Quote:
Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin
Just because someone complains about something, it doesn't make their complaint legitimate. Their thinking that it is legitimate does not make it legitimate. I'll give you another real life example. A friend of mine lives in a high-rise condominium building. The building puts up a Christmas tree every year in the lobby. Anyway, one of the homeowners wrote a letter to the HOA saying that the Christmas tree was very offensive to her (because she is not Christian). She claimed that when she got home every day and walked into the lobby and had to see the Christmas tree, that is was "very upsetting" to her. Do you think the HOA should have caved in to her and taken the Christmas tree down? Your argument with regard to the Derby party was, "What are they giving up?" I guess you could make the same argument here. I mean it wouldn't be that big of a deal to not have a Christmas tree. But the bottom line is that the vast majority of the people in that building like having a nice Christmas tree in the lobby. In addition, there is hardly a rational person that would find it offensive. I would say the same for the Ky Derby party.
By the way, the HOA did not cave in to that woman. They did not take the Christmas tree down.
What if someone finds the Woodstock theme offensive? That was kind of a culture sex and drugs. If someone found that theme offensive, would that be a legitimate complaint? You seem to have made the assertion that just because a person complains about something, that there must be some legitimacy to the complaint. I would disagree with that.
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I made no judgement as to the "legitimacy" of the complaint. I only stated that the issue was important to those complaining. What do you even mean by "legitimate"? Do you mean 'rational'? To label them or your Christmas tree complainant as not "rational" is way off base, IMO. I may think that the Derby-party complaints are ridiculous, but that doesn't make them irrational.
Here's a difference between the Derby party and the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree cannot be replaced by something that would be just about equally appealing to those advocating it. Are you going to tell me that a Derby-themed party has some sort of uniqueness that is irreplaceable? We're racing fans here, but that's nonsense.
So what it boils down to is stubbornness, not "liberty". No one forced the sorority to make that decision. But a decision made in favor of campus harmony (at no tangible cost to the goals of the party), is seen by you and others as some sort of awful capitulation.
--Dunbar