Denver Newsroom, Aug 28, 2020 / 04:50 pm (CNA).- Rehumanize International, a secular pro-life organization, is set to hold its annual conference Saturday virtually, with an eye to life topics such as abortion, assisted suicide, and the death penalty, as well as police violence and torture.
Aimee Murphy, founder and executive director of Rehumanize International, told CNA that the overarching theme of the Aug. 29 conference is that every human value has worth, and an inherent dignity. She said they plan to emphasize this common dignity and discuss ways people can work together regardless of their differences.
“That inherent dignity that we all share is not something that can be taken away, it’s not a matter of circumstance,” she said.
“Regardless of how old or young you are, how guilty or innocent you are, how small or big you are, how disabled or non-disabled you are, we all share this same inherent human dignity. And that transcends all the various topics we’re going to be talking about at our conference tomorrow.”
Rehumanize International describes itself as a non-sectarian, non-partisan organization “dedicated to creating a culture of peace and life” by opposing violence in all forms, including abortion, the death penalty, euthanasia, and assisted suicide.
Herb Geraghty, director of communications for Rehumanize International, told CNA that although the conference is set to feature a wide range of viewpoints and religions, the biggest unifier among the presenters is a commitment to nonviolence.
Rehumanize’s “consistent life ethic” is not merely a checklist of topics to support or oppose, and can welcome a wide range of viewpoints with the hopes that people will learn something to bring back to their individual organizations, Geraghty said.
Co-sponsors of the event this year include the American Solidarity Party— which was founded based largely on Catholic social teaching, and is running a candidate for president in this year’s election— as well as Americans United for Life.
In addition to several Christian pro-life speakers— such as Mikhayla Stover, who works with Catholic Univeristy’s school of law— the conference is set to feature such presenters as Robert Saleem Holbrook, a formerly incarcerated person who was sentenced to life without parole as a teenager before a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling overturned his conviction.
John Kelly, a disability self-advocate, is set to join to talk about disability discrimination in the context of assisted suicide and euthanasia.
“I think that’s a really important topic because often it’s not a hot-button issue…and I think that’s really unfortunate, because I think that the creeping threat of euthanasia and assisted suicide is growing on the other side,” Geraghty said.
“Being part of the movement to stem that side and show the voices of people with disabilities, who are going to be the people threatened the most by this type of legislation, is really important. So I’m excited for the attendees to get to hear that.”
Geraghty said the conference had already been set to have policing and criminal justice as one of its focal points well in advance— before the widespread protests against police violence, which began in May, thrust the issue back into the national spotlight.
“Police violence is another [topic] that comes in waves of media attention, because there are always high-profile cases of unjust police violence against civilians,” Geraghty said.
Geraghty said they had planned on having a panel about the criminal justice system in general, focusing mainly on the death penalty, “the most obvious form of oppressive violence perpetrated by the justice system,” but also wanted to talk about some of the ways that the state can better respect life through better policing practices.
That panel is set to include another formerly incarcerated person, as well as the director of Conservatives Concerned about the Death Penalty.
“We can just oppose the death penalty, or we can look at how to disrupt the systems of oppression that lead to people thinking that there needs to be a death penalty, or harsh sentencing laws,” Geraghty said.
Geraghty said one of Rehumanize International’s goals is to recognize and promote the many people and groups who organize around a single issue, such as abortion, the death penalty, or euthanasia.
This approach is more helpful than, for example, asking a person passionately advocating for an end to abortion why they are focusing on that, and not the death penalty, Geraghty said.
Each life issue is an important enough issue that “I am glad that [that person] is working on that individual issue,” even if it means they can’t always devote their time to a range of issues, Geraghty said.
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Is this lawsuit about the job, or about the money? Three years back wages? For what? I am not so sure that a “beard net” sounds that appetizing. Some of these rules are in place to keep the food sanitary. How reliable is the net? Is this guy working yet? And why didnt he apply for jobs outside the food industry so the beard would not be an issue? Like at Walmart or as a bank teller?? There are too many people who think the world has to adapt to THEM.
I have not set foot in a McDonald’s since the Covid pandemic began, and the Southwest Salad with balsamic vinegar dressing was removed from the menu (along with all the other salads: not an example of an anti-Southwest cuisine agenda), but If I recall correctly, the “crew” at McDonald’s does not routinely wear hair nets.
Is there any scientific evidence that beard hairs, which the plaintiff offered to attempt to control with a beard net, are statistically more likely to fall out during food preparation than hairs from the head? The beard hairs would be more noticeable, which I would consider to be an advantage, being on a beard hair free diet.
For some reason, I have access to Quora at work, and came across this:
How does McDonald’s get away with their employees never wearing hairnets and most young female employees wearing their hair in ponytails, again with no hair nets?
Answer:
Corrie Saeger, former General Manager at Burger King (2001-2021)
Answered August 5, 2019
The local health department calls the shots on this one. If they require them, then establishments preparing food must wear them. But many (at least in Iowa) don’t require them.
I am sure McDonald’s has corporate image standards, but would be surprised if hairnets were one of them.
Those little black disposable hairnets are more likely to wind up in your food then some strand of hair from a pony tail. What’s even more likely, is that a pet hair comes off your shirt and into your food. I know I’ve found my dog’s hair in my food when I was eating out.
I should brush her more often.
This sounds like fishing for a lawsuit. McDonald’s is not Kosher. Why would an ultra-orthodox/Hasidic Jew seek work there?