I am posting the following excerpt of an article written by Bradford Richardson of the Washington Times with the wistful hope that it is a satire, and not real. (Even though, astonishingly, it apparently is):
Greeting customers as “Mr.” or “Mrs.” — or even not using the pronoun “ze” or “zir” — could prove costly for New York City businesses under rules drafted by Mayor Bill de Blasio’s bureaucrats.
The Gotham mayor’s Commission on Human Rights says entities that fail to address customers by their preferred gender pronouns and titles are in violation of the law and could be subject to penalties of up to $250,000.
“For example, repeatedly calling a transgender woman ‘him’ or ‘Mr.’ after she has made clear which pronouns and title she uses,” the guide says.
The maximum civil fine that the commission may impose upon “misgendering” is $125,000. But when the violation is the “result of willful, wanton, or malicious conduct,” the maximum fine can double to $250,000.
While businesses are held to a strict standard, the guidance makes clear that the government is exempt from the law in “circumstances where certain federal, state, or local laws require otherwise (e.g., for the purposes of employment eligibility verification with the federal government).”
Can this possibly be? Is New York at the point where it is ready to fine people for what gender they refer to people as?
How much will they fine me for calling anyone involved in dreaming up this sick perversion of free speech an intolerant effing asshole? Oh, wait. I can still say that…as of today. Because it’s gender neutral.
And how do you like the idea that government is exempt…because it needs to use gender – you know, the gender that it is illegal for you and me to verbally notice – for “employment eligibility verification with the federal government”.
The federal government can say it but we can’t????? What country is this?
These are the people who accuse others of intolerance? Of diminishing personal freedoms?
The sooner this lunatics are out of office the better off everyone will be. Regardless of gender, whether real or perceived.
Something like this really makes me wonder about the people that came up with this policy.
Who are they?
Where were they educated?
Are they against any other freedoms granted in the Bill of Rights?
How exactly did they become so intolerant?
Who was responsible for hiring them?
How did they get so much power over the rest of us?
Can they really do this?
If they can do it, where did they obtain the right to do it?
But Ken – your distress is unwarranted. You provided the solution with your very own words.
Merely address each customer as a gender neutral “asshole”.