A Texas restaurant owner kicked out a family because they were wearing masks. They were wearing masks because their son is immunocompromised. The owner said he was unaware of that but even if he was aware of that he would have still removed them. The owner claims that mask wearing is political.
Oy vey there is a lot to unpack here. Obviously kicking people out because they are wearing masks is political. So his claim that he is worried about political statements in his restaurant is ridiculous. If he truly wanted to be apolitical and there was no mask mandate where the restaurant is located he would allow people to decide for themselves if they want to wear a mask or not. He would remove his restaurant from the equation in the name of personal freedom. So the one being political here is the owner. “I feel the overall reaction with masks is ridiculous in the United States right now,” Hang Time’s owner said. This guy is the epitome of over- reaction to masks. Be a man and just say you don’t like mask wearers.
The fact that masks are politicized is a reflection on how silly many in our nation are. Is your dentist being political when he wears a mask while standing over your face? Is a surgeon being political when she is operating on you while wearing a mask? Is someone doing demolition in a house wearing a mask being political? Of course not, masks have long been a tool to protect yourself and others from inhaling germs or particles. A mask is a tool. Nothing more. If you think a mask is anything more than a tool than you are a bigger tool than the mask.
Now this restaurant better hope this family he kicked out is not litigious. A little bit of research shows that immunocompromised people are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act when it comes to employment. It is not hard to see how this could extend to discriminating against people in other walks of life. It is also not hard to imagine that it could be argued in court that kicking this family out for wearing a mask is akin to kicking someone out for using a wheelchair. Wheelchairs are tools until someone decides that they are something else and wants to make them political. Try removing someone with a wheel chair and see how quickly you get sued.
If the person being removed does not have a medical condition and there is no mask mandate in place by the local government then sure the owner could kick people out for wearing a mask. It seems stupid to me but have at it. Now he claims wearing a mask violates his restaurants dress code. He does not have that posted outside the restaurant so patrons can be made aware of it. He screwed up. It is ridiculous that he asks a family to leave and he is too inept to even post a sign about his rules of service. If he thinks it is political he may as well say people of a certain political persuasion are not welcome. Political parties are not protected by the ADA. But as a businessperson coming out of the worst of Covid do you really want to alienate any potential customers?
We will discuss this on Tuesday at 6:30 PM Est.
