128340502703593750unoevartaHappy Sunday everyone! I’m sure you’ve all just gotten back from Sunday school and church! HA!

The other day a new person commented on HDC. They have recently deconverted (yay!) and shared an uncomfortable story from work:

I recently had an experience today at work which made me so angry, but valuing keeping my job, I held my tongue.

Two hasidic Jews walked into the store I worked at and they were dressed in the typical hasidic style and were carrying around a pillow with Hebrew words on it. One of them approached me and asked me if any of the employees at my store were Jewish. I inferred this to mean that they did not want to do business with a non-Jew. (Today also happens to be their Sabbath so maybe that had something to do with it). I found it inappropriate to ask for many reasons. Firstly I felt insulted that my non-Jewishness somehow taints me from a normal business interaction. 2nd it’s not my business to know my co-worker’s spirtiual beliefs if any. Naturally I wanted to tell them to shove it, but since I’m not looking to be fired, I simply replied with “I’m sorry but I don’t know specifically what my co-worker’s beliefs are”. They looked disappointed and walked away.

Has anyone ever had an uncomfortable experience in the work place regarding either co-workers or customers/clients who frustrated you with either arrogance of their religion or pushing their ideas on you?

It’s a great question they ask. So I’ll ask you:

  • Have you had any experiences at work that were frustrating or uncomfortable regarding religion?
  • Are you “out of the religious closet” at work?
  • Any proselytizing at work?
  • Who have you had problems with, if at all? Co-workers? Customers? Bosses?
  • Have you said anything in return? If so did you get in trouble for being non-religious?
  • On the other hand, have you had any good nonreligious experiences at work? Are you able to be out of the closet?

I’m on the fence with voting. Half of me feels like it’s a total waste of time. After all, from my limited understanding of such things, I learned in school that we have an electoral system in place, not direct elections, so how does my vote count? Plus, I don’t really care for any of the candidates. Some of them are downright despicable, but the others are just not my choice for the role they’re campaigning for. I hate the idea of voting for the best of the worst. That’s a lousy choice.

On the other hand, I feel that we have to do whatever we can to make things as good as possible, individually and collectively. This means doing stuff like voting, which is a responsibility, not a luxury. Plus, if you don’t vote, then I feel you have no right to complain about whoever gets elected.

Then, as we get closer to the election, I become increasingly alarmed by what I’m hearing and seeing about the candidates. Below is a short Associated Press video of Matt Damon talking about Sarah Palin. He basically sums it up in under 2 minutes why I have to vote against McCain/Palin.

From what I gather of Palin, if she gets into higher office, it seems like we’re doomed. She’s a pentecostal. She believes in armageddon. Not just figuratively, but literally. Which means she doesn’t care about the world, or peace. If the violent biblical prophecies happen then they’ll be closer to getting to heaven. So World War 3 would be just dandy to someone who believes in armageddon. Read the rest of this entry »

It looks so harmless, doesn’t it? A tiny little RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) chip. Its uses are only limited by the imagination, it seems.

Well, Middletown School District in Rhode Island has started a pilot program to monitor students by implanting these little chips in their schoolbags. The district is in partnership with MAP Information Technology Corp. and together they are going to tag 80 students. Two school busses will be outfitted readers for the chips and with GPS devices. Read the rest of this entry »