Child suspended for his religious beliefs

[InsertEvilLaugh]

To be fair, those arent religous beliefs. Pastafarianism is an anti-religion.

True but it is a religion in a sense and therefor is protected by the first ammendment.

 

[roboosh]

Meh, I hate it when people try to make statements with stupid acts such as this.

I wholeheartedly agree, it's just attention seeking.

 

[Riding on Thermals]

How do you define a "real" religion? Why is someone's fervent (and sometimes fanatical) belief in a supreme being license to do things that can be entirely counter to the mainstream accepted culture?

The average religious-type is not "fanatical". Entirely countering mainstream culture? What? Since when does mainstream culture have a problem with religion...? Jews should be allowed to wear those nice hats of theirs, and ditto with Sikhs etc. with turbans. Mainstream culture is pretty tolerant last I checked. Pastafarianism doesn't get the same respect, not being a real religion and all...

FSM advocates being a virtuous person, it has a moral code, what makes it less legitimate than others?

It's a parody religion, for one thing.

I understand that the average religious-type is not fanatical, which is why I used the word "sometimes" as in, "not always." As for religion operating counter to the mainstream: Protestantism.

Now, do you believe in Scientology? That's a "real" religion. It's afforded all the rights of Christianity without all the respectability and morality, but with a double dose of taking-your-money. I'm done arguing with you about the merits of FSM as a "real" religion. Once again, FSM advocates the positives of a "real" religion and comparatively speaking, has caused less damage, is responsible for less deaths and suffering than any religion I can think of. So, in conclusion, keep feeling superior for buying into a mainstream religion and not being fooled by any of the ludicrousness of FSM and instead embracing the ridiculousness of your chosen religion.

 

[Cakes]

Now, do you believe in Scientology? That's a "real" religion. It's afforded all the rights of Christianity without all the respectability and morality, but with a double dose of taking-your-money.

Yes, Scientology is a perfectly legit religion, since people take it seriously.

I'm done arguing with you about the merits of FSM as a "real" religion. Once again, FSM advocates the positives of a "real" religion and comparatively speaking, has caused less damage, is responsible for less deaths and suffering than any religion I can think of.

Really? If you can think of anyone who has done damage in the name of Buddhism or Taoism I'll eat my hat.

Once again: It makes absolutely no difference. It was made as a parody of Intelligent Design. I really do not know how to make that any clearer. It is a parody. No one takes it seriously, it is not a real religion.

So, in conclusion, keep feeling superior for buying into a mainstream religion and not being fooled by any of the ludicrousness of FSM and instead embracing the ridiculousness of your chosen religion.

Oh ho. I'm atheist, actually. I'm really not sure how you got the impression that I find myself superior. What fucking topic have you been reading?

 

[ckam]

That is kind of awesome. Now I just wonder where he got that suit from.

 

[dubious_wolf]

this kid is a smart mouth jerk. schools are allowed to ban or suspend or punish anyone who is being disruptive in the learning environment. in addition if anyone tries to pull first amendment bullshit they are even more stupid that this child.
IN THIS RESPECT THIS KID HAS NO RIGHTS!

 

[Danny3005]

ew that fake teenage rebel religon

 

[Mr. Squee]

Obviously the school favors Ninjas over pirates

 

[Flying-Emu]

I thought it could be a viable religion until I read that they worship the "Flying Spahghetti Monster". You can't just make up your own religion and expect people to heed to your beliefs without question.

If I said I worship "Pizza Man" and he commands me to come to school nude, do you think people would have a problem? Using this logic, no, no they wouldn't, because it's my beliefs.

But that kid is awesome. I have to admit that.

So apparently a flying spaghetti monster is somehow less valid then a self-resurrecting dude whose blood you drink, a mud man and rib woman and a talking snake? And that's only the few stupid things out of thousands if not millions.

I love how some Christians or even people in general say things like "lol scientology makes no sense" when every other religion is equally retarded and the only reason nobody is pointing it out enough is because we're all used to it.

You can't come to school nude because it's generally against the law in most places - it will be indecent exposure and what not. Same with religious murder or whatever - it breaks the laws that apply to everyone.

But he didn't break any freaking laws. If muslims are allowed to wear their headdresses, christians their crosses and whatever shit they wear, I don't see why that kid shouldn't be allowed to wear a pirate suit - it's no more disruptive then that.


Also, this is making me laugh my fucking ass off :

"The school, in North Buncombe, North Carolina, remains adamant that their decision to suspend Killian for a day has nothing to do with his religion, and quite a lot to do with his repeated refusal to heed warnings against wearing pirate outfits."

Self-contradiction for the fucking win.

Spoiler: Images

Which out of those three images is the most distracting? The pirate, right?

It's not a religious debate. The kid is disrupting class.

 

[man-man]

It's not a religious debate. The kid is disrupting class.

Actually he's dressed oddly. There's a difference.

I think in his place, I'd come in the next day in a full length veil, see if that's "disruptive" too.

I'm of the mind that he actually shouldn't be allowed to come in a pirate outfit, but I was used to school uniforms, so that's probably influencing my idea of what's normal school-wear. The crux of the matter is whether they're consistently applying the "dress like a normal person" rule to include all religious clothing.

If they are, then more power to them and the kid was just being an ass. If not then they're favouring one religion over another, no matter how much of a joke some people think it is. Once again, I don't think the CoFSM is any more or less ridiculous than Christianity, Judaism, Islam or any other religion; they're all equal in terms of evidence for their supernatural claims. The question at hand is whether they're equally treated by the school's policy on proper dress.

 

[Riding on Thermals]

Yes, Scientology is a perfectly legit religion, since people take it seriously.

Really? If you can think of anyone who has done damage in the name of Buddhism or Taoism I'll eat my hat.

Once again: It makes absolutely no difference. It was made as a parody of Intelligent Design. I really do not know how to make that any clearer. It is a parody. No one takes it seriously, it is not a real religion.

Oh ho. I'm atheist, actually. I'm really not sure how you got the impression that I find myself superior. What fucking topic have you been reading?

In order:
So the criteria for having a real religion is having members too stupid to question even the most ridiculous of beliefs? Got it.

I didn't say every religion has done damage to other people but I did mention deaths, and Thích Quảng Đức would be that famous Buddhist monk on the cover of Rage Against The Machine who set himself on fire. That qualifies in the logical flow of my sentence.

Son of a *****... I understand it's a parody. Can we move past that? If you've read A Modest Proposal you probably didn't think it was a good idea to kill children for food, but you can't deny that it is an actual idea. It offered a possible solution. The use of satire does not negate the underlying validity of the point being made. Baby skin probably would make some damn fine gloves though Thomas Swift wasn't actually saying the Irish should've done it.

I got your sense of superiority from your uncanny ability to have the final say as to the legitimacy of a religion. That's a pretty bold statement to make. Now if your only guideline for religion is belief, then Christmas is its own religion because children believe in Santa. So if you can give a logical explanation as to what a "real" religion is that includes something a bit more substantial than "people take it seriously" feel free, otherwise you just come off as a judgmental asshat.

 

[Flying-Emu]

It's not a religious debate. The kid is disrupting class.

Actually he's dressed oddly. There's a difference.

I think in his place, I'd come in the next day in a full length veil, see if that's "disruptive" too.

I'm of the mind that he actually shouldn't be allowed to come in a pirate outfit, but I was used to school uniforms, so that's probably influencing my idea of what's normal school-wear. The crux of the matter is whether they're consistently applying the "dress like a normal person" rule to include all religious clothing.

If they are, then more power to them and the kid was just being an ass. If not then they're favouring one religion over another, no matter how much of a joke some people think it is. Once again, I don't think the CoFSM is any more or less ridiculous than Christianity, Judaism, Islam or any other religion; they're all equal in terms of evidence for their supernatural claims. The question at hand is whether they're equally treated by the school's policy on proper dress.

I'm sorry, are you honestly saying that a burka is more distracting than a kid dressed like Captain-fucking-Morgan? Because that's the crux of the issue, not some bullshit religious debate. People are using this as an excuse to dredge the idiotic cries of "THE GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS RELIGION" rather than letting the school do its job; provide a relatively stress-and-distraction-free environment for students to learn.

 

[Jedisolo75]

...it's not like taking away a muslim girls burka.

Why?

Because the entire religion is a made up religion, the entire point is to make fun of other religions. It is fine if you want to make fun of religion, especially the things that they do sometimes, but you can't interrupt a school day to do it.

All religions are made up, and wrong.

If that's your opinion then that's fine, but this isn't a religion, it's an anti-religion. There is no belief system here, this kid doesn't think his immortal soul is in danger if he doesn't dress like a pirate. He's just trying to get attention and disrupt the school day. They wouldn't let someone walk in with a 15 foot wooden cross, or wearing a menorah as a hat.

 

[Jedisolo75]

Why cant you just see that these "pastafarians" are just a bunch of attention whoring atheists who are simply just trying to give Christianity the finger by claiming their "history" (the bible) is a bunch of baloney based on hear-say?

Er..what? Pastafarianism was created as a parody of Intelligent Design. It was made clear from the beginning that its intent was not to mock religion in general. Get your facts straight.

Yes, it was made as a parody of anyone who doesn't believe in evolution, in other words, any of the western religions. There isn't a belief system, it's just people disagreeing with other belief systems. That's fine, but schools can't allow kids to disrupt the education of other students just to be an attention whore.

 

[man-man]

I'm sorry, are you honestly saying that a burka is more distracting than a kid dressed like Captain-fucking-Morgan? Because that's the crux of the issue, not some bullshit religious debate. People are using this as an excuse to dredge the idiotic cries of "THE GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS RELIGION" rather than letting the school do its job; provide a relatively stress-and-distraction-free environment for students to learn.

Flip that around, you really think a pirate outfit is disruptive? If the little butt-monkeys can't concentrate just 'cause someone's dressed oddly then yes... I imagine they would have the same problem in the presence of a burka. I wouldn't personally find either of them that distracting.

 

[Cakes]

Why cant you just see that these "pastafarians" are just a bunch of attention whoring atheists who are simply just trying to give Christianity the finger by claiming their "history" (the bible) is a bunch of baloney based on hear-say?

Er..what? Pastafarianism was created as a parody of Intelligent Design. It was made clear from the beginning that its intent was not to mock religion in general. Get your facts straight.

Yes, it was made as a parody of anyone who doesn't believe in evolution, in other words, any of the western religions. There isn't a belief system, it's just people disagreeing with other belief systems. That's fine, but schools can't allow kids to disrupt the education of other students just to be an attention whore.

Yeah, I absolutely agree that the kid's quite a prick. Modern Jews, Christians and the like do accept evolution though by the way.

 

[Flying-Emu]

I'm sorry, are you honestly saying that a burka is more distracting than a kid dressed like Captain-fucking-Morgan? Because that's the crux of the issue, not some bullshit religious debate. People are using this as an excuse to dredge the idiotic cries of "THE GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS RELIGION" rather than letting the school do its job; provide a relatively stress-and-distraction-free environment for students to learn.

Flip that around, you really think a pirate outfit is disruptive? If the little butt-monkeys can't concentrate just 'cause someone's dressed oddly then yes... I imagine they would have the same problem in the presence of a burka. I wouldn't personally find either of them that distracting.

And here's where I'm going to cut this off, because we obviously disagree.

Oh, and my school did not allow Muslim women to wear burkas on the ground that they were distracting. Hijabs, however, were allowed. So we've obviously had different experiences.

 

[Nouw]

Poor kid, I hope other Pastafarians wont get treated like this in the future
He will go down in our history
R'amen

Agreed. Even though I'm not a religioust.

OT: Why don't they sue the company that made the clothes? Stupid School.

 

[Cakes]

In order:
So the criteria for having a real religion is having members too stupid to question even the most ridiculous of beliefs? Got it.

If you want to put it in such ridiculous terms, yeah. The point is, if they take it seriously, then it deserves respect as a legitimate religion, no matter how damn stupid it is. Pastafarians don't take themselves seriously.

Son of a *****... I understand it's a parody. Can we move past that?

Not really. I seem to have to keep bringing it up, since you insist it deserves respect, even though it's a parody and all.

I got your sense of superiority from your uncanny ability to have the final say as to the legitimacy of a religion. That's a pretty bold statement to make.

I was under the impression I was simply giving my opinion. Sorry?

So if you can give a logical explanation as to what a "real" religion is that includes something a bit more substantial than "people take it seriously" feel free, otherwise you just come off as a judgmental asshat.

I didn't realize I was coming off as a judgmental asshat. Though, you're the one name-calling here, so...

In any case, do I really need to give a detailed definition of what constitutes a religion? I really shouldn't have to. It's obvious Pastafarianism isn't. What else do you want me to say?