Pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions just the tip of the iceberg

[This post originally appeared on Daily Kos on April 25, 2005.]

As an indication of just how out of hand this pharmacist-style objectionism is sure to get, take a look at my weekend...

Friday night, we took our daughters down to the local ice cream parlor for a treat. Imagine our suprise when, as we sat at a booth enjoying our ice cream, an overweight couple came in, approached the counter, asked for two double-scoop waffle cones with fudge ripple ice cream -- and were promptly turned down by the two servers behind the counter on the grounds that, "We won't serve double scoops of ice cream to obese people. You can have single scoops only."

Needless to say, we were stunned.

When a number of folks (including the couple) suggested that it was not the servers' place to say who can and cannot order a double scoop of ice cream, the employees said it was the policy of the shop owner not to offer two-scoop cones to overweight customers and there was nothing they could do about it.

An argument ensued and we rushed out as the aggrieved male patron amazingly launched all 300+ pounds of himself over the counter to take on the two employees in a massive ice cream-flinging battle.

On the drive home, I decided to stop for gas. A man was filling a Hummer H-1 on the other side of the pump. Suddenly, the man became perplexed and agitated. He started mumbling, "This fucking pump quit. This fucking pump quit." He started banging on the pump with his fists and kicking the metal base. A voice came over the speaker system:

"Sir, you have maxed out on the amount of gas we'll sell you."

The man was enraged, shaking his fist at the employee visible inside the adjacent convenience store.

"What the fuck do you mean I've maxed out? I need another 30 gallons!"

The voice came back, "The manager here limits each purchase to 20 gallons, tops. We have plenty of customers. And we believe you should be driving a more fuel efficient vehicle, sir."

The guy went crazy. He jumped in his Hummer, slammed the door shut, and drove off, tearing the filler hose off the pump and leaving the pump head dangling from his gas tank.

We were all a bit freaked out, so we stopped by the video store to grab a DVD to watch for the evening. Our girls (ages 13 and 14) decided they wanted to see "Garden State." Their friends had seen it and liked it and we had seen it and thought it was fine. So we grabbed a copy and went up to the counter.

The woman behind the counter said, "Great film."

We nodded our heads in agreement.

Then she said, "How old are you girls?"

Our daughters replied with their ages.

The woman asked, "Are you going to watch this movie?"

They nodded, "Yes."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that. I don't think this film is appropriate for kids your age."

I said, "Are you kidding?"

"No. This is not appropriate. It's R for language, drug use and a scene of sexuality."

"My wife and I have seen it and we think it's fine. These girls are mature."

"Sorry, sir," she said, "but the owner lets us decide what is appropriate for our customers and I deem this film inappropiate for your children."

As is my wont, I told the clerk, "Go fuck yourself," and we left.

Well, needless to say, it was quite a night. We ended up just reading at home.

And I wasn't surprised on Saturday morning when I went to the local greenhouse/garden center to buy our annual plantings and was told by a worker there, "Well, I would sell you those marigolds, but I can tell you don't have a green thumb. We take great care and great pride in where we send our plants to live. So I'm afraid I can't sell them to you."

I was supposed to pick up my wife's birth control pills on the way home... but I didn't want to press my luck.