Sneakers Bistro, a Winooski breakfast hot-spot, is one of several businesses that has voluntarily maintained a small garden on a plot of publicly owned land to help beautify the city. As part of “Operation Bloom,” participating businesses are allowed to post a small advertising sign in their garden. Sneakers decided to have fun with its sign at the bottom of the Winooski traffic circle.
“Yield for Sneakers Bacon,” it read.
Not everyone got the joke.
Last week, a Winooski woman who identified herself as a “vegan and member of a Muslim household,” posted a notice to Front Porch Forum, saying of the bacon sign: “Its insensitive and offensive to those who do not consume pork.”
Citing Winooski’s demographic diversity — 31 languages are spoken in the local K-12 school — she requested that it come down.
“Although I love Sneakers and the delicious food they serve, I strongly believe this sign is unnecessary, offensive, insensitive, and should therefore be taken down,” she wrote.
For a couple days, a largely respectful debate ensued on the online forum page, with some posters saying the complainer was being overly sensitive.
“While you do have the right to express your opinion, you don’t have the right to not be offended,” one Winooski resident wrote. “There are things throughout our environment that offend all of us. It happens.”
Last Friday, Sneakers owner Marc Dysinger announced that the bacon sign would come down, saying he didn’t want to offend anyone.
“We regret any harm or damage caused & the sign has been removed,” Dysinger wrote on the Front Porch Forum. “Our goal is to bring joy to Winooski as a community gathering place — never a source of stress or drama. We always appreciate any advice or input to help us achieve that goal. Thank you neighbors!”
The woman posted a follow-up note on Front Porch Forum, saying that she had received several ugly e-mails attacking her position after her initial post. People accusing Sneakers of being overly PC began posting nasty messages on the bistro’s Facebook page. WPTZ broke the story of the burgeoning controversy, and some conservative media outlets picked it up.
The restaurant made a plea for peace on its Facebook page:
“We are here to serve people BREAKFAST, not politics. We removed the sign that was located on public property as a gesture of respect for our diverse community. There were also concerns raised about safety. Removing it was not a difficult decision. We still love bacon. We still love eggs. Please have the political conversation elsewhere.”
The nasty comments continued to pile up online, prompting Sneakers to take down its Facebook page. Winooski police felt compelled to keep a watchful eye on the bistro over the weekend. And a new Facebook page, Tell Sneakers Bistro How You Really Feel, gave those outraged by the sign’s removal a forum to share their thoughts, which, earlier this morning, included a cartoon of a Muslim apparently getting raped by a centaur-like creature, and an image of American journalist James Foley in the moments before he was beheaded by an ISIS terrorist. (Those images appear to have been removed.)
But a slew of anti-Muslim posts (the nuance of the woman identifying herself as a “vegan and member of a Muslim household” has long since been discarded) remain.
A sampling we feel comfortable publishing includes:
“Stop pandering to Muslims! This is still America! WE like our democracy served with a side of bacon!!!!”
“Stop caving to Muslim demands. We are Americans. We need to stand for our rights.”
“What a shame an AMERICAN business is bowing down just to keep a bunch of dang muslims happy. We eat pork and if muslims don’t like it then there are plenty of countries they can go live in. Pack up and MOVE.”
Dysinger, visibly weary at the restaurant today, declined to comment.
In City Hall, where officials are starting to receive a trickle of anti-Sneakers comments, Winooski City Manager Katherine Decarreau tried to make sense of the controversy.
“Diverse communities are not comfortable places and conversations have to happen that pull people away from their notions of what is right and wrong,” said Decarreau, a city native. “Sneakers … made a tough call in an attempt to be good neighbors, and I respect them for that. This is crazy. It’s a bacon sign. We have people in this city from every religious background, and with no basic religion. And we can live respectfully — we have for years.”
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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
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….
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!