UK Retailer Allegedly Discriminates Against Jedi

The founder of the International Church of Jediism claims he was victimized after being ejected from a Welsh supermarket for wearing his hooded Jedi cloak.

Those poor Jedi can never get a break, can they? Even after being betrayed and hunted down to near-extinction thanks to the decree of Emperor Palpatine, the few Jedi who escaped persecution by fleeing to a tiny little backwater mudhole called Earth still face opposition on a daily basis. So it was with 23-year-old Daniel Jones, founder of the International Church of Jediism, who was kicked out of a Tesco supermarket in North Wales over security fears pertaining to his religious garb - that is, his hooded cloak.

The religion, which Jones officially founded last year, is practiced by 500,000 individuals and requires members to wear their cloaks with the hoods up in "any public place of a large audience" which would presumably include supermarkets. When Jones refused to lower his hood, objecting on religious grounds, he was kicked out:

"I told them it was a requirement of my religion but they just sniggered and ordered me to leave ... I walked past a Muslim lady in a veil. Surely the same rules should apply to everyone."

Though Jones said he would consider asking the religion's followers to boycott the store if it happened again, a Tesco spokesperson countered: "Jedi 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 went hoodless without going to the Dark Side. If Jedi walk around our stores with their hoods on, they'll miss lots of special offers."

Well played, Tesco. Well played indeed.

(The Telegraph, via The Consumerist)