Job centre evicts Jedi knight

[mr friendly guy]

Shroud of the Dark Side here, I fear

Job centre apologises for evicting Jedi fan
By staff writers From: news.com.au March 17, 2010 10:43AM

A JEDI believer has won an apology from a UK employment centre which threw him out for refusing to remove his hood.

The Sun reported Star Wars fan Chris Jarvis, 31, was told he would have to leave if he didn't remove his hood.

Mr Jarvis is a member of the International Church of Jediism - based on the famous sci-fi films - whose doctrine states that followers should be allowed to wear hoods.

But when he protested, security escorted him from his local branch in Southend, Essex.

Mr Jarvis said he was not given a reason for the request, according to the Mail Online.

"It was like 'You're removing it because we say so,'" he said.

"I was told, not asked."

He filled out a complaint form - and received a formal letter from the JobCentre Plus branch's boss Wendy Flewers just three days later.

"We are committed to provide a customer service which embraces diversity and respects customers' religion," Ms Flewers said.

"I would like to apologise that on this occasion you were asked to remove your hood which you have stated is not acceptable as part of your religious belief,"

The letter said the man had been asked to remove his hood for security reasons but "it was not (our) intention to offend (you)".

Mr Jarvis said he standing up for his beliefs.

"It's my religion, I'm a Jedi knight ... it means following the way of the Jedi.

"Muslims can walk around in whatever religious gear they like, so why can't I?

"I'm not racist but I'm an Englishman living in my own country. Someone with their own religious views is allowed to wear what their religion says."

Despite the apology, Mr Jarvis plans to sue JobCentre Plus for discrimination.

Read more about the Jedi evicted from the job centre at The Sun

- With NewsCore

Most probably not worthy enough for N & P, however I felt it funny enough to share. Oh, and may the Force be with you guys.

[CaptainChewbacca]

England, for all its claims of being a proper and civilized nation, certainly has a REALLY FUCKING ODD fixation about Star Wars.

[eion]

England, for all its claims of being a proper and civilized nation, certainly has a REALLY FUCKING ODD fixation about Star Wars.

They also have a near-fetishistic obsession with people, especially minors, wearing hoods.

Hopefully a planned satire of the ridiculous dress codes that pervade the U.K. with regards to hooded-sweatshirts or of the ridiculous lengths to which people will go to accommodate religions.

[Havok]

OK, nit picking time. When in the fuck does it state anywhere that Jedi have to or need to wear a hood? Especially since the movies establish that the majority of Jedi do not.

I hope that some lawyer is a Star Wars nerd and completely blows up his claim that hoods are even remotely necessary or required to be a Jedi when this douche bag tries to sue.

[CaptainChewbacca]

OK, nit picking time. When in the fuck does it state anywhere that Jedi have to or need to wear a hood? Especially since the movies establish that the majority of Jedi do not.

I hope that some lawyer is a Star Wars nerd and completely blows up his claim that hoods are even remotely necessary or required to be a Jedi when this douche bag tries to sue.

I imagine there's a difference in the codified principles of the Church of Jedism and what is observed in the movie. Perhaps Luke was a reformed Jedist while the man in the story was orthodox.

[Darth Wong]

England, for all its claims of being a proper and civilized nation, certainly has a REALLY FUCKING ODD fixation about Star Wars.

That doesn't sound nearly as unhealthy as America's various odd fixations. Let's see ... guns, anarcho-libertarianism, deep-fried food, oversized personal vehicles, sexual puritanism, fetishistic militarism, deification of 18th century revolutionary figures, creationism, global warming conspiracy theories ...

[Havok]

Please. Watch the PT. The Council isn't wearing hoods. None of the Jedi wandering around Coruscant are wearing hoods. Yoda never puts his hood up. Nor does Mace. You can't even make the argument that it is only worn in dangerous places because none of the Jedi on Geonosis or in ROTS are wearing hoods. In fact the only reason that any Jedi seem to wear their hoods is when they are trying to (crappily) hide their status as Jedi (Qui-Gon just uses a poncho to do this) or to protect themselves from the elements.

[Havok]

England, for all its claims of being a proper and civilized nation, certainly has a REALLY FUCKING ODD fixation about Star Wars.

That doesn't sound nearly as unhealthy as America's various odd fixations. Let's see ... guns, anarcho-libertarianism, deep-fried food, oversized personal vehicles, sexual puritanism, fetishistic militarism, deification of 18th century revolutionary figures, creationism, global warming conspiracy theories ...

OK, are we making fun of a retard in England, or are we bashing America. I just want to keep up.

[Darth Wong]

England, for all its claims of being a proper and civilized nation, certainly has a REALLY FUCKING ODD fixation about Star Wars.

That doesn't sound nearly as unhealthy as America's various odd fixations. Let's see ... guns, anarcho-libertarianism, deep-fried food, oversized personal vehicles, sexual puritanism, fetishistic militarism, deification of 18th century revolutionary figures, creationism, global warming conspiracy theories ...

OK, are we making fun of a retard in England, or are we bashing America. I just want to keep up.

Nobody put a gun to CC's head and told him to start talking about national behaviour in the first place.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Nobody put a gun to CC's head and told him to start talking about national behaviour in the first place.

Yeah, I claimed that England expresses a fascination with Star Wars in a really odd way. Kinda like how they drop fake survey questions about Star Wars into things, for instance a few years back some survey revealed that 42% of people in the UK thought the Battle for Endor actually happened. I find the fact that a nation which prides itself on being very 'propper' has Star Wars references popping up in odd and prominent places to be humerous. I wasn't trying to start a national dick-measuring contest.

[Tiriol]

Please. Watch the PT. The Council isn't wearing hoods. None of the Jedi wandering around Coruscant are wearing hoods. Yoda never puts his hood up. Nor does Mace. You can't even make the argument that it is only worn in dangerous places because none of the Jedi on Geonosis or in ROTS are wearing hoods. In fact the only reason that any Jedi seem to wear their hoods is when they are trying to (crappily) hide their status as Jedi (Qui-Gon just uses a poncho to do this) or to protect themselves from the elements.

I actually remember that Mace Windu wore his hood during Qui-Gon Jinn's funeral pyre scene; and I'm not sure about when he sneaked up to Dooku and the rest of the balcony crowd. But this is just colossal nit-picking, since you are right: the Jedi use their hoods very rarely. Obi-Wan is just about the only Jedi to do so often and only because he appears to have a knack for choosing inhospitable planets (Kamino, Tatooine).

[Darth Wong]

It's not about "dick measuring"; it's about saying that something is "odd" when it's really not "odd" at all, in the spectrum of western cultural behaviours.

[Havok]

Please. Watch the PT. The Council isn't wearing hoods. None of the Jedi wandering around Coruscant are wearing hoods. Yoda never puts his hood up. Nor does Mace. You can't even make the argument that it is only worn in dangerous places because none of the Jedi on Geonosis or in ROTS are wearing hoods. In fact the only reason that any Jedi seem to wear their hoods is when they are trying to (crappily) hide their status as Jedi (Qui-Gon just uses a poncho to do this) or to protect themselves from the elements.

I actually remember that Mace Windu wore his hood during Qui-Gon Jinn's funeral pyre scene; and I'm not sure about when he sneaked up to Dooku and the rest of the balcony crowd. But this is just colossal nit-picking, since you are right: the Jedi use their hoods very rarely. Obi-Wan is just about the only Jedi to do so often and only because he appears to have a knack for choosing inhospitable planets (Kamino, Tatooine).

Yeah, you are right. Did Yoda rock the hood in that scene too? But no, he didn't have it up when he crept up on Dooku. Anakin busted it out when he was all Vadered out and Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had them on at the very begining of TPM, but that was it.

[Phantasee]

This guy is a tard for not just accepting the apology. Now he's going to force them into court? Either he's fishing for a settlement, or he's trying to make a point, and he's just going to get a bunch of ill-will from people in general towards him and his little cult.

I mean, he's already in the paper, ffs.

[eion]

This guy is a tard for not just accepting the apology. Now he's going to force them into court? Either he's fishing for a settlement, or he's trying to make a point, and he's just going to get a bunch of ill-will from people in general towards him and his little cult.

I mean, he's already in the paper, ffs.

I would hope the point he is trying to make is that banning people from wearing a particular item of clothing just because a certain number of youthful trouble makers wear it is kind of like banning the consumption of spaghetti and light sauce on the basis that Hitler enjoyed it as his last meal.

The UK seems to have a pathological fear of hooded sweatshirts that boggles the mind. This is made even more boggling by the fact that shopping malls that ban "hoodies" also sell hoodies.

[Flagg]

England, for all its claims of being a proper and civilized nation, certainly has a REALLY FUCKING ODD fixation about Star Wars.

That doesn't sound nearly as unhealthy as America's various odd fixations. Let's see ... guns, anarcho-libertarianism, deep-fried food, oversized personal vehicles, sexual puritanism, fetishistic militarism, deification of 18th century revolutionary figures, creationism, global warming conspiracy theories ...

The whole "Jedi Religion" thing could be incredibly dangerous if taken directly from the PT and parts of the OT. I mean everything Yoda said was incredibly anti-social. What you'd end up with is basically a cult of antisocial people gathering to watch and memorize 13 hours of Star Wars films. Wait, never mind, they call those "conventions".

[Darth Wong]

England, for all its claims of being a proper and civilized nation, certainly has a REALLY FUCKING ODD fixation about Star Wars.

That doesn't sound nearly as unhealthy as America's various odd fixations. Let's see ... guns, anarcho-libertarianism, deep-fried food, oversized personal vehicles, sexual puritanism, fetishistic militarism, deification of 18th century revolutionary figures, creationism, global warming conspiracy theories ...

The whole "Jedi Religion" thing could be incredibly dangerous if taken directly from the PT and parts of the OT. I mean everything Yoda said was incredibly anti-social. What you'd end up with is basically a cult of antisocial people gathering to watch and memorize 13 hours of Star Wars films. Wait, never mind, they call those "conventions".

Or TPM lineups. Remember those?

[Havok]

TPM lineups? You mean the lines to see the movie?

[Flagg]

TPM lineups? You mean the lines to see the movie?

You don't remember the months long lines where people were camping outside of theaters to be the first in to see the movie?

[Havok]

Yeah I remember them, but here in 'Merika we just call them lines. I was wondering if lineups was something different as I had never heard that term used to describe a movie line.

[CmdrWilkens]

That doesn't sound nearly as unhealthy as America's various odd fixations. Let's see ... guns, anarcho-libertarianism, deep-fried food, oversized personal vehicles, sexual puritanism, fetishistic militarism, deification of 18th century revolutionary figures, creationism, global warming conspiracy theories ...

OK, are we making fun of a retard in England, or are we bashing America. I just want to keep up.

Nobody put a gun to CC's head and told him to start talking about national behaviour in the first place.

Likewise nobody held a gun to your head forcing you to use only American examples to point out "odd" behavior not being that odd.

[Flagg]

Nobody put a gun to CC's head and told him to start talking about national behaviour in the first place.

Likewise nobody held a gun to your head forcing you to use only American examples to point out "odd" behavior not being that odd.

Yeah, why use American examples to make his point when he could have chosen other countries aside from the one the guy he made his point against lives in?

[CmdrWilkens]

Nobody put a gun to CC's head and told him to start talking about national behaviour in the first place.

Likewise nobody held a gun to your head forcing you to use only American examples to point out "odd" behavior not being that odd.

Yeah, why use American examples to make his point when he could have chosen other countries aside from the one the guy he made his point against lives in?

Insert the word ONLY and then you might understand why its a point. If you only point out American oddity amongst western nations (to go along with British "oddity") then you haven't shown that such behavior is in fact common at all, you've given two nations as an example. In other words it doesn't prove the point, it establishes a second data point but still relegates such "odd" behavior to the minority amongst Western Industrialized nations and an extreme minority amongst all nations. If the point to be made is that the common British association with Star Wars isn't that uncommon of a national tick then using only one other nation as an example fails to prove that point...and makes it look like pointless America bashing.

[irishmick79]

TPM lineups? You mean the lines to see the movie?

You don't remember the months long lines where people were camping outside of theaters to be the first in to see the movie?

Yeah, you mention 'lineup' in the US and you're either talking about the starting 9 for your local baseball squad or what the police prepare for an eye witness when trying to ID a perpetrator.

[Flagg]

Yeah, why use American examples to make his point when he could have chosen other countries aside from the one the guy he made his point against lives in?

Insert the word ONLY and then you might understand why its a point. If you only point out American oddity amongst western nations (to go along with British "oddity") then you haven't shown that such behavior is in fact common at all, you've given two nations as an example. In other words it doesn't prove the point, it establishes a second data point but still relegates such "odd" behavior to the minority amongst Western Industrialized nations and an extreme minority amongst all nations. If the point to be made is that the common British association with Star Wars isn't that uncommon of a national tick then using only one other nation as an example fails to prove that point...and makes it look like pointless America bashing.

You're either missing the point (which would make you a retard of Palin offspring proportions) or purposefully being a trolling ass because you're butthurt over the fact that someone said negative (and true) things about your country. So fuck off, GI Joe.

But more to the point, how is it relevant to point out German, French, or Spanish cultural peculiarities when Mike was talking to an American who was pointing out another countries perceived oddities?