11/13/2006
Bigotry Results in Big Bucks for Houston's Garden Guy
In mid-October, Houston landscapers Sabrina and Todd Farber made headlines with their decision to decline to work for a gay man and his partner. In an email response to the couple's inquiry for a quote, they wrote:
"Dear Mr. Lord, I am appreciative of your time on the phone today and glad you contacted us. I need to tell you that we cannot meet with you because we choose not to work for homosexuals. Best of luck in finding someone else to fill your landscaping needs. All my best, Sabrina."
The email went viral, catching the attention of the mainstream media. Saturday, in a follow-up interview, Sabrina Farber told the New York Times that, because of the attention, their company has picked up $40,000 in business in the past two weeks.
Said Farber: "I’m not saying that to gloat. Why can’t people handle it when you say the truth?"
The Times notes that the law, in this case, is on the Farbers' side: 'The federal law of public accommodations says if you hang out a shingle or open your door you don’t get to say, 'Only to whites,''[Lisa Graybill, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas] said. But sexual orientation is not protected. And while some localities, like Seattle, have adopted ordinances extending antidiscrimination protection to gay men and lesbians, she said, Houston has not."
Posted 2:00 PM EST by Andy Towle in Houston, News, Texas | Permalink
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Oh whatever, get over it. It's a generalization, people take themselves WAY too seriously. As for Texas, um, gee, rethink your argument. A state that still has sodomy laws and some of the worst criminal records towards HOMOSEXUALS (we are talking about homosexuals here, not the poor or the needy so where the hell does "take them in and feed them" come from? What are you, Sally Struthers?!!?) - they still PROSECUTE gays for sodomy (and a couple were incarerated while Bush was govenor)! Loving a STATE - after all these are STATE LAWS we're talking about - that has very little respect for homosexuals is tantamount to someone loving and staying in Iraq when they kill homosexuals because "I can live where I want". Sure you can, just don't bitch when you find yourself at the not-so-hospitable end of Texan charm...
Posted by: Cory | Nov 13, 2006 7:57:12 PM
oh and the coward thing, wow, your ture colors just showed, is everyone in Texas as charming and polite as you? No, I'm not a coward I just don't choose to live in a state that regards me as a criminal. Fine, call me a coward, it's better than being an ignorant asshat...
Posted by: Cory | Nov 13, 2006 7:59:08 PM
First of all, I am a New Yorker, not a Texan. (You know what happens when you make an ASSumption). Wow, ain't you the smart one. You chose to live in a state that does not persecute/arrest people for their sexuality. What a brain you are! Yes Virgina, some people LOVE their state regardless of the bias. That doesn't mean they love the laws. By your logic, Black folks should have just left Mississippi and other southern states during Jim Crow. But they did not leave and the civil rights movement was born and Rosa Parks, MLK, et. al. broke color barriers and paved the way for changes in law and legislation. But according to you, they should have stopped "bitchin'" and accept their fate. I don't think so.
Change does not happen overnight and it sure as hell won't happen without risk of life and limb. It takes INVOLVEMENT along with persistence, dedication and resolve. And yes you do "bitch" when you are wronged...it's called making your voice heard and fighting to affect change! It's when you believe in a cause so strongly that the results outweight the consequences.
Finally, these people have livelihoods in Texas and the economy is fucked up all over. So they all leave and find jobs elsewhere, just like that? Not likely. So yeah beyotch, are you gonna take them in? I thought not.
Posted by: soulbrotha | Nov 13, 2006 8:46:20 PM
LOL Whatever, I got through the first sentence of your vile, acrimonious message and realized reading this will only get your rock-off. I feel sorry for you, you're obviously an angry, lonely, bitter soul looking for a confrontation as nothing in my first message was personal yet YOU made it personal (and you're not even a TEXAN? WTF?). You got issues babe. I'm a grad student in social psych at Columbia, if you need a few recommendations for therapists I can contact a few colleagues for you. Seriously...
Posted by: Cory | Nov 13, 2006 10:46:14 PM
Maybe this is the time for them to patronize a GAY business. I am sure they exist in Houston, a major US city.
This situation helps explain why it is so important for ENDA (Employment Non Discrimination Act) to be passed once the DEMOCRATS are in power starting in January 2006. We gays have to put the pressure on our national leaders to ensure bs discrimination like the one here, to happens again.
Start with employment. Then add business discminating.
What does the gay organizations in Houston have to say about this?
Are there are any gay leaders in the city of Houston?
http://www.houstonglbtcommunitycenter.org/programs.htm
I think I am going to send them this link.
Posted by: FunMe | Nov 14, 2006 1:08:59 AM
A Columbia social psych grad? La-di freakin' da! Please Cory, save your psycho-babble for the paying customers babe. And bring the ego down a couple notches while you're at it. It's not attractive. Seriously...
Posted by: soulbrotha | Nov 14, 2006 1:43:40 AM
This is another example of why your country is the most stupid, backwards and pig-headed in the western world.
It needs people to stand up and fight this crap. How can the law condone such blatant prejudice? It's ridiculous and an embarrassment for a supposedly 'modern' nation.
Posted by: EM | Nov 14, 2006 2:47:24 AM
I am so embarrassed to have come from Texas. What is going on with that state? We should let Mexico take it back.
Posted by: Norm | Nov 14, 2006 10:24:46 AM
I'm sorry Cory, but I can't agree with your comments regarding Texas. It's one thing to make that argument about gays who CHOOSE to move to a state with those kinds of laws, but to question gays who choose to live there when they were born there.... walk a mile in their shoes before you judge their motivations or their struggles. It makes no sense to flee from states that have laws you don't agree with. That's not democracy. That's giving in to a refugee mentality. Patriots have a duty to at least try to change the wayward laws of their state. It was two men in Texas who were arrested for Sodomy who took their case to the Supreme Court and thusly the Supreme Court struck down Sodomy laws in all 50 states. If those men had fled Texas as you suggested, the laws would not have been challenged.
Posted by: mark m | Nov 14, 2006 10:28:23 AM
If all the gays left Texas, then the religious right would win. Governor Perry once said that if the homosexuals don't like Texas' laws, they can move to another state. We need more of us in that state to make changes.
In regard to the Supreme Court/Sodomy law-- only in Texas would two men be arrested for having sex in their home.
Posted by: Norm | Nov 14, 2006 10:54:15 AM
Maybe the Garden Guy feels uncomfortable doing the homes of homosexuals because he is afraid he will be unable to control his urges and end up having anal intercourse with the homeowner!
Posted by: Norm | Nov 14, 2006 11:32:29 AM
Houston? Why is it not surprising.
Posted by: WTF | Nov 14, 2006 11:54:52 AM
you know, why I hate their bigotry I am personally glad they were up-front about it. And the tone of their denial wasn't hateful but more matter-of-fact. They don't like gays. I would far rather be plainly, and not hurtfully, "no" than they be forced by law to accept a contract they don't want only to end up doing an even crappier job than usual. As was stated before, market trends won't support exclusionary practices. Like restaurants that only served whites in the not so distant past. Most closed not because of legal concerns but because of lack of business. Is it not just as bad to try and force them to change as it is for them to want to change us?
Posted by: Mark | Nov 14, 2006 1:34:46 PM
you know, why I hate their bigotry I am personally glad they were up-front about it. And the tone of their denial wasn't hateful but more matter-of-fact. They don't like gays. I would far rather be plainly, and not hurtfully, "no" than they be forced by law to accept a contract they don't want only to end up doing an even crappier job than usual. As was stated before, market trends won't support exclusionary practices. Like restaurants that only served whites in the not so distant past. Most closed not because of legal concerns but because of lack of business. Is it not just as bad to try and force them to change as it is for them to want to change us?
Posted by: Mark | Nov 14, 2006 1:35:34 PM
Well, for one thing, we only have THEIR word that they've gotten extra business from this. Who knows if that's true?
However, I do have to agree that the law, unfortunately, is on their side, and also I have to agree with the business owners who've said they are glad they aren't forced to work for groups they dislike. What if you were a caterer and hired by Focus on the Family or an Ex-Gay banquet?
Here where I live, lots of "Christian" businesses put the little fish symbol on their truck or even in their Yellow Page ads. I appreciate knowing that up front, and I certainly won't patronize them. This couple might have gotten a little extra business from this media coverage, but ultimately, I think they will come out short in the long run.
Posted by: Kent | Nov 21, 2006 2:35:25 PM
The job they turned down would have been about $25k... so couple that with a few more rich gays in houston going somewhere else... the garden guys broke even.
Posted by: Mark | Nov 27, 2006 10:52:04 PM