Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Saturday September 20 2014, @05:25PM   Printer-friendly
from the making-your-point-by-looking-silly dept.

A woman in Oklahoma is citing her religious freedom as the reason for wearing a colander on her head for her driver’s license photograph. Shawna Hammond, who is a Pastafarian and views the spaghetti strainer as a symbol of religious freedom, said the headgear should not cause any problem, as her face is visible in entirety despite her wearing the colander.

“It doesn’t cover my face. I mean you can still see my face. We have to take off our glasses, so I took off my glasses,” Hammond said.

According to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, religious headpieces cannot cause shadows on the face and the photograph should present a person’s face clearly.

“I asked if I could wear my religious headwear and he said, yes, it just couldn’t have any logos, or any type of writing. I told him it didn’t, and I went out to my car and got my colander... She kind of chuckled, she giggled, gave me a funny look and asked me what religion I was. I told her I was a Pastafarian,” said Hammond.

[More after the break.]

The church’s website states "Pastafarianism is a real religion. … there are no strict rules and regulations, there are no rote rituals and prayers and other nonsense. "

The religion came into being in 2005 after founder Bobby Henderson learned of a "hearing to decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design should be taught along with the theory of Evolution" by the Kansas School Board. He then wrote an open letter to them.

I think we can all agree that it is important for students to hear multiple viewpoints so they can choose for themselves the theory that makes the most sense to them. I am concerned, however, that students will only hear one theory of Intelligent Design.

Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was He who created all that we see and all that we feel. We feel strongly that the overwhelming scientific evidence pointing towards evolutionary processes is nothing but a coincidence, put in place by Him.

It is for this reason that I’m writing you today, to formally request that this alternative theory be taught in your schools, along with the other two theories. In fact, I will go so far as to say, if you do not agree to do this, we will be forced to proceed with legal action. I’m sure you see where we are coming from. If the Intelligent Design theory is not based on faith, but instead another scientific theory, as is claimed, then you must also allow our theory to be taught, as it is also based on science, not on faith.

Read more background at Wikipedia's entry on the Flying Spaghetti Monster

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 20 2014, @05:40PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 20 2014, @05:40PM (#95905)

    As long as she isn't backing up the line. This is pretty awesome.

    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by jbWolf on Sunday September 21 2014, @06:09AM

      by jbWolf (2774) <jbNO@SPAMjb-wolf.com> on Sunday September 21 2014, @06:09AM (#96181) Homepage

      In no way would she ever be responsible for holding up the line. If the driver's license place refused to let her wear religious head gear and that had to be sorted out, how would that be her fault? Logically, would it not be better to just give a set of rules that everyone had to follow regardless of religion?

      --
      www.jb-wolf.com [jb-wolf.com]
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Saturday September 20 2014, @05:43PM

    by frojack (1554) on Saturday September 20 2014, @05:43PM (#95906) Journal

    Well at least the DMV hack did't get all uppity and demanding, Maybe those OKies are ok after all.
    Not enough people appreciate the humor of daily life any more.

    Explaining that DMV photo in a bank or when she decides to run of office should be good for a few chuckles too.

    --
    No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
  • (Score: 0, Troll) by TheRaven on Saturday September 20 2014, @06:16PM

    by TheRaven (270) on Saturday September 20 2014, @06:16PM (#95910) Journal
    I know that Soylent has a habit of posting things that were on Slashdot a couple of days earlier, but posting something that was on Slashdot and a load of mainstream news outlets several months ago is pushing it a bit...
    --
    sudo mod me up
    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 20 2014, @06:29PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 20 2014, @06:29PM (#95915)

      Quit yer whining and go out and find something interesting to publish if you are so concerned. If you haven't noticed, there is a "submit story" link in the upper left and you are welcome to submit new and relevant content for review and publication. You can't expect the editors to do all the work can you?

      I for one hadn't seen this on Slashdot or anywhere else...for me it was "new news".

      • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 20 2014, @06:44PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 20 2014, @06:44PM (#95925)

        Why do so many fools here keep saying this stupid "Why don't you submit something better?" line whenever somebody else points out that an accepted submission isn't very good?

        It doesn't help when you say that, and in fact just makes you look like somewhat of an asshole.

        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 20 2014, @07:15PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 20 2014, @07:15PM (#95943)

          Why do so many fools here keep saying this stupid "Why don't you submit something better?" line whenever somebody else points out that an accepted submission isn't very good?

          Because the number of articles submitted is extremely low. Right now there are "only 16 submissions in the queue".

          If the editors had hundreds of entries to choose from, then you could complaint about their decision so that they don't repeat it with similar stories. With few submissions, the only decision will often be between a poor story or no story at all. Would you prefer that the stream of news didn't update instead?

          • (Score: 3, Insightful) by M. Baranczak on Saturday September 20 2014, @10:47PM

            by M. Baranczak (1673) on Saturday September 20 2014, @10:47PM (#96027)

            With few submissions, the only decision will often be between a poor story or no story at all. Would you prefer that the stream of news didn't update instead?

            I would.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 20 2014, @11:11PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 20 2014, @11:11PM (#96042)

              I suggest changing your browser to Notepad. Then you can stare at blank websites to your hearts content without bothering the rest of us.

        • (Score: 2) by khallow on Saturday September 20 2014, @09:22PM

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday September 20 2014, @09:22PM (#95999) Journal

          You could always submit something better. How about doing that next time, k?

    • (Score: 4, Informative) by NoMaster on Saturday September 20 2014, @06:50PM

      by NoMaster (3543) on Saturday September 20 2014, @06:50PM (#95928)

      I know that Soylent has a habit of posting things that were on Slashdot a couple of days earlier, but posting something that was on Slashdot and a load of mainstream news outlets several months ago is pushing it a bit...

      No, the one several months ago was a guy in Australia (and it'd happened almost a year before it was reported). And the one before that was a guy in New Zealand.

      --
      Live free or fuck off and take your naïve Libertarian fantasies with you...
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 20 2014, @06:54PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 20 2014, @06:54PM (#95932)

        And the next one will be a guy from Norway ;)

        • (Score: 0) by Balderdash on Saturday September 20 2014, @08:53PM

          by Balderdash (693) on Saturday September 20 2014, @08:53PM (#95988)

          Bork! Bork! Bork!

          --
          I browse at -1. Free and open discourse requires consideration and review of all attempts at participation.
        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday September 20 2014, @10:56PM

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Saturday September 20 2014, @10:56PM (#96033) Journal

          And the next one will be a guy from Norway ;)

          [Citation needed]
          (make it fresh when it happens, seems like some have a problem with stale news, even if the content of the news is as relevant one week or 3 month later)

          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
          • (Score: 2) by NoMaster on Saturday September 20 2014, @11:37PM

            by NoMaster (3543) on Saturday September 20 2014, @11:37PM (#96057)

            (make it fresh when it happens, seems like some have a problem with stale news, even if the content of the news is as relevant one week or 3 month later)

            How is this story relevant to anything?

            (For that matter, how is it "news"? Or is it one of those "Person does something unusual in totalitarian regime, doesn't immediately get smacked down!" astounding stories, like that guy juggling squirrels in China?)

            --
            Live free or fuck off and take your naïve Libertarian fantasies with you...
            • (Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Sunday September 21 2014, @12:26AM

              by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Sunday September 21 2014, @12:26AM (#96073) Journal

              (make it fresh when it happens, seems like some have a problem with stale news, even if the content of the news is as relevant one week or 3 month later)

              How is this story relevant to anything?

              (For that matter, how is it "news"? Or is it one of those "Person does something unusual in totalitarian regime, doesn't immediately get smacked down!" astounding stories, like that guy juggling squirrels in China?)

              Indeed how is it relevant?

              (- blink - blink - waiting for your answer)

              You mean you are indeed unable to find the relevance and really need help?
              You mean in your mind Texas school board pushing creationism [google.com] and funding chaplaincy and defunding science [thinkinc.org.au] are newsworthy and relevant, but a grass root (opposing) movement [wikipedia.org] is not?

              You know, there aren't yet any "critical thinking pills" on the market, but I suspect they'd be banned as dangerous drugs if they would be invented. So maybe is safer to develop this "sense" by yourself

              --
              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
              • (Score: 2) by NoMaster on Sunday September 21 2014, @01:14AM

                by NoMaster (3543) on Sunday September 21 2014, @01:14AM (#96092)

                And did this story contain anything new or informative about those things, or add a different perspective or insight?

                No, it was just one more "LOL someone put one over on the DMV!!!1!!" story. I see someone else mentioned a case in Austria, which makes this the 4th time in the last few months.

                Regardless, most people don't need help finding stories to back up their pre-existing prejudices. I suspect you've confused your critical thinking hat with your hipster fedora or Dawkins™ propellor cap...

                --
                Live free or fuck off and take your naïve Libertarian fantasies with you...
                • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday September 21 2014, @02:02AM

                  by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Sunday September 21 2014, @02:02AM (#96109) Journal

                  No, it was just one more "LOL someone put one over on the DMV!!!1!!" story.

                  If this is how you interpret it, then yeah I can understand your reaction (even if I don't approve it). I see this from a different angle, I consider it relevant and I'm happy to learn that yet another person decided to publicly express her/his opposition to something that I consider "toxic" in our society.
                  I'm even happier as this opposition came in a mocking form, and not by the rioting and destruction (which are so newsworthy). It is still an act of dissent and, yes, I consider it newsworthy

                  Regardless, most people don't need help finding stories to back up their pre-existing prejudices.

                  (most people don't read SN either - looking on the id-es, I'd say there are under ten thousands - so, what's your point?).

                  Are you trying to say that what you consider irrelevant or frivolous must be expunged from SN and let to "finding stories to back up their pre-existing prejudices" way of action?
                  If that's not what are you trying to say, then at least allow me to be as vocal as you and say "yes, I think this belongs to that SN I like to read", fedora/propeller cap/colander or not.

                  --
                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 21 2014, @01:46AM

                by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 21 2014, @01:46AM (#96102)

                I noticed that you failed to include the phrase "toilet trained at gunpoint".

                -- gewg_

                • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday September 21 2014, @02:10AM

                  by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Sunday September 21 2014, @02:10AM (#96112) Journal
                  I didn't know it. Thanks for it, indeed.
                  --
                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
            • (Score: 2) by cykros on Sunday September 21 2014, @09:12PM

              by cykros (989) on Sunday September 21 2014, @09:12PM (#96458)

              It's Oklahoma. That this didn't turn into a standoff is actually somewhat impressive. Generally if Oklahoma makes a news story on a national or world scope, it's cause for a facedesk moment, thanks to having a pretty active population of fundamentalists who, when placed next to IS, seem a bit less violent, but otherwise cut from a similar cloth.

              Example (from today even): http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/fox-news-priest-demands-government-ban-satanic-masses-in-the-name-of-free-speech/ [rawstory.com]
              Another (probably a bit more illustrative of the extent to which it's really a big ongoing problem): http://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2012/09/16/oklahoma-judge-cites-bible-denying-transgender-name-changes [advocate.com]

          • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Sunday September 21 2014, @03:45AM

            by Reziac (2489) on Sunday September 21 2014, @03:45AM (#96137) Homepage

            No, no, no...

            [Volunteer needed]

            MUCH better. ;)

            And I agree about the relevance. Besides, it's fucking hilarious!

            Waitaminnut. I claim prior art! Back in 1990 my sister dragged me shopping at the IKEA in Burbank CA (I can date it accurately because the IKEA was newly opened). I hate shopping, and I don't like IKEA. Being bored shitless, I picked up a bright red colander and plopped it on my head, and wore it for the whole rest of the time we were in IKEA.

            I still have the colander. :)

            --
            And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Sunday September 21 2014, @12:25AM

        by Phoenix666 (552) on Sunday September 21 2014, @12:25AM (#96072) Journal

        The one I remembered from /. was in Austria [google.com].

        I enjoy stories about Pastafarianism because they wonderfully skewer religious bigots who demand (and often get) special treatment. For me they're appropriate for a "News for Nerds" site because they are social hacks. Most geeks don't think of it this way, but societies and cultures are systems you can tinker with and hack, too, just like any machine. A big, complex system with lots of fuzzy logic and indeterminacy, to be sure, but a system nonetheless.

        And the more people in our societies integrate tech into their daily lives, the truer that will be and the more amenable to our methods as geeks hacking that system will become.

        --
        Washington DC delenda est.
        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday September 21 2014, @12:31AM

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Sunday September 21 2014, @12:31AM (#96074) Journal
          Citation [soylentnews.org]
          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday September 20 2014, @07:52PM

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Saturday September 20 2014, @07:52PM (#95958) Homepage

      Soylent News: Where half the discussion is bitching about Soylent News.

      Seriously, quit bitching, or at least write racist trolls so I have something to laugh at. I may be an asshole but at least I don't waste everybody's time bitching and moaning about petty and unimportant things. You bitchers and moaners are like big babies with shitted britches throwing temper-tantrums and baby-food all over the place.

      • (Score: 3, Funny) by cykros on Sunday September 21 2014, @09:18PM

        by cykros (989) on Sunday September 21 2014, @09:18PM (#96461)

        Wait, you thought we were going to make a site A) mostly made up of people from /., where bitching and complaining has long been a way of life, and B) where most of those people came to this new site because we had MORE complaints then those who stayed at /., and then expected there NOT to be complaining about the content?

        There's going to be complaints about everything. And as you've so clearly helped show, there will even be complaints about complaints. And there are other comments to. Read the ones you want to, and if you'd like to add to complaints (like you've done here) feel free!

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by jackb_guppy on Saturday September 20 2014, @08:04PM

      by jackb_guppy (3560) on Saturday September 20 2014, @08:04PM (#95961)

      And yesterday was Speak-like-a-Pirate-Day. This fits perfectly into that theme since teaching of Pastafarians is to be done in full pirate dress.

  • (Score: 2) by mendax on Saturday September 20 2014, @08:35PM

    by mendax (2840) on Saturday September 20 2014, @08:35PM (#95979)

    The editors must be getting desperate for stories. Does this mean that a Satan worshipper can get his picture taken wearing horns? I think I need to do what L. Ron Hubbard did and start my own religion. This religion would require me to wear a Guy Fawkes>/a> mask in public. That would be fun. I could make a fortune selling "approved" masks. [wikipedia.org]

    --
    It's really quite a simple choice: Life, Death, or Los Angeles.
    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 21 2014, @08:42AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 21 2014, @08:42AM (#96208)

      Does this mean that a Satan worshipper can get his picture taken wearing horns?

      YES! It means every religious crazy person can have their flavor. This is the crux of the issue.

      The editors must be getting desperate for stories.

      I think this is a cool and inspiring story. Madness should be resisted but most people are too cowardly to do it.