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| Jedi knights are fighting for their rights. Photograph: Sophia Evans |
Chris Jarvis, aged 31: the force may be with you. Jarvis is the Southend Jedi knight who refused to de-hood in his jobcentre and has now received an apology from the manager for the lack of respect given to his "religion or beliefs". Being a Jedi knight, though, and committed to struggling unceasingly for justice and civilisation, Chris spurns such mouthings as empty, choosing rather to endure to the final triumph, and is planning to sue for discrimination.
You may argue that the history of the galaxies would look a great deal different if Darth Vader had taken a similar course, and would certainly have been far less exciting; I thank Jarvis for showing us what happens when The Earthly Powers That Be try to fight the forces of indiscriminate discrimination with the forces of indiscriminate non-discrimination. It was ever a planetary folly to attempt to legislate on belief in beliefs; it leads inevitably to what some have termed The Barking Side, where lie the burka bar, the Sikh bind, the cross patch, and worse.
Jarvis says: "I am a Star Wars follower. It means following the Way of the Jedi ... The main reason is I want to wear my hood up and I have got a religion which allows me to do that." Hmmm. According to reported glosses from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to accompany Harriet Harman's new equality bill, Jediism seems to have been excluded on the grounds that it is not "heartfelt"; other definitions include "worthy of respect" (which excludes, apparently, believers in human sacrifice). Tricky, isn't it? This, after all, by census measure, is supposedly our fourth most popular religion. I can see those who follow the way of the white wig and the black gown having no end of a tussle over that one, which would surely test even Alec Guinness, if not the entire Council of Twelve.
Thus, too, this from the EHRC: "A belief need not include faith or worship of a god or gods, but must affect how a person lives their life or perceives the world." Sports fans, Archers listeners, bankers, followers of Top Gear and Yorkshiremen: the way is clear for you, if I might mix my starships, to boldy go where no man has been before, not even Tim Nicholson, Bill Shankly or Charlie Whelan. And if I were Unite, I'd get in there first before Willie Walsh proclaims himself The Sky Pilot of the World's Favourite Faith System (Coming In on a Wing and a Prayer).
One slight hitch, though. I note the case of Daniel Jones, 23, Jedi knight of Bangor, also known as Morda Hehol, who was similarly asked to de-hood by his local Tesco last September. Tesco, now the nation's leading arbiter of manners and dress code, said this: "We would ask Jedis to remove hoods. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Luke Skywalker all went hoodless without going to the Dark Side." I would be grateful for some Jedi input on this important doctrinal point.
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Charles Nevin, guardian.co.uk, Article history |