A shocking and vulgar sign about police officers has been posted in front of a local business in Atlanta. The sign could be seen from the street with the curse word blurred out, but the message is clear: It says no cops allowed.
An 11Alive News viewer emailed us the photo of the sign. He says he's a military veteran and was offended when he saw it outside the East Atlanta Village gym.
"It was really just that the vulgarity in that sign, and that seems to bring it out for people," said Jim Chambers, owner of the EAV Barbell Club on Flat Shoals Avenue in the city's East Atlanta Village neighborhood.
"I didn't want the other folks there to take the heat that I'm willing to take," Chambers said.
Despite the backlash, Chambers says he still stands by the message it conveyed.
"We've had an explicitly stated 'No Cop' policy since we opened, and we also don't open membership to active members of the military," he said.
For Chambers, a lifelong political activist, the sign and policy is a political statement outside a multi-use space which serves as a gym, community gathering spot and meeting place for activists in the metro area.
He says groups who work out there are generally minorities who are uncomfortable with the presence of law enforcement agents.
The Atlanta Police Department would not comment on the policy, but told 11Alive News, "Were we to respond to an emergency there, this sign would not stop us from lawfully doing our job."
"If they have a warrant, they can go anywhere they want, but we're not breaking the law," Chambers said.
The question now is what happens if Chambers or anyone inside the gym needs the police.
Chambers says they never have, and won't ever need the help of officers. He says he plans to put the 'No Cop' sign back up without the foul language.
Lawyers we talked with found the policy strange, but said because law enforcement officers are not a protected class under the law, only the courts can decide if EAV Barbell Club is violating any anti-discrimination laws.
Cop Out
Cop Out
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: Cop Out
It's perfectly legal.
AirBnB just banned Alt Right members from using their services. Dickheads aren't a protected class.
AirBnB just banned Alt Right members from using their services. Dickheads aren't a protected class.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
~ Carl Sagan
Re: Cop Out
And I hope the cops fully respect that policy should the place be robbed, vandalized, or the proprietor assaulted on the premises..."We've had an explicitly stated 'No Cop' policy since we opened
Wouldn't want to break the rules...
Yes, but it shouldn't be...It's perfectly legal.
This illustrates the whole moral folly of the "protected class" concept...
Where everyone is equal but some are more equal than others...
If you're a baker who refuses to produce a wedding cake for a single sex couple who are getting married, the full force of the law can be brought down upon you to compel you to do so...
But if you're a baker who refuses to produce a welcome home cake for an active duty soldier who's served three tours in Afghanistan, that's legally protected...
Or while it would be illegal for a restaurant to refuse me service because I'm white, (race being a legally "protected class" ) it would be perfectly legal for that same restaurant to refuse me service because I'm a Republican...
The short and easy remedy for these sorts of glaring injustices would be to add "profession" and "political views" to the ever growing list of "protected classes"...
A better remedy in my view, would be to chuck the concept of "protected classes" entirely and replace it with legal verbiage that declares that discrimination in providing goods and services by any standard is inherently suspect and prohibited, and requires anyone who wants to establish a "good cause" reason for an exception to go to court and establish that cause...
And make the legal bar for establishing an exception a high one...
Re: Cop Out
I guess you missed the bit where the police said they wouldn't be prevented from responding to an emergency and the owner said the police would be allowed on the premises in the legal course of their duties.
Clubs don't have to let everyone in, businesses don't have to serve everyone. Being a cop or a military member is a choice, thus by definition it's not a protected class. I'm pretty sure you are intelligent enough to grasp this simple concept and thus I find your arguments entirely disingenuous.
Clubs don't have to let everyone in, businesses don't have to serve everyone. Being a cop or a military member is a choice, thus by definition it's not a protected class. I'm pretty sure you are intelligent enough to grasp this simple concept and thus I find your arguments entirely disingenuous.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
~ Carl Sagan
Re: Cop Out
No, I didn't - I think it's foolish. If you seriously think that politics or profession should constitute protected classes, you're the one missing the point entirely.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
~ Carl Sagan
Re: Cop Out
Uhh, actually, I was arguing against the whole concept of "protected classes" and making the point that everyone, regardless of what "class" they might be in, should be presumed to be "protected", when it comes to being discriminated against by a business that makes its services generally available to the public...If you seriously think that politics or profession should constitute protected classes...
I'll repeat again what I said:
But if you want to insist on protecting the rights of some people not to be discriminated against over other people's rights not to be discriminated against, then yes, I certainly think that profession and political views ought to be added to the laundry list...A better remedy in my view, would be to chuck the concept of "protected classes" entirely and replace it with legal verbiage that declares that discrimination in providing goods and services by any standard is inherently suspect and prohibited, and requires anyone who wants to establish a "good cause" reason for an exception to go to court and establish that cause...
And make the legal bar for establishing an exception a high one...
I believe in equal protection under the law...
Re: Cop Out
If I'm not mistaken, religion is a protected class, and embracing a religion is a choice, not something you are born with.Being a cop or a military member is a choice, thus by definition it's not a protected class. I'm pretty sure you are intelligent enough to grasp this simple concept and thus I find your arguments entirely disingenuous.
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Burning Petard
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- Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 5:35 pm
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Re: Cop Out
What about the right to pick your customer? "The Soup Nazi" gets respect in almost any sub-culture. I recognize I got lousy service when I went into an ultra-orthodox book store in Philly. They really did not want my wasp business. When I wanted special wood work from a top gun stock maker back in Michigan, I talked to several individuals who had dealt with him in the past. He had enough work on order to keep him busy for the rest of his life. To get my request done, I had to play the game and get my job moved up on HIS priorities. All this is discrimination. It is also reality. You never know when someone in the Kitchen will spit on your plate.
snailgate
snailgate
Re: Cop Out
You're missing context. Please go back and read:Lord Jim wrote:Uhh, actually, I was arguing against the whole concept of "protected classes" and making the point that everyone, regardless of what "class" they might be in, should be presumed to be "protected", when it comes to being discriminated against by a business that makes its services generally available to the public...If you seriously think that politics or profession should constitute protected classes...
I'll repeat again what I said:
But if you want to insist on protecting the rights of some people not to be discriminated against over other people's rights not to be discriminated against, then yes, I certainly think that profession and political views ought to be added to the laundry list...A better remedy in my view, would be to chuck the concept of "protected classes" entirely and replace it with legal verbiage that declares that discrimination in providing goods and services by any standard is inherently suspect and prohibited, and requires anyone who wants to establish a "good cause" reason for an exception to go to court and establish that cause...
And make the legal bar for establishing an exception a high one...
I believe in equal protection under the law...
The Declaration of Independence
The Constitution, specifically Article I, section 2, and the following Amendments: 13, 14, 15, 19, 24
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Fair Housing Act of 1968
and a couple of cases;
Brown and Bakke, to start
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg, paraphrasing Sarah Moore Grimké