Dear PoPville – Bistro 18 Being Unfairly Bullied?

“Dear PoPville,

Not sure if any of your readers are aware of this “controversy,” but Bistro 18 seems to be in a bit of hot water with Lambda Legal and the DC Office of Human Rights. According to the story, a transgender patron was presented a receipt with “Gay Bitches” as the table number about a year ago. When confronted about the faux pas, the manager did the right thing by waiving the bill and fired the server on the spot, but they still got Lambda Legal involved and now have a case pending with the DC Office of Human Rights.

I think that this is a ridiculous action on both the part of the patron and Lambda Legal. Bistro 18 is an LGBT-friendly establishment that has hosted numerous fundraisers for the local community. Additionally, several of the staff members there are part of the LGBT community and it’s a shame that they will ultimately suffer because of the bad publicity. Since the complaint was filed, Lambda Legal even went so far as to incite a cyber-bullying campaign against Bistro 18, which has resulted in their Yelp score suffering with petty reviews from non-DC residents.

Here’s a good take on the incident from The Bilerico Project, a major LGBT Blog:

With LGBT activists and netizens constantly ready to retaliate against any perceived slight and conservative Christians regularly claiming that many businesses are unfairly attacked by activists, what responsibility does Lambda Legal have to ensure that they aren’t damaging a business’ reputation without reason? Should they be held responsible for any harm they cause the establishment – particularly if the bar is found innocent by the city’s human rights commission?