Fox’s recent victories with the Lady Liberty League include a lawsuit settlement that convinced the military to allow the pagan sign of the pentacle to be inscribed on veterans’ graves—like the cross, the Star of David and the Islamic crescent moon. She says she hasn’t heard of anyone turning to the law to push back against the stereotypical Halloween witch, as Shiff has done, but his intentions aren’t new. At the least, she says, the popular witch image is patently offensive to elderly women. And she compares the pointed-hat, big-nosed image of the witch to the stereotypical red-skinned chief that Native Americans have succeeded in getting removed from many sports stadiums and TV shows.
“There have been cases where people have gone to stores and gift shops and asked that the offensive images of the green face be eliminated,” Fox says. “I don’t think anybody would want an image of some Christian saint like that hanging out at Christmas.”
John Gilhooley
Milo Shiff holds a candle for his religion
John Gilhooley
Shiff works six days per week as a grocery-store greeter
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Fox says the pagan cause has made great strides over the past few decades, but still faces opposition. A case currently before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals seeks to allow pagan chaplains into California state prisons. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Correctional Chaplain’s Association have all expressed support for challenging the system’s “Five Faiths” policy, which only allows for Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim and Native American chaplains.
On Jan. 27, though, a Christian group called Wallbuilders Inc. filed a brief in opposition. It read, in part, “The Founders did not intend the Religion Clauses to protect paganism and witchcraft. . . . There are, of course, references to ‘heathens’ and ‘pagans’ among the writings of the Framers, but there is no indication that those belief systems, including polytheism, are considered ‘religion.’”
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The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing has a lot of work on its hands. The agency handles complaints of discrimination, harassment, civil-rights violations and hate crimes in nearly every aspect of life, including—yes—employment and housing. In 2008, the department received 20,074 complaints; in 2009, its actions included slapping fines on a taco company for refusing to let an employee breastfeed her child and on a university that rejected potential employees for having carpal-tunnel syndrome.
Shiff called the department’s Santa Ana office in September 2009 to file his complaint. He says he was told by two employees that because witchcraft is not a “religious creed” or “established religion” under state law, they couldn’t do anything. A few weeks later, Shiff says, they reconsidered, thanks to his repeated urging.
The department won’t comment on the dispute or on Shiff’s account of his dealings with the department, but spokeswoman Annmarie Billotti confirmed Shiff had filed a complaint. Speaking in general terms, she said she didn’t know whether there had ever been a complaint to the department like this before—with a witch objecting to some stereotypical depiction of the religion. But “visual harassment”—an employer subjecting employees to images they find offensive—has been grounds for department action in the past, she says.
Ralphs spokesperson Kendra Doyle says the company won’t comment on the specifics of ongoing investigations. “We certainly do take all claims seriously, and we investigate them thoroughly,” she says. “Milo is working with the human-resources department with these issues. We have worked hard to accommodate him.”
In January, Bonnie Franco, Ralphs’ director of employee relations, visited Shiff at his workplace. (Calls to Franco from the Weekly were directed to Doyle’s office.) In a side room of the store, Shiff recalls, the two sat and talked over why Shiff had filed a complaint. Shiff says Franco was kind but didn’t seem to understand his concerns, saying the witch figurine was “just” a Halloween display. Shiff says he pointed out that he regularly sees customers in the store wearing jewelry suggesting they were interested in witchcraft —namely, the five-pointed pentacle. Once the animatronic witch had gone up, Shiff claims, those customers stopped coming in.
“She had not heard of the pentacle,” Shiff says. “When I finally got across to her what it was by simply drawing her one, she goes, ‘Well, isn’t that evil? Is the pentacle good or bad?’”
Shiff says he was stunned by the question. “I probably shouldn’t have done this, but I just presented the question back to her. I go, ‘To you as a Christian, is the Christian cross good or bad?’ And you could see this instant look of shock and horror and offense on her face.”
Later in the interview, Shiff says, Franco asked him a question he hadn’t expected: Well, what do you want? It wasn’t something Shiff has thought much about. He muttered a few generalities. Now, though, he says he has considered the question more. And what he wants from Ralphs, he says, is simple: change. He wants the Department of Fair Employment and Housing to use its power to compel the company to change its policies.
