More political correctness run amuck...

[MobBoss]

But they can't hire some extra people in order to capture a major market segment?

They could if they so chose to....or are you saying they should be forced to?

If those people are such experts they should not have too much trouble innovating into this new field with a huge market.

Again, if they wanted to do this fine; but they shouldnt be forced to do so if they dont want to.

 

[ShannonCT]

With the UK's law, one of the examples was B&Bs refusing a rooms to same sex couples.

The problem with the logic you give, they could happily offer "double rooms for a man and a woman", and that would still be legal, as two gay people of the opposite sex could still get such a room.

But that's clearly not what the law is about - if that were true, gay people would still be discriminated against, and the law would be worthless.

I think the question is, how much different is offering the service for same sex couples, to opposite sex couples? Clearly there's not much difference with double rooms, so advertising "double room for man and woman" is an entirely artifical restriction.

I think you've just invalidated your own example. Restricting a B&B to male-female couples in entirely artificial. A B&B proprietor would have to make no changes to the B&B room to accomodate a same-sex couple. It would be the same exact good/service sold to male-female couples.

Matchmaking services for male-male or female-female couples would be a different service, require new research, programming, employees, etc. You can't force a business to offer a new product.

That's the point - it's not about whether we think they have a right or not. Yes, there's an argument that says private companies should choose their customers. But that's not what the law is.

The law allows private companies to choose the good/service they sell. And the law does allow private companies to choose their customers, just not on the basis of race, religion, or sexual orientation (apparently gender is ok).

Why would there be a backlash? Do some people have a problem with such options being offered?

Apparently so. Remember that only 1 state in the US allows gay marriage, and most states have passed public referenda saying that marriage is between a man and a woman. A lot of people oppose gay marriages and unions enough to boycott businesses that support gay marriage.

 

[nihilistic]

They could if they so chose to....or are you saying they should be forced to?



Again, if they wanted to do this fine; but they shouldnt be forced to do so if they dont want to.

Uhh, do you ever bother to read the conversations you replied to? Here, I'll quote myself from earlier in this thread:

What's the point of suing them over eHarmony's crappy business decisions? The market is already taking care of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgxOhG2nDOA

eHarmony has every right to do either-or, just as the many many gay and lesbian sites do either-or... blah blah blah

Can you please tell me exactly where in the thread did I claim they shouldn't have that right? I merely said it was a crappy business decision.

Major market segment? Single gays and lesbians looking to get married? Are you kidding? What percent of the population do you think this segment is? Maybe 1-2%. Much smaller than single Christians looking to get married.

And what percent of your "single, fundamentally christian" demographic uses a computer, likes to go online, trusts technology enough for them to pay for a matchmaking service online, but would be repulsed enough to quit if they ever spot a hint that homosexual relations are also supported by the website?

Again, the founder is an expert on heterosexual relationships and there are many people much more qualified than he to operate a homosexual matchmaking site.

Now I'm interested. What are his qualifications and what makes him so especially qualified in that specific area and totally unknowledgeable in a very closely related area? Does his "expertise" come from an analytical background (i.e. psychologist, counselor, statistician, astrologist) or from an empirical background (i.e. having experienced multiple varied "heretosexual" marriages)?

 

[Captain Planet]

http://www.comcast.net/news/technol...&fn=/2007/06/01/678175.html&cvqh=itn_eharmony



Sigh. I mean really wth is it with people? As far as I can tell, the founder only gives advice for traditional male/female relationships....not gay or lesbian relationships. If his business, which is based upon his area of expertise, only allows for male/female matches, should he be forced to alter his business to include gays/lesbians when such is not in his field of expertise?

I dunno, this just smacks of frivilous lawsuit to me. Its akin of a homosexual going say to a christian counselor and demanding advice on homosexual issues. Its just crazy.

I know many Christians who would give advice to homosexuals. It couldn't be that Mr. Warren is letting some personal ideology get in the way, could it?

 

[ShannonCT]

And what percent of your "single, fundamentally christian" demographic uses a computer, likes to go online, trusts technology enough for them to pay for a matchmaking service online, but would be repulsed enough to quit if they ever spot a hint that homosexual relations are also supported by the website?

All the Christians I've met under the age of, say 70, are regular computer and internet users. Aside from Amish/Menonites, I can't think of any Christian group that shuns technology. Feel free to provide some research if you believe there's a correlation between religious belief and internet use.

Christians have a special affinity for eHarmony because it got its start from promotion on Christian radio and TV stations. Dr. Neil Clark Warren (that's right, Dr., but we'll get to that in a moment) is an evangelical Christian and a prominent Christian writer. How do you think other Christians would respond if a Christian leader started violating Christian teaching to make more money? MobBoss? Again, it would be a really stupid business decision to offend your most loyal market segment.

Now I'm interested. What are his qualifications and what makes him so especially qualified in that specific area and totally unknowledgeable in a very closely related area? Does his "expertise" come from an analytical background (i.e. psychologist, counselor, statistician, astrologist) or from an empirical background (i.e. having experienced multiple varied "heretosexual" marriages)?

To start with, he received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Chicago. Since then, he's spent several decades doing research on heterosexual relationships and written several books on heterosexual relationships. He doesn't do research on homosexual relationships. Homosexuals aren't even allowed to be legally united in save for a few states. The gay male dating scene is a lot different than the male-female dating scene, and gay males often have very different priorities from those of heterosexual couples (perhaps because they are forbidden to marry almost everywhere). Dr. Warren is wisely leaving homosexual matchmaking to those who know how.

I know many Christians who would give advice to homosexuals. It couldn't be that Mr. Warren is letting some personal ideology get in the way, could it?

Advise them to repent and go straight probably. How many Christians would help a homosexual find their same-sex soul mate?

Of course Mr. Warren's company is influenced by personal ideology. So are millions of other businesses.

 

[MobBoss]

I know many Christians who would give advice to homosexuals. It couldn't be that Mr. Warren is letting some personal ideology get in the way, could it?

What if it were? Does he not have a right to have his own personal beliefs?

 

[EdCase]

What if it were? Does he not have a right to have his own personal beliefs?

Indeed he does. The man wishes to cater to those he can help (and make a profit doing so)

Good grief what's next someone filing a suit against a Ford dealer who doesn't have a Toyota to sell them ?

 

[ShannonCT]

Good grief what's next someone filing a suit against a Ford dealer who doesn't have a Toyota to sell them ?

We could really benefit from the ancient Athenian trial procedure whereby the plantiff would have to pay a hefty fine if he received less than 1/5 of the jury's vote. In today's system, the law firm who brings a ridiculous case before the court and wastes the resources of the public and the defendant should pay the fine if their case doesn't receive some minimum vote from the jury or is dismissed by the judge.

 

[MobBoss]

We could really benefit from the ancient Athenian trial procedure whereby the plantiff would have to pay a hefty fine if he received less than 1/5 of the jury's vote. In today's system, the law firm who brings a ridiculous case before the court and wastes the resources of the public and the defendant should pay the fine if their case doesn't receive some minimum vote from the jury or is dismissed by the judge.

Thats tort reform and thats not allowed in the USA because if we did this John Edwards could no longer afford those $400 haircuts, nor the largest house in the county.

 

[amadeus]

I know many Christians who would give advice to homosexuals. It couldn't be that Mr. Warren is letting some personal ideology get in the way, could it?

Who cares? It's his business.

 

[brennan]

{searches for US gay-dating websites} hits: loads: conclusion, this is a waste of everyone's time.

 

[mdwh]

The law allows private companies to choose the good/service they sell. And the law does allow private companies to choose their customers, just not on the basis of race, religion, or sexual orientation (apparently gender is ok).

Well yes, it's sexual orientation that we're discussing, this is the law.

Apparently so. Remember that only 1 state in the US allows gay marriage, and most states have passed public referenda saying that marriage is between a man and a woman. A lot of people oppose gay marriages and unions enough to boycott businesses that support gay marriage.

Right - and that a lot of homophobes would get annoyed isn't a good reason. In fact, that's a good reason in favour of such laws, since otherwise businesses would have to bow to pressure from large numbers of homophobes, when it should be none of their business.

 

[scy12]

I went to a Chinese restaurant and all foods , there , had Chinese origin ! Damn those Chinese , Nationalists and Racists . Grr. I am suing them.

 

[IglooDame]

California already enforces (or is it the Feds? I always confuse the two) the Americans with Disabilities Act, requiring handicapped-accessibility to new-construction business locations, right? They don't tell wheelchair-bound prospective customers "hey you can come in and shop, as long as you get out of that wheelchair". We'll see if the case gets thrown out or gets any traction (a decision probably mostly based on the 'choice vs prenatal influence' issue that OT has seen discussed so many times, and as Nihilistic has noted, whether Dr Warren can legitimately claim that his expertise doesn't apply to homosexual couples.

Personally, I think it's BS and eharmony should be able to sell the services however they want, but then I'm not too much in favor of anti-discrimination laws in the first place.

 

[bhsup]

I'm going to go to McDonald's today and order a tofu burger. When they say they do not offer that, but would be happy to sell me a double cheeseburger made from cow meat, I am going to go ballistic and accuse them of discrimination against the vegetarians of the world. Yes, I could order a salad, but I want a burger and one that fits my vegetarian lifestyle.

Disclaimer: I am not really a vegetarian.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Does anyone have a problem with eHarmony calling itself a Heterosexual Dating Service, since thats what it is? Thats all Im saying.

 

[IglooDame]

Does anyone have a problem with eHarmony calling itself a Heterosexual Dating Service, since thats what it is? Thats all Im saying.

No problem with me.

My wife and I have always wondered if/how they accomodate seekers that have... ummm... eclectic tastes in bedroom-ish activities. Does Dr Warren's perfect matching cover that?

 

[Bozo Erectus]

No problem with me.

My wife and I have always wondered if/how they accomodate seekers that have... ummm... eclectic tastes in bedroom-ish activities. Does Dr Warren's perfect matching cover that?

I doubt it. But Id love to see the commercials if they did It would be like that SNL Nancy Pelosi skit

 

[ShannonCT]

Does anyone have a problem with eHarmony calling itself a Heterosexual Dating Service, since thats what it is? Thats all Im saying.

I have no problem if they want to start putting that in their ads. I have a problem with them being forced to call themselves that. Companies should be forbidden to put out false advertising, but they shouldn't be forced to tell people everything about their company in their TV commercials. (Just spending 5 seconds on the eHarmony home page is enough to figure out it's for heterosexuals only.) Should a steakhouse be forced to advertise that they don't accomodate vegans or people allergic to gluten? Should a women's hair salon be forced to advertise that they don't do male haircuts? Most of these things are pretty obvious to people who can do some basic critical thinking. Vegans should probably avoid steakhouses. Men should avoid salons that only show women in their ads. Homosexuals should avoid matchmaking services that only talk about setting up men and women for marriage.

My wife and I have always wondered if/how they accomodate seekers that have... ummm... eclectic tastes in bedroom-ish activities. Does Dr Warren's perfect matching cover that?

Browsing through their questionairre, it looks like they consider people's level of sexual desire and adventurousness. It doesn't look like I could specifically ask to be matched with a bisexual dominatrix. But you wouldn't go to eHarmony if that's what you were looking for, would you?

 

[Azash]

It depends on if the service is state-run and/or if it is somehow vital. This is neither.