This week a popular restaurant in Sonoma closed down after it fired a waitress for wearing a Black Lives Matter facemask. The waitress went public with it and the restaurant was inundated with accusations and threats, including arson. The restaurant says it had established a policy of wearing either a restaurant branded facemask, or a plain surgical mask. The waitress contends they initiated the policy solely to keep her from wearing her BLM mask at work.
Does it work both ways? Would a restaurant face angry consequences for NOT firing a waitress wearing an All Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, or Trump facemask? And because of this conundrum, wouldn't it be perfectly defensible for a restaurant or any business to ask employees not to display political statements on their clothing at work?
I like watching a Karen get schooled as much as the next guy, but if the speed and unilateral consequences of cancel culture don't scare you a bit, they should.
Yeah, this whole situation seems hugely blown out of proportion. The waitress seems to be picking a fight where no fight needs to be picked.
Follow the dress code and don't bring your politics to work.
Sonoma restaurant closes after backlash for not allowing server to wear BLM mask
The Girl and the Fig restaurant in Sonoma is currently closed and there is no information as to when they'll be back open.
Former server Kimi Stout left when she was told she wouldn't be allowed to wear a Black Lives Matter mask at work.
"I would have absolutely abided by the mask rules if they had a sign up that said Black Lives Matter," says Stout.
The restaurant owner on Facebook, referring to the incident and Stout's situation, said "we did not fire her, we did not force her out, she made her own decision to quit because she did not want to follow the rules."
"Most places at a winery, at a restaurant, at a hotel, at the airport, you have a uniform. You have certain things that you have to wear to be part of that organization," says Katharina Baskin of Sonoma.
Aaron Mills is part owner at nearby Sunflower Café. He says it's tough because he supports Black Lives Matter and the owners of The Girl and the Fig. He says John and his wife are good people who have publicly said they support the cause.
"If they were to choose one side or another, they are going to alienate some segment of the customer base or local community, so it puts us in a hard position," says Mills.