I think a bit more than sensitivity training is in order

Well, this is Wal-Mart we're talking about. Not exactly the brain trust of the universe.

At the same time to be insensitive myself, wearing full veils, robes, turbans or what have you is like those kids going around with the pink hair and nose rings. You have to sort of expect some people are going to give you a hard time about it. If you can't deal with that, maybe just stay in your house or stop calling attention to yourself. (Although a face veil would be a good idea for me, or maybe just a bag over my head.)

In this day and age a person should be able to go out however she wants and not have to worry about calling attention to herself. It's sad that for as far as we have come, we still have so far to go!

There is a difference between deliberately calling attention to yourself and doing what is normal and customary for your own culture. A kid that dyes his hair pink is rebelling against mom and dad, and even if his hair is pink I'm not going to make a snide joke to him as he is paying for groceries or whatever.

Maybe it was meant innocently, as a joke. People joke with me sometimes about what I am wearing, and no one thinks twice.

Sure, you're not going to make a snide joke and neither am I. As for less enlightened people, that's another issue. People have made plenty of snide comments to me. Doesn't mean I go and sue them.

You know what, though? The bottom line is that they were mocked as a result of their religion. If a Christian were mocked for wearing a cross, they'd write a book and be a hero.

I don't really care either way. Organized religion is inane, in my opinion. It's just that the idea that any one of them is any less inane than any other is outright lunacy.

I'm sure it was innocent too, but I wouldn't have done it. Probably a young person not savvy yet in public affairs shall we say at work....?
Not too much different than the all too familiar, "putting on some weight I see" or "getting a little thin on top there 'eh?" Yeah we smile, but cuss 'em out in our heads... ha ha.
Take care.

I think it was ignorant, but people who shops at walmart obviously doesn't care how poorly walmart treats others and shouldn't expect anything different for themselves.

I like Luke's response: You know what, though? The bottom line is that they were mocked as a result of their religion. If a Christian were mocked for wearing a cross, they'd write a book and be a hero.

Paul, the woman isn't suing Walmart. She filed a complaint with them and the regional office of The Council on American-Islamic Relations. Both have accepted WalMart's apology.

I think my whole concern here is that people have no sense of appropriate behavior. I'm a practicing witch and pagan. If my friend says to me "Hey, don't turn me into a frog" it's appropriate and funny, because we are friends and know each other and can joke like that. But if I am standing at the register and the cashier notices I'm wearing a pentagram and says "Don't turn me into a frog", I'm gonna raise unholy hell. Because she DOESN'T know me, and we do not have that kind of relationship, and the comment is innappropriate in a business environment with a total stranger. Or imagine someone returning from church Ash Wednesday and stopping at the store to pick up something and the cashier saying "Hey, you should wash your forehead." It just drives me nuts that people don't have a stop gap between their internal monologues and their mouths, particularly in business environments when interacting with complete strangers.

I get that at work sometimes as well. The copy machine is right outside my cubicle so whenever someone does something to screw it up, they usually come to me to fix it. There are a certain few people around here that preface their request for technical assistance with stupid things like........."Please don't do a spell on me," or "Please don't turn me into a frog...."

I guess that frog statement is pretty popular.......I just ignore those comments unless they get really obnoxious and piss me off.

it really was an insensitive comment. but sometimes unfortunately people just do not think before they speak

Brandy,
I have a co-worker who begs me not to turn him into a urinal. I keep trying to explain to him I can't turn people into inanimate objects...

My co-workers and I get along great, and we can joke about it because, as I said, we have that sort of relationship. They know me personally and how I am, and so they are comfortable with me.