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submitted 20 hours ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

A man with a facial disfigurement says he was asked to leave a restaurant in south London because staff said he was "scaring the customers". 

Oliver Bromley has Neurofibromatosis Type 1, a genetic condition that causes non-cancerous tumours to grow on his nerves.

Speaking to the BBC, he said when he had gone to place an order at a restaurant in Camberwell, staff told him there had been complaints about him.

"It's a horrible thing to happen. I took it very personally on the day," he said.

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[-] [email protected] 35 points 9 hours ago

They don't want to look at that guy's ugly face? I bet it looks nicer than their ugly minds.

[-] [email protected] 107 points 14 hours ago

I’ll take a restaurant full of disfigured people over 1 misbehaving toddler.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 2 hours ago

Plot twist, the restaurant full of disfigured people are toddlers.

[-] [email protected] 21 points 7 hours ago

As a parent of younger kids, we're sorry. We come armed with as many activities as possible and will take our kids outside if they're too excited until food gets to the table. That will help them focus on eating.

We very rarely went out to eat when they were toddlers due to fear of our kids bothering others and understand that our desire to experience some level of normalcy shouldn't come at the expense of others.

All that said, if the parents are trying to keep their kids occupied, please extend some grace. Being a parent can be extremely isolating and we're simply trying to pretend like we still get to do normal things once in a while.

[-] [email protected] 11 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

This is fine, and we thank you for your efforts.

What were talking about here is a rogue crotch spawn running around or under tables, occupied or not, and generally acting like they're in their own living room rather than a shared community space.

Honestly IMO if you can keep them at the table, I can put up with the noise. Sure, it's annoying, but so are kids. It's a package deal. And everyone was a kid at one point in time and therefore has no excuse to complain too loudly. That's reserved for when I have to drag a screeching rug rodent out from under my chair and haul it back to the absentee sperm and egg donors.

[-] [email protected] 8 points 4 hours ago

Haha, our kids do go under our table at times but they know not to go under other people's tables.

I don't have much tolerance for absentee parenting either, especially if the kids wind up seeking attention from others, by say going under someone else's table, because they're not getting enough attention from their own parents.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 9 hours ago

just... put him on his good side.

/s

[-] [email protected] 1 points 7 hours ago
[-] [email protected] 1 points 6 hours ago

i mean, that's one solution i guess.

[-] [email protected] 49 points 15 hours ago

See, Britain just needs Ugly Laws, like what America had up until 1974! Then they could just have the guy arrested!

In all seriousness what the fuck. What goes through a person’s head that they think treating someone that way is even remotely okay?

[-] [email protected] 100 points 17 hours ago

I wouldn’t want to look at that while I was eating… SO I WOULD AVOID STARING AT HIM. Complaining about the guy is not the answer. Self control and respect are.

[-] [email protected] 70 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago)

The article says he thinks there wasn’t enough time for someone to complain, the restaurant staff was using it as an excuse.

“He said: "After entering I noticed a cash-only sign, so went straight back outside to withdraw my money.

"I went back into the restaurant to place an order, and they told me to 'please leave', because in their words I was 'scaring the customers', and there had been complaints about me."

He added: "There had not been enough time between the time I had been there first, and the time I went back, for anyone to have made a complaint about me so obviously the restaurant staff were not happy with the way I looked." “

[-] [email protected] 17 points 15 hours ago

Yeah, I read the article. I was just imagining a hypothetical situation where he and I were eating in the same restaurant.

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[-] [email protected] 190 points 18 hours ago

He said they had told him that although it was a hate crime, it was "unlikely" officers could pursue it further.

That's messed up.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 4 hours ago

The paragraph after is golden:

The Met confirmed to the BBC that officers had visited Mr Bromley about the incident and that although no arrests had been made, the force took "reports of hate crime seriously".

[-] [email protected] 116 points 17 hours ago

Welcome to British policing.

"We have determined that this was indeed a hate crime, and therefore we'll be doing nothing. But if it happens two more times we'll congratulate them on the hat trick and offer to enroll them in the police academy."

[-] [email protected] 26 points 16 hours ago

America learned everything we know from England.

[-] [email protected] 13 points 9 hours ago

Living in Europe I have to constantly remind ppl that American racism is just European racism with better access to guns

[-] [email protected] 8 points 13 hours ago

I mean, the sad part is that Britain policing started out with some really good ideas. It's actually worth reading Robert Peel's principles of policing by consent sometime. They are an incredible blueprint for how to create a police force that serves the people.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 15 hours ago

Like taxation without representation

[-] [email protected] 84 points 18 hours ago

I know judging people on their appearances isn't right, and he shouldn't have been kicked out regardless of what he looked like.

... but it doesn't even look that bad? Like, "I've got one eye and a skin condition", is that really what the restaurant is willing to kick people out for?

Hope he gets some sort of justice out of this.

[-] [email protected] 120 points 19 hours ago

Then don't look at him? The man was just trying to eat. Poor guy.

[-] [email protected] 11 points 9 hours ago

I feel so bad for this guy. Imagine the shit he has to put up with all the time. I used to work with a lady who had a big tumor on her face. She was so sweet, but I'm sure she had to put up with all kinds of horrible shit. I honestly really liked her. I would have asked her out if I hadn't been in a relationship because we got along really well. I don't care if you have a big tumor on your face. I'll get used to it after I've seen you for more than a minute or two.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 6 hours ago

Its that simple. I dont have a hard time ignoring other tables at a restaurant unless they are obnoxiously noisy. How about ya cunts just carry on with your lives and be happy that you dont have to live with that.

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[-] [email protected] 92 points 20 hours ago

Some people are just determined to make it difficult to believe humanity is worth saving.

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[-] [email protected] 61 points 19 hours ago

Whats the UKs disability rights laws look like? Hope he takes em to task for their discrimination.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 hour ago

There's a reason this event has made it into the news.

[-] [email protected] 12 points 15 hours ago

On paper, the Equality Act 2010 is great in a bunch of ways. In practice, it's exceedingly difficult for the average person to pursue justice through it. I imagine the barrier is similar to how it works in the US, except the UK has way less of a litigation culture.

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[-] [email protected] 22 points 18 hours ago

That's fucked.

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this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2024
438 points (98.9% liked)

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