Winooski Bistro’s Bacon Sign Ignites Internet Storm

1. This is insane on both sides.

2. Couldnt it have been referring to turkey bacon as well as traditional bacon?

3. What if it was insensitive to me that I Love BACON.

4. This is absurd. Shame on both of them. She is given the right to say what she wants and practice any religion she chooses because the first amendment allows her. You cant choose to follow that amendment when it only suits you. You need to respect the opinions and beliefs of others as well. Aside from that, she needs to put on her big girl panties and deal. If she is offended by the word bacon she must be a really annoying lame person. Just because your a minority doesnt mean your opinions are more important. As for Sneakers…shame on you for letting your self be objectified by this woman over a word. Can’t wait for you to see what other changes you will be making. Perhaps we should let Esquire magazine know since they rated you one of the best 59 places to eat breakfast….since you cant say bacon anymore. LAME!!

5. I am curious as to how this woman manages to exist in this offensive world. She must not go out to eat as, I imagine, the sight of the offensive foods would be worse even than the word. Her friends must have to monitor her conversations around her….no “bringing home the bacon” or getting the “pork” out of politics. No Dr. Seuss in this household! No “ham” actors or radio. No “this little piggy” or “three little pigs” . God forbid she should see a pig in a blanket. No baseball games….hot dogs, you know…no football either…pigskin. I hope she is happy in her little bubble-like world. Mine keeps getting rocked by real problems: journalists being beheaded, Yazidis being wiped out, Women and Gays being flogged and/or killed because of monstrous laws…..guess it all depends on your perspective. By the way, my diet does not include brains but you can write about them, if you can find any.

6. Chittenden County is diverse and cosmopolitan. There’s 13 other counties in Vermont, though.

7. I tried to give an analogy recently to explain why I thought it was just good neighborly behavior of Sneakers to take down the sign.
   Imagine you have a compost pile in your yard, you don’t find the smell particularly offensive and it’s good for the environment.
   Go you!
   But your neighbor comes up to you and says, I REALLY don’t like the smell of your compost pile, could you get rid of it?
   “NO!” You say, “Never! My property means I can do whatever I want! You’re a jerky mean anti-environmentalist! Freedom, freedom, constitution etc!!”
   Can you see how absurd that would have been of Sneakers? A local establishment in a city that is pretty liberal, extremely diverse and all around pretty darn nice to each other.
   Instead we can deal with our more sensitive neighbor by simply offering, “Hey neighbor who has different tolerance levels than myself, what if I moved it as far from our property line as I can? This way you don’t have to smell it and I can still have my compost pile.”
   Basically, this is what Sneakers did. They thought it made more sense to take the darn sign down then bother getting into some kind of ridiculous and trite bickering feud over it.
   They may very well replace it with a sign that says “Break for Breakfast” and everybody can just go back to what they were doing BEFORE Breitbart.com picked up the story.
   They didn’t stop serving bacon, they didn’t close their doors in haste, fearing their existence might cause too much contention. They just took the f**king sign down and moved on with their lives. Kudos to them. Can’t we just leave them alone?

8. Kind of changes the dynamic of the old Sir Francis Bacon Vs Shakespeare debate. Bacon – are you even half serious?

9. I don’t believe this is insane on both sides. The woman is overly-sensitive and extremely self-important, but probably not insane. And Sneakers made a world-wise decision, even if people around here aren’t able to accept it. As a longstanding and respected member of the burgeoning Winooski service industry, their job first and foremost is to provide delicious food to their many, many patrons. Their job is not to engage in politics. If the business’ energy is diverted from food to politics, the food quality and customer service will undeniably falter and everyone, EVERYONE, is worse off for it. Marc made the right choice by extricating himself from the political, non-food discussion, and he’s made that stance and justification very clear. The vitriol that has been sparked by this benign and common-sense move is indicative that Winooski, VT is suffering from some serious, serious growing pains, and I am ashamed of residents (and non-residents) who have assaulted Sneakers with their foul language and a lack of support.

10. I don’t agree with it being taken down, but have to say if it said “yield for sneaker’s dog meat” it also probably would cause a stir. Cultural sensitivity is all relative and a hell of a thing.

11. Coward County.

12. Well now, I guess we’re going to have to add BACON to George Carlin’s dirty words list.

13. Has anyone weighed in on what the Jews thought of this?

14. This is the most ridiculous situation that I’ve heard of in a long time.

    The earth is slowing dying, dozens of wars are being fought with people being killed daily, Ebola is a growing epidemic and in a protected part of the world, folks are worried about the implications of offending a vegan. Give yourself a shake people and be grateful you woke up this morning…many did not.

    Cheers
    Bill Shattuck/Canada

15. What a disgrace, and shame. This is America. If this woman was so bothered by BACON, why doesn’t she move to Syria or Iraq, and join ISIS? I’m sure she’d get along better with the caliphate than this country. Because, you know, beheading hundreds innocent children and selling thousands of young women into slavery is MUCH more ‘culturally sensitive’ and acceptable than viewing a sign that says “BACON”. But I’m crazy, right?

16. Does any one know where I can purchase a kosher ham?

17. what, why did they give up? this is your right to like or dislike any sign, or commercial. I mean can’t the same be said for anything,,,, if I don’t like kids, why do we need to see its for the kids…… (just an expample). or if i am so much against unions,,,, why do we need to see tax paid depts pro or against unions. i for one will make it a point now to not only Yeild for bacon, but I will even stop and have more hten one helping…… its my right to eat it, to smell it, and to brag about loving it…… American, we are losing you so fast when one or two itiots make a mountain out of a molehill….

18. My God. The amazing thing here is the outright thuggish attitudes of some who call themselves conservatives. What happened here? A little lighthearted joke in a sign on public property. One person found it offensive and complained. Was that person overly sensitive? Yes, of course she was, but a lot of us get overly sensitive at times and on certain subjects It would have been appropriate to suggest that she lighten up a little, but Sneakers, not wanting to offend anybody, took its sign down, so the anti-Muslim crowd went ballistic, with threats of terrorism. What is wrong with these people?

19. I keep seeing people say how diverse the community of Winooski is, so I’m sure there are Jews and Hindus there. Jewish people do not eat pork, yet I do not see them making such ludicrous demands. Hindu’s do not eat beef or pork, yet I do not hear them being so hyper-sensitive! Why can’t Muslim’s just live and let live?! If they don’t like it, please feel free to move to Iran, Saudi Arabia or similar country!

20. It is embarrassing to be part of a community with so much fear of some of our neighbors and Muslim community members. Love and let live.

21. How in the name of all that is good and right in the world can anyone be mean to Sneakers?? You people all stop being mean to Sneakers!! Forget about arguing complete and total stupidity, a woman who obviously has such a perfect life that a bacon sign and a business with a sense of humor is a problem. STOP BEING MEAN TO SNEAKERS RIGHT NOW. Honestly if any of you do anything further to hurt Sneakers, I’ll be marching naked through the streets of Winooski with the American flag jammed into unmentionable areas and happily watch all your heads explode. Problem solved!

22. Welcome to Progressive America people where everything you say and do will offend somebody. Isn’t it ironic
    the word Liberal means tolerance and anything goes attitude. A Liberal Democrat in there 20’s back in the 70’s would hate there future selves they are the furthest thing from being Liberal. I think we reversed roles
    Libertarians and Conservatives are the more tolerant ones now.

23. It’s amazing how this thing got blown all out of proportion and as the story gets told the facts get distorted. Marc spent much of last Sunday – among the other various duties he has to do as an owner – dealing with people who had nothing better to do than call him up and chew him out for being weak on this issue. Are you freaking kidding me? Is your life so, I don’t know, NOWHERE, that you feel you have call us and voice your opinion that we are weak because we were considerate of someone’s feelings? What happened to kindness and compassion? If I was doing something that offended you and I knew it offended you but I decided, FU, get over, it I’m going to do it any way. However, if I can fix it easily enough by just simply taking an easy action, aren’t I improving the world just a little bit? How much is that going to hurt me in the long run to show a little understanding to my fellow man? Are some going to call me weak and meek? Didn’t Jesus teach us that the Meek will inherit the earth? Why is it so easy for Christians for forget the teachings of Christ? I’m not a religious fanatic but I do have my spiritual guides and I try my best to listen to them. I attempt to follow the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi created a prayer that is so challenging on so many levels that I just feel so inadequate trying to aspire to that message. “Where there is injury – let me sow pardon, Where there is hate let me sow love” , Let me seek not so much to be understood but to understand. However, I will keep trying and when I’m wrong try to make amends. That’s why I have the utmost respect for what Marc and Jean did, it’s much more difficult to take the road less traveled. But we need to keep trying.

24. Poor journalism. This is a non issue. Designed to pit people against each other. Don’t believe the hype. Enjoy Sneakers. Enjoy the diverse community. Be good to each other.

25. Why in hell is this news or even an issue. They took care of the problem to the satisfaction of both parties and Sneakers still serves “bacon” move on.

26. I lived in Essex Jct with my partner and we ate at Sneakers all the time . Loved Sunday brunch. I am a Gay Christian Bacon lover who has lived all over the world. I respect the right for anyone to marry who they want , pray as they like , eat as they like and learn that just because you don’t believe the same as I do does not mean you have to be offended by every little thing, like a sign. In a world where wars are being fought , People are dying from a lack of food, water , and from incurable diseases. People are murdered for there faith , are murder for the color of their skin. Lets all try to keep a sense of humor in life and not look for anything as silly as a sign about bacon to be offend about when we should be talking about real issues that this country and many other country’s are dealing with. I think it’s call making a mountain out of a mole hill.

27. Few things in life are better than bacon. Sneakers will forever be my favorite restaurant and from now on I will be ordering EXTRA bacon to support them.

    Also, men should have to wear shirts outside. There are a lot of us women around who have to cover up… It’s offensive and insensitive to the female gender. Whose door do I leave the note on about this? I’d like to make this a big deal.

28. Sneakers engaged in radical left wing politics when it decided to capitulate to the complaint of a single person. I could care less if a woman complained, that’s her right. What is an outrage is that the restaurant capitulated to her. I f everyone yielded to every hysterically offended person, as this restaurant did, then absolutely nothing would be allowed. No art, no comedy, no signs, no speech, nothing. Liberals just don’t get it. Capitulation to the eternally offended IS a political act and it is RUINING this country with neo-fascistic PC BS. They decided to acquiesce to a single persona and in-so-doing managed to piss off thousands. This is proof positive that feel-good liberals don’t think about consequences. It’s proof of their abject stupidity. Don’t EVER eat at that restaurant again.

29. I made my first comment in the heat of the moment. Now, I’ve had the afternoon to entertain myself trying to figure how the woman survives. As long as the owner of Sneakers wasn’t forced to take down the sign, then I don’t really care about it. I, probably, would not have but we’ll never know. I moved on to the other issues inherent in this incident. What other alterations in life style will need to be made by the Winooskians to accommodate this fragile flower. I was able to amuse myself for hours. You will need to hire a compliance officer or two to monitor signs, advertising, conversations, TV, concession stands at sporting events, parties, school lunches, cocktail parties. Winooski could have the highest employment rate in the State so maybe it’s a good thing. I have lots more ideas to ease her life…just let me know. This peace business is cool an and so easy….

30. I would just like to get through 1 HOUR, let alone a whole day, without hearing something about moslems. Santa Claus wasn’t even allowed at our kindy. What a joke

31. That should be easy, since everyone but you is referring to Muslims, not Moslems.

32. Kevin Bacon MUST change his name NOW!

33. Kevin Bacon MUST change is name NOW!

34. We Vermonters are told to be tolerant of everyone else’s culture, yet we are not allowed to perpetuate our own culture, which, by the way, includes bacon. McKenzie Brothers, Harrington’s, VT Smoke & Cure, Dakin Farm, & David Zuckerman’s Full Moon Farm are all fine businesses that sell bacon. Outsiders who come to a new geographical area to live should respect local customs, not demand we change them to please themselves. As for me, you will have to pry my bacon from my cold dead hands!

35. I believe the pendulum has swung too far to the left when a single woman’s offense can be newsworthy. We could start a list including but not limited to Jews and other religions, African Americans and other people of color, etc. who, if they chose, could protest 100’s of signs and other gestures that would offend them. And, I don’t agree with Sneakers, who in an attempt not to offend anyone, chose the politically correct route. I find absolutely nothing wrong in posting the sign, just sadness in what this nation has become.

36. as crazy as this sounds,,, there was, I believe, a NY couple that bought a grand old house in an idyllic village in Vermont (mountain, stream, tall trees), the kind where the local church’s spire looks through trees as you approach….. well, this couple’s house was very close to the local church and on Sunday’s the church’s bell rang out to the town….. the new couple complained about the “”noise”” so early on Sunday!!!! what did they expect(??) in a real American village in REAL America!!!

37. Have eaten there (omellette, kinda ordinary)…what if a Red Sox fan complained about the sign I used to see at Donny’s NY Pizza, “Watch All The Yankees Games Here”? Would they demand they take it down? If you don’t like bacon, don’t eat there (or order something else). Want sharia law to come to our land? Be forced to obey their religion, and possibly be put to death for something like being gay? The woman is intolerant of others. And btw to be consistent, if they agree with her that bacon is offensive, are they still serving bacon and sausage? After all, someone might be offended.

38. In the old days liberal meant tolerant people who wanted small, efficient government and maximum personal freedom. This is why some libertarians use the term “classical liberal”. JFK was one but these days he’d have to run as a Republican. A talk show host named Alan Nathan used to say, “We want the Republicans out of our bedrooms, the Democrats out of our wallets, and both AWAY from our first and second amendment rights!”

39. This article was never news worthy!! The problem here isn’t that someone complained or that a business tried to respect a culture. The problem here is the press. This would have never gone viral had it not been for the press. Look folks USA born folks have done some real bad things here in America. School shootings, bombings and other things. Does that make ALL Americans bad? No it doesn’t nor does that fact that Muslims were part of 911 make ALL Muslims mad people. The Muslin Lady used her freedom of speech and that is all she did she made no demands she threatened no one. Please let this issue rest. It is way out of proportion. Lets show a little class here. Stop throwing stones.

40. We’re like the frog in the frying pan. They invade our rights a little at a time till one day it will be too late. Ridiculous that in one week the same religion removes the head one of our own and we defend that religions right to remove a bacon sign from our own land.

41. Wow. I mean, really people? Your freedoms aren’t being taken away over a stupid sign. Instead, everyone is bitching about an American business exercising their right to choose. Who cares if they took the sign down? I get it, that lady WAS ridiculous in complaining about the sign. But oh well. I can think of stupider shit that other AMERICANS complain about.

42. How can these Muslim thugs complain about the intolerance of everyone else and yet be the most intolerant of all? No one is forcing her to eat at that restaurant and yet she would hold the entire town hostage because of HER ideology. Radical Islam has made it quite clear that they firmly believe through “political correctness” they will destroy the “infidels”. They are succeeding and by caving in to the demands of this self-righteous zealot, they are succeeding. We are fools for letting this happen.

43. Winooski, VT: a small town with none of the charms of a small town and all of the problems of a big city.

44. It is very simple people, Vote with you $$$$$. Stop going there and see if the place can survive when the only people who eat there are Muslim.

45. Muslims consider dogs unclean. If they are offended by seeing dogs in public places are you going to ban dogs!
    Stand up for the constitution like your founders did.

46. I think we need more guns.

47. My grandparents had to eat their SHOES during the great depression! And you think SNEAKERS is an appropriate name for a restaurant?!?! RANT * SHRIEK* WAIL* !!!1111 eleventy!!!iI11i!! *AKK!* Thud!

48. “Last week, a Winooski woman who identified herself as a “vegan…”
    ….and stopped reading there.

49. How narrow minded do you have to be to put the entire muslim faith at fault for the petty comments of one woman with too much time on her hands? It doesn’t take much to put people in an uproar these days and then they are screaming the loudest about intolerance? I seam to remember that one of the primary reasons for people to have come to these shores in the first place, was religious freedom…
    And for all of the ranting and raving dimwits that will scream about the muslim beheading the journalist. That lunatic claiming to have done that deed in the name of the muslim faith, is no different in my eyes than conservatives screaming that they are the only real American patriots. It’s just another form of manipulating small minds with anger. Stop being pawns and open your eyes.

50. People sure like to set up paper tigers. As a reminder, here is what happened. An overly sensitive woman said she was offended by a jokey little sign. She didn’t threaten anybody, and she was not speaking on behalf of a Muslim organization–just stating an opinion, her constitutional right whether or not others agree. The restaurant owner politely withdrew his little joke of a sign, volunteering to do so, which is also his constitutional right. He didn’t stop serving bacon–and in fact he has proudly stated that he continues to serve really good bacon. My first reaction to the story was to wonder “Why is this news?” I guess the firestorm of anti-Muslim response, some threatening violence, answers the question. How sad.

51. A reactionary complained. Bigots galore chimed in with their hate-filled, irrelevant anti-Muslim (and anti-vegan) speech. I posit that the latter are even stupider than the former, and both are wasting our time and media space (whee real issues of racial division might be discussed). . The victim is Sneakers’. They put up a sign, they honored a request to take it down,and got targeted by xenophobic, ignorant racists who think that “American” means white and “Christian” and who assume that a Muslim woman is not from the US. Do you see how narrow-minded and ignorant even we, in the so-called most-educated state, are? We ask how Ferguson could happen? Look right here. It could happen here, too, when that racist white cop feels “threatened” by that person of color. All this story has done is make Vermonters look like a bunch of racist rednecks, bolstered by racists in Texas and Florida.

52. “One resident expressed their sentiment stating, ““I respect her religion and her right to believe what she wants but I’m pretty sure the first amendment extends to bacon and the selling of it.””

    Uhm, NO, the First Amendment does not extend to commercial speech, nor does it say that private companies can’t respond to complaints about their speech as they see fit. The First Amendment says the government will make no law… and so forth. It does not say that there will never be any consequences for speech, only that the government can’t be the one imposing the consequences. If you don’t want anything to change when you say stuff, why do you say it?

    AND THE CONSTITUTION DOES NOT MENTION BACON !

53. Well, this is one small town I don’t have to consider moving to.

54. FACT: Jews who follow kosher dietary laws don’t eat pork either. None of them ever complain about stuff like this.

    FACT: 7th day adventists don’t eat pork either. None of them ever complain about stuff like this.

    FACT: There are TWO groups who – more than any other – are always telling people what to do and are always going out of their way to be offended by something: Vegans and Muslims.

    BOYCOTT SNEAKERS!!!!

55. You still can’t buy the 14th season of South Park uncensored for private viewing, because of Muslim threats. We as Americans need to grow a spine and fight back against those, who would threaten free speech.

56. good going Craig…bash Texas and Florida cause your sliver of heaven is not better than your opine of T&F

57. This keeps getting deleted – how sad the Politically Correct Police are wielding the Veto Button so rapidly . . . I’ve re-worded it so lets see if this is better.

    Post a sign: Pan Seared Jimmy Dean’s @ Sneakers either above or below Yield for Vegan Bacon Bagel @ Sneakers. Too much fun.

    I know I have had to endure lot of seriously abusive teasing because I have to eat what amounts to a Vegan Style diet because somehow I am allergic to meat, eggs, and dairy although I love these foods they don’t love me. There are many that just go mental if you offer them anything ‘Vegan’ to eat. I think I’ve seen the fundamentals of this aversion – more on that in a moment. There are those that just can not go without saying something derogatory about the Vegan movement when the learn that they are dining with a person that is exclusively Vegan.

    The Islamic State woman that wanted to express her religiously acquired aversion (she bolstered her position with her religious preferences) seems to have bumped into another rapidly growing social phenomenon of Creeping Religious Tolerance. In some European countries like France or the UK where the tolerance of decent folk has been preyed on by sects wishing to impose Sharia Law on neighborhoods / communities / villages / etc as their influence / domination increases there is a growing backlash all over the world to the three main branches of these Abrahamic Religious Cults (cult is a religious or other social group with novel beliefs and practices. Formerly used in the pejorative sense.).

    I’ve no clue about this woman that ‘says’ she belongs to the Islamic State but it is possible that this ‘person’ (female or male or more than one person collaborating) is a contrarian and noticed the pride and professionalism of the shared garden space (in the center of town) and knew that they could enjoy a bit of ‘widely splashed turmoil’ by imposing their mental condition on others then sit back and enjoy the show. The specific wording of the post seems to suggest the person could fit this scenario as well.

    In the USA we have a predominance of Blue Laws by the Christian branch. We also have communities in most major cities that have imposed their Hebrew Laws (Hasidic or Orthodox) with porcine free neighborhoods, dress codes, etc. In the USA, unlike Europe, the Islamic State has not gotten much of a toe-hold yet.

    There is a growing movement all over the world to abandon these Abrahamic Cults and rapidly slow the injection of their Bronze Age Religious Practices into more areas of our culture. Sometimes the backlash flares what looks like bigoted behavior when it is actually alarm that yet another precious freedom is about to be lost unless something is done and soon. The same is seen in negative reactions to anything Vegan. Everybody, including Vegans, hate Vegan Police or Bacon Police, or whatever strong-handed methods are used by these special interest groups to wield their influence to control the power of the state (or hold the state at bay) to impose religious (or Vegan) practices on others. Even the freedom to have a fun light hearted fake Yield Sign that promotes bacon worship (who doesn’t enjoy that blissful aroma of bacon sizzling away).

    Although not many would get the Death Race reference if the sign said: Vegan Bacon Ahead, 10 points! and a little squiggle of a tire track across a big piece of Sneakers Bacon. That could be funny too. The sign could be modified to show a bacon symbol and not use letters then there would be no argument because even Vegan Bacon uses the Bacon Symbol. Creativity could be applied here to not actually show submission to Sharia Law through creeping tolerance. With a little tinkering with the message the same fun spirit could be continued while playfully embracing the creeping tolerance problem while poking around it and not kneeling nose to the dirt down for it.

58. There is simply no basis for comparing this woman to those who commit war crimes, and anyone who does is blowing things waaaaay more out of proportion than the media. She’s clearly has more sense than those conservatards.

59. here’s a thought…people want freedom of speech…but then get all sorts of pissed off if that freedom involves saying something you don’t like…so are you really saying freedom of speech or are you saying free to think and speak like me? I think she should have a right to ask…and they should have a right to say yes or no. In this case they said yes….all exercising FREEDOM. and holds true if they said no….FREEDOM….embrace it!!!

60. @Nicole Diver; I don’t know if cross comment dialog is permitted.

    The reaction to people imposing ‘Political Correctness’ in social dialog is a vastly complex phenomenon. When someone identifies themselves as belonging to a sect of the Abrahamic Religions it says a great deal about them on many levels. What they have said or will say next likewise helps to fill in many more blanks.

    There doesn’t seem to be Hate Baiting going on when someone restates the Bacon Lady as an Islamist or belonging to the Islamic State (which Islamic people profess, the Bai‘at, their irrevocable oath of loyalty to Allah). However it was the Bacon Lady that said she is actively practicing Islamic Laws and like many Abrahamic Sects they profess that Heaven Hates Ham (bacon too including Pig’s Skin Footballs – or not depending on . . . ).

    Sometimes the members of any of the thousands of Abrahamic sects can become radicalized almost as easy as we dramatize in movies such as Manchurian Candidate (1962, 2004) or Telefon (1977). This sort or radicalization does not require the person to have been in an Abrahamic Sect but it helps to profile the susceptible personality type because it says a lot about the person’s mind. It is real and it can be done rather rapidly and have rather startlingly consistent outcomes.

    So it’s not name calling to state the label that the person themselves used to identify themselves to others. Likewise it is not so much inciting to hate when people rationally discuss the good clean fun to be had with this while also sometimes worrying out loud about current events by others that also identify themselves as belonging to the Islamic State. The Islamic Bacon Lady and Islamic Terrorists are not tied together just discussed. The linkage is only juxtaposition not intentionally harmful to The Bacon Lady or others of any Religious Sect.

    It is called Social Dialog to help others see things in various points of view and examine and dissect the news and political events peacefully.

61. Wow, I moved to Vermont because I thought y’all would be a tolerant lot. More open-minded than the rednecks I used to live near.

    But I was great friends with an ethnically Albanian family who were casually Muslim. They taught me to make yogurt, and they were very happy to coexist with the predominantly Catholic region. I was raised Roman-Catholic.

    The amount of hatred towards Islam I am seeing on this page makes me very sad.

62. Hey Ashton MacKenzie . . . the inability to see your own hypocrisy is mind-boggling. You began your post with “WOW – I moved to Vermont . . . ” That in itself speaks volumes. I was BORN in Vermont. Real Vermonters are sick and tired of flatlanders moving up here to get away from the city and then when they get here they complain about everything and want to change it until it is no longer rural but instead resembles the city they were escaping. You mention tolernance? How much tolerance do you have for traditional rural VT pursuits like hunting, fishing, trapping, logging, snowmobiling, etc, etc, etc. Are you the type of flatlander who moves in next to a shooting range that’s been in existence since before mommy and daddy conceived you – and then gets all mad and tries to close it down because you’re “scared” or you don’t like the noise??? YOU are the one who’s intolerant Ashton.

63. I am offended by women wearing hijabs (although some women can be very stylish, for sure)… How about we ban hijabs in Winooski?

64. I am offended by hijab’s, burqa’s and Muslims slaughtering others for a million and one reasons.

65. Liberals and political correctness are destroying this once great country

66. This country now panders to the minorities, and f the rest of us.

67. Really, 31 languages spoken in k-12. ? This is not an America I recognize ! Until all Muslims denounce terrorist acts they can kiss my bacon !!!!

68. Having grown up in a business, I really understand and sympathize with Marc Dysinger as well – and even support his decision. And having (with a heavy heart) left Burlington 16 years ago, I can’t say that I’m fully up-to-date on the changes in Winooski. However, the problem is what happens when decisions like Marc’s are multiplied hundreds of times. Whether it’s through violence, demanding accommodations for sharia law application, shout-downs at forums for “co-existence” — or calling for bacon signs to be taken down and non-Muslim symbols to be removed, Muslims are aiming for world domination on their terms. What we see as mutual respect and good-neighborliness is perceived by them as yielding and deferential — qualities that aren’t exactly valued in their world. It is painful saying this; as an Orthodox Jew living in Burlington, I was never offended by the majority culture, and loved the opportunity in the Burlington area to meet and learn from a variety of people. However, living outside the Chittenden County bubble, I see how important each individual decision such as Marc’s can be in safeguarding what we cherish or losing it all.

69. Ashton MacKenzie and Vernon D. Cain Jr., I have a son-in-law that likes to talk down to people just like you two do. He’s a Meat head also .

70. “Citing Winooski’s demographic diversity — 31 languages are spoken in the local K-12 school — she requested that it come down”.

    There’s the problem, ALL should speak English Only. Don’t like it ? Leave.

71. What is diversity? Diversity means you TOLERATE people who ARE NOT LIKE YOU. Thus, it means if some people do something you don’t like, YOU TOLERATE IT! Thus, if some people eat bacon and advertise it, YOU TOLERATE IT!. Demanding that the sign be taken down is a sign of extreme and severe intolerance of anyone who doesn’t live as a Muslim. A tolerant, open-minded person would allow that sign to remain. A bigoted, narrow-minded, intolerant person would demand the sign be taken down and use any argument, even a hypocritical citation of “diversity” to rationalize their bigotry and intolerance.

    Diversity means you tolerate people who are not like you. That also extends to Muslims tolerating non-Muslims.

72. @Roy Olsen – There is a thin line between talking down and trying to be understood clearly.

    I would never depreciate the love of a child of mine publicly such as you have by speaking ill of them or their family members like you did when you said, “I have a son-in-law that likes to talk down to people . . . ” My condolences to your family for your unsupportive public behaviors.

    Additionally if you note what was Posted by Bryan J. Maloney on 08/31/2014 at 1:06 PM – He nails it exactly. The tolerant, kind, community oriented, decent hard working folks of Winooski served by Sneakers Bistro are being imposed on by the intolerance veiled in a burka that is shouting ‘tolerance! tolerance! tolerance!’ while spewing hate of the other community members to enjoy their choices. It is not Tolerance to Go-Along to Get Along with Intolerance! More on this in a moment.

    In another post I pointed out, for health reasons, I’m Vegan but that does not make me a Vegan Swat-Squad that drives an MRAP. I tolerate others in their choices. I find that there are those that poke good fun of Vegans. However there are many more that spew the same flavor of ‘tolerance’ for ‘Meat Eaters’ (when they intend hate of Vegans) or bristle their discomfort with the Vegans. Also many have been heavily propagandized by the SAD (Standard American Diet) Promoters; Meat and Dairy Producers Associations.

    The idea of the Muslim State being ‘just another religion’ is almost preposterous if you put it into perspective of the consistent goal of implementing Shira Law on everyone once they have social control of an area. The countries where you can see this play out the actual tolerance of Muslims of other religions is almost shocking if you look at the statistics once the population of Muslims rises above 50% and they implement Sharia Law the percentage rapidly rises to over 98%. It is not a religion of tolerance as we know tolerance.

    We don’t really know if this ‘post from a woman that is a member of the Islamist State asking for tolerance’ is an individual, several individuals, or just a troll. However we do know that all over Europe, South America, North America (including Canada, except Greenland) where ever the Islamist State has a majority population center they begin very soon after to force their intolerance on others through Shria Law vs Secular Court and Municipal Law that protects individual freedoms. Once Sharia Law is implemented it is no longer about Individual Liberty and Freedom in a Supportive Tolerant Society but submission and obedience to the Islamist State and the Islamist State Political Objectives.

    This Sharia Law when discussed is not fear mongering but simple hard reality. The Sharia Laws impose death for apostates, if you in your exercise of free speech like in this post the penalty is death, the penalty for so many simple human behaviors suddenly become Victimless Capital Crimes, many simple infractions are penalized with brutally grotesque Human Torture or Dismemberment (Whip-to-Death, buried to your shoulders and Stoned-to-Death, Hands Severed, Heads Severed, etc). Most of the kind and gentle people in the Islamist State don’t like these brutally primitive un-elected Sharia Magistrates imposing these Bronze Age Tribal Superstitions on others but are powerless to protest less they be labeled apostates.

73. Correction – Many apologies to Roy Olsen . . .

    It was Bid D that Posted on 08/29/2014 at 4:12 AM and said, “I have a son-in-law that likes to talk down to people just like you two do. He’s a Meat head also .” and thus Bid D not Roy Olsen that I offer my condolences to his/her family for their unsupportive public behavior of his daughter and her family members.

    Again sorry about Roy Olsen I didn’t see that the Name is close above the post but the name slightly further from the text of the post but below it is the one that authored the post.

74. the vegan woman from a Muslim household needs to accept that some, if not most, of us are neither vegans nor live in Muslim households. and we like to eat bacon. and we have a right to be served that at restaurants that serve bacon. also, within the context of Vermont law (regarding billboards and advertising), the restaurant that serves us bacon has every right to advertise that fact. she can be offended if she wants to be, just as she, perhaps wearing a hijab, might be offended by an non-Muslim woman wearing a miniskirt. fine, be offended. but that other woman has a right (at least in Western societies) to wear a mini and i get to eat bacon and Sneakers gets to advertise that they serve bacon. this Muslim woman has no right to insist that they pull the sign.

    that said, the other folks posting nasty anti-Islam (which is also anti-Semitic) need to lay off. one woman’s inappropriate extension of her own offense taken to infringe on a restaurant’s rights does not define an entire group and offending the entire group in response is, itself, at least as wrong.

75. 31 languages are spoken at the high school? how about speaking english and have the others speak english too. let muslims assimilate to our culture, and not force us to assimilate to theirs.
    if she does not like the bacon, then dont go there to buy food.

76. There is no way I would eat at this restaurant again! Bowing down to a Muslim is disrespectful to the American People! I would smear bacon grease all over her face! You people make me SICK!

77. the Jewish people don’t eat pork and you don’t here them complaining that it offends them ,so to me its just a ploy to see how far they can go and get away with.

78. The Woman had the right to complain about the sign. The Restaurant had the right to take the sign down. Everyone has the right to like it or not and voice their opinion. Hopefully it always remains so.

79. Thats the ” cant offend anyone” North for you. Try it here in Texas and we will hang a “kiss our butt” sign along side it..

80. The absolute very least you can do when you come to this country and get free housing free food and freedom is to learn the English language . Is that asking too much ? If the answer is yes then go back to third world hellhole that you came from !

81. The restaurant is run by idiots. Kowtowing to 1 person is ridiculous. We are free to advertise our products and if you don’t want them just don’t buy them. Why does everything have to turn into a big issue?

82. Awww..she’s offended…sucks to be her, just because she’s “offended” doesn’t make her right, just selfish.
    Things should only be the way she wants them to be in life..really..seriously?

83. I would suggest that the people who run this town read these comments. How many comments are congratulating the restaurant/ town for being sensitive? I have yet to see a single one.

    How naïve are you? This is NOT about bacon! It’s the first tiny little step that Muslims use to chip away at civilized societies until finally your beautiful little town is a Sharia ghetto, where women are OWNED.

    We Americans feel that it’s great to live in a town with diverse communities, even if it’s not always comfortable. Isn’t that what Winooski City Manager Katherine Decarreau says?

    It’s a damn shame that the Muslims in your town do not feel the same way! WE accept them, but they CHANGE us. Well done Winooski City! Well done indeed!

84. I have read all of these comments and I have a few thoughts. Our beloved America is tolerant and respect for all religions is part of this. However, when there is a reaction against a “bacon” sign….no one asked her to eat it, we need to be alarmed.
    I agree with the person who said that Muslims want all of us to be Muslims…and we are seeing little by little the methods by which they are accomplishing this. Yet, have we heard an outcry from moderate Muslims denouncing the horrific crimes against men, women, and children? What does that tell you, my fellow Americans. The beheadings of the journalists, the killing of the innocents,
    I think that this is far more “offensive” than a “bacon” sign.
    Unless we wake up, far more is going to happen than already has in this country.
    I, for one, would like to see the restaurant put their sign back up, but alas, it probably won’t happen.

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