"The grocery empire strikes back"

[faceless]

Jedi religion founder accuses Tesco of discrimination over rules on hoods
Daniel Jones says he was humiliated and victimised for his beliefs following incident at store in Wales
Helen Carter
guardian.co.uk,
18 September 2009

Tesco has been accused of religious discrimination after the company ordered the founder of a Jedi religion to remove his hood or leave a branch of the supermarket in north Wales. Daniel Jones, founder of the religion inspired by the Star Wars films, says he was humiliated and victimised for his beliefs following the incident at a Tesco store in Bangor.

The 23-year-old, who founded the International Church of Jediism, which has 500,000 followers worldwide, was told the hood flouted store rules. But the grocery empire struck back, claiming that the three best known Jedi Knights in the Star Wars movies – Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker – all appeared in public without their hoods. Jones, from Holyhead, who is known by the Jedi name Morda Hehol, said his religion dictated that he should wear the hood in public places and is considering legal action against the chain.

"It states in our Jedi doctrination that I can wear headwear. It just covers the back of my head," he said. "You have a choice of wearing headwear in your home or at work but you have to wear a cover for your head when you are in public." He said he'd gone to the store to buy something to eat during his lunch break when staff approached him and ordered him to the checkout where they explained he would have to remove the offending hood or leave the store.

"They said: 'Take it off', and I said: 'No, its part of my religion. It's part of my religious right.' I gave them a Jedi church business card. They weren't listening to me and were rude. They had three people around me. It was intimidating." Jones, who has made an official complaint to Tesco, is considering a boycott of the store and is seeking legal advice.

Tesco said: "He hasn't been banned. Jedis are very welcome to shop in our stores although we would ask them to remove their hoods. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Luke Skywalker all appeared hoodless without ever going over to the Dark Side and we are only aware of the Emperor as one who never removed his hood. If Jedi walk around our stores with their hoods on, they'll miss lots of special offers."

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[Skylace]

The last line is the best

[eefanincan]

I was trying to come up with some brilliant Star Wars line, but in the end, I'll just have to agree with Sky..... the last line was the best

[faceless]

Jedi believer wins apology after being kicked out of Jobcentre for wearing a hood
By Andrew Levy
16th March 2010

As any Star Wars fan knows, the Force is a powerful tool that can be harnessed to control the minds of weak-willed individuals. So when Jedi believer Chris Jarvis was told to remove his hooded top at a Jobcentre, its staff must have been made of stern stuff. Despite explaining he wears a cowl as part of his faith, the 31-year-old was marched off the premises by security guards after refusing to comply.

Infuriated by his treatment, he wrote a letter of complaint to the branch in Southend, Essex, and was surprised to receive an apology which said the service 'embraces diversity and respects customers' religions'.

Despite the olive branch, the disabled father of three is planning to sue Jobcentre Plus for discrimination. He said: 'I am a Star Wars follower. It means following the way of the Jedi. The main reason is I want to wear my hood up and I have got a religion which allows me to do that. It's my choice. It's my right to do it. 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 - the Sikhs are able to carry a great big dagger. My religion allows me to wear my hood. I felt very let down by a government organisation.'

Mr Jarvis, who uses a walking stick and has been out of work for more than two years after fracturing both of his heels, dropped into the Jobcentre on Friday to make enquiries about his disability benefits. 'I was told by security staff to remove my hood. I was told, not asked. I said "It's my religion, I'm a Jedi knight,' said Mr Jarvis, who also has a stepdaughter. 'There was a Muslim lady in there with full head gear and I said, "This is my religion and that's her religion. Before you get into legal problems, go and Google it".'

The former builder, who lives in Southend with girlfriend Amanda Alford, 31, who is also unemployed, said the floor manager then came over and asked him to remove the hood. When he complained, the floor manager Googled the Jedi religion and came back to tell him there was nothing on the internet about having to wear a hood. 'I told them there was nothing in the Koran saying the Muslim woman had to wear a full head scarf but they weren't hassling her,' he added. 'Nobody said it was for security reasons or anything. It was like "You're removing it because we say so".'

He eventually agreed to remove the hood but was surrounded by three security guards when he put it back up while using a computer to look for jobs. 'I felt threatened. They were ready to throw me out for a religious reason. The manager told them to remove me from the premises, so I left.' Mr Jarvis, who has been following Jediism for eight months, then wrote to the Jobcentre complaining about his treatment and received a response three days later from manager Wendy Flewers.

She wrote: 'I'm sorry to hear of your recent experience and have investigated the issue.
'Jobcentre Plus is committed to provide a customer service which embraces diversity and respects a customer's religion or beliefs. 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. We as an organisation have a duty of car to both customers and staff, therefore for security reasons we ask customers to remove their hoods. I have spoken to the member of staff and it was not their intention to offend your beliefs.'

Jediism, which bases its teachings on the 'the Force' from the Star Wars films, was officially recognised as a religion in 2001. The Jedi religion, which has more than 400,000 members in the UK, is inspired by the Star Wars films in which the Jedis represent the 'light side' in the fight against Darth Vader's 'dark side'.

The Jobcentre writes back: The letter Chris Jarvis received from branch manager Wendy Flewers

In September last year the founder of the religion, 23-year-old Daniel Jones, was kicked out of a Tesco supermarket in North Wales for wearing his distinctive brown hood. But Tesco hit back in the spirit of the epic space saga and claimed that the three most well-known Jedi knights in the Star Wars movies - Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker - all appeared in public without their hoods.

The Jedi Church believes that there is one all powerful force that binds all things in the universe together. It states on its website: 'The Jedi Church recognises that there is one all powerful force that binds all things in the universe together, and accepts all races and species from all over the universe as potential members of the religion. The Jedi religion is something innate inside everyone of us, the Jedi Church believes that our sense of morality is innate. So quiet your mind and listen to the force within you!'

It continues: 'There are two sides to the force, the dark side and the light side. Beware of the dark side... The dark side leads to fear. Fear leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.'

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If this guy wasn't invoking the massive amounts of racism and bigotry that Moslems and Sikhs have had to deal with I might give a toss. He's hardly showing the strength of the Jedi by being such a whining little Inglander.