What was meant to be a quick order at a McDonald’s in Ang Mo Kio turned into a hurtful incident for Winona and her girlfriend.
Winona recently recounted the story on her Facebook page, sounding clearly offended by a McDonald’s staff, of whom she accused to be a malicious person. What happened was that Winona and her girlfriend Germaine had gone to the outlet to order some takeaway — but apparently, they were greeted by a cashier who seemed flabbergasted that homosexual people actually exist. Her Facebook post has since been pulled down.
McDonald’s contacted Winona about the incident, and presumably, they’re working things out.
Truly in the wrong it is for the cashier to intrude into the customer’s personal lives, but a particular impassioned commenter accused her of overreacting to the incident.
On one hand, it is sorta true that a public rant on Facebook (that could jeopardize the livelihood of one staff who didn’t know better) might have been disproportionate. Sure, one needless question — “Are y’all gay?” — may be all it takes to ruin someone’s day, but to be fair there was no discrimination actively carried out. They still got served and weren’t kicked out of the restaurant for being gay.
On the other hand, the McDonald’s staff was indeed in the wrong as a service professional — she had no right whatsoever to pose the question, which would obviously cause discomfort to the couple. Little slights like these need to be brought out in the open so that folks can confront these issues — however small — head on to bring about some change in perception.
A little kindness might go a long way — for both parties.
Editor’s Note: Article updated to remove surnames for privacy reasons.
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