There's Always A Jerk Who Wrecks It For Everyone...

And in this case, his name is John Wolff, and he is a member of the “Freedom From Religion Foundation”, a/k/a those who deny history, which explains a lot.

John got a burr up his butt about a restaurant in community that offers a 10% to patrons who bring in a current church bulletin.  John didn’t like this.  In fact, John disliked this so much that he filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission.  Said John ““I bear them no ill will but they shouldn’t be pushing religion,”.

The restaurant’s owner correctly found this to be silly, as the 80 year old who is trying to shove his atheism down his neighbors’ throats has no objection to other discounts, such as senior discounts.  His rationale?

“A senior discount isn’t so bad. We’ll all get there eventually. But we won’t all become church-goers,” Wolff said.

The story didn’t say if Wolff has a similar aversion to military or veterans’ discounts, but it is worth noting that not everyone serves in the military.

However, even more irritating than the fact that the octogenarian trying to shove his atheism down the throats of others, he apparently has never actually dined at the restaurant, and by non-bizarro world legal standards, hasn’t actually been “harmed”, thereby raising the question of whether his complaint was legitimate.

He said came across Prudhomme’s bulletin promotion while doing an Internet search of the restaurant, which he had heard good things about. But, he said the restaurant’s discount for church-goers annoyed him. “My interest is in social justice and tolerance, and I get a little annoyed at all the religiosity,” he said.

Wolff said he was born a German Jew and was a devout Catholic from age 10 to 16. He said he became an atheist about 15 years ago when he became dismayed at the religious right.

He said the complaint against Prudhomme’s isn’t as much about the actual discount as it is the bigger picture of what is happening in this country. “I’d just be happy to bring this out in the open and get people to reflect a little bit,” Wolff said.

I’ve reflected upon it, Mr. Wolff, and it appears that the takeaway is that you’re a jackass.  “Tolerance” would be dealing with the fact that you exercised your freedom not to choose to avail yourself of a discount, and not forcing your atheism down everyone else’s throat because the word “church” makes you act like a vampire choking on a clove of garlic.  Tolerance is when the one doesn’t decide that everyone else must give up a right to make you comfortable, even when you don’t appear to have actually suffered any harm.

The Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission website states that discrimination based upon religion is illegal.  But that same list includes discrimination based on age, so arguably, if he is discriminated against because he choses not to go to church and bring a bulletin for a discount, then I am discriminated against because I’m not old enough for a senior discount.

Apparently, the PHRC needs to institute a penalty for frivolous complaints, since the only cure for stupid is a rather permanent one.