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Grex > Glb > #31: RED LOBSTER AND THE OLIVE GARDEN OPPOSE CIVIL RIGHTS | |
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| Author |
Message |
mta
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RED LOBSTER AND THE OLIVE GARDEN OPPOSE CIVIL RIGHTS
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Aug 22 21:06 UTC 1998 |
According to The Washington Blade (July 17, 1998, pg. 12, col. 1)
Darden Restaurants, the owner of Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and the new
Bahama Breeze restaurant chains, wants to be able to fire employees
solely
because those employees are Gay.
Darden Restaurants is going to court to try and get Cook County,
Illinois
human rights ordinance -- which prohibits discrimination based on race,
sex,
religion, sexual orientation, and other categories, in matters of
employment, housing, public accommodations and credit transactions --
declared unconstitutional. Their action comes in response to an order
from
the Cook County Human Rights Commission that they reinstate a Gay
employee
who was repeatedly ridiculed and eventually fired because of his sexual
orientation.
The restaurant is not trying to claim that it did not discriminate - it
is
acknowledging that it *did* discriminate, and that civil rights laws
which
prevent them from acting on their bigotry are unconstitutional! This is
not
just a company that supports an anti-Gay "foundation;" This is not just
a
company that discriminates and tries to cover it up; (although those
examples are bad enough!) This is a company that is actively seeking to
overturn important civil rights legislation - which would open the doors
for
countless other firings, harassment, and other forms of discrimination.
I know many of you often eat at these restaurants (I have as well), but
Red
Lobster and The Olive Garden are not establishments you should support.
Next time you're tempted to eat at Red Lobster or The Olive Garden,
imagine
your Lesbian
daughter/sister/granddaughter/aunt/niece/friend/mother/lover/self being
fired solely because she's a lesbian -- for no other reason.
Or imagine your Gay
son/brother/grandson/uncle/nephew/friend/father/lover/self losing his
housing - or being unable to find a place to live - solely because he's
Gay.
There are hundreds of other restaurants out there -- ones that aren't
using
your money to take away the civil rights of those you know and love.
Patronize them, but not Red Lobster or The Olive Garden.
BOYCOTT RED LOBSTER AND THE OLIVE GARDEN.
Please forward this on to as many persons as possible.
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| 30 responses total. |
birdlady
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response 1 of 30:
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Aug 23 06:20 UTC 1998 |
I boycotted Cracker Barrel for this very reason. I never go to Red Lobster
or the Olive Garden anyway...too expensive. But now I'll avoid them like the
plague.
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jazz
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response 2 of 30:
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Aug 23 13:29 UTC 1998 |
Wow. I've never been a big fan of either, but that's definitely
something worth boycotting.
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remmers
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response 3 of 30:
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Aug 23 17:38 UTC 1998 |
I've avoided Cracker Barrel for the same reason too.
I haven't seen anything about the Darden Restaurants business
in the news. Does anybody know where there's info about it, other
than what Misti quoted in resp:0?
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mta
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response 4 of 30:
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Aug 23 20:02 UTC 1998 |
I still boycott Cracker Barrel, and boycotting Red Lobster is going to be a
major sacrifice, but I will.
*sigh*
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brighn
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response 5 of 30:
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Aug 23 21:07 UTC 1998 |
Ditto Olive Garden for me. Red Lobster isn't someplace I ever go.
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katie
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response 6 of 30:
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Aug 24 03:53 UTC 1998 |
Isn`t ChiChis also in that chain>
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mta
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response 7 of 30:
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Aug 24 22:45 UTC 1998 |
Oh, no! I don't know.
(Not that I love ChiChi's or anything but it's getting harder and harder to eat
out these day!)
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brighn
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response 8 of 30:
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Aug 25 19:31 UTC 1998 |
Business Summary
Darden Restaurants, Inc. is a full service restaurant organization. DRI
operates 1,118 restaurants under the names: ``Red Lobster'', ``The Olive
Garden'' and ``Bahama Breeze''.
Source: http://biz.yahoo.com/p/d/dri.html
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omni
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response 9 of 30:
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Aug 26 05:08 UTC 1998 |
This may not be the place, but since we are discussing anti-gay behavior,
Lewis Powell passed away today. He is the Supreme who admitted that he made
a mistake by allowing homosexual activity within the privacy of one's home.
May he burn in hell for that. Privacy is privacy, and as long as it's legal
no one has a right to tell you what sex is legal or not.
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mta
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response 10 of 30:
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Aug 26 15:50 UTC 1998 |
Perhaps you mean "as long as it hurts no one"?
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remmers
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response 11 of 30:
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Aug 26 22:58 UTC 1998 |
Re #9: I think you've got it backwards about Powell. According to
the obituary published in the New York Times, he voted with the
majority (i.e. against extending Roe vs. Wade to apply to rights
of homosexuals to consensual sex), but later -- after his
retirement from the Supreme Court -- stated that he regretted
his vote and that "the dissent had the better of the arguments".
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omni
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response 12 of 30:
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Aug 27 08:41 UTC 1998 |
Yeah, thanks John.
re 10. Yes, I meant what you said.
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lumen
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response 13 of 30:
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Sep 28 00:05 UTC 1998 |
Hrm..I'll have to check on that-- don't know if I can get a copy of the
Washington Blade.
I always found myself overstuffed at the Olive Garden anyway.
Hmm..hafta see..not much for political action
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remmers
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response 14 of 30:
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Sep 28 10:45 UTC 1998 |
Any updates on the status of all this?
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mta
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response 15 of 30:
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Sep 30 03:16 UTC 1998 |
None that I've heard about -- and I'm looking because I really *like* Red
Lobster.
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i
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response 16 of 30:
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Sep 30 03:36 UTC 1998 |
What relation do the local Lobster & Garden have to corporate HQ and what
attitude are they adopting on this? Are they loyal corporate cogs in the
Nazi hate machine, flunkies ignoring the big shots' stupid ideas in order
to get their own jobs done, or what?
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lumen
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response 17 of 30:
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Sep 30 03:37 UTC 1998 |
Man's got a point. I think writing the company might be more effective,
either by letter, or by formal petition.
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mta
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response 18 of 30:
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Sep 30 12:47 UTC 1998 |
I'm kind of busy this summer...anyone else want to look into this and report
back?
Anyone got press cedentials they could use to interview the local managers?
I'd absolutely *love* to hear that the local managers were against this hate
mongering and were to be supported...
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void
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response 19 of 30:
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Oct 2 11:00 UTC 1998 |
is there an e-mail or snail mail address for darden restaurants?
i'd love to send them some mail every week or so.
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brighn
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response 20 of 30:
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Oct 4 21:42 UTC 1998 |
If you have comments for Olive Garden Guest Relations, please feel free to
call us at 1-800-331-2729 between the hours of 8:30AM and 5:00PM EST Monday
through Friday or write us at:
Olive Garden Guest Relations
P.O. BOX 592037
Orlando, FL 32859-2037
Red Lobster
5900 Lake Ellenor Dr.
Orlando, FL. 32809
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joe
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response 21 of 30:
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Oct 7 07:32 UTC 1998 |
I have a few gay friends who work for Rock Lobster, one of which is a Vice
President in training, and they don't seem to have any problems-- and they're
both very out. I've also been served by some pretty queeny servers at the
Carpenter Rd store.
,
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brighn
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response 22 of 30:
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Oct 7 17:17 UTC 1998 |
now that you mention that, I recall an incident at Olive Garden. Val had been
complaining that all the restaurants we'd been to recently had had waitresses,
who flirted with me and ignored her. she was happy to see that, at the olive
garden, we finally got a waiter... until he started flirting with me and
ignoring her, too.
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mta
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response 23 of 30:
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Oct 8 23:01 UTC 1998 |
Well, the circumstantial evidence suggetss that at least the local stores are
bucking the trend from headquarters...I'm very glad to hear that!
(Ultimate Feast, here I come!) ;)
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mta
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response 24 of 30:
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Oct 19 04:55 UTC 1998 |
I finally called and talked to someone fairly high up at Red Lobster.
This person was very surprised to hear about this rumour in circulation
and assured me that at least in the Ann Arbor area there is no such
policy or inclination.
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