Women's Beer Forum (Eagle Rock Brewery) Needs Your Help

Discussion in 'Pacific' started by Todd, Oct 17, 2018.

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  1. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,518) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    STAFF Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah

    https://www.gofundme.com/women039s-beer-forum

    --- From the GoFundMe page

    Back in 2009 when we opened Eagle Rock Brewery, I noticed that the few women who were visiting our tasting room and attending beer events throughout town were often pigeon-holed by their male counterparts into drinking only specific beer styles. And when women asked me (a fellow woman behind the bar) about beer-style recommendations, some men would interject by sharing what they thought women should drink. After seeing this so frequently I felt compelled to create an environment that was less male-dominated than anything else in the beer world. The Women’s Beer Forum was created to serve as an educational platform for more women interested in learning about beer, tasting through different beer styles, and being with a community of other women who enjoy good beer. On occasion, we would have men attend, present, and even participate in the discussions. It was simply named “Women’s Beer Forum” because I wanted to create a comfortable, safe environment for more women to actively join the conversation about craft beer. Most every other beer bar or beer event that I attended had predominantly men in attendance, and I felt there was a true need to balance the gender scale. Thus, the Women’s Beer Forum has been recurring monthly since March 2011.

    In November of 2017, we received an email from an individual who claims to be a men’s rights activist. He reported that he emailed our general email line and was informed by one of our staff that the upcoming Women’s Beer Forum was for ‘women only.’ He then proceeded to demand thousands of dollars from us, while also threatening a discrimination complaint through the government if we refused to pay. Since he had never purchased admission through our online sales portal, we were unaware about his request to attend the Women’s Beer Forum. We apologized about the miscommunication and offered him an opportunity to learn about the same flight of beers provided at the event for the same ticket price. He declined the educational opportunity and instead filed a claim through the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH). After 7 months of waiting for a response, DFEH notified us of their decision that there was reasonable cause to open a case. Our only options: Pay a settlement to him or defend ourselves in a potential lawsuit that they would file on his behalf.

    Looking at this situation from a moral standpoint, our decision seemed easy...We defend what we had worked so hard to create! But another question arose: Were we defending our beloved Eagle Rock Brewery or the Women’s Beer Forum? The sad truth we faced is that while defending ourselves against litigation it would mean risking the very brewery itself.

    Career plaintiffs in such cases like these are able to make a living off of filing these types of complaints because most businesses choose to preserve the financial security of the company and pay them off. Career plaintiffs, similar to the “men’s rights activist” we are up against, can make comfortable livings by getting paid out through exploiting loopholes in legislation. All they do is fill out a couple forms per case and wait for checks from their complaints to start rolling in.

    It kills me to say that we ended up settling. It’s something we had to do in order to protect the business (Eagle Rock Brewery), our home, the livelihoods of our team, and the investments made by friends and family who believe in us. At this point, we still have to come up with the funds for our legal fees and the settlement amount.

    Further, we truly believe that justice hasn’t been achieved and the fight isn’t over. To prevent this from happening again in the future, we are also raising funds to build awareness throughout the beer and small business communities. Our goal is to work on getting legislators to amend the Unruh Act and eliminate the ongoing abuse of this law. As much as we would love to simply put this situation behind us, we very strongly feel there needs to be more awareness about these “men’s rights activists” who target and unfairly take advantage of women’s groups and small businesses. The more people who know about this can protect themselves, their friends, and businesses from such fraudulent claims, the fewer opportunity extortionists have of continuing to make a living off of it!

    We are asking for your help. Please consider making a contribution to our campaign, sharing our story, being a unified voice with us, or just stopping by Eagle Rock Brewery to give us a hug or high-five. Thank you all for the support!

    ###
     
    #1 Todd, Oct 17, 2018
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  2. Black_Rider

    Black_Rider Pooh-Bah (2,019) Mar 26, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah

    Wow, that really sucks. Feel for them

    Thanks for passing this along
     
    #2 Black_Rider, Oct 17, 2018
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  3. grilledsquid

    grilledsquid Initiate (0) Jul 10, 2009 California
    Trader

    Probably a proud boys member.
     
    #3 grilledsquid, Oct 17, 2018
  4. Black_Rider

    Black_Rider Pooh-Bah (2,019) Mar 26, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah

    I wouldn't be surprised
     
    #4 Black_Rider, Oct 17, 2018
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  5. anvindr

    anvindr Zealot (608) Jan 6, 2016 California
    Trader

    seems to me like it would be much easier to comply with the law than change it. if the staff member had not said "men are not allowed to attend" then there would be no problem here. IANAL but I think fighting AGAINST anti discrimination laws is throwing the baby out with the bathwater
     
    #5 anvindr, Oct 17, 2018
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  6. Black_Rider

    Black_Rider Pooh-Bah (2,019) Mar 26, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah

    where is the information that a staff member said that?
     
    #6 Black_Rider, Oct 17, 2018
  7. anvindr

    anvindr Zealot (608) Jan 6, 2016 California
    Trader

    "In November of 2017, we received an email from an individual who claims to be a men’s rights activist. He reported that he emailed our general email line and was informed by one of our staff that the upcoming Women’s Beer Forum was for ‘women only.’ "

    in the post. I would think that if this was false then they would have told us that.
     
    #7 anvindr, Oct 17, 2018
  8. BreweryRun

    BreweryRun Initiate (0) Feb 22, 2013 California

    They don't deserve legal action for that minor mistake. The guy is a jerk who was looking for a reason to sue.
     
    #8 BreweryRun, Oct 17, 2018
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  9. Black_Rider

    Black_Rider Pooh-Bah (2,019) Mar 26, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah

    yeah, that was not the best move if a staff member said that.

    I always remember hearing that they were open to men coming. but, yeah, it's called Women's Beer Forum. arguing that men should be allowed to go because it's discrimination is a pretty sad sack argument, and one that I would expect from someone involved with mens groups like proud boys

    it's like arguing that white people being excluded from Black History Month is discriminatory
     
    #9 Black_Rider, Oct 17, 2018
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  10. anvindr

    anvindr Zealot (608) Jan 6, 2016 California
    Trader

    no. its like arguing that white people being excluded from a black history month EVENT is discriminatory (it is)

    It is not for me to say whether they "deserved legal action" for that minor mistake and its really not clear how much of a minor mistake it was. I am just trying to say that fighting against the Unruh act is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. That act is very important for people of all demographics
     
    #10 anvindr, Oct 18, 2018
  11. grilledsquid

    grilledsquid Initiate (0) Jul 10, 2009 California
    Trader

    The thing is, Black History Month events, or any other events that highlight minorities or marginalized groups, aren’t meant to be exclusionary. They’re meant to serve as a time and place to celebrate cultures and histories that are usually ignored by society as a whole. Similarly, or at least the way I understand it, the Women’s Beer Forum isn’t setting out to exclude men. It just wants to create a platform where women can discuss and explore their needs within the broader context of a (white) male dominated culture. Nothing discriminatory about that. According to the article, staff miscommunicated the group’s intent, but we don’t know the circumstances behind the discussion. It’s possible that this MRA douchebag was using language with the intent of triggering the kind of response he got. Who knows. I do agree that maybe starting a campaign to amend the Unruh Act wouldn’t be the correct course of action at this point, but I’d like to see the proposal first.
     
    #11 grilledsquid, Oct 18, 2018
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  12. anvindr

    anvindr Zealot (608) Jan 6, 2016 California
    Trader

    nowhere did I say that the event is discriminatory or bad. Class based exclusion is discriminatory and bad
     
    #12 anvindr, Oct 18, 2018
  13. Black_Rider

    Black_Rider Pooh-Bah (2,019) Mar 26, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah

    technically you are correct about the law, but it is still a really lame argument to suggest that Eagle Rock wants to eradicate laws that prevent discrimination. arguing that an underrepresented group who experiences discrimination shouldn't be allowed to have their own group because it's discrimination is troll level logic.

    the lawyers for the Westboro Baptist Church are technically correct, even though common sense shows that what they are doing is lame. so, I guess you win?

    in summary, you are correct about Eagle Rock technically being in the wrong in this case, but at the same time aligning yourself with a highly lame argument that, most would agree, is just kind of dumb
     
    #13 Black_Rider, Oct 18, 2018
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  14. anvindr

    anvindr Zealot (608) Jan 6, 2016 California
    Trader

    they can encourage the group to be women oriented all they want. I am a fan.

    however, there is a distinction between a targeted event and an exclusive event. Thats all im saying. It doesnt have to be dramatic. Your insults are pretty shallow and pathetic imo and bringing up the WBC is pretty fucking out there

    I'm gonna need a 24 hour notice before I continue to talk to you Black Rider.

    how hard is it for you guys to understand the phrase "throwing the baby out with the bathwater?"

    I want to throw out the bathwater too. youre arguing with the wrong person...............
     
    #14 anvindr, Oct 19, 2018
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  15. deadwolfbones

    deadwolfbones Pundit (795) Jun 21, 2014 Oregon

    #15 deadwolfbones, Oct 19, 2018
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  16. Black_Rider

    Black_Rider Pooh-Bah (2,019) Mar 26, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah

    WBC are a bunch of clowns and trolls, and so are members of "mens rights" groups
     
    #16 Black_Rider, Oct 19, 2018
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  17. Black_Rider

    Black_Rider Pooh-Bah (2,019) Mar 26, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah

    #17 Black_Rider, Oct 19, 2018
  18. SDReaper

    SDReaper Pooh-Bah (2,174) Aug 15, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    #18 SDReaper, Oct 19, 2018
  19. UnknownKoger

    UnknownKoger Pooh-Bah (1,895) Jul 9, 2010 California
    Pooh-Bah

    "On occasion, we would have men attend, present, and even participate in the discussions."

    Some staffer fucked up and the guy decided to sue. Offered to right the wrong, he chose to turn down their offer. He's a career plaintiff like those people who go to buildings with a tape measure to see if they're 100% ADA compliant, and if they're off by the slightest inch, they sue.
     
    #19 UnknownKoger, Oct 19, 2018
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  20. SoCalBeerIdiot

    SoCalBeerIdiot Pooh-Bah (2,191) Mar 10, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Did anyone ever confirm that someone really told him it was "women only?" I'm a customer service manager and I can tell you customers lie their asses off if they think it'll get them something free or cheaper or faster or whatever. Thankfully we record all our calls and keep track of all emails and online chats so we can at least tell if they're being truthful.

    This is this guy's "job." For all we know, he was never actually told that but if he claims he was to enough different women's groups, eventually he'll find one that can't deny it and he has himself a potential target.

    #$%@ this guy.
     
    #20 SoCalBeerIdiot, Oct 25, 2018
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