Flag display leads to water cutoff
Ellis said the delivery man who brought Oshima her water found the flag offensive, in part because his son has been serving in Iraq and because his family includes several veterans.
"It kind of hit a nerve with all the employees here," Ellis said.
Oshima said her husband purchased the three foreign flags several years ago, and occasionally the family would fly one or another. All three went up on September 11 of this year, when the Chico Peace and Justice Center held a benefit event at her place.
Oshima said her family flies the flags of Cuba, Iraq, and Palestine "to show our solidarity with the people of these countries. These are countries that have long suffered from U.S. foreign policy," she said.
Ellis said the issue for his company wasn't Oshima's political views — it was desecration of an American flag. He said soldiers are fighting and dying in Iraq to preserve Oshima's right to freely express her views.
But Oshima said she found it hard to believe anyone can still accept the Bush administration's claims that the war in Iraq is about promoting freedom and protecting America. "It's about oil, economic interest, global dominance," she said.
Although her family has decided they don't want bottled water anymore, anyway, Oshima insisted her rights have been violated. "A political viewpoint is no different from someone's religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. There would be a bigger fight if it was based on my ethnicity, but I don't see it as any different."
"I think we have the right to serve who we want," Ellis said. "We would rather do business with people who are more respectful."
To register your disrespect for Mount Shasta Spring Water's discriminatory policies, call them at 1-800-922-6227.
www.chicoer.com/local_news/ci_3133259
posted by Editor at Large at 4:35 PM
3 Comments:
Where's her phone number?
Why do you want her phone number? Do you think she has somehow discriminated against the company?
People are so ignorant. Our right to "freely express our views" in this great country were never under attack. This woman had the right to fly these flags even before the war and at that time, no one would have cared. Ignorant Americans thinking the war in Iraq has to do with preserving our freedoms need to turn off the FOX network and pick up a good book—try "Worked To The Bone" for starters. This country's current administration is using our young soldiers for personal, economic reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with democracy, America or freedom. It only has to do with greed. That so many Americans live by their sentiments around patriotism rather than actually educating themselves makes them a wonderful target for administrations like the Bush one. Pick up a history book and see how ignorant countries just like this one have been used just like this, through out time.
Good for that woman--she's got some balls.
Post a Comment
<< Home