insinuates that Christians are good people and others are not. It is about one of the most nasty vicious statements a person can make.

What if someone was a convicted felon, prostitute and drug addict, but Christian? Would that person count? Why not post something like "religious Christian seeks like minded person"?

Nope, I can't think of anything as despicable and insidious as using the term 'Christian" to mean "a good person." And I am frequently a defender of Christians.

Personally, all I said was, "someone who shares her values", not "someone wh has values like her, since non-Christians don't have any values". We all have values, every one of us, even Hitler had his own set of values, they just differ from one person to the next. Wanting to share an apartment with or marry someone with similar values as yourself isn't saying that other people don't have values, it's saying that you feel comfortable (as most of us do) sharing your life with people who look at the world in a similar way as you do. None of us go out seeking a friend or spouse who disagrees with our beliefs and lifestyle, because that would be stupid and we would do nothing but fight about it. People have always sought out like-minded people, it's just that most of us don't get attacked and persecuted for doing so.

[Retroit]

Our tax dollars at work!

(According to the Fair Housing Center's website http://www.fhcwm.org/Annual%20Report%202009.pdf: "The FHCWM received approximately $620,000.00 in revenue in 2009. Approximately 44% of the revenue came from a federal grant with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; approximately 22% came from Community Development Block Grant contracts with the County of Kent and the Cities of Grand Rapids, Wyoming and Holland; and approximately 8% came from a grant under the Kent County Senior Millage.")