It is good to see commentary that has not devolved into the liberal vs conservative bashing I have seen here before.
I don’t see how this persons religious views did not cause an issue at the library before that. She had to have checked out all sorts of literature to the patrons that she would have taken far worse offense to other than fantasy witches and warlocks.
I wonder if she tried to offer a compromise in the dress up day that would have solved this.
On the other hand, i find that the library’s tactics were deplorable and it looks as if she has a good case on the face of it.
How ironic. All that knowledge all around you and still ignorance is in abundance on both sides of this case.
How can something fictional interfere with religious beliefs?
Someone I know (not exactly a friend) forbid her son to read Harry Potter or watch the movies. She claimed the religion thing, too. Yet she allows her son to play with Pokemon and he can watch it on TV and I’m pretty sure there’s “magic” type things involved with that. So why is one wrong but the other isn’t? She never could explain that to me in a way I understood.
We do not have to understand someone’s opinion because it is just that – an opinion. The issue here is not how ludicrous we may think her beliefs are. She is entitled to believe in what she wants to. The question at hand is, were her [religious] rights violated? I can’t help but think she actually has a case here…despite the center of it all being a work of fiction.
Life is fraught with things that potentially make people “feel uncomfortable”. That shouldn’t mean employers have to cater to their every whim. This woman accepted the job and she should perform the work that comes with it. Working an event doesn’t compromise religious beliefs and it doesn’t sound like she was asked to compromise anything. It’s a sad day when people think they can pick and choose what they will and won’t do under terms of employement. If the work isn’t illegal, immoral, or unethical she should shut up and do it. Plus, it sounds like this was a single event.
If the allegations are true, then I find it to be quite a drastic measure to suspend someone for 10 days for refusal to participate in an after hours event, which infringes on their religious beliefs. With that said, would the plaintiff refuse to handle or hand out a “anti-Christian” book to a patron? The ACLU has help to create a mine field for employers in running their operations. First, the employer cannot ask you any questions about your religious beliefs when they employ you, then there must tiptoe around any issue that may offend any particular faith. Finally, they cannot fire a person, if his actions offend the faith of the majority of other workers. – Was there any indication in her employment records that indicated that she cannot do certain type of work? Was picking up books indicated in her job duties?
Because she SAYS it interfers with her religion, just can’t be enough. Can we say get another job? The problem with saying something from a work of fiction interfers with your religion – WHEN YOU WORK IN A LIBRARY – is that there are too many religions, too easily faked, and this would make you unsuitable for the position in the facility. As an employer, how would you control your work force. Just as doctors have to prescribe birth control pills or the morning after pill if they work in certain facilities and the patient needs them. They can’t call in another doctor, disrupt the work flow to right a prescription you don’t agree with. Someone who can’t lift multiple books is not capable of performing her position in the library. If there was something that could have been done to accommodate her to perform her duties, she should have asked. And if she told them she was unable to do it, they should have asked her what would enable her to do it. But to just say, I didn’t like the tasks they assigned to me that were the normal duties necessary in my position, won’t fly.
And the ACLU doesn’t muddy anything. They exist to protect the Constitution of the United States. If courts agree with their arguments and make a muddy mess, that is not the ACLU’s fault. Granted they are sometimes in some very unpopular fights.
Then again, she may have been stealing, preaching to customers or railing to customers about the evils of the Harry Potter series. Point being, this is half the story. I guarantee the library has their own story as to why this lady was assigned different duties.
Gotta hand it to the ACLU, they seem to not play favorites in what causes they take up. The same zealots that decry them one day may well be ACLU clients the next.
does fiction really interfere with faith? Well i can answer that several ways. One way is to say no, it doesn’t; unless you are REALLY weak in your faith. Another way to answer would be what’s the difference between fiction and religion? God, Buddha, Mohammad, Zeus, Ra, Iris, Athena and all figments of the imagination anyway, they are no more real than Harry Potter.
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It is good to see commentary that has not devolved into the liberal vs conservative bashing I have seen here before.
I don’t see how this persons religious views did not cause an issue at the library before that. She had to have checked out all sorts of literature to the patrons that she would have taken far worse offense to other than fantasy witches and warlocks.
I wonder if she tried to offer a compromise in the dress up day that would have solved this.
On the other hand, i find that the library’s tactics were deplorable and it looks as if she has a good case on the face of it.
How ironic. All that knowledge all around you and still ignorance is in abundance on both sides of this case.
How can something fictional interfere with religious beliefs?
Someone I know (not exactly a friend) forbid her son to read Harry Potter or watch the movies. She claimed the religion thing, too. Yet she allows her son to play with Pokemon and he can watch it on TV and I’m pretty sure there’s “magic” type things involved with that. So why is one wrong but the other isn’t? She never could explain that to me in a way I understood.
Does fiction really interfere with faith?
It did for her, so her employer should have respected her right to refuse to participate without repercussion.
Pokemon is a cartoon and there aren’t spells being cast. Harry Potter is using real people.
The point is, she was made to feel uncomfortable in the workplace based on her religion.
At least this is one the ACLU got right.
We do not have to understand someone’s opinion because it is just that – an opinion. The issue here is not how ludicrous we may think her beliefs are. She is entitled to believe in what she wants to. The question at hand is, were her [religious] rights violated? I can’t help but think she actually has a case here…despite the center of it all being a work of fiction.
I will be curious to see how this case plays out.
Life is fraught with things that potentially make people “feel uncomfortable”. That shouldn’t mean employers have to cater to their every whim. This woman accepted the job and she should perform the work that comes with it. Working an event doesn’t compromise religious beliefs and it doesn’t sound like she was asked to compromise anything. It’s a sad day when people think they can pick and choose what they will and won’t do under terms of employement. If the work isn’t illegal, immoral, or unethical she should shut up and do it. Plus, it sounds like this was a single event.
If the allegations are true, then I find it to be quite a drastic measure to suspend someone for 10 days for refusal to participate in an after hours event, which infringes on their religious beliefs. With that said, would the plaintiff refuse to handle or hand out a “anti-Christian” book to a patron? The ACLU has help to create a mine field for employers in running their operations. First, the employer cannot ask you any questions about your religious beliefs when they employ you, then there must tiptoe around any issue that may offend any particular faith. Finally, they cannot fire a person, if his actions offend the faith of the majority of other workers. – Was there any indication in her employment records that indicated that she cannot do certain type of work? Was picking up books indicated in her job duties?
Because she SAYS it interfers with her religion, just can’t be enough. Can we say get another job? The problem with saying something from a work of fiction interfers with your religion – WHEN YOU WORK IN A LIBRARY – is that there are too many religions, too easily faked, and this would make you unsuitable for the position in the facility. As an employer, how would you control your work force. Just as doctors have to prescribe birth control pills or the morning after pill if they work in certain facilities and the patient needs them. They can’t call in another doctor, disrupt the work flow to right a prescription you don’t agree with. Someone who can’t lift multiple books is not capable of performing her position in the library. If there was something that could have been done to accommodate her to perform her duties, she should have asked. And if she told them she was unable to do it, they should have asked her what would enable her to do it. But to just say, I didn’t like the tasks they assigned to me that were the normal duties necessary in my position, won’t fly.
And the ACLU doesn’t muddy anything. They exist to protect the Constitution of the United States. If courts agree with their arguments and make a muddy mess, that is not the ACLU’s fault. Granted they are sometimes in some very unpopular fights.
Then again, she may have been stealing, preaching to customers or railing to customers about the evils of the Harry Potter series. Point being, this is half the story. I guarantee the library has their own story as to why this lady was assigned different duties.
Gotta hand it to the ACLU, they seem to not play favorites in what causes they take up. The same zealots that decry them one day may well be ACLU clients the next.
does fiction really interfere with faith? Well i can answer that several ways. One way is to say no, it doesn’t; unless you are REALLY weak in your faith. Another way to answer would be what’s the difference between fiction and religion? God, Buddha, Mohammad, Zeus, Ra, Iris, Athena and all figments of the imagination anyway, they are no more real than Harry Potter.