| I too have been troubled by these RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE signs. I lived in the deep south until the mid-60s and I know what such a sign meant then and there. I was dismayed to see it (and so frequently) when I came to the northwest. I wondered how residents of this area could possibly tolerate these signs with such obviously (to me anyway) odious connotations. I do not know the legal history or standing of these signs. I have concluded that they were not based on anything similar to the motivations of their southern counterparts. Perhaps they are based on local/state laws that give a business owner/manager "legal cover" if they exercise the "right" and to discourage suits against businesses by granting their actions a presumptive legality. I doubt that they enlarge substantially a businessman's rights that exist under other civil/criminal laws. Their effect may be more psychological for the businessman and customer--the one a "comfort zone" of to act within and to the other a "heads up" notice. These laws/signs certainly do not restrict (much less override) federal/state/local civil rights guarantees of individuals (theoretically). Twenty five years after moving to the northwest my feelings about these signs have changed from repugnancy to sadness. Sadness that the level of decency/discourse/demeanor in this country had not advanced to some new level but, apparently, had disintegrated to such a point that (more and more) businessmen felt it necessary to display such signs to feel comfortable in conducting ordinary daily transactions with the public. Sad also that the "legal cover" the signs project also provides even the smallest justification (though false) for contemporary discriminatory behavior like many of you cited in varous parts of the country. Do we really need signs that were conceived in the most contemptable period of social relations (abuse) in this country to guide us in the conduct of ordinary business life today and perhaps perpetuate/encourage beliefs of a minority that have not made the mental transformation to a more civilized/tolerant/less selfrightous inner life? Todate the practical answer apparently is yes. And that is sad. |