Claim: beer label a hate crime

OverLawyered ^ | 5/13/05 | Walter Olson

[FormerACLUmember]

The Lost Coast Brewery in Humboldt, Calif. says it will take off the shelves its Indica India Pale Ale, whose label currently depicts the Indian elephant-god Ganesh "holding a beer in one of his four hands, and another in his trunk". Although brewery co-owner Barbara Groom said her Hindu friends don't mind the label, a California man named Brij Dhir sued the brewery, along with other defendants such as the Safeway supermarket chain, claiming that it is offensive and intimidates Hindus from practicing their religion. "Dhir seeks at least $25,000 and his lawsuit mentions that $1 billion would be appropriate to compensate Hindus around the world." "It's a hate crime", Dhir told the Contra Costa Times. ("Brewery pulls label showing Hindu god", RealBeer.com, May 9).

[stevem]

I guess it's beyond legitimate expectations to make overwhelming stupidity a crime.

[OXENinFLA]

LOL!

Glad I could be of assistance.

[cyborg]

Yeah I can feel the outrage from here! :-)

[Republicus2001]

Geez, isn't there anyone left in this country who isn't offended by absolutely everything?
Sir I take great umbrage with your exclamation of "Geez". Don't you realize that the reference to "G's" is a term used to denigrate my brother gansters! You have not only hurt my feelings but those of thousands of everyday gangsters that are tired of being mistakenly identified as Jesus. I'm feeling the vapors now and will probably throw up all night. In the morning I'm going to have to take the couch to the cleaners and probably will have to rent a carpet cleaner to get the vomit out. Then I'm going to try to make it to my lawyers office. You'll be hearing from us.

[timtoews5292004]

More Apu Goodness awaits you at the following link.

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavendar/poitier/135/apu.htm

[Lazamataz]

Geez, isn't there anyone left in this country who isn't offended by absolutely everything?

That's offensive.

[FreedomHammer]

"claiming that it is offensive and intimidates Hindus from practicing their religion."

So the litigous payoff is worth admitting that his faith is so weak as to be this easly intimidated?

This would never fly where Christians are concerned and the whole objective is to "intimidate them from practicing their religion".

[Millee]

Is that beer nuts he's holding????

[Phantom Lord]

I have never drank a beer that will get you more F'ed up than Crazy Horse.

[Psycho_Bunny]

I grew up in Humboldt.  Lost Coast makes some good beer.

It's hard to know which is more believable:  that someone would pretend the label was a hate crime and sue over something so obviously stupid - or that some spineless liberal wimp in Humboldt would immediately cave on the issue.

[FormerACLUmember]

Apu: "Please do not give peanuts to the elephant."

[Niteranger68]

Is this offensive to Hindus?

[SALChamps03]

More proof that we need a loser pays legal system to eliminate frivolous lawsuits.

[Larry Lucido]

Yeah I can feel the outrage from here! :-)

Didn't mean for it to show.

[NoClones]

what kind of nutcase looks at the can?

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

The litigant is a flaming hypocrite.

The worship of several Hindu deities involves the drinking of Soma, a distilled beverage.

Money grubber.

[FormerACLUmember]

More proof that we need a loser pays legal system to eliminate frivolous lawsuits.

Best post on the thread.

[cyborg]

:o)

[windcliff]

ping

[raivyn]

Geez, isn't there anyone left in this country who isn't offended by absolutely everything? Keep your eyes to the right, and pay no attention to the overgrown children on the left! No way anyone was offended by that beer label - they just wanted money. Stories like this make me wonder if there is some secret society that does nothing but search for ways to be offended by anything... then "they" pass the info on to the local liberal union... voila! insta-cash!