Image isn't a public good
Abercrombie & Fitch is being sued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for not hiring a Muslim teenager because she wears a hijab. A garment that doesn't fit in with the 'image' that A&F is trying to portray while selling its branded style of clothing.
In these multicultural, omnipotent public sphere times a private company is a fantasy. Only after government imposed laws and regulations have been put in place can you legally trade. Playing by their rules not the consumers'. Any person living in the real world is aware of the 'image' that A&F tries to portray. It's preppy and extremely homo-erotic. Given that their advertising is practically everywhere you'd have thought it would be noticeable that it's not aimed at certain market sections. Yes A&F is exclusionary: they wilfully choose not to sell to certain parts of the marketplace. Why then should they be forced to employ someone who, let's face it, isn't part of their ideal customer base?
Private companies have a right to choose. They should be able to decide based on any reason as to why they don't employ someone, be it religion, sex, race, skills, education, attitude etc. When a person isn't chosen for a job they have been discriminated against, that's an unfortunate consequence of competition. It happens on a daily basis across the globe. There is nothing that can be done to stop people being different from one another. It's those differences and their continual impact that makes life interesting. Cases like this and others retard our individuality and seek to impose a blanket of sameness upon us all. In the meantime let people discriminate. Without it we end up with burqua'd waitresses in Hooters...
