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Not right, but.. Originally hailing from Abbeville and knowing and having eaten at the restaurant many times in the past.. I think it's most certainly a situation of them not knowing the law. That is basically a Mennonite restaurant. Doesn't make it right, but.. Makes it more understandable.
There's been a whole lot of talk lately about people in New York and other places buying fake vests for their pets and calling them service dogs.
Whatever happened to the concept of private property rights? About being able to pick & choose who you will or won't serve? And people wonder where have the small businesses gone.....
I mean, first of all, it's easy to say it's an "understandable mistake" or "what happen to rights"....unless you are a person, or have a loved one, that requires a service dog to live a certain quality of life. If you are not in that situation, and you are saying the restaurant was okay in their actions, then you show a lack of empathy for someone who has a disability or handicap that is aided by a service animal. That's akin to "it's okay for us not to serve a certain ethnic group because we don't like their heritage, or it's okay for us not to serve people in wheelchairs cuz their wheelchairs take up too much space in the aisle or that group for a certain reason, etc etc etc".
It's not okay that a business owner doesn't know the law, or understandable. That's part of them doing business. This is not a new law. Ignorance is not okay, regardless of the fact that you live in a rural area or are of a certain religion. The question of "where have small businesses gone"...well, if this restaurant is going to practice discrimination...they've shuttered their own doors, by their own choice, in the end.
I do get that there are people out there that take advantage of the service animal situation...I've read those stories too. People take advantage of EVERY situation out there...the ugly side of humanity. Doesn't meant we should automatically assume everyone is doing it.
The business owner did have the right to ask a few questions about the dog,per the article posted. Did they take advantage of that, or did they simply kick out the man?
The backlash from the article posted, will be their punishment, I suspect.
let me be clear.. I'm not defending that what they did was right.. Just that with the situation of the type of place it is and the owners being.. How to put this.. Not exactly front-line on technology and possibly current events.. It's a little more understandable. Mennonites are a step up on the technology ladder from the Amish.. And.. Wouldn't you have a little more understanding of it happening at an Amish restaurant? I'm looking at it along those lines.
Based on the original article.. It seems that the person who was ejected is, in a sense, looking at it from the same lines.. He's not attempting to grab tons of money, because I see no mention of a lawsuit.. I thought he said he was just trying to make them aware of it more than anything so that it didn't happen in the future.
The ONLY thing that I question from the person ejected is this line..
Quote:
"He's been trained to watch my back,"
That.. Gives me some pause.. I figure he was speaking colloquially there, tho.. A service dog should NEVER be confused with an attack dog. I think he probably meant that the dog allows him to function without constantly looking over his shoulder and not FEELING as if he's going to be attacked, not that the dog physically protects him.
The fact that he said this..
Quote:
"Davis still plans on going out and hopes sharing his story will turn into a teaching moment so people know the right questions to ask."
That's.. In my opinion.. The perfect and proper way to handle it. Had he immediately gone the lawsuit route.. I'd have a much different opinion.
All that being said.. I'm very concerned about the proliferation of 'service animals'.. Time was, it was only seeing-eye dogs.. Now, there's friggin helper monkeys for people too fat to wipe their own ass.
30 years after the ADA passed some people still don't get it. Ridiculous! I have no sympathy for businesses that want to make money off the public but can't be bothered to follow the law. We just lost a Wendy's because the owners would't remove those snaky lanes to corral people standing in line and which are absolutely impenetrable for anyone using a wheelchair. They will not be missed.
There are service dogs for diabetics, people with seizures, depression and all kinds of other problems these days. I think that some people do take advantage of it and should be willing and able to prove that the dog is a legitimate service animal. At the same time, if a dog is not a service dog you can usually tell. A true service dog is trained to not walk around, bark, get excited, etc. Unless a normal dog has been trained really well, it will not behave as a service dog.
And whether the restaurant owners are Mennonite, Amish, Catholic, or atheist (or anything else), they should know the law. They know they need a DHEC license right? Pay taxes? Why would this be different?
On a slightly different but same topic is this: I think it is silly that so many people want to take their dogs everywhere they go. I saw a lady at Lowes last night with two dogs. You see people driving everyday with a dog in their lap; when did this become considered safe? I bet they are the same people who are against driving and texting (which is dangerous, just using it as an example). And then there are the people who want to take them to dinner and sit outside. The smokers are more of a bane to society but i really cannot stand people who want to sit at a restaurant with their dog. Annoying. And get off my lawn!
let me be clear.. I'm not defending that what they did was right.. Just that with the situation of the type of place it is and the owners being.. How to put this.. Not exactly front-line on technology and possibly current events.. It's a little more understandable. Mennonites are a step up on the technology ladder from the Amish.. And.. Wouldn't you have a little more understanding of it happening at an Amish restaurant? I'm looking at it along those lines.
Based on the original article.. It seems that the person who was ejected is, in a sense, looking at it from the same lines.. He's not attempting to grab tons of money, because I see no mention of a lawsuit.. I thought he said he was just trying to make them aware of it more than anything so that it didn't happen in the future.
The ONLY thing that I question from the person ejected is this line..
That.. Gives me some pause.. I figure he was speaking colloquially there, tho.. A service dog should NEVER be confused with an attack dog. I think he probably meant that the dog allows him to function without constantly looking over his shoulder and not FEELING as if he's going to be attacked, not that the dog physically protects him.
The fact that he said this..
That's.. In my opinion.. The perfect and proper way to handle it. Had he immediately gone the lawsuit route.. I'd have a much different opinion.
All that being said.. I'm very concerned about the proliferation of 'service animals'.. Time was, it was only seeing-eye dogs.. Now, there's friggin helper monkeys for people too fat to wipe their own ass.
Times change! Service animals help people with a lot of different challenges they face in life, not only blindness and that is why there is this "proliferation" that you refer to. I sincerely hope you never need one.
I think someone should HAVE to prove an animal is a service animal.
And, being Mennonite doesn't EXCUSE it.. But, I understand it, and am more willing to say "Ok, I can give them a free pass on it this time" more because of that. The fact that they have effing amazing food might play a part in it as well. If it REPEATEDLY happens, that understanding goes away.
The ADA is the worst best law this country has ever seen. It does and has forced great changes that really needed to be done. However.. There are parts that make no sense. Seems I've heard that a stripper sued under the ADA because the stage wasn't accessible..
Are some of the examples that.. Seem to carry things a bit too far. But, then there are the things that the act has done that it shouldn't have even been required for.. Hotels having a specified number of handicapped-accessible rooms and the like. that should have been done just because it should have been done. There shouldn't have NEEDED to be a law for it. Unfortunately.. There was that need and the ADA is what we got.
My problem with the law is that too many people seem to take advantage of it.. Not to friggin mention the record number of people we have on disability in this country, some of which are just scamming the system. I have a hard time applying 'disability', at least with view towards the ADA, to someone who doesn't have a PHYSICAL limitation.. And even on that, I find some limits.. The helper-monkey to wipe your butt wouldn't pass muster for me. A seizure/diabetic dog.. Both are acceptable, but the seizure dog would be more 'legitimate' to me than the diabetic dog.. Seizures, you never know when they're coming.. Diabetics... And, maybe i'm just not familiar enough with the condition, but.. That's something that if you have it, YOU should be keeping up with.. Not relying on a dog for. Again, not that i'm saying the diabetic's dog isn't legitimate.
I'm not anti-ADA.. I'm anti what the ADA has led to. The too-broad scope of it. There comes a time where you just have to suck it up. There needs to be a clear, concise line with regards to the ADA. "Bashful bladder syndrome" is over that line. "Comfort dogs" are getting really, really close to that line, and the number of people abusing it may, in my mind, push it over that line.
Where can I get one of these monkeys to wipe my tail? Are they declawed?
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