Bloomington, Indiana – For almost two years, McKinley Minniefield has been the proprietor of the Fairfax Bar and Grill in southern Monroe County.
“The lake life down here is the best in the state by far, so we really have an amazing atmosphere here by far, especially in the summer. That’s what’s drawing me to this place,” said Minniefield.
Not everyone has been happy with the current atmosphere. Some of Minniefield’s customers became irate after a social media photo showing transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney sipping on a Bud Light went viral.
“Very vulgar speech indeed,” said Minniefield.
“We’re aware of the controversy surrounding Bud Light. We support all people in this establishment no matter who you are or how you identify. We will continue to sell Anheuser-Busch products because we don’t care who they make special cans for. If you are intolerant of other humans of any kind, we ask that you keep your opinions to yourself. Should you feel the need to discuss this matter in public, you will be asked to leave. We will not tolerate intolerance here.” Fairfax Bar & Grill Facebook Page
“We were just dealing with a lot of hate speech, and people being uncomfortable. My bartenders were aggravated and we had customers that were leaving,” he said.
More than 500 people left comments on the page, with some accusing Minniefield of intolerance for not allowing opposing viewpoints.
“We’re a local dive bar in southern Indiana, there’s a lot of ideas that tossed around here, but I’ve never dealt with anything recently that was so overtly hateful.” he said.
Minniefield continues by saying that since the incident began, he hasn’t noticed a decline in business.