iron horse is a sports bar in very touristy china town, not really fit for porn. this GM seems to tihnk there is some justification by comparing it to patron reactions of intesne fights...sporting matches can be expected at a sports bar and nipples can be expected at a strip club. obviously his logice is flawed as well as his management abilities.
I get the impression that the patron did not talk to anyone at the bar at the time. That would have been my first step. It's admittedly in poor taste, but most choices made at a bar after midnight are done so in poor taste. If no one complains, the management has no real way of knowing that people are offended. Personally, I frequent Iron Horse and have found Daniel and everyone else that works there to be exceptionally nice and accommodating. I've also never had a problem asking one of the bartenders to change the channel. They basically always do it (you might have problems if you want to watch Jeopardy when a hockey game is one.) They even left Buffy the Vampire Slayer on at one of the corner TVs so my friends and I could ogle David Boreanaz (also shirtless.)
It is not the place of the staff of any bar to decide what is or is not appropriate for adults' eyes. They have a very tight ID check at the door, so presumably everyone there was 21+. If someone of that age cannot handle seeing breasts (yet apparently can't keep their eyes off of them??), maybe there are larger issues to deal with....and be sure to never go to Europe b/c you would probably be pretty offended just by their TV commercials. The bottom line here is that it doesn't sound like she asked anyone to turn it off. I spend a lot of time at Iron Horse and I know every person who works there. There is not a single staff member who would not change the channel if someone requested it. All of the men who work there are also extremely respectful toward women, so I cannot imagine they would have turned a deaf ear had they known someone was so offended.
GIRLS GONE WILD IS PORN? MS. KEMPS EITHER NEED TO GET OUT MORE OR HER FOLKS NEED TO BRING HER UP TO SPEED. WHILE I UNDERSTAND THE PREMISE OF HER COMPLAINT I QUESTION WHY WAS SHE UNCOMFORTABLE. THEY WAS SHOWING PARTS OF A FEMALE BODY. PROBABLY BOOBIES. THEY SHOW BOOBIES ON NAT GEO, WOMEN BREAST FEED IN PUBLIC AND WAIT TIL THE HEAT/HUMIDITY HIT IN AUGUST! NOW IF THEY WERE SHOWING MAN PARTS UP AGAINST LADY PARTS THEN SHE WOULD HAVE A LEGIT COMPLAINT.
I would consider Iron Horse less a sports bar than a bar that encourages people to gather together for whatever reason and drink good beer in a laid back environment. I have noticed Girls Gone Wild on the TV late at night before, and despite the fact that I consider myself a progressive woman, it didn't faze me at all. I thought to myself, "Huh," and then returned to my conversation with my friend undamaged by the vision. I have also seen Caps games, non-Caps hockey games, Jeopardy, Cash Cab, soccer games, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, basketball games, Law & Order, and a variety of other shows. I have never had a request for a channel change turned down unless it was a program that another customer had specifically requested. I've also had my program choices defended by bartenders to other customers (college hockey, thank you very much). The staff at Iron Horse are some of the nicest people around (and some of them are women). I get the disgust at the show. I find Girls Gone Wild gross. It’s not the nudity but the “girls’” need for male attention and approval that disturbs me. I see it and want to tell them, "Honey, the only thing down that path are a couple of free drinks, a night you won't remember, and a trip to the clinic to check for diseases." I would love to bash them over the head with a copy of The Feminine Mystique until they get some self-respect. But we live in the society we created, and this is one of its products. Maybe some people at the bar were enjoying Girls Gone Wild. Maybe some of them were creepy jerks. Maybe some were women. Regardless, the most direct way to deal with programming you don't want to watch (and really this is the best way to deal with any situation in which you're uncomfortable, if you want anything to change), is to ask a bartender of staff person to change the channel - particularly if you get to the heart of the matter: "Seeing these sad, drunk fools makes me want to drink water."
I'm not offended by nipples, porn in general, or bawdy bars. However, there's a difference between an European commercial featuring boobs, and being in a bar trying to chill with some friends, while a TV blasts Girls Gone Wild, which blatantly sexist, and whose entire premise is taking advantage of intoxicated women. At least most porn models get paid for their work. I'm glad to know that Iron Horse plays this kind of crap, so I will make a note to avoid patronizing them.
DCish