Police called to DMV after man refuses to remove pasta strainer from head (FSM Alert!)

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/20/police-called-after-man-refuses-to-remove-pasta-strainer-from-head/



Police called to DMV after man refuses to remove pasta strainer from head
By Eric W. Dolan
Wednesday, February 20, 2013 17:18 EST

A Motor Vehicle Commission office in New Jersey called the police on a man who refused to remove a pasta strainer from his head while having his driver’s license photo taken.

Aaron Williams, 25, said his pasta strainer was a religious head covering and that he had a right to wear it, according to a South Brunswick Police Department report obtained by The Smoking Gun.

Police informed Williams that a pasta strainer was not approved by the MVC and convinced him to take the photo without it. The incident occurred on February 2.

Williams told Patch on Tuesday that he was a devout Pastafarian and was merely showing his allegiance to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster by wearing the pasta strainer. The parody religion took off in 2005, after Bobby Henderson mocked the Kansas Board of Education in an open letter for allowing the teaching of Intelligent Design in public schools.



unhappycamper comment: http://www.venganza.org/

[Sherman A1]

1. That is a very nice

pasta strainer. One wonders if it comes in other colors as well?

[tclambert]

6. If it came in black, they might have allowed it,

mistaking it for some other religion's head covering.

[surrealAmerican]

14. They don't make them like that any more.

It looks to be a vintage strainer from the 1970s. This man clearly enjoys his antiques.

[PatrynXX]

26. prefer our white one

bit bigger. although probably just about as greasy when dry

[Berlum]

33. For sure. Won't be surprised to see him & strainer on the cover of GQ

[Tunkamerica]

2. and then there was spaghetti

[erronis]

20. Cool how he colored his spaghetti

To look like hair! Wonder what type of sauce he uses...

[idwiyo]

3. He boils to satisfy our taste EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE WEEK and we can't even honour him?

That's not fair!!!

[Javaman]

13. Ramen. nt

[SpartanDem]

4. WE HAVE ALL BEEN TOUCHED BY HIS NOODLY APPENDAGE

[Are_grits_groceries]

5. WHY is The Onion still in business?

The daily news is satire live!


Oh how I wish this becomes a court case that ends up before SCOTUS eventually.

[trusty elf]

7. In Austria, they allowed a pastafarian to wear the strainer in his driver's license photo.

"Williams is not the first Pastafarian to claim the right to wear a pasta strainer on his head. Austria allowed entrepreneur Niko Alm to wear a pasta strainer in his driver’s license photo last year, after officials requested the Pastafarian show he was “psychologically fit” to drive."

'Murca, land of the free. :-/

[Rhiannon12866]

8. K&R!!!

[datasuspect]

9. praise be

inshpasta!

[MrYikes]

10. We kinda laugh but,

what harm was there, why was he forced by a lawman with a gun to submit to some bureaucratic bullying, where is the freedom in this?
This is so wrong on many levels.
Oops, I'm sorry, I just noticed it was a plastic stainer,,well that can not be allowed.

[Nevernose]

23. I believe plastic strainers are allowed

If the person has any of the rare metal allergies. It's in the revised fourth Book of Parmesan (New Interstate Trucker's Edition, Harvard Translation).

[idwiyo]

37. Thank you for clarification. Ramen!

I am off to buy a new strainer. I think I am going for collapsible one this time:

http://www.josephjoseph.com/colanders-and-strainers/folding-colander

I really fancy the green one, just in time for spring!

Blessed be all pasta makers!

[winter is coming]

11. Wait, you mean the person taking the picture actually *looked* at what they were photographing? n/t

[formercia]

12. In the name of the Pasta, Sauce and Holy Meatballs

Ramen

[TheCowsCameHome]

15. Police budgets are strained enough without this nonsense.

Actually, it would look better over his face.

[Renew Deal]

16. lol

[progressoid]

17. Blessed are the sauce makers.

[treestar]

18. I love this stuff

Legitimate testing of the laws - the regulation that you can keep religious headgear as an exception to the law against no headgear - that makes actual sense.

And on what ground did they call the police? They could refuse to process his license, but calling the cops seems OTT.

[Nevernose]

21. His religion was not on the approved list

The DMV apparently keeps a list of tax-exempt, state registered religions. Which is much crazier than wearing a pasta strainer.

Someday, when the Grim Waiter comes for them, they'll be sorry for not acquiescing to the demands of His Noodly Faithful.

[greiner3]

19. I had thougth about doing this;

After I read the article.

However, all my strainers are of the metallic type; stainless steel and aluminum.

Now THAT would have brought out the guys in the white suits!

[d_r]

22. Unless NJ changed their law

their does not have to e an "approval" by the MVC -

"In 2003, a memorandum reminded employees that "applicants who obtain photo driver licenses or ID cards are not required to remove religious or ethnic head and/or facial coverings. Also, the Division no longer requires that the applicants certify to the necessity of the coverings. Three weeks later another memorandum was issued disallowing the issuance of driver licenses to applicants wearing facial coverings of any kind."


Head gear is allowed, facial covering is not, and there is no requirement to certify the necessity.

see http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/LWVJ.pdf

[dixiegrrrrl]

30. Isn't a beard a facial covering?

[Chalco]

24. Now that's a religion I can believe in. Pastafarianism forever! nt

[PatrynXX]

25. You know

if they allowed every religion in schools I'd have no problem with him wearing that had. Because I do wish that the state would stay out of religion. Seperation of church and state should be there so the state becomes involved in religion. If one needs a hall of religion then there should be one. For everyone who wants one included. Hopefully via how popular one is though. Like in the size of icons. Think the above would count as other. I'm guessing there's more Jainism folks out there. (ahem where using the swastika is totally legal)

[leveymg]

27. Unlike that other religion, there is scientific evidence the FSM was born in the USA!

Taken at the moment of Creation. Complete Truth spoken here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x987724 Ramen!

[Tommy_Carcetti]

28. Wow. Someone posted a crazy story NOT from Florida.

Glad to see other states trying to compete with us.

[idwiyo]

38. Please, do not use words like "crazy" when talking about other people's religion.

Can you present any evidence that His Holy Noodliness doesn't exist?

I can prove his existence very easily:

A) spaghetti exist
B) meatballs exist

Therefore He exists too.

It's that easy, really.

Ramen!

[PD Turk]

29. "not approved by MVC"?

Since when do bureaucrats get to decide which religions are approved and which aren't? And was it really necessary to call in armed jackboots to bully him?

[dixiegrrrrl]

32. was it really necessary to call in armed jackboots to bully him?

Absolutely!!!!!!

The rapidly increasing efforts to stamp out ANY form of protest and/or non-conformist behavior is a key element of control in this country.Tis meant to warn others not to do the same.

[PD Turk]

34. I guess I'm in trouble then

I've been a non conformist most of my life, and now I'm too old and stubborn to change that

[Egalitarian Thug]

35. Yeah well, they're going to have a place for us.

Obviously they haven't thought of the potential consequences of concentrating our influence.

Obey. Conform. Buy.

[dixiegrrrrl]

36. They will wait a few more years till the survivors of the 60's die off.

Now that schools and tv and radio and what is left of newspapers have all been dumbed down enough,
soon as us boomers shuffle off, the rest of the Constitution can be shredded, and "no one will notice, no one will care"
as Carlin said.

[hunter]

31. It must be a very peaceful place.

Our police show up reliably when someone is dead, shot, raped, beaten, bleeding profusely, or on fire. Sometimes it seems like robbery, domestic abuse, and disturbing the peace calls must pass some threshold of urgency.

Anything non-violent is handled by unarmed and non-confrontational community service officers and clerks.

If it's a property crime or a non-injury car accident they'll tell you to file a report on their web site or come down to the station. Waiting in the station to file a report or to turn in found property is always a trip. I've overheard some interesting stories there.

I'm just surprised the police would show up for something like this. A guy wearing a pasta strainer on his head at our DMV would probably be disappointed that nobody cared enough to ask him why.