Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Racist using 'religious liberty' argument in lawsuit

Religious right groups are always whining about how gay equality will violate their "religious liberties" to the point that they have actually built a groundswell of support for laws protecting this idea. However, the following demonstrates what their deliberate vagueness about "religious liberties" can lead to - a racist using the religious liberty argument in a lawsuit:

A Hawkins man is claiming his civil rights and religious freedom were violated earlier this year when a black man sacked his groceries and a Big Sandy grocery store owner banned the customer from the business.

DeWitt R. Thomas filed a federal lawsuit in July against Keith Langston, owner of Two Rivers Grocery & Market.

According to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Tyler, Thomas entered the market on March 5 to buy food.

He stated in a nine-page, hand-written lawsuit that he told the grocery sacker, a black man, “Wait a minute, don’t touch my groceries. I can’t have someone negroidal touch my food. It’s against my creed.”

Thomas claimed the cashier was “perplexed” by his request and yelled at him to take his items and leave.

In a telephone interview Wednesday, Thomas said, “It’s pretty simple. They treated me really bad because I told them it was against my creed.”

According to the lawsuit, Thomas went on to explain he meant a black person when he used the term “negroidal.”

. . . When Thomas returned two days later, he noticed the same black man would be sacking his groceries, so he again requested the “Negro” not handle his groceries, according to the lawsuit.

This time, Langston was there. He called police to serve Thomas a criminal trespass warning. While waiting for the police, an employee locked the doors, and the lawsuit claims Thomas was “unlawfully restrained.”

Thomas said Langston broke the law the night he locked him in the store.

“We were closing, and I don’t know of a business that doesn’t lock their doors when they close. It keeps more people from coming in,” Langston said.

Thomas said he doesn’t understand why he had to deal with the same situation twice.

“My question is, why after I told them how I felt and that it was against my creed did this negroid try to impress himself upon me and try to handle my groceries again.” Thomas said.

Thomas said his religious beliefs are based on Vedism, which he said encompasses Hinduism.

“Vedism translates into knowledge. I am not this way because I am ignorant. Ignorance is the enemy,” he said.

Thomas said he has not broken any laws and was exercising his religious freedom and the rights he has been

More here at the News Journal in Longview, TX.



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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a racist piece of shit... This is a true example of a frivolous lawsuit.. Just get the fuck out of their store and stay out, you pig!

Anonymous said...

Missouri just passed a constitutional amendment giving special rights - yes, special rights - to religious people. First came the marriage amendments. These are next. Watch as religious bigots skirt anti-discrimination laws by simply saying they go against their religious beliefs. And they will be protected by their constitutions.

To those non-white, non-Christian people who voted for marriage amendments thinking, "This won't affect me," think again.

JJ said...

Yup, that's an idiot. No question about it.

Anonymous said...

He really has no case. It won't even be accepted for hearing I'd bet.

Tor said...

It will be cases of racial bigotry cloaked as religion that will ultimately overturn bigoted anti-gay laws.

BabyRaptor said...

Good on Mr. L for standing up for his employee.

As to the racist...If you're not going to treat other people with basic respect, you deserve none. Plain as that.