The next story comes from Australia, where a self-described pastafarian went about mocking the rules set up for firearm ID pictures by wearing a colander on his head. Guy Albon convinced the photographer that he was a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster so that he could wear the colander - a symbol of the satirical religious movement whose members refer to themselves as Pastafarians. The 30-year-old said he exploited a law that allows headgear to be worn in photos.
'The law stipulates you can have something on your head,' he said. 'You have to have your entire face uncovered and if the headgear is being worn it has to have some religious significance. I thought 'I've got this one in the bag - it was an absolute scream.'
Officers came to his home, where they seized two handguns and two rifles and ordered him to see a psychiatrist. According to Mr Albon, the psychiatrist immediately declared him as sane and 'laughed it off'.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by etherscythe on Thursday June 26 2014, @08:57PM
Did someone actually look through the photo database and decide to throw a flag? Where did this start? As funny as it sounds, the fact that they took it seriously enough to seize guns kills my faith in humanity just a little bit more.
"Fake News: anything reported outside of my own personally chosen echo chamber"
(Score: 4, Insightful) by etherscythe on Thursday June 26 2014, @09:04PM
OK, a quick RTFA shows he applied for a change in status and that is where the trouble started. I guess the reviewer sees the picture somewhere during the process; I still think they blew this way out of proportion and wasted taxpayer money. I mean, a simple phone call vs. officers dispatched to the scene and doing a search is pretty worthy of a facepalm and possibly an inquiry to the local chief of police. Do they not have real crime in Australia? Slow day at the precinct? Somebody is gallingly out of touch here either way.
"Fake News: anything reported outside of my own personally chosen echo chamber"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 26 2014, @09:09PM
Well, in the US we send SWAT teams in for the crime of barbering without a license [orlandosentinel.com] so this wasn't out of line at all!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by strattitarius on Thursday June 26 2014, @09:22PM
Oh, and that was a friggin' awesome prank!
Slashdot Beta Sucks. Soylent Alpha Rules. News at 11.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 26 2014, @09:50PM
> And let's be honest, with mass shootings seeming to increase (let's not debate it now),
Huh? I was under the impression that there have been no mass shootings in australia since 1996. [wikipedia.org] Have I missed one?
(Score: 1) by citizenr on Friday June 27 2014, @05:19AM
There have benn PLENTY of mass shootings. In TV news, in video games, in papers. Clearly people must be dying left right and center, wont somebody thing of the children?
Its the effect of media distorting reality.
(Score: 2) by KritonK on Friday June 27 2014, @11:10AM
In other words, after a drop in 1997, the number of mass shootings has been doubling every year since 1998!
(Score: 2) by strattitarius on Friday June 27 2014, @02:42PM
Wah Mee massacre 1983 Feb 18 Seattle Washington 13 1 injured by 3 perpetrators during an armed robbery
1. there have been more
2. why is a single person injured considered a massacre?
So I am not positive that list accurate, and based on this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_the_United_States
I stick to my stance that they seem to be increasing, if only due to news coverage. The AU probably covers major US stories from time to time.
Slashdot Beta Sucks. Soylent Alpha Rules. News at 11.
(Score: 2) by JNCF on Thursday June 26 2014, @10:35PM
I only skimmed TFA, but it seemed like this was a license to HAVE GUNS, not a concealed carry. Remember, this is Australia, not the USA. Hence the fact that they took away the man's guns.
Also, I don't think ignorance of a religious belief should make it okay to discriminate. The government could have called the Guy up and asked him why he was wearing a colander, and I'm sure he would have told them the good word about the stripper factory and the beer volcano. Instead, they confiscated his guns and mandated that he go to a psychiatrist. Yes, in this case it was a mock religion, but there are plenty of little-known religions and I don't think they should be afforded less rights than the big ones. Especially when it comes to self defense.
Tying the right to have arms - which in the modern world is the right to defend yourself from well armed adversaries - to particular religious views is really troublesome to me. Mandating that people of certain faiths seek psychiatric treatment is also pretty scary. Not really the kind of news story I'd shrug off and laugh at. Gotta watch out for them fascist G-men...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 27 2014, @01:11AM
It should be people of all faiths, then hopefully we can cure some and lessen the burden on the next generation.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by JNCF on Friday June 27 2014, @03:46PM
Great. Which bureaucrat gets to define what counts as a "faith," and thus which section of society to send to the psychiatrists en masse? Or should we vote on it? If we vote on it, you and me are both getting sent away (assuming you're also in the US of A). I guarantee you this isn't a road you want to march down.
http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistbigotryprejudice/a/AtheitsHated.htm [about.com]
(Score: 2) by strattitarius on Friday June 27 2014, @02:35PM
Slashdot Beta Sucks. Soylent Alpha Rules. News at 11.
(Score: 1) by JNCF on Friday June 27 2014, @03:38PM
Let me repeat part of the comment you're replying to, this time in bold.
Yes, in this case it was a mock religion, but there are plenty of little-known religions and I don't think they should be afforded less rights than the big ones. Especially when it comes to self defense.
This isn't about colanders, really. It about an over-reaction by a government that involved seizing a man's means to defend himself and forcing him to seek psychiatric care, over a piece of religious garb that they were either ignorant of or malicious towards. It doesn't matter if the religion was made up, all religions are made up and they should all be treated equally by the state.
(Score: 2) by strattitarius on Friday June 27 2014, @06:55PM
Slashdot Beta Sucks. Soylent Alpha Rules. News at 11.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 27 2014, @07:47PM
While I kind of see where you are going with your posts, that actually believing in something and making a mockery out of believing in something, I think you are kind of missing the point of being a pastafarian, which i believe to be to highlight the problem of taking a persons irrational beliefs seriously. If you look at it rationally a religious belief backed up by pretty much nothing else than heresay it's kind of hard to distinguish from the ramblings of a lunatic. Have you ever read the book of revelations? I have and I think that it's extremely troubling that the madness of a probably schizophrenic man are taken seriously to this day, back in the day a lot of people were easily swayed due to limited exposure to ideas, but in this day and age there is almost no excuse.
(Score: 2) by urza9814 on Monday June 30 2014, @01:36PM
So where's the line between reasonable and discriminatory for you? If it's a religion only adhered to by, say, 1% of the population, is that not "reasonably well known" enough that you can deprive all the believers of their rights? That's still tens of thousands of people you're saying the government can deprive of their rights and ship to psychiatrists. Maybe .1% -- a few thousand? How small must the minority be in your mind before they lose all rights?
As for the claims that it's a "mock religion" -- well, that's kind of the point, and the point is that *it doesn't matter*. How exactly do you plan to determine the difference? What's your objective way to measure someone's faith? What test do you propose to determine if a god is "real" or not? You can't. It's all made up. If you're going to have legal exemptions for religions, you've just gotta take their word for it regardless. What makes a 2000 year old religion more valid than a 2 year old one?
(Score: 2) by khallow on Saturday June 28 2014, @02:44AM
What makes these differences relevant? As I see it, the two are being worn for similar religious reasons.
(Score: 2) by khallow on Thursday June 26 2014, @11:23PM
And why was there a reason to be concerned?
You don't get off that easy. There is no "seeming to increase", particularly in Australia.
(Score: 2) by strattitarius on Friday June 27 2014, @02:33PM
Slashdot Beta Sucks. Soylent Alpha Rules. News at 11.
(Score: 2) by khallow on Saturday June 28 2014, @02:49AM
I just ask that you hesitate the next time you want to use the words "let's not debate it now". You have a contrarian audience.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 27 2014, @04:25PM
"let's not debate it now"
Fine. But let's not read your post now either.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 26 2014, @09:06PM
Here's what I imagine happened:
Someone noticed this crazy guy with a colander on his head in the photo-id database. They then forwarded it all of their buddies to have a laugh who then forwarded it to all of their buddies.. At some point in the chain it got forwarded to someone who didn't have a laugh but did have a stick up his arse. As these things go, sticks tend to find their way into the asses of people with authoritay. So he used that authoritay to get the colander removed, since he obviously can't get the stick removed.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Hawkwind on Thursday June 26 2014, @09:59PM
Can't resist, hover over the current XKCD [xkcd.com].
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Thursday June 26 2014, @10:03PM
That xkcd has just set a new record for most smug strip so far. As if Randall wasn't perpetually snarky enough about language as it is.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by bugamn on Friday June 27 2014, @03:15AM
Oh, the humanity!
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 27 2014, @06:32AM
That's weird. I don't see him being smug or snarky at all.
What I see is him taking the piss out of people who are passive aggressive in their own smugness - trying to define their own expectations as the default expectations that everyone should have. It's a version of the false appeal to authority fallacy.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Friday June 27 2014, @02:23PM
It's called setting a higher standard, and I don't see why it should automatically be labelled a bad thing. If I'm not living up to my own expectations, the solution is not to lower my expectations.
Well, at least xkcd isn't The Oatmeal. That guy is way more smug than I've ever seen Randall be.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by davester666 on Friday June 27 2014, @06:45AM
it's australia. you have to assume that everyone involved is a criminal.
(Score: 2) by lgsoynews on Thursday June 26 2014, @08:58PM
I find it quite worrying that satire & humor can be lost on some people.
Especially when they have some power/authority. Psychiatrist, really? That's so stupid.
Anecdote: I once worked for a manager who told use that she did not have a sense of humor. Well, it is REALLY strange to work with people that can't understand humor. She was not bad tempered, mind-you, or disagreeable or anything like that, just oblivious to all forms of humor. For someone like me who jokes quite a lot, it was annoying. Luckily, I did not remain there long...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 26 2014, @10:01PM
When I visited China my American counterparts wanted my name to be the translation of sarcasm in Chinese. Unfortunately there is no word for sarcasm... and I had a hard time joking with the native speakers.
"So you are lying? Err... Yes, but a ridiculous one"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 26 2014, @10:55PM
In China, it's all about puns. The language gives many, many opportunities for puns (plus it can be difficult for the government to censor). Example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_Mud_Horse [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 1) by Horse With Stripes on Thursday June 26 2014, @09:01PM
I have to take my hat off to Mr Guy Albon and his 100% commitment to this gag.
Sorry to see that the shrink gave Mr Albon the "all clear" but didn't have a chance to examine everyone involved in Mr Albon's arrest.
(Score: 4, Funny) by stderr on Thursday June 26 2014, @09:24PM
FTFY!
alias sudo="echo make it yourself #" #
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Friday June 27 2014, @03:33AM
I call prior art!! Once upon a time back about 1990 my sister took me shopping at IKEA in Los Angeles. I hate shopping. I was very bored. I selected a red plastic colander from a display and wore it on my head until we left the store, whereupon I bought the colander as a souvenir.
However, the Flying Spaghetti Monster did not appear to me, so perhaps plastic colanders are heretical. I'll try a metal one next time.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Friday June 27 2014, @01:35PM
Hey, you can't go taking off people's colanders! What next, you run about pulling off people's Hijab?
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Friday June 27 2014, @02:38PM
While I think that would be amusing to witness, I'm sure butthurt would rapidly and deafeningly ensue.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 3, Informative) by turgid on Thursday June 26 2014, @09:50PM
It's just as well he's not Nigerian. They put athiests in the secure mental hospital [theguardian.com] over there.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by redneckmother on Thursday June 26 2014, @09:13PM
Hmmm... two rifles and two handguns. Sounds to me like he was one shotgun short of a minimum complement.
Mas cerveza por favor.
(Score: 2) by Alfred on Friday June 27 2014, @01:11PM
But how much ammo was there? Are talking an arsenal here?
I think the pasta thing is hilarious. Bless him for the satirical wearing of a holey artifice.
(Score: 1) by darkfeline on Thursday June 26 2014, @09:18PM
What do the Australian police have against colanders? Colanders are neither offensive nor dangerous (at least not more so than a heavy dictionary or textbook).
Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
(Score: 2) by BsAtHome on Thursday June 26 2014, @09:43PM
You can hit someone with a colander. That has got to hurt, both physically and mentally.
(Score: 4, Informative) by clone141166 on Friday June 27 2014, @01:14AM
Guns are fairly tightly regulated in Australia, and there are a number of special laws that apply to gun owners. The best example I can think of off the top of my head is, when asked to show identification in Australia by a police officer you only have to comply if the officer reasonably believes that you have committed a crime or are about to commit a crime, you are driving a motor vehicle, OR you are a registered gun owner.
I suspect that when he requested the change in his license status the police saw that he was both a registered gun owner and was wearing a colander on his head. If I wasn't aware of Pastafarianism and saw that, I would be pretty concerned about that too I think. So I'm grateful that the police were alert enough to notice and investigate this. However their reaction seems to have been overly dramatic. It doesn't seem like he was given a chance to explain himself at all.
IANAL but I would be interested to know if there are actually laws in Australia that allow the police to require a psychiatric evaluation for registered gun owners to remain in possession of their firearms. If that is the case, it may be that they were acting within the guidelines of the law, and thus it is the law that needs to be reviewed rather than being entirely the fault of the police. As long as his firearms are returned to him after passing the psychiatric evaluation, it may be that everything was done within the guidelines of the law - remembering that Australia does tend to have some pretty restrictive laws with respect to gun ownership.
(Score: 4, Informative) by deimtee on Friday June 27 2014, @02:06AM
You are supposed to have a legitimate reason to own a firearm here. These reasons include hunting, vermin control, target shooting.
If the police are suspicious of you, you may have to prove that your reason is legitimate.
He had two handguns, this will mean that he is much more closely checked than someone who had, eg. a 22 for shooting rabbits.
Your licence will allow you to have firearms suitable for that purpose, (all firearms must be registered):
- vermin control (rabbits, foxes etc) - 22 or other small rifle, shotgun.
- hunting (pigs, large feral animals) - larger rifle.
- target shooting - you can have pretty much any weapon for which you can find a club that shoots it, but these weapons are much more tightly controlled. Secure lockups, guns and ammo separate, reasonable reason to transport them, handguns stay at the club premises, etc.
(These rules vary from state to state, and urban vs rural within a state)
Regarding this guy, it doesn't sound like they kicked his door in and searched the place. They would have had a list of firearms he owned, and it reads like they simply turned up and demanded that he hand them over until he passed a psychiatric check.
This would generally not be considered unreasonable in AU.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 1) by clone141166 on Friday June 27 2014, @04:09AM
Thanks for the info.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Friday June 27 2014, @03:27AM
Did someone show up wearing a book on their head?
I guess that brings into question whether they should throw the book at him, as he already has one...
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 26 2014, @09:54PM
A man acted like a loon from Monty Python while getting his gun permit. I'd only be concerned if the police didn't check in on him.
(Score: 1) by JNCF on Thursday June 26 2014, @11:00PM
Would you call the Guy a loon if he'd been wearing a kippah instead of a colander?
Jews have been a much more violent people than Pastafarians. Just read their book, some parts of it are a mythologized military history where they brag about things we'd consider war crimes today. Or look at the modern actions of Israel against the Palestinian people. Pastafarians have done nothing to compare to these atrocities, but I wouldn't tell all Jewish people they can't have guns.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 26 2014, @11:12PM
> a kippah
What's that, a fish from Boston?
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Friday June 27 2014, @02:42PM
The better-known term around my area is yarmulke.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 26 2014, @11:30PM
If that's an attempt at humour it sailed past me. I don't see any connection between this topic and Israel/Palestine. If you want to debate Israel/Palestine I suggest you put a colander on your head and bang it for half an hour. You'll be just as productive and the headache won't be as bad.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 27 2014, @06:20AM
Try reading the very first sentence of the reply, this time slowly...
I agree all crazies wearing a religious headpiece should get raided, which is exactly the point of Pastafarianism. I bet you also missed this.
(Score: 2) by Konomi on Thursday June 26 2014, @11:53PM
If we're raising the bar that high then anyone with a religion should be getting their house searched, I know a few people who consider them "loons".
(Score: 3, Informative) by Phoenix666 on Friday June 27 2014, @12:41AM
Then there was the guy in Austria who won his court case to allow wearing a colander in his Driver's license photo. So the universe balanced out on this one.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 27 2014, @04:48AM
The photo of his South Australian licence shows that he's licensed for class A and B, which are both longarms. He is not licensed for handguns (class H) but the article says that two handguns were siezed.
(Score: 1) by NoMaster on Friday June 27 2014, @01:08PM
Not to mention that it all happened a year ago (June 2013).
It's been a non-story for 12 months; the only reason it popped up now is because of the NZ guy whose driver's licence photo went viral this week, and the inbred Australian media wanting a local angle.
Live free or fuck off and take your naïve Libertarian fantasies with you...