Viewpoint: Growing too sensitive with political correctness

Eunice Farmilant

On Friday afternoon I received a call from Yvonne, a long time Montana resident who had just been asked to leave the Good Food Store, because according to their custom service rep, she had been heard repeatedly saying she wanted to kill all trans people.

Needless to say, Yvonne was shocked. I have  known her for over eight years and never even heard her say the word "trans," nor heard her talk of killing anyone.

Yvonne is now 73. She has been a frequent shopper at the Good Food Store since 1995 and estimates she has probably spent over $100,000 as a loyal customer.

Yvonne stands out from the typical mousy vegetarian ---she has long blond locks, always wears makeup, usually with a bit of glitter and yes, does paint her lips and her favorite colors are pink and purple. She is tall and thin and loves wearing Wranglers and driving her big Dodge truck, because, after all, she owns a ranch and has to haul hay for her mustang stallion.

The clerk who escorted Ms. Slack to the parking lot insisted that numerous people had heard her making her murderous threats but could provide no proof and the policy of the store, being a private company (actually a wealthy corporation that pulls in $16 million) was they had the right to reject anyone they want.

Apparently Title VII, the 1964 law which protects peoples' civil rights is not a concern to a non profit corporation.

This new policy of accusing someone of something without proof or allowing the accused to defend themselves or indeed discover who made the accusations has gone national. High profile people -- especially politicians can be smeared by a few well-placed lies -- so what better action than to copy this successful pattern to get rid of someone you don't like?

The clerk did mention that if Ms. Slack "behaved" herself in the future, she would perhaps be allowed back in the store However, the question remains how that would be possible when someone is banned from entering.