People are entitled to their own opinions. I get that. But thrusting your opinions upon someone else – that’s just wrong. Even worse is when your opinion/belief affects someone in a way that threatens their livelihood. This is what happened to Karen Clarke, owner of True 2 You, and her employee.
On September 10, 2011 Karen received a call from the manager of Trails End in London, ON where she has a booth at their weekly market. The manager informed her that if she were to have transgender people working for, she would have to “take your business some place else”. There wasn’t an incident that spurred this, the manager and owner just agreed that they didn’t want “those people” working at Trails End. Here’s a link to a breakdown of the conversation between Karen and the manager, Vic.
This morning, I listened to interviews of all parties involved on AM 980, as well as feedback from people in the area. I was appalled by the owner’s stance. The owner, Ed Kikkert, thinks he has done nothing wrong and clings to the excuse that the issue is about the facilities not having proper bathrooms for “those people”. He spoke about how people would be “upset and worked up” if a transgendered person used a mens or womens washroom. When the interviewer pointed out that this was not the responsibility of the employee or any other transgender patrons of Trails End but that of the owner himself is responsible, the owner refused to comment. AM 980 has also published an article about the situation with Trails End and True 2 You. You can view the story here or you can listen to the interviews here.
One statement made by the owner of Trails End really stuck with me. He said over and over that Trails End is a family market, catering to families. The way he spoke, it was as if he were saying transgender people are monsters. No person, regardless of race, religion, sexuality or gender, should EVER be treated this way. It’s disgusting.
One positive thing that’s come out of this horrible situation is the positive response and resounding support that has come from London community, as well as individuals across Twitter and Facebook. Currently, a petition is being circulated and you can sign your name by following this link.
Whitney Barrett
