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Throwing OJ Out

By Theresa Camoriano

An interesting story from this year’s Kentucky Derby was that a Louisville restaurant owner refused to serve OJ Simpson.  Since Simpson is black, the restaurant owner now is at risk of being sued by the government for racial discrimination and may have to spend a lot of money to defend himself.  Clearly, the anti-discrimination laws make it very risky and potentially very expensive for a business owner to refuse to do business with someone. 

Do you remember when shunning was an effective way of dealing with unacceptable behavior?  When we did not demand a new law or a new use of force to deal with everything we didn’t like?  If so, you must be pretty old, like me! 

For those of you who don’t remember, we used to have freedom of association and respect for private property rights in this country, and people were free to do business or not do business with anyone they chose.  Now, of course, consumers still have that freedom, but business owners do not.

Some business owners were bigots and refused to do business with blacks or others, which most of us thought was terrible.  However, instead of relying on social pressure or market pressure and allowing freedom to work, laws were passed to make such practices illegal.    

It is interesting to note that, in order for a group to have enough political clout to get a law passed to protect itself against discrimination, that group already must be generally accepted, at which point it really does not need the law’s protection.  Only those who do not have enough political clout to get such laws passed are really at risk of being seriously mistreated, and, of course, the anti-discrimination laws do not help them.  So, by definition, the anti-discrimination laws do not protect the people who really need protection.

Since the non-discrimination laws don’t protect the people who are really in need of protection, aren’t we better off to “level the playing field” and give business owners the same rights as consumers to live in accordance with their own moral compass, having the freedom to refuse to do business with a murderer, or with someone who is obnoxious, or with anyone else they prefer to avoid? 

If business owners were allowed to discriminate for or against anyone they chose, then some businesses might indeed become a haven for bigots.  So what?  Where’s the harm?  I would rather know where the bigots are so I can avoid having to deal with them myself!

I have been discriminated against as a woman patent attorney, with some people refusing to do business with me because they did not think a woman could possibly be any good in such a technical field.  That’s fine with me.  If someone does not want to do business with me for any reason, I also would prefer not to do business with them.  Let them be prejudiced!

My grandparents were discriminated against as Italians.  When they finally scraped together enough money to buy a house in Connecticut, the old mossback Yankees up on the hill refused to sell to them because they didn’t want Italians ruining the neighborhood.  But my grandparents found another house to buy.  Now, being Italian is the “in” thing, and Oprah Winfrey had a mansion built up on that hill for her best friend who is black, so apparently all ethnicities are welcome up there now.  In a free society, in which property rights and freedom of association are respected, things have a way of working out. 

And isn’t that better than being forced to abandon your moral compass and do business with a murderer or some other despicable character with whom you do not want to associate?

It is time to start repealing the anti-discrimination laws so people can be free to act in accordance with their conscience.  Business owners should have the same rights that consumers have  – the freedom to choose with whom they want to do business (the freedom to throw OJ out).  While some business owners will disappoint us, others will impress.  We ought to respect them enough to give them that chance.

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