Memo to letter writer: Get over it

In the tradition of Justice Antonin "Fat Tony" Scalia, I want to send a special "Get over it" greeting out to Ms. Ilean Guthartz of West Palm Beach, whose hands undoubtedly were sore from wringing them when she wrote a letter to the editor published in today's Palm Beach Post.

It seems Ms. Guthartz was offended by a recent article about a woman who sued a local restaurant after she was asked to leave for breastfeeding her baby. This obviously wounded the delicate sensibilities of Ms. Guthartz, who wrote:

I think it's appalling that Simone Bertucci took time from her supposedly busy schedule to call La Leche League to inquire about laws regarding breast-feeding and to hire a lawyer to sue the restaurant where she was breast-feeding her baby ("Nursing mom sues eatery over ejection," June 14). Apparently, the issue isn't being ejected; the issue is how much money can she extract from Houston's because the restaurant staff offended her by asking her to leave.

I think it was commendable that the vice president of Houston's wrote to the Bertuccis' attorney to apologize and invite them back to the restaurant, on top of sending the family a reimbursement check for $155. Mrs. Bertucci refused their offer, stating that she thought the whole thing was rude. Well, I think she was rude in not accepting the offer and in suing. If the owner or manager of a restaurant feels that a patron may be doing something that some people might find offensive, he should have the right to ask that person to leave.

Ah, yes, it's the old "some people" defense again ... you know, "some people say," "some countries have women presidents," "the discomfort some blacks have with Obama," "some people might find offensive." Ms. Guthartz, with all due respect (which honestly isn't very much), in whose opinion should the offensiveness of a behavior be determined? Let's say an atheist sees you praying or saying Grace before your meal. Should that atheist, finding your actions offensive, be allowed to complain to the manager? What if the manager him- or herself is an atheist (or at least an "atheist sympathizer") and, seeing your prayer and feeling that "some people" might find it offensive, he or she takes the initiative without patron complaint to eject you?

Truly, the logic (or, more accurately, the lack thereof) of the pearl-clutching whiners (or perhaps I should say some pearl-clutching whiners) never ceases to amaze me.