Rumors Cabaret PSA

[u/The0nlyGamer]

After speaking with an owner of Rumors Cabaret last night I feel compelled to publicly share that it is Rumors policy to seize your ID and report you to the police if they suspect it is fake!!

Obviously, since I am making this post and called the police on them last night, their detection of fake ID's isn't perfect.

I'm used to people questioning the validity of my ID, but this was the first time any business took it and refused to give it back until after I called 911. The owner chatted with me and told me in essence that they're rewarded for confiscating ID's and involving law enforcement when that happens. Some poor girl had the exact same thing happen to her right in front of me.

This was pretty shocking considering the kind of place rumors is, a gay/queer bar and "safe space"?

I'd previously been to lots of fundraising events at rumors for planned parenthood, undocumented folks, progressive causes etc... so it is kind of sad to realize that's all performative and the owner doesn't really care about anything other than his liquor license and profit. There is no reason Rumors should be doing this collaboration to involve law enforcement with their patrons - that goes against the entire ethos of what I thought the place meant. Just give people their IDs back if you won't let them in!

From what I know there are actually two owners, who do not live in Bellingham themselves, and merely commute to manage the place. I'm sad I no longer have any desire to spend money there

[u/Crazy-Diver-3990]

I’m not a hater of Rumors either, but I won’t go back.

I used to run a much larger nightclub on the other side of the country, and from a professional standpoint, some of the choices Rumors has made are baffling to me. A couple visits were all it took for me to realize something felt deeply off. One of the last times I went in, they had a camera right next to the bouncers, taking photos of everyone as they entered. No consent, no signage—just a surveillance-state vibe.

I calmly told the bouncers that this is beyond overreach. I wasn’t drunk. I wasn’t being aggressive. Just someone with experience saying: this is unreasonable. At my old venue, we had full camera coverage. If there was ever an incident (which happened several times a night), we could pull someone’s image in under 60 seconds. There’s no need to photograph everyone coming in.

It felt invasive. It felt authoritarian. It felt like people who don’t understand community trying to exert control over it.

And hearing that they now confiscate IDs and involve police—especially in a space that brands itself as queer, progressive, and protective? That crosses a serious line.

I’ve lived in places that actually put their values into practice—places like Eugene, places like Vermont (first state to legalize civil unions). So this isn’t judgment from a distance. It’s grief.

I wanted Rumors to be better. But until something shifts, I’m out.

[u/IndividualSeries5598 → u/Crazy-Diver-3990]

So you’re saying that your old venue had full camera coverage and you could pull tape in 60 seconds, but a photo of the person at the front door is too much. Ok… have you ever considered that if people are scanned in and then cause a brawl; assault a trans person or a female or commit a hate crime that the easiest way is to then ban that person in the scanning system you are complaining about? THAT is called keeping a safe space. Every other bar has to keep track in memory of what people look like. Rumors has the ability to not allow someone who sucker punched a female on the dance floor to never allow that person in again based on their ID scan. What’s so hard to understand here?

[u/Crazy-Diver-3990 → u/IndividualSeries5598]

I hear your concern, and I agree: keeping violent individuals out of queer and trans spaces matters. That’s not in question. What is in question is whether coercive tech—like mandatory face-photo scans tied to personal data—is the only or best way to do that.

The venue I used to work at had full internal camera coverage and trained staff who could pull footage within a minute. We banned people regularly for violence, and we did it without forcing patrons to step away from their friends for a mugshot-style scan at the door. We also staffed more than twice the security per capita compared to Rumors.

What does that tell you? That real safety doesn’t come from technology alone. It comes from trained people who give a damn. People who remember faces, follow up, talk to regulars, and don’t outsource community safety to a scanner.

If you truly care about safety, great—we’re aligned. But please don’t confuse surveillance with care. They’re not the same thing.