Proposed strip club to nuns: Don't impose your religious beliefs on us
The owner of a soon-to-be-built strip club in the western suburb of Stone Park has this to say to a group of neighboring nuns who don't like his plans: Mind your own business.
“As a legal tax-paying citizen of this community, we ask only to be judged fairly by what we have done and not through the recent religious fervor,†Bob Itzkow, the club's owner, said in statement released Friday. “In reference to our non-tax-paying neighbors, we ask that you treat us as we have treated you, by not trying to unduly disturb us by imposing your religious beliefs on us or others. All throughout our plans for this project we've followed the letter and spirit of the law.â€
The Missionary Sisters of Saint Charles Borromeo, who occupy the property next to the club, have moral objections to the project and have raised questions about whether the rules were followed properly by Stone Park officials during the 2010 approval process.
Stone Park Mayor Beniamino Mazulla has said everything was done legally, even though he's not personally a big fan of the project.
On Friday, one of the nuns, Sister Marissonia Daltoe, responded to Itzkow's statement this way: “To me personally, this is not a matter of imposing religious beliefs — it's a matter of defending our moral Christian principles of the community at large.â€
Daltoe said the sisters are currently “in a moment of reflection†regarding any future efforts to fight the club.
“We are thinking,†she said. “We are seeing what can be done.â€
I don't disagree with the right of the club owner to locate next to a convent. I disagree with the wisdom of it. By building beside a convent, the owner is asking for trouble. Public officials and politicians will spout off about the evils of strip clubs and will propose legislation to regulate the fun out of them or prohibit them completely. Many citizens who don't care about strip clubs generally will now object to them because they are offending nuns. This story has already made the national news on TV, and you can be sure that commentators are not taking the strip club's side.
This one owner, by choosing a location that will offend many people, will increase the public's dislike of strip clubs and make it more likely that restrictive laws and regulations will be enacted.