Cabbie who says he won't pick up gay men draws fire

Halifax Chronicle-Herald ^ | November 21, 2003 | Amy Pugsley

[Loyalist]

Outraged activist leads calls for censure

A Halifax-area taxi driver who announced on a radio phone-in show that he won't allow gays in his cab should have his licence suspended, says a local activist.

"He just can't do that," Ian Crowe said Thursday.

"He can't refuse to provide service based on sexual orientation."

The taxi driver, who told the show that he's been driving for 20 years, called in recently when the program was taking calls about a gay pride float in a Christmas parade.

"It can be cold, freezing rain, and I'm not going to pick them up," the driver said.

"I don't stop for them."

The cabbie, identified by the show's host as Ali, said that he based his decision on "bad experiences" he's had with passengers.

"Any time I pick them up . . . they talk unhumanly in my cab . . . they are so gross."

And when it's late at night, he said, he's too tired to listen to "their dirty talk."

"I don't need that then," he said during his three-minute talk.

Mr. Crowe, a longtime listener of the daily program, said he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I was hurt by (his comments)," he said, adding that he was "too angry" that day to call in and challenge the driver on the air.

"Now I know very well that there are cab drivers who refuse to service all kinds of passengers and there's not much I can really do about that.

"But I don't think that you can get on a public forum and brag that this is what you do."

Eric Smith, a member of the gay community, said he was outraged when he heard of the driver's comments.

He said he knows of a number of people who feel they are being denied service because "they appear gay or they're coming out of establishments that are thought of as gay."

He admitted, though, that it's a difficult situation to quantify.

"It's very easy (for a cab driver) to come up with another reason for not picking someone up," he said.

Mr. Crowe, who feels the driver should be suspended for one week, has contacted the radio station, the taxi commission and the municipality since the program aired.

Coun. Steve Adams, chairman of Halifax Regional Municipality's taxi commission, said Thursday that it's the first time a cabbie has broadcast his intentions to refuse passage based on sexual orientation.

"But it's no different than refusing to pick up somebody because of their skin colour or their religion or something else."

Actions speak louder than words when it comes to the city's taxi bylaw, he says.

"It's not against the bylaw to say you're not going to pick someone up," Mr. Adams said, noting that actually refusing passengers - unless your life is in danger - contravenes the bylaw.

While the comments may be out of the taxi commission's jurisdiction, they may constitute a case for the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, Mr. Adams said.

Earlier this week, 10 members of the taxi commission decided just that in a unanimous resolution at a regular meeting.

"We sent a letter and a copy of the (taped comments) . . . and they can take appropriate action if any is deemed necessary," Mr. Adams said.

Whether that turns out to be the case won't be known for a while.

"We don't confirm or deny whether or not complaints have been received at the commission," Michael Noonan, special assistant to the director and CEO, said Thursday.

Complaints only become a matter of public record if they are sent to a board of inquiry, he said.

[Agnes Heep]

I'll bet there are lots of gay guys who would like to pick up a cabbie.

[Doc Savage]

Hell, just the cost of upholstery cleaning supplies to get the smegma, dried KY jelly, and rectal cavity skid marks off the seats would probably put this this poor guy out of business.

Although when you think about it, the back seat of a taxi is probably one of the cleaner places these morons sodomize each other. How'd you like to handle the fare from a guy who's had his fist up his "brides" ass all night?? Better use extra Purell Hand Cleaner after touching that!

Heck, I don't think I'll ever get in a cab again without wondering if Ali just happened to leave his hoagy on the seat or two homos just left their calling card for me to sit in!!!

[exile]

Maybe if these gay guys didn't behave like oversexed teenagers, this cabbie wouldn't know they're gay and pick them up. It seems to me that gays are demanding that the rest of society treat them with respect, but are unwilling to behave like an adult and earn that respect.

[PeyersPatches]

They base their whole existance on being "gay" and get peeved when someone says "that's disgusting". Go figure!

[Holly_P]

I was hurt by (his comments)," he said, adding that he was "too angry" that day to call in and challenge the driver on the air This is hilarious.

[Blood of Tyrants]

It's not about tolerance or acceptance, it's about getting special priveleges and destroying society so they can sodomize each other in public.

[Agnes Heep]

Maybe if these gay guys didn't behave like oversexed teenagers, this cabbie wouldn't know they're gay and pick them up. It seems to me that gays are demanding that the rest of society treat them with respect, but are unwilling to behave like an adult and earn that respect.

You might be on to something there. Their disgusting acts aside, homosexuals seem unwilling to face up to the serious responsibilities of life; they want it to be one big party, with all the adult pleasures, but none of the adult obligations. Perhaps that's why they shrink from sexual relationships with the opposite sex, with its implications of reproduction and serious family responsibilities.

[Loyalist]

When a cabbie gets a call to take men up to Citadel Hill at two in the morning, it's not because they want to appreciate Halifax's military history.

[ItsOurTimeNow]

So much for being able to speak one's mind.

Freedom? Bah! Who needs it!?

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

It seems to me that cabbies have the right (maybe even a duty) to not pick up people who don't look 'right'. This guy was merely explaining one of his criteria. He probably won't pick up people who look like drug addicts, criminals, or homeless, either.

It's no different from hitchhiking (forgetting for the moment that it's usually illegal). If you want to get a ride, you have better luck if you look wholesome and nonthreatening.

I'd bet he'd pick up gay people if they acted like regular human beings for the duration of the cab ride. And I'm sure he HAS done so.

I don't see the problem. Maybe the guy should have kept his mouth shut about his criteria. But I don't hold the fact that he HAS such criteria against him. Everyone is entitled to protect themselves from situations that look like trouble.

Just my opinion.

[January24th]

But I don't think that you can get on a public forum and brag that this is what you do.

Well, this is the U.S. That is EXACTLY what you can do. Geeze, one more thought cop in training...

[ikka]

Eric Smith, a member of the gay community, said he was outraged when he heard of the driver's comments.
He said he knows of a number of people who feel they are being denied service because "they appear gay or they're coming out of establishments that are thought of as gay."

Still a little bit in denial, are we Eric?

[Geritol]

The various civil rights movements, whether black slavery or equality for women or wages for this or that ethnic minority, have usually revolved around the concept that as our founding fathers said all men are created equal. It is not possible to look at a person and tell their habits or character by their color, size, gender or specific facial features. You might be able to make an educated guess and lay odds as to a person's habits and character based on these things, but you can not know.

We may look at a random dark skinned man in a big city and say that the odds of him being a dangerous felon are X times more or less likely than for a random white skinned fellow or oriental or middle eastern person. We can look at actual crime data and actuarial data and insurance data and calculate the odds, but we cannot know at all for certain what the habits and character of that individual person are. Profiling works on the averages.

The gay issue is just the opposite of any other civil rights classification. It has nothing to do with the parents of the person or the ethnic community they spring from, but the actual habits and character of that individual person. When we look at an ethnic specific we know nothing about the person. Conversely when we know someone is definitely some classification of queer or gay, we suddenly know a number of things about their character and habits. More than we wanted to know.

Profiling is in disfavor because it punishes innocent members of an ethnic group. It lumps people together by averages instead of the character of the individual. When a cabbie sees a black man dressed in a certain way, he can guess what the odds of danger are, but he can not be certain whether that man is dangerous. When a cabbie sees someone he is positive is gay, there is no uncertainty left. He knows what some of the character of that person is.

This is almost like a religious freedom issue rather than an ethnic or gender civil rights issue. However the "gay community" does not dare frame it in those terms, because then they admit it is a matter of choice, not genes or overwhelming temptation.

[Stone Mountain]

Still a little bit in denial, are we Eric?

What is he in denial about? Sorry, I must have missed something...

[Choose Ye This Day]

Remember those signs you used to se in some restaurants and businesses? WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE SERVICE TO ANYONE. I don't see those as much anymore, but I wholeheartedly agree with them. If I run a business, I choose my clients. If I don't want to do business with an individual--for whatever reason--there's no reason why I should be FORCED to.