Posted on 03/03/2008 11:08:00 AM PST by greyfoxx39
Religious and cultural traditions collide in odd ways.
• Is it right to tell election poll workers, assigned to Mormon church meeting houses, to not bring coffee, sodas or anything else caffeinated to refresh themselves during their long day tending to voters?
-SNIP-
First, let’s look at the polling place duties and sipping Maxwell House in the meeting house.
Longtime Tempe poll worker Mary Ann Hemmingson has signed up to work the polls for the March 11 election. She’ll spend her 14- or 15-hour day in a church, but no longer one that belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“I never sign up to work at a Mormon church because the board workers there are not allowed to have any caffeine on the premises,” she said. “That means no coffee in the morning and no Diet Coke in the afternoon. ... You don’t want to see what I look like without my daily dose of caffeine. It’s not a pretty picture.”
“The Word of Wisdom” portion of the Doctrine and Covenants, put forth in 1833 by church founder and prophet Joseph Smith, says that “hot drinks are not for the body or belly.” Add to that what H. Burke Peterson, first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, said in 1975: “We know that cola drinks contain the drug caffeine. We know caffeine is not wholesome nor prudent for the use of our bodies. It is only sound judgment to conclude that cola drinks and any others that contain caffeine or other harmful ingredients should not be used.”
Advising followers to restrict what they take into their bodies is one thing, but applying that mandate to those people who perform a public job inside their buildings in a one-day stint seems to be taking things too Far.
(Excerpt) Read more at eastvalleytribune.com ...
But do we HAVE to poke the dog with a stick?
As the article plainly relates, poll workers may choose not to work at polling places where one may not bring caffeinated beverages.
Thus, the only folks impacted are the actual voters.
sitetest
Oh...
That was mild.
I remember sitetest as a reasoned Freeper. I wonder just what is motivating him/her today.
This is about poll workers who work a 12-16 hour shift. It isn’t about voters who should be able to abstain from food or drink during the time it takes them to vote.
What would be the motivation for obscuring the issue, I wonder.
But; we can CHOOSE to NOT rebut!
“MY ‘conclusion’ is that you have a personal problem with someone that disagrees with you, and feel the necessity of resorting to personal attacks for what you perceive as my motivation.”
LOL.
Too bad.
There’s plenty of Mormon-hatred around this place. Folks should call it when they see it. It would go a long way to cleaning things up.
You’ve essentially argued that one may restrict food and beverages at a polling place for various reasons. Except if they are LDS religious reasons. That’s offensive.
sitetest
I think a lot of us may have gotten off on the wrong foot in this thread.
“No, I mentioned honor killings because you said that anyone who objected to the mormon rule of not drinking coffee for religous reasons ..”
Comparing the restriction against caffeinated beverages to honor killings is inherently offensive. I’m sorry for you if you don’t get that.
sitetest
One could switch polling places, only thing is unless you vote before election day, you won’t be able to vote.
Holding the elections in buildings that have such rules is dumb. No one can tell me that there are not other options.
“I remember sitetest as a reasoned Freeper.”
Thank you.
Then perhaps you should ask whether it’s possible that I’m still a reasoned Freeper.”
“This is about poll workers who work a 12-16 hour shift.”
According to the article, poll workers are permitted to opt out of polling places where there is a requirement to abstain from caffeine. That negates the issue.
“It isn’t about voters who should be able to abstain from food or drink during the time it takes them to vote.”
But that’s the only issue left, as the poll workers at such a facility are all there voluntarily.
“What would be the motivation for obscuring the issue, I wonder.”
Well, say it out loud, whatever it is you think it is. Don't beat around the bush. I'm a big boy, I'll manage.
sitetest
“One could switch polling places,...”
I’m not sure to what you’re responding. Are you now saying that this is unfair to the voters at a particular polling place, to be “forced” to forego their caffeinated beverages for the time it takes them to vote?
sitetest
I still believe you are a reasonable Freeper. I don’t know what your motivation might be. That is why I wondered aloud.
I was unable to serve as a poll worker on Super Tuesday due to an illness in the family. The State of Utah was having great difficulty finding poll workers who had gone through the training on the Diebold machine, they were begging me to come and work the polls!
If workers had opted out because of “caffine” restrictions there would have been several locations who would have been so severly understaffed that it would have forced a harship of voters trying to locate to more distant voting locations, as polling locations would have had to be consolidated due to lack of poll workers.
Perhaps this possibility escaped your notice. Don’t you think the LDS Church could have offered their Kitchen area as a break room where workers might have enjoyed a Coke, coffee, or tea without restriction? Do you seriously think that is an unreasonable thing to do in this instance?
Comparing the restriction against caffeinated beverages to honor killings is inherently offensive. I’m sorry for you if you don’t get that
___________________________________________
Thern I will compare liquids...
It is inherently offensive to me due to religious motivation that Joseph Smith sold booze on the premises and encouraged people to indulge in alcoholic beverages..
And yet when I object to Joseph Smith’s sinful lifestyle, I am insulted by the mormons...
Based on your rules...those mormons are inherently offensive and insulting and religious bigots...
Finis...
Flame away...
On one hand, the restriction seems rather petty. On the other hand, I think there’s some argument to be made for turnabaout being fair play. The Mormons have always avoided caffeine, but have brewed tea from ephedra as a mild stimulant. Did the caffeine addicts that are raising hell about this give a whit when the DEA made ephedra a controlled substance?
“If workers had opted out because of ‘caffine’ restrictions there would have been several locations who would have been so severly understaffed that it would have forced a harship of voters trying to locate to more distant voting locations, as polling locations would have had to be consolidated due to lack of poll workers.”
Then this is bad planning on the part of the election authorities. I don’t see why poor planning on the part of the election authorities should have a negative impact on the owners of a facility provided for polling.
“Don’t you think the LDS Church could have offered their Kitchen area as a break room where workers might have enjoyed a Coke, coffee, or tea without restriction?”
If they wanted to, I wouldn’t have a problem with that. If they didn’t want to, I wouldn’t have a problem with that, either. It’s their facility. They have a right to name their restrictions, and if the election authorities find them too restrictive, then the election authorities should look elsewhere for facilities, not ram stuff down the throats of the facility’s owners.
“Do you seriously think that is an unreasonable thing to do in this instance?”
Look, I’m Catholic. I drink coffee, coke, and,... * shudder *... beer, wine, scotch, whiskey, bourbon, gin, vodka,... and pretty much anything else put in front of me with alcoholic or caffeinated content.
So, from MY perspective, letting folks have a coffee or a coke seems entirely reasonable.
But it isn’t MY facility, and apparently, the folks to whom the facility belongs don’t find that to be so reasonable.
If the election authorities agreed to use the facility with that restriction, then it should be honored. If they didn’t have enough election workers to staff the no-caffeine facilities, then that’s their poor planning. I don’t know why the LDS folks have to take it on the chin for the election authorities’ incompetence, if that’s what actually happened.
sitetest
It appears that you agree with JRochelle and I then. Thank you
“It is inherently offensive to me due to religious motivation that Joseph Smith sold booze on the premises and encouraged people to indulge in alcoholic beverages..
“And yet when I object to Joseph Smith’s sinful lifestyle, I am insulted by the mormons...
“Based on your rules...those mormons are inherently offensive and insulting and religious bigots...”
I’m not sure that by “my rules” that makes them religious bigots. If your assertions are true (and I have no idea or care whether or not they are), and folks object merely to the explication of the truth, that’s not necessarily bigotry, just hiding from reality.
It also doesn't appear to be inherently insulting or offensive. It might be frustrating, it might be aggravating, but not insulting.
On the other hand comparing restrictions on caffeine to honor killings is so over the top offensive, that one wonders about those who can't see it.
sitetest
“It appears that you agree with JRochelle and I then. Thank you”
Maybe.
But obviously, in this particular case, the election authorities thought the restrictions were reasonable, and accepted them.
And in my own judgment, the restrictions appear reasonable to me, as well.
Do we still agree?
sitetest
I have argued " one may restrict food and beverages at a polling place for various reasons. Except if they are LDS religious reasons. I would have the same objection to restrictions for religious reasons by ANY religion, including the muslim religion.
You state "There’s plenty of Mormon-hatred around this place.", and there's plenty of "you can't criticize ANYTHING MORMON OR YOU'RE A BIGOTED HATER" around this place too.
Freedom of speech here lately is subject to the arbitrary mormon filter in exactly the same way that the muslim filter is being imposed on our culture. That should be satisfactory to you.
Sorry, I did not mean it as a personal attack. You have consistently been anti-mormon and I thought it was a relevant comment. Please consider it withdrawn.
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