What makes him an asshole and/or douche nozzle?
Contempt for religion isn’t necessarily contempt for the “other.”
BlackKnight:
Yes there is. Other religions believe that their actions are commanded by a higher power, and that failure to comply will be harmful to their souls. So-called Pastafarians may be sincere in their belief that religions deserve mockery, but they certainly do not sincerely believe there is any negative consequence to their non-compliance with this “ritual”.
Not all of them.
How not in this particular case? He is expressing contempt, not for “religion” in the abstract, but for those who wear religious or ethnic clothing - presumably, those demanding the right to “accomodation”, to wearing that stuff in licence photos. In short, for the visible “other”.
As I noted earlier, if the guy has any real point (apart from mocking the religious), it’s not at all obvious to me.
Again, you wanna laugh at, say, traditional bishop’s garb? Fine- but even the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury don’t wear robes or miters in their driver’s license photos.
So, what does that leave? Oh, you’re mocking Orthodox Jews who wear yarmulkes! Nice.
Be fair. He could also be mocking Sikhs, who wear turbans. 
Edit: in fact, in BC, that is even more likely. Lots of Sikhs there.
Eonwe:
Like which? I know Buddhists don’t believe in a personal deity, but they believe that not observing their religion will harm their souls’ progress toward Nirvana. Scientologists might refer to “thetans” and “Xenu” but ultimately it still amounts to some degree of harm that will occur if they don’t observe the dictates of the system. Wiccans, maybe? As far as I can tell, they seem to have a live-and-let-live belief without using consequence as a motivator, but is there any formal ritual observance in Wicca?
Even if there are some exceptions to my statement, you have to admit that the non-exceptions do exist, and that “Pastafarians” are not amongst those. (And by the way, do they wear them all the time, or only when they go to the DMV?)
That’s using the old noodle.
His behavior makes him an asshole and/or a douche nozzle.
No, I don’t believe he has a spiritual inkling to wear the colander. He’s just mocking those religious groups that do wear headgear of some kind and while I think the ICBC should just let him wear the damned colander that doesn’t make Canuel any less of an asshole. He’s not doing this to defend the right of Canadians to practice their religion he’s just taking advantage of them in order to mock other people. He’s an asshole.
Maybe people that believe stupid things deserve to be mocked.
Sometimes they do. People who believe the moon landing was faked, people who think contrails are evidence that the government is dumping chemicals on us, 9/11 truthers, people who think Obama was born in Kenya, Creationist, and those that think you can pray the gay away all certainly deserve some mocking and scorn. But anyone who chooses to mock someone simply because they’re religious or wear clothing as required by their religious beliefs is an asshole. As a general rule I believe we should treat other human beings with respect even when we don’t share their beliefs.
Only if you want them to do the same to you. Because, to most theists, being an atheist is worthy of mockery.
I know, I know. Believing in a magical sky pixie gives one the magical-sky-pixie-given right to mock anyone who doesn’t, because they must be like, stupid or something.
So is the guy who put an M80 down his diaper and let it blow up in his ass. I saw it on my local news. I have yet to see colander guy on my local news.
Why would you think that their belief in mythical, fictional beings deserves respect? Do you think all beliefs in mythical beings deserve equal respect? Like, how about Spider-Man? Do you think an adult who believes Spider-Man is real deserves respect for their belief, or do you think they deserve counseling?
Why is he a douche nozzle for using the same arguments the religious folk used to get to wear their headgear, but the Satanists are not douche nozzles for using the same arguments the religious folk used to get their monuments in the public sphere? Why is it okay when one group does it but not okay when another group does it?
It isn’t their belief in mythical beings that is being challenged, but their right to wear funny-looking (to the majority) headgear.
It doesn’t matter one damn bit what they believe in - what matters, is that (for whatever reason) they have a legitimately meaningful tradition of wearing some sort of headgear, that matters to them.
I respect that.
As noted, in British Columbia (where this stunt took place) the most common minority wearing “headgear” somewhat resembling a coleander are the Sikhs. The Sikhs have, in the past, put up with a lot of shit from the majority population. I myself don’t think it is a good idea to mock Sikhs, any more than I think it is a good idea to run around in the US South with “blackface” on to make some kind of point or other.
To answer your first question; the two situations are not the same. Wearing a kippah while getting your photo taken for a driver’s license is not the same as authorizing a religious monument to be placed on a state’s capitol grounds. In answer to your second question; context matters and it’s okay when the Satanist do it because they’re protesting Oklahoma’s attempt to blur the lines between state and religion. In other words, the legislative body of Oklahoma wanted to endorse Christianity while avoiding any Constitutional issues. Protesting this kind of legislation is a beautiful thing and I understand that the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster also put in an idea for a monument which I also applaud. Wearing a colander because Jews wear kippahs or Sikhs wear turbans is just assinine.
Who is in charge of decided which funny headgear is in ernest and which is open to contempt? Frankly, when I see religious headgear I hear the owner shouting, “Look at me, look at me, I’m super special because of my religion and doubly so because I’m willing say it out loud, in public with my hat.”
I suspect the contempt so many have for ‘fake’ religous headgear is because they can hear that voice too.