Witch! Witch!

[weltschmerz]

Accused of being a witch, an Air Force contractor working at a dental clinic at Fort Meade, Maryland, has been fired. Seriously.

Deborah Schoenfeld, a dental technician at the clinic, and a Hindu, was fired on September 2, immediately after filing a formal complaint about the religious harassment she was being forced to endure, which included being accused of witchcraft, bringing demons into the office, and being admonished that practicing yoga is "satanic" and will "cost (her) her soul." The alleged reason given for her firing was that she was accused of using profanity in the workplace. She was told, however, that she did not have the right to know who her accusers were.

www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-rodda/is-this-2015-or-1692-woma_b_8251154.html

[Abby Normal]

dayum- this is a whole bag of crazy.  Yoga is satanic?

[NancysSummerSip]

Oct 6, 2015 15:01:38 GMT -5 @tbird said:

Oct 6, 2015 14:47:16 GMT -5 Abby Normal said:

dayum- this is a whole bag of crazy.  Yoga is satanic?

and there are those clothes, luludemon wear

. Sorry for laughing given the serious nature of the accusation, but that is awesome.

Sheesh, it's one thing if this woman came into work wearing a peaked black hat and sitting on a broomstick. But yoga? And who saw these demons she is alleged to have brought in? What do they look like? Are they carrying pitchforks and hurling fireballs, or just huffing the laughing gas?

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Wonder if they are related to Kim Davis?

[dannylion]

There is a significant cohort among fundamentalists who believe that the practice of yoga is Satan worship.

I don't understand why she wants to keep working with those people.  They won't stop harassing her because they believe they must oppose Satan (who seems to manifest himself in the oddest places), and if, as it appears, management sympathizes with them, nothing is going to change.  

She would likely be better off seeking a new opportunity in an environment not infested with crazy people.

[quince]

She should probably find something new, yes, but in the meantime, having her firing reversed would probably be better for her career than a record that she was fired with cause. (Military contractor, right?) It seems like pretty blatant discrimination and retaliation, and the best response, where possible and the victim is up for it, isn't slinking away and relocating to a more diverse population center, but pursing legal recourse. Hopefully the clinic and associated parties are appropriately penalized in the end.

[dannylion]

Oct 6, 2015 15:55:12 GMT -5 quince said:

She should probably find something new, yes, but in the meantime, having her firing reversed would probably be better for her career than a record that she was fired with cause. (Military contractor, right?) It seems like pretty blatant discrimination and retaliation, and the best response, where possible and the victim is up for it, isn't slinking away and relocating to a more diverse population center, but pursing legal recourse. Hopefully the clinic and associated parties are appropriately penalized in the end.

You're right.  Absolutely she should contest her firing and seek redress and one hopes there will be suitable consequences for the employer.  I was just addressing the part of the article that said she wanted to go back to the job she was fired from.  That seems like a disaster waiting to happen. 

[quince]

Oct 6, 2015 16:07:26 GMT -5 dannylion said:

Oct 6, 2015 15:55:12 GMT -5 quince said:

She should probably find something new, yes, but in the meantime, having her firing reversed would probably be better for her career than a record that she was fired with cause. (Military contractor, right?) It seems like pretty blatant discrimination and retaliation, and the best response, where possible and the victim is up for it, isn't slinking away and relocating to a more diverse population center, but pursing legal recourse. Hopefully the clinic and associated parties are appropriately penalized in the end.

You're right.  Absolutely she should contest her firing and seek redress and one hopes there will be suitable consequences for the employer.  I was just addressing the part of the article that said she wanted to go back to the job she was fired from.  That seems like a disaster waiting to happen. 

I wonder if she has to say she wants to go back for them to account the job as something she needs to be compensated for? Reinstated, with retroactive pay, woo hoo? Unless it is the only thing within 500 miles she is qualified for, I agree it that it is hard to understand why she would want to go back.

Or maybe she's more hardcore than I am. If I was feeling prickly I might want to make the people harassing me have to swallow seeing me there every day, with their behavior being under scrutiny because of the costs of the lawsuit I presumably won. A few months of that while looking for something more suitable could be satisfying, if you have the stomach for it.

[Jaguar]

Oh my geez, the world has gone completely crazy. Okay it always was batshit, but this is a new level of batshit in my world.

[NastyWoman]

Nothing new about calling yoga some kind of devil worship:

www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Yoga-Lawsuit-Encinitas-Judgment-Ruling-School-Class-Controversy-213853341.html

Didn't take though... I'm starting to think that maybe we need to take the same approach to fundamentalist christians as they would like us to take to any person not following their religious mantra: put them on a boat, push them out to sea and let them find a place that welcomes them (if such a place exists → otherwise Waterworld it is)  

[Tennesseer]

I wonder if Deborah Schoenfeld's co-workers gave her the water dunking test: if she floats, she's a witch.  If she sinks, she's innocent.

[wvugurl26]

Oct 6, 2015 16:13:04 GMT -5 quince said:

Oct 6, 2015 16:07:26 GMT -5 dannylion said:

You're right.  Absolutely she should contest her firing and seek redress and one hopes there will be suitable consequences for the employer.  I was just addressing the part of the article that said she wanted to go back to the job she was fired from.  That seems like a disaster waiting to happen. 

I wonder if she has to say she wants to go back for them to account the job as something she needs to be compensated for? Reinstated, with retroactive pay, woo hoo? Unless it is the only thing within 500 miles she is qualified for, I agree it that it is hard to understand why she would want to go back.

Or maybe she's more hardcore than I am. If I was feeling prickly I might want to make the people harassing me have to swallow seeing me there every day, with their behavior being under scrutiny because of the costs of the lawsuit I presumably won. A few months of that while looking for something more suitable could be satisfying, if you have the stomach for it.

I have a feeling you'd also be under scrutiny. Maybe it's just me but I'm sure there's some stupid rule or policy I break nearly daily if someone had an agenda against me.

I understand wanting a clear record. Depending on how the contract is up there though it's no different than her being fired from a private employer. Things get really murky with contractors and their employees.

[Green Eyed Lady]

The letter from the attorney states that she practices the Hindu religion and "has interest in Wiccan practices".  I know very little about Wiccan practices, but don't those who practice it refer to themselves as "witches"? 

Don't lose your minds.  I'm not condoning ANY of what was done to her in any way, if it's true, and it is HuffPo so I'll reserve judgment until I have the time to look into it further.  Can't believe nobody has started screaming about the source yet.  I'm just wondering if they used that particular accusation to sensationalize the story. 

As for yoga being "satanic", I've not heard anybody say that before.  Wow.

[thyme4change]

I can't help but think of the Simpsons when the teacher and the principal were dating. Bart took all the kids to the janitors closet where they were kissing and Ralphie went home and the story went something like this "They were hugging in the closet. They were kissing. They were naked. They were making babies. I saw one of the babies. It said hi to me."

She was not Christian. She did yoga. She was researching Wiccan. She is a witch. She summoned demons. I saw one of the demons. It said hi to me.

[tskeeter]

Oct 6, 2015 17:11:30 GMT -5 Green Eyed Lady said:

The letter from the attorney states that she practices the Hindu religion and "has interest in Wiccan practices".  I know very little about Wiccan practices, but don't those who practice it refer to themselves as "witches"? 

Don't lose your minds.  I'm not condoning ANY of what was done to her in any way, if it's true, and it is HuffPo so I'll reserve judgment until I have the time to look into it further.  Can't believe nobody has started screaming about the source yet.  I'm just wondering if they used that particular accusation to sensationalize the story. 

As for yoga being "satanic", I've not heard anybody say that before.  Wow.

I know less about Wiccan practices than GEL, but it's been my impression that many Wiccan practices are similar to many of our ancient ancestor's practices.  Use of herbal remedies.  Focus on cycles of nature. Maybe even a belief in spirits (such as ancient martyred Jewish guys?).  Heck, if you use digitalis (foxglove), raise a garden, or go to church, are you a witch?

[NoNamePerson]

Oct 6, 2015 16:51:58 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

I wonder if Deborah Schoenfeld's co-workers gave her the water dunking test: if she floats, she's a witch.  If she sinks, she's innocent.

  I wrote a paper long long ago in high school about witches and witchcraft. Outcome was "if she floats, she's a witch" so they manually drowned her.   Geeze, don't be making me go down memory lane - that's what old farts do    

[Tiny]

Oct 6, 2015 14:47:16 GMT -5 Abby Normal said:

dayum- this is a whole bag of crazy.  Yoga is satanic?

Yes. For certain varieties of Christians it's satanic -  because it COULD be a gateway to "new age" spiritualism...  versus a ONE God only Christianity.       

See this:

www.todayschristianwoman.com/articles/2005/march/truth-about-yoga.html

[dannylion]

Oct 6, 2015 17:50:51 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Oct 6, 2015 14:47:16 GMT -5 Abby Normal said:

dayum- this is a whole bag of crazy.  Yoga is satanic?

Yes. For certain varieties of Christians it's satanic -  because it COULD be a gateway to "new age" spiritualism...  versus a ONE God only Christianity.       

See this:

www.todayschristianwoman.com/articles/2005/march/truth-about-yoga.html

Not to mention that it could lead to dancing.

[Tiny]

Oct 6, 2015 17:52:31 GMT -5 dannylion said:

Oct 6, 2015 17:50:51 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Yes. For certain varieties of Christians it's satanic -  because it COULD be a gateway to "new age" spiritualism...  versus a ONE God only Christianity.       

See this:

www.todayschristianwoman.com/articles/2005/march/truth-about-yoga.html

Not to mention that it could lead to dancing.

here's another one...

www.breakpoint.org/component/blog/entry/12/27109

Yoga is EVIL!!!      

Trying to find the article about some Bible Belt grade school that tried to introduce some excerise into the class room via Yoga moves - and then some parent(s) had heart attacks because their kids were being taught Satanic things in school. 

 

[NoNamePerson]

Hell, just waking up in the morning could be classified as "satanic"  

[Tiny]

Schoenfeld, who wishes to return to her job, has turned to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), which has sent the following letter to the commander of this modern day Salem, where we hope they aren't also using the dental practices of 1692 on our troops.

If the letter is the real deal - it may have to be dumbed down abit... there's a lot of 10 dollar words and what MIGHT be seen as highfalutin legal jargon in it... those receiving the letter might not understand it (they obviously aren't the brightest people).

[Abby Normal]

Oct 6, 2015 18:08:57 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Schoenfeld, who wishes to return to her job, has turned to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), which has sent the following letter to the commander of this modern day Salem, where we hope they aren't also using the dental practices of 1692 on our troops.

If the letter is the real deal - it may have to be dumbed down abit... there's a lot of 10 dollar words and what MIGHT be seen as highfalutin legal jargon in it... those receiving the letter might not understand it (they obviously aren't the brightest people).

Maybe they should meditate over it and God will show them the answer.

Yeah- I said that. 

[Green Eyed Lady]

Christians don't usually "meditate". To have your failure of an attempt at insult make any sense at all, it would have had to say, "Maybe they should PRAY over it and God will show them the answer."   It still would have been a total fail, because that's certainly happened, but at least it would make sense.

Just here to help....

[weltschmerz]

Oct 6, 2015 17:11:30 GMT -5 Green Eyed Lady said:

The letter from the attorney states that she practices the Hindu religion and "has interest in Wiccan practices".  I know very little about Wiccan practices, but don't those who practice it refer to themselves as "witches"? 

Don't lose your minds.  I'm not condoning ANY of what was done to her in any way, if it's true, and it is HuffPo so I'll reserve judgment until I have the time to look into it further.  Can't believe nobody has started screaming about the source yet.  I'm just wondering if they used that particular accusation to sensationalize the story. 

As for yoga being "satanic", I've not heard anybody say that before.  Wow.

Is the Air Force Times good enough for you?

www.airforcetimes.com/story/military/2015/10/05/air-force-dental-technician-accused-witch/73398304/

[Abby Normal]

It was sarcastic. Sheesh. These Christians aren't acting very christian like IMHO.

oh- and google Christian meditation if your interested.

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Is it a bad sign that when I read the thread title, I heard Carol Kane's voice saying, "I'm not a witch; I'm your wife!"

[Virgil Showlion]

Oct 6, 2015 17:50:51 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Oct 6, 2015 14:47:16 GMT -5 Abby Normal said:

dayum- this is a whole bag of crazy.  Yoga is satanic?

Yes. For certain varieties of Christians it's satanic -  because it COULD be a gateway to "new age" spiritualism...  versus a ONE God only Christianity.       

See this:

www.todayschristianwoman.com/articles/2005/march/truth-about-yoga.html

This is actually an interesting article, and the woman makes a good point about the spiritual detritus carried along with yoga for individuals interested in it for more than just physical exercise.

I can't vouch for her alternative, but rejecting yoga due to its ties to Hindu mysticism and new-age spiritualism (or at least rejecting those components of it) is a surprisingly reasonable proposition.

(I know, I know. I'm spoiling your fun. )

[Virgil Showlion]

Oct 6, 2015 18:02:28 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Oct 6, 2015 17:52:31 GMT -5 dannylion said:

Not to mention that it could lead to dancing.

here's another one...

www.breakpoint.org/component/blog/entry/12/27109

Yoga is EVIL!!!      

Trying to find the article about some Bible Belt grade school that tried to introduce some excerise into the class room via Yoga moves - and then some parent(s) had heart attacks because their kids were being taught Satanic things in school. 

 

Do you even read these articles?

This one acknowledges that yoga is rooted in Hindu paganism but is thoroughly pro-yoga.

[NoNamePerson]

Message boards are evil and satanic     

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

For certain varieties of Christians it's satanic - because it COULD be a gateway to "new age" spiritualism... versus a ONE God only Christianity

So she deserved to be fired? She wasn't asking her colleagues or supervisors to join her.  

What happened to "freedom of religion"?   Or does that only extend to these so called "Christians" like in the article?

Believe whatever you want to believe, but that shouldn't give you the right to fire your employees when they don't share your views.