The Michigan Tech University Pastafarian club has been the victim of harassment even before their first meeting. The MTU Lode reports:
Two individuals are currently undergoing disciplinary procedures through the Dean of Students Office after an investigation by MTU Public Safety determined that they posted a threatening message on the door of the President and Vice President of a recently-formed student organization called the Pastafarian Club.
Some background on the MTU Pastafarian club’s leaders:
According to the president of the Pastafarianism Club, Matt Halberstad–who identifies as agnostic–the group is a parody “religion.” But the group’s purpose isn’t to attack religion, and one would be hard-pressed to find a member of the group who truly believes in their parody deity–the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
The vice president of the Pastafarian Club, Steven Wheeler–who is atheist–believes that Henderson’s argument boils down to the main belief of the Michigan Tech chapter of the Pastafarians: creationism, whether or not one believes in it, is not a science, and should not be taught in a science classroom.
I agree with that, but there are people - maybe not in this particular club - who do truly believe in the FSM. Also, I want to make the point that there are plenty of Christians who are members of the Christian religion without truly believing in the deity God/Jesus.
The harassment was hateful, not unlike some of the messages I receive. In part, the message said:
they [Pastafarians] should be shot and hanged from the tallest redwood and then thrown to the raging sea.
The individuals who left the hate messages were caught and are now facing a hearing:
The Bias-Related Harassment and Violence section of MTU’s Code of Community Conduct covers threats due to one’s “race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religious or cultural identity, sexual orientation, gender-identity or gender.” The penalties for violating the Bias-Related Harassment and Violence section range from disciplinary probation to expulsion.
The outcome of this will be very interesting. Even if the death threats were not meant to be taken seriously, they were still hateful messages directed at members of a religious group on campus. What if the harassment had been instead directed at an Islam club? I strongly suspect the kids would be expelled.
I wonder if the school admins are willing to make the statement that Pastafarians deserve less protection against religious harassment than other mainstream religions.
That said, I don’t think these kids should be expelled. But it would upset me if a Pastafarian organization received less protection than another religious organization (or any other organization).
I guess we’ll see what happens.
Read more about it here.
I recently discovered an Indonesian beef soup version of His noodly incarnation. Mmm…. mmm…
I committed no blasphemy by eating it.
BTW, hate crime but His noodly will shall prevail.
I have started a FSM club at my school. I have to say that I’m picked on alot because of my religion. I know that the spagetti monster will help me in the end. ^^ so I bare with it. they havnt threaten me yet or anyone else.
any hate crime regardless of whom or what its aimed at are intolerable, the fact that it (hate crime) raised a reaction of this sort is good, it shows that there are still people in the world that care.
All hail! I have been touched by the noodly appendage….. nows I can eats cheeseburgers too
Hiram
Most readers have no idea what Michigan Tech is all about. MTU is one of the most politically conservative universities in the nation.
I find it sickening that this group raises red flags at others’ hate crimes while perpetuating their own. This site and group is a mockery of not only a group of related religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Rastafarianism), but also the Only True Religion (Catholicism). Beyond the overarching nonsense about God not existing, there is a lack of charity unbefitting to the human race found on this site.
How can you look around and see such a complex world, albeit filled with the victims of the rampant selfishness of blind individuals, and fail to see the logical necessity of a Creative Being who you are no doubt insulting by your website and will hopefully have mercy on you? Do you take the safer side of Pascal’s Wager?
How is it that those who have not searched far are so quick to claim the discovery of an immutable truth? What more than cursory or one-sided investigation has been made by any apart of this site into the occurrences in 1917 Fatima, Portugal, the stigmata of St. Padre Pio, the selfless martyrdom of St. Maximilian Kolbe, the selfless life of Blessed Mother Theresa, and even the miracles of Christ, proclaimed for centuries?
All this reveling in ignorance and hatred of God and Catholics is a result of deep selfishness. Those who chose atheist and agnosticism have an evil lifestyle of non-altruistic behavior which they wish to preserve, even if it means the lie of embracing a vision of existence that is truncated at death
This society is filled to the brim with atheists and agnostics who reflect this site’s message: not only illogical and poorly thought out, but also the epitome of their religions: jerks.
This work is similar in intelligence to the trash of the mad Nietzsche, who mocked with vehemence and cruelty with nothing but laughable, superficial reasons. All who are apart of this group partake in a act of ignorance, arrogance, and self-deprecation.
@Lawrence and others…As the President of the MTU Pastafarians, i have to say that your view on MTU is true, Tech is very conservative. However with the workings of groups like ours, diversity and acceptance will one day flourish here at Tech. Yes it is in the middle of the U.P. far far away from the rest of the world, but it too can be touched by His Noodly Appendage.
As for bringing it on ourselves… We knew it would be a fight, but you know what it has been worth every bit of it. Heck what pirate isn’t up for a good sword fight? We are just using words as our swords. We have done more good on this campus, got more people talking and thinking in 2 semesters than any other group has in the past 3 years. From benefit spaghetti dinners for students that needed help after a house fire, campus wide religion diversity discussions, and community service. Where were all the other religious groups before us, pushing the same old views. We actually want to make a difference not just push our beliefs. Now tell me that it was an act of arrogance and ignorance. We are actually even working with the Campus Crusade for Christ group to help spread diversity and understanding on campus. You can have your religion, we aren’t going to try and do anything to you, don’t force anything on us.
We have been part of a movement that would have never taken place if it wasn’t for the FSM. That’s what it’s really all about for us. We are getting the University to wake up. And as an FYI the University has been nothing but supporting us, they think it’s great we are on campus because of the discussion and thinking we have provoked. Our undergrad student government has gotten a wakeup call too. On providing unbiased judgment to student groups. We even have an ACLU-MI chapter here at Tech now.
I cannot discuss the outcome of what happened, but it is over and all parties are pleased with the outcome, which the University took very seriously and gave us all the same treatment as any other student org. We used it as a learning experience for the members involved, student body and the University. We even learned some things too. It wasn’t a slap on the wrist, and it wasn’t throwing the book at them. Come on we can take a joke too, but why should we have to take a joke like that. We sat down with the University, the group members and the individuals. Worked it all out and it has been handled.
So thank you to the many supporters for we are very grateful to have such support. But an even bigger thank you to those that don’t. For without you then the discussion doesn’t continue. We are ready to continue, are you?
RAmen!
Matt Halberstadt
President - Pastafarians of MTU
pasta@mtu.edu
May his noodly appendage show those who doubt the error of their ways, can I get a Ramen?
Well Lawrence, I’ll say a prayer tonight in hopes that His Noodley Appendage find it’s way to touch your soul and take mercy on you. It’s a shame however that you don’t even get the point…
“How can you look around and see such a complex world, albeit filled with the victims of the rampant selfishness of blind individuals, and fail to see the logical necessity of a Creative Being”
Hmmm…, because a magical man who could walk on water and make wine from water makes more sense?
RAmen publish man, or lady as (your name does not denote a gender of any kind) the case may be. I apoliogize if I offended you by this.
“How can you look around and see such a complex world, albeit filled with the victims of the rampant selfishness of blind individuals”
Lawrence, please do not make scapegoats of the visually-impaired. I am one, and I am offended.
@Lawrence
At least you are a dying breed Lawrence.
You say that yours is the only true religion. WOW! Let me tell you that ALL of the religions in the world are antagonistic to each other. They CAN’T all be right. But they CAN all be WRONG. That logic is infallible.
Satire is a useful tool in exposing hypocritical idiocy.
You write, “Those who chose atheist and agnosticism have an evil lifestyle of non-altruistic behavior which they wish to preserve, even if it means the lie of embracing a vision of existence that is truncated at death”
I believe that the suppression of science and the murder of innocents in the worship of mythical beings are the monstrosities that should be opposed and will be stopped.
I don’t believe that our existence has to be “truncated by death”. Let me remind you that the list of desires UNANSWERED BY PRAYER to gods that MANKIND HAS FULFILLED stretch from - to name but a few of lots and lots - cures for diseases, to faster and safer travel, to turning hot days cool with air conditioning.
One day when mankind advances to the point where we can travel back in time and review peoples lives before determining if they will be reanimated; your kind (that tried to hold us back by promoting false superstitions) might be left in the dust.
Repent before it’s too late Lawrence - you have been warned,
Reverently,
Fizzmick Pa Chee
Thank you Mr James D King of Pirates and may his noodly appendage bless and keep you.
RAmen
Anybody who threatens fellow Pastafarians shall drink the stale beer that they deserve in hell.
FSM be with you
Hi all,
I’m from Belgium, where there’s a catholic majority.
My school is an catholic one.
Now, I choose to believe FSM because I’m not convinced by any other belief.
Nobody forces me to believe in another religion, but we do pray in our classroom.
Now, nobody has any problem about me being an believer of FSM.
There are many muslims on my school and even satanic believers.
But no one mocks another for his/her religion, we all live in peace with each other when it comes to religion.
My question is, why can’t we all live in religion peace.
@Lawrence: we respect your beliefs, can you respect ours?
PS: excuse me for my poor english, it’s not our mother language.
Ramen.
Davinci are you for real? ure school sounds perfect. if catholicism can be real then so can the fsm. love 4 ever
Lawrence I can see why you’d be angry but I cant help but find amusing this part your message -
“This site and group is a mockery of not only a group of related religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Rastafarianism), but also the Only True Religion (Catholicism).”
You say that Catholicism is the only true religion? Where is your proof that other religions (As well as this one) are not true? None. Just the same as we have no proof that The Flying Spaghetti Monster is real either. Its all about what you believe in and I think that if your are a considerable person you’ll just
leave us alone.
But in saying that I have nothing against any religions and I think people have the right to believe what they want ^_^
Yeah, I mean that.
Alltough they do make everyone attend a ceremony twice a year.
Not really what you call church, but still catholic beliefs.
“…the selfless life of Blessed Mother Theresa…”
It may be you that needs to do a little more research. Mother Theresa was one of the most corrupt and hateful humans to ever be cloaked in the guile of compassion. She purposefully tortured the sick and dying to fulfill her one belief system and went on to do nothing more then con millions out of millions.
The only one true religion??
Being who you are no doubt insulting by your website and will hopefully have mercy on you?
Have you just not insulted most of the people in this world as well, I hope that FSM, Budda, Ganesh, Allah, wheoever have mercy on you
As my history teacher always sued to say, wars are caused by religion
i say im a christian, i don’t really believe in God, I don’t really not believe in him,
religions does good things
but so does charity not based on religion
chill man, let the FSM touch you
@david (above my message) and all the others:
love, forgiveness and mutual respect is taught by almost every major and minor religion and even the atheists and agnostics are “preaching” it… so why, why, why do they keep breaking the rules they themselves believe in.
nomatter what believe you have… you will be punished for hate crimes, no matter if it is hell, bad karma or that knawing feeling of guilt that will stick with you for the rest of its life.
For that reason I think the hate message was an immature reaction of some adolescents who didnt use their brains. wwFSMd? He would, like all other great beings, forgive them. Therefore, I will do the same.
FSM has never had the intention to insult anyone or anything, as stated multiple times on this and other sites. If you are insulted by the way we are and what we believe in, then that is not our problem, rathermore it is your problem, since it is lack of “christian” behavior. But, David, and all the others… if you like you can go on hating me. I will “turn the other cheek” and forgive you. I love you, David. And all the rest of you.
*grouphug*
RAmen.
I would like to respond to Lawrence’s assumption that “those who chose atheist and agnosticism have an evil lifestyle of non-altruistic behavior which they wish to preserve.” First of all, I am an athiest and I am also a volunteer for my community. I spend my much of my free time working at the local animal shelter and raising funds so that adults and children in in areas with particularly virulent strains of malaria can sleep with mosquito netting. Can these activities really be seen as “preserving my evil lifestyle of non-altruistic behavior”? And by the sole virture of being catholic, does this prove you are altruistis and selfless? Adolf Hitler was a catholic and remained in good standing with the roman church until the day of his death. Was Hitler a better person then myself or other athiests and agnostics because he believed Christ was his savior? Or is it that you would deny basic human rights to billions of people because they do not subscribe to your brand of christianity and therefore threaten your self righteous lifestyle? Way to follow the teachings of Christ who believed in love and acceptance of your fellow man!