Last month, Alan Dershowitz, a retired Harvard Law professor and famous conservative, was refused service at Good Pierogi, an eatery on Martha's Vineyard. Reportedly, a vendor at the West Tisbury Farmers Market refused to sell Dershowitz a pierogi because of Dershowitz's political views.
Indeed, according to a recent news report, Dershowitz was denied service a second time when he returned to the food vendor and again asked for a pierogi.
This is not the first time a conservative has been denied food service for political reasons. From time to time, Republicans have been ushered out of restaurants in Washington, D.C. because the staff disapproved of Republicans' political views. Thus, it is no surprise that a conservative is denied service on Martha's Vineyard--an exclusive playground of the liberal rich.
Professor Dershowitz should vacation elsewhere. He might try Florida, where a restaurateur has offered him free pierogis for life.
Liberal snobs have apparently forgotten that Black Americans were banned from white-owned restaurants and hotels in the South as late as the 1960s. Indeed, it was not until Congress enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that racial discrimination in places of public accommodation was stopped.
Even then, some Southern restaurant owners refused to obey the law. Ollie McClung, owner of Ollie's Barbecue in Birmingham, Alabama, argued that the law did not apply to him because his barbecue joint wasn't engaged in interstate commerce.
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court rejected McClung's argument. Race discrimination at Ollie's Barbecue imposed significant burdens on "the interstate flow of food," the Court ruled, and on African Americans who traveled from state to state.
The 1964 Civil Rights Act doesn't prohibit a restaurant from refusing service based on a customer's political views. Given what happened toAlan Dershowitz on Martha's Vineyard, the law should be amended to bar viewpoint discrimination in restaurants, hotels, and all places of public accommodation.
In the meantime, I speak for all Mississippians when I say that Alan Dershowitz is welcome at any eatery in the Magnolia State. He may not be able to find a pierogi, but we serve some damn good barbecue.
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| Food vendors should not be allowed to deny service because of a customer's political views. |