Home Depot fires the Bible-reading Cashier wearing the "One Nation Under God" button

[JustAsking]

This is an issue where thinking deeply about it might cause a Conservative Republican's head to a'splode. Why? Because Home Depot just rendered its "Free Market" decision to maximize profit at the expense of some Christian's desire to express his faith while on the job.

The Constitution does not cover non-government suppression of religious expression. If any Republican objects to this event, just tell him that it is the "wisdom of the free market" at work. (and by the way, that is exactly what it is).

The problem is that most conservatives have no idea what they are asking for when they want a completely free market. They only want it to be free when it doesn't interfere with their other ideologies.

It is ironic that conservatives insist that organisms could not have evolved to such optimum levels by darwinian principles and then they insist that these are the only principles by which a market can optimize itself. There is something to free market darwinian principles, but they forgot the part where some 99.99% of all of the species that ever existed are now extinct. This is the cost of darwinian processes. There is a lot of misery, suffering, and death.

In this case what the free market wants to do is to make those who want the freedom to express their religious beliefs in the workplace to go extinct.

 

[HazelGod]

As non-religious as I am, I have to disagree with this. It's their right to wear these things in public. Wearing it on a uniform at a job is a whole different set of circumstances however.

I mean that argument could extend to anything, even non-religious symbols. If someone wants to get rid of one symbol, someone else will want to get rid of another. Hell, I'd like it if most fashion trends didn't exist too because they represent things I dislike, but you see where I'm going.

Don't misunderstand me...I'm not talking about legislating against religious expression. I'm talking about making it culturally unacceptable, not legally so.

I generally view overt displays of religiosity as badges of ignorance, and most of the people who would wear them don't disappoint me. There are exceptions, of course, but by and large they serve to prove the rule.

 

[MercyfulFate]

This is an issue where thinking deeply about it might cause a Conservative Republican's head to a'splode. Why? Because Home Depot just rendered its "Free Market" decision to maximize profit at the expense of some Christian's desire to express his faith while on the job.

The Constitution does not cover non-government suppression of religious expression. If any Republican objects to this event, just tell him that it is the "wisdom of the free market" at work. (and by the way, that is exactly what it is).

The problem is that most conservatives have no idea what they are asking for when they want a completely free market. They only want it to be free when it doesn't interfere with their other ideologies.

It is ironic that conservatives insist that organisms could not have evolved to such optimum levels by darwinian principles and then they insist that these are the only principles by which a market can optimize itself. There is something to free market darwinian principles, but they forgot the part where some 99.99% of all of the species that ever existed are now extinct. This is the cost of darwinian processes. There is a lot of misery, suffering, and death.

In this case what the free market wants to do is to make those who want the freedom to express their religious beliefs in the workplace to go extinct.

You're right that most people who want a free market don't completely understand what they're asking for. Greed is ever present in our current economy, and to suggest that corporations and industries could self police is silly. Hell they bend the rules with the government's help now, how would it be without that? They'd do everything they could to make it easier on them at the expense of others.

 

[B_VinylBoy]

The problem is that most conservatives have no idea what they are asking for when they want a completely free market. They only want it to be free when it doesn't interfere with their other ideologies.

... or their wallets. :wink:
Everything is fine and dandy with the "Free Market" system until they themselves face the prospect of losing money. But instead of following their own "work hard" rhetoric, they then look at everyone else and consider them to be the problem.

 

[B_New End]

At the end of the day, it's just a pin that said, "One Nation Under God". Even if you have different religious beliefs, this shouldn't offend anyone. Although I don't like the idea of people pushing their religious beliefs on me, this does seem like going a bit overboard. It's not as if this person was violently attacking anyone by wearing it. That's just looking at it from a personal standpoint.

From the business angle, however, if it's written in their rules that as an employee you cannot wear anything that implies religion in any shape or fashion then he has no choice but to follow suit. He chose not to and paid the price. Like Dave Chappelle said in a famous skit... sometimes, "keeping it real" goes very wrong. Pick your battles wisely.

So employees can start wearing buttons showing their Slayer pentagrams made of steel swords? AWESOME!!!

 

[jnj4play]

from what ive read A LOT of people are looking at this from a religious discrimination stand point. if you belive in God WHATEVER, if u dont believe in god WHATEVER. thats not the issue here! LOOK PAST THE HYPE

that said, i strongly dislike people that try to push their religion on you(im not saying that was the case in this instance) but its just as bad when someone that DOESNT believe in god tries to push THEIR views on you, that is called hypocrisy!

that said, this guy had a JOB, and the job had RULES, he didnt fallow the rules of HIS EMPLOYER. he go FIRED. get the fuck over it, what did you expect!? u broke a rule, u got fired plain and simple. it just so happens that the word GOD was in there somehow and all of a sudden its a huge deal. plz this is just retarded

 

[B_VinylBoy]

So employees can start wearing buttons showing their Slayer pentagrams made of steel swords? AWESOME!!!

Depends where you work, dude.
Like I said before, my day job is at a company where people get to practically wear what they want. We have people in the shipping department wearing STFU T-Shirts. I wore one saying "Unf*ck The World" and there were no issues. Hell, the boss sometimes walks around in just his socks (not literally only his socks, but you get the picture). :biggrin1:

Every job has a dress code and if you plan to stay employed you have to abide by them. If I had to stop wearing some of my favorite T-Shirts or not wear particular pins in order to do it then so be it. That's a very small price to pay to maintain employment. Losing your job just because you didn't want to take off a pin, regardless of the message, is way beyond stupid.

 

[Zeuhl34]

So employees can start wearing buttons showing their Slayer pentagrams made of steel swords? AWESOME!!!

Fuck yeah, Slayer!

 

[Guy-jin]

This is an issue where thinking deeply about it might cause a Conservative Republican's head to a'splode. Why? Because Home Depot just rendered its "Free Market" decision to maximize profit at the expense of some Christian's desire to express his faith while on the job.

The Constitution does not cover non-government suppression of religious expression. If any Republican objects to this event, just tell him that it is the "wisdom of the free market" at work. (and by the way, that is exactly what it is).

The problem is that most conservatives have no idea what they are asking for when they want a completely free market. They only want it to be free when it doesn't interfere with their other ideologies.

It is ironic that conservatives insist that organisms could not have evolved to such optimum levels by darwinian principles and then they insist that these are the only principles by which a market can optimize itself. There is something to free market darwinian principles, but they forgot the part where some 99.99% of all of the species that ever existed are now extinct. This is the cost of darwinian processes. There is a lot of misery, suffering, and death.

In this case what the free market wants to do is to make those who want the freedom to express their religious beliefs in the workplace to go extinct.

True Republicans would be on the side of Home Depot here.

The one or two of them that still exist, that is.

Queue thread about how Neocons destroyed the once-great party. :biggrin1:

 

[Ericsson1228d]

At the end of the day, it's just a pin that said, "One Nation Under God". Even if you have different religious beliefs, this shouldn't offend anyone. Although I don't like the idea of people pushing their religious beliefs on me, this does seem like going a bit overboard. It's not as if this person was violently attacking anyone by wearing it. That's just looking at it from a personal standpoint.

From the business angle, however, if it's written in their rules that as an employee you cannot wear anything that implies religion in any shape or fashion then he has no choice but to follow suit. He chose not to and paid the price. Like Dave Chappelle said in a famous skit... sometimes, "keeping it real" goes very wrong. Pick your battles wisely.

Well put. It does seem Home Depot overreacted. However, I wonder if they may have opened the door up for a legal argument by offering him the alternate pin....

 

[B_VinylBoy]

Well put. It does seem Home Depot overreacted. However, I wonder if they may have opened the door up for a legal argument by offering him the alternate pin....

Home Depot makes the rules in this case. When you're an employee hired "at will", they can decide what is appropriate and what isn't whenever they feel like it. The fact that this brain surgeon of an ex-employee tried to "keep it real", ignoring the fact that his pin broke their Employee Guidelines, he messed up. Period.

If there is a lawsuit, Home Depot would win it hands down. If my boss tells me to change my shirt or take off something he or she doesn't like and if I want to KEEP MY JOB, then I follow suit. Doesn't matter what it says or what it looks like.

 

[vince]

Ya'll's money has In God We Trust plastered all over it. Must be confusing for some people to sort out the whole separation of church and state thing. People taking oaths on Bibles, Billy Graham, the National Cathedral, the Pledge of Allegiance and references to the Creator in the founding document.

It's not surprising that nationalism and faith in God go hand in hand in the minds of a huge section of the population.

 

[D_Sir Fitzwilly Wankheimer III]

I am offended by Home Depot's contribution to illegal slave labor. In many cities Home Depot has an area for illegals to gather to recruit work. This offends me. What has been done about it? We are all offended by something and when something like this happens it is a slippery slope. People forget that not long ago the opposite of everything and every thought today were what was accepted.

Just because everyone agrees does not make it right. Just because some people chose to include God or exclude God does not make their life right.

Notice those replies that have equated redneck with patriots. If being a patriot is a redneck then call me a redneck.

Oh yea, both Lowe's and Home Depot are headquartered out of the south, one GA and one in NC so I would hardly say Home Depot is the shinning example to yuppies.

Has there ever been a liberal who disagrees and uses facts to balance their argument? No, there has not. Liberals go right to insulting.

Right on brother. The hypocracy on this site is baffeling. the groups fighting for gay rights, the end of racisim or what ever you fight is etc. go right to town with stereo typing gruops they don't agree with. start calling n words or co$K sucking fa%ots hell will reingn down on you for being a homaphobe or racist and probably get you banned but it perfectly ok to bash people of religion or a different point of view as bibble thumping inbreds or rednecks.

You're no better than the people you hate. I personally am not a religious person but I have no problem with one nation under god or christmas trees or mangers or menorahs or what ever your pleasue is as perverse as it may be.

Whats even better is how heated things get here and the amount of time people take find articles documents to suprt their opinion. for christs sake poeple your soap box here is the lage penis support group, get grip, better yet get a life.

 

[B_VinylBoy]

Right on brother. The hypocracy on this site is baffeling. the groups fighting for gay rights, the end of racisim or what ever you fight is etc. go right to town with stereo typing gruops they don't agree with. start calling n words or co$K sucking fa%ots hell will reingn down on you for being a homaphobe or racist and probably get you banned but it perfectly ok to bash people of religion or a different point of view as bibble thumping inbreds or rednecks.

You're no better than the people you hate. I personally am not a religious person but I have no problem with one nation under god or christmas trees or mangers or menorahs or what everyou pleasue is as perverse as it may be.

I admit, it IS a nice deflection from the subject matter.
And we can all tell you're not religious.

 

[bigbull29]

I really don't like participating on "serious" threads on here anymore. This forum has become so mean and political. After all, if I want to fight all day with people on issues, I wouldn't come to a big dick site.:biggrin1: I mean, after all, what's the point of LPSG? To show hate to everyone you disagree with or have sexual fun with the big dick fetish?

 

[invisibleman]

I really don't like participating on "serious" threads on here anymore. This forum has become so mean and political. After all, if I want to fight all day with people on issues, I wouldn't come to a big dick site.:biggrin1: I mean, after all, what's the point of LPSG? To show hate to everyone you disagree with or have sexual fun with the big dick fetish?

I agree. Sometimes I have much to say about these issues. But then, I decide it isn't worth it. No one ever listens or pays much attention to what I write on these issues anyway.

:biggrin1:

 

[vince]

Hey, whatever turns your crank. Cock worship, God worship, politics, sex, people are free to post here whatever they want within the rules. And rules are pretty loosey goosey minimal. Hell, you're even free to bitch about what other people like to post about. If you don't like politics or SPH or str8 men or women or blacks or whites or Tuesdays... STFU. Or not, as you wish. But please, don't cry about it. It doesn't become you.

 

[bigbull29]

I agree. Sometimes I have much to say about these issues. But then, I decide it isn't worth it. No one ever listens or pays much attention to what I write on these issues anyway.

:biggrin1:

I'm not wasting my time anymore. What I have to say isn't going to to change anyone's mind anyways.

I'm here to have fun, not fight about social issues, religion and politics and make enemies in the process.

 

[invisibleman]

I'm not wasting my time anymore. What I have to say isn't going to to change anyone's mind anyways.

I'm here to have fun, not fight about social issues, religion and politics and make enemies in the process.

Yeah, I understand that. I blame it on the reality show schadenfreude. People like the misery of others. People hating people. Politics and religion can blind people from acknowledging their own personal potential and evolution.

I still believe that all of the hate (no matter the prejudice) doesn't help things either. I get angry and it is across the board. And it isn't prejudice-based either. It isn't good to keep it. Sometimes people got to let it go. And learn to realize the world is everyone's space not just one person's or a group's space.

Everyone is different yet similar. We have differences and some commonalities as well. No one is perfect.

 

[HazelGod]

I'm not wasting my time anymore. What I have to say isn't going to to change anyone's mind anyways.

I'm here to have fun, not fight about social issues, religion and politics and make enemies in the process.

Apathy is the true enemy of a free democracy.