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When Niklaus Leuenberger, manager of the New York Palace Hotel, saw ashes on the bell captain's forehead, he said, "Wipe that f-----g s--t off your face." Which is why Leuenberger is no longer working for the hotel. According to the Daily News, the "unholy ultimatum...was deemed so severe, Christopher Cowdray, head of the London-based Dorchester Collection, which owns the Palace, flew here to hand Leuenberger the pink slip." Bell captain Mike Murray, who has worked at the hotel for 25 years, said his Long Island priest "did a real number on me," when he applied ashes to his forehead, and that his Catholic beliefs never posed any problems before on the job. The News also reports, "The hotel leases its land from the Catholic Church."
Hotel Boss Fired After Slamming Staffer's Ash Wednesday Ashes
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It's the same media that NEVER mentioned Muslims' hatred of Israel as a possible motive for 9/11.
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Looking like a prick in the name of something fictional should be allowed
I always *think* that on Ash Wednesday, but I never actually say it!
so wait a second - what's the crime here? is that he used language that the bell captain found insulting to his religion? or that he couldn't have the schmutz on his forehead during work?
the latter doesn't seem unreasonable. just because you believe in some fairy tale, you're not entitled to do whatever the hell you want. if i believed that charles manson was my lord and saviour, i still wouldn't expect to go to work with a swastika etched into my forehead (except, of course, if i worked for fox news).
Its not so much a crime as it was the way the Manager handled the situation. He was quite vulgar and rude, unbecoming of a true gentleman & a Manager of such a posh hotel.
If these are indeed the same people who own the Dorchester off Hyde Park in London, I can see why they took it so seriously. Off with his head.
if the manager had handled it better/asked more politely, it probably wouldn't be as big a deal or handled by the company as severely, but it still would have been wrong
the crime is employer harassment based on religious beliefs:
"Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits workplace discrimination based on religion, ethnicity, country of origin, race and color. Such discrimination is prohibited in any aspect of employment, including recruitment, hiring, promotion, benefits, training, job duties, and termination. Workplace harassment is also prohibited by Title VII. In addition, an employer must provide a reasonable accommodation for religious practices unless doing so would result in undue hardship." from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, this text comes specifically from http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/backlash-employer.html
Cursing at him and insulting the religious act counts as harassment; allowing your bell captain to have "some schmutz" on his face causes no undue hardship.
Only an ignoramus would make an analogy between a Charles Mansion fanatic putting a swastika on his forehead and a Christian practicing a solemn religious tradition.
Don't F with the Catholics.
But seriously, who has NOT wanted to say that?
Other Catholics, I suspect.
Of religions as they are practiced in the US, this is about the only thing Catholics do in the "seems kinda weird to non-practitioners" category, and it's only once a year. (That's outside all the big picture stuff the Catholic Church does, natch, which drives a lot of people up the friggin' wall.)
Besides, amongst Catholics it's a great conversation starter - "Hey! So what did *you* give up for Lent?"
They should try giving up their embarrassing superstition for Lent.
Upon exiting the hotel with his pink slip, Leuenberger was subsequently struck by lightning several times.
This is, of course, completely fair. If someone can sue for the right to wear a hijab or yarmulke, then this shit is protected, too. It does look pretty medieval, though.
I agree -
That said, I put up with the stupid comments every Ash Wednesday to score a 2 hour lunch.
"According to the Daily News, the "unholy ultimatum...was deemed so severe, Christopher Cowdray, head of the London-based Dorchester Collection, which owns the Palace, flew here to hand Leuenberger the pink slip."
Now, that's cool! Why can't I find a boss like that?
The Ash Wednesday People have the right to show their faith if they want to, there was no call for that language. Whenever I see someone at work with the schmutz I think,
"Oh sure, you're a great Catholic TODAY." But I would never say it.
I'm just amused that the hotel also leases its land from the Catholic Church.
I am a recovering Catholic and think the whole tradition is absolutely fucking retarded. The Catholic Church is a tax dodging, child molesting, sexual repressing, homosexual hating organization-pure and simple. It disgusts me that people still attend church considering the history of this abomination. Now I have to go to confession-Catholic guilt is embedded in my DNA now...
Hehe ... we agree on something.
Sounds like the Church just exacerbated some self-hating syndrome you were likely born with.
uh no dumbass-stick to hating bike lanes and another shit and let me hate Catholics
Luckily the Flying Spaghetti Monster does not require me to go through such rituals.
Christianity. Making people wear funny clothes with pointy hats and putting stupid shit on their faces since 0001 A.D.
Take that rag off your head. Stop cutting people's heads off. Stop flying airplanes into buildings.
Ashes? Airplanes? Ashes? Airplanes?
Wow, haven't read this much Catholic hatorade since "Sex and the City". Give me Sunday Catholics over Evangelicals any day.
Was the general manager fired before or AFTER the negative press coverage?
And how did the press find out about the incident in the first place?
what was thay guy, a nazi?
St. Cathol wept
Worst of all, he was fired on the day that his tips from co-religionists increased dramatically.
I am glad that the manager got fired-- if he's that insensitive he shouldn't work at a hotel anyway. I am often shocked by how clueless some people are about this aspect of Catholicism.
Now if we could just get the Pope to stop killing millions of people by telling them that condoms are bad...
This dude totally should've been fired-- not because he asked the guy to remove the ash, but the way he asked him to. His request seemed tinged with such a level of contempt and disrespect.
Catholics stay in hotels too. Perhaps the company doesn't want to lose a large swath of the paying public in one feld swoop because some idiot manager can't speak to an employee in a civilized manner.
The ashes were sort of cool. It was membership in a special club that prevented eternal damnation of your immortal soul and casting of your body into the eternal flame.
When seeing other Catholics around it made it clear: Yeah, I'm with you.
I Didn't do the ashes this year, kind of disappointed with the Church's stance on condoms. But the manager deserved to be fired.
Can you imagine the _hit-storm that would have been, if the manager said "Get that beanie off your head," or "take that rag off?" That hotel would be closed by now. Seriously.
The Catholic Church is effed up - no doubt - but hate speech vs. Catholics is completely tolerated in the media and in the workplace.
I agree-- the only PC group to mock these days seems to be Catholics. The point is that an employer doesn't have the right to forbid an employee to observe a religious practice as long as it's not interfering with work (and you can't exactly argue that this was interfering with his performance). I'm glad the dude got fired-- no one should have to put up with a hostile, discriminatory work environment.
W.W.L.D. -What Would Leona Do?
WOW in this day and age there is still dicrimination
that is like asking a middle eastern indian to remove the dot from their forehead. Frickin east coast goombas (yeah i am from CA wanna make somthing of it) i hope he sues the crap outta them. I am a catholic and i would have cleaned mine off if asked nicely ( no i havent received ashes in a number of years but respect those who do). trilby16 must be a goomba -- the same idiot probably wants all rag heads to take their towel off. ITS PART OF THEIR RELIGION DIPSHIT!!!!!!!