Yesterday afternoon, as I met with a representative from the Alliance for Positive Health to discuss our involvement with their annual event,* Dine Out for Life, I learned that we had received a voice mail cancelling a reservation for that night. It seems that the caller had reconsidered spending their money in my business because of something that offended them on one of our social media platforms. Scrolling through our feeds, I can only conclude that our support for the Women’s March, and Planned Parenthood specifically, conflicted with their own beliefs.
My initial reaction was one of angry disdain – screw them, whatever. After 12 hours of contemplation, I’m reconsidering my response and I’ve been able to transition to respectful acceptance. I understand that it is hypocritical for me to mock anyone for their political or religious beliefs. If I allow myself to fall into that trap, I’m truly no better than the current President and I refuse to fall to that level.
I’d like to think that all of us make thoughtful choices about how and where we spend our dollars. I know I do. Owning a business along with a series of social/political beliefs can be challenging and it’s probably inevitable that we will alienate some potential guests with, ironically, our spirit of acceptance. I imagine the folks who cancelled their plans to dine with us were able to find a destination that they deemed more palatable than the one we offered to them. I hope they enjoyed their evening as much as the 44 guests who purchased our Saturday night cocktail special, Pussycat Punch, enjoyed their drinks or close to as much as I enjoyed writing that donation check to Planned Parenthood.
*More about that April 27, 2017 event as it gets closer.
DelSo 
you can’t please everyone.