Atheists Unbless Highway in FL.

RecoveringYuppy said:
Can you three explain why you think this was a stupid protest?

And are you aware the the group that originally blessed the road, not only blessed the road but called for the incarceration or exile of atheists from the county? That they have unexplained connections to the town leadership? That an atheist was arrested twice under suspicious circumstances that suggest the town leadership might actually be acting on the groups demand?
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If any of that is true? Fight THAT. That's why.
 
RemieV said:
What issue?
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The issues that I mentioned in the first post you replied to a few minutes ago. The same ones mentioned in the link in the OP.

1. Local religious group calls for incarceration or exile of atheists.
2. Local religious groups implies support of town leadership.
3. Town leadership arrests atheist twice under contested circumstances.

And this protests seems to have led to town leadership distancing themselves from the group that called for incarceration and exile of atheists.
 
RecoveringYuppy said:
The issues that I mentioned in the first post you replied to a few minutes ago. The same ones mentioned in the link in the OP.

1. Local religious group calls for incarceration or exile of atheists.
2. Local religious groups implies support of town leadership.
3. Town leadership arrests atheist twice under contested circumstances.

And this protests seems to have led to town leadership distancing themselves from the group that called for incarceration and exile of atheists.
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They actually arrested her three times.

Once when she signed a request for documents 'esquire' (implying that she was a practicing lawyer when she was not) [federal fraud], a second time when she tried to drive children who were playing basketball away from her home by opening up a window and making loud sex noises [federal lewd behavior], a third time when they conducted a search of her house based on the other two and found drugs [unknown what amount].

By all appearances, this is not a person who is being targeted for being an atheist. This is a person who is doing stupid crap and expecting not to get in trouble for it at every single turn.

Political leaders are allowed to be Christians. They are allowed to practice their faith. Just as the Christians were allowed to anoint the highway, so were atheists allowed to unbless it. Did anyone try to stop them? No. Because there was nothing illegal about what they were doing.

Now, if you are against laws regarding fraud, lewd behavior, or drug possession - fight THOSE. Really, my feeling is that she was arrested repeatedly for being a huge pain in the ass - not for being an atheist. I see zero evidence to the contrary.
 
As I said the charges are disputed (have any of those gone to court?).

So leaving that out, the fact that a religious group called for the incarceration and exile of atheists doesn't rise to your level of meriting protest? That just gets dismissed as "they are allowed to practice their faith"?
 
RecoveringYuppy said:
As I said the charges are disputed (have any of those gone to court?).

So leaving that out, the fact that a religious group called for the incarceration and exile of atheists doesn't rise to your level of meriting protest? That just gets dismissed as "they are allowed to practice their faith"?
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... Of course it means they are allowed to practice their faith. What the article actually SAYS is that they prayed for the incarceration and exile of atheists. Nothing about the article implies a relationship between the officials and the church in the way you seem to mean.

With the images on the billboards, there are two ways to go: One - Even leaders are allowed to pick their religion. Two - it's questionable if the churches would even need permission to post the images.

And also - nothing about this seems to indicate that officials are 'distancing themselves' from anything. Instead, it seems that they're pointing out they had no ties to begin with.
 
RecoveringYuppy said:
??? Oh, well that obviously makes it sacred and unprotestable. </sarcasm>
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You have continually implied that the arrests occurred because of ties between religious groups and the government. I have yet to see any evidence that there ARE ties. Additionally, from the article, it does not appear that the church ever took any of their ideologies to the officials - they JUST PRAYED. That doesn't make it unprotestable. That makes the claims at the very most stupid, and at the very least horribly under-researched.

The demonstration was meant to get under people's skin. If you don't believe in magic, it doesn't matter AT ALL if a group has claimed to have spread magic all over an area.

If you believe there is corruption, ferret it out. Find it. Then contact the media or protest THAT. The "demonstration"? It reeks of attention whore. It does nothing but enrage others. If that's the idea, kudos. But pardon me - I find the path ridiculous.
 
RemieV said:
You have continually implied that the arrests occurred because of ties between religious groups and the government.
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My exact words were "That an atheist was arrested twice under suspicious circumstances that suggest the town leadership might actually be acting on the groups demand?" and "Town leadership arrests atheist twice under contested circumstances" and those are evidenced by the link in the OP.
RemieV said:
I have yet to see any evidence that there ARE ties.
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My exact words were " That they have unexplained connections to the town leadership?" and "Local religious groups implies support of town leadership." and those are also evidenced by the link in the OP.
RemieV said:
If you believe there is corruption, ferret it out. Find it. Then contact the media or protest THAT.
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I don't believe there is corruption nor am I certain there isn't. There is an implied connection from the religious group to local town leadership. And I certainly that I have to wait for corruption to start protesting. The churches groups bigotry and call for incarceration of atheists and non Christians are certainly worthy of protest.
RemieV said:
The "demonstration"? It reeks of attention whore. It does nothing but enrage others. If that's the idea, kudos. But pardon me - I find the path ridiculous.
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Who's enraged? Neither the OP link nor yours mention anyone being enraged. I'm sure some are but I certainly don't think that atheists should hide their views because fundies get enraged. Anyone important enraged by this?
 
RecoveringYuppy said:
Can you three explain why you think this was a stupid protest?

And are you aware the the group that originally blessed the road, not only blessed the road but called for the incarceration or exile of atheists from the county? That they have unexplained connections to the town leadership? That an atheist was arrested twice under suspicious circumstances that suggest the town leadership might actually be acting on the groups demand?
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You are, of course, aware of a small, insignificant document called The Constitution, right?
 
Roadtoad said:
You are, of course, aware of a small, insignificant document called The Constitution, right?
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I've heard of it. Isn't it that old piece of paper that Right Wing types pick and choose the bits they like from? Like that bible thing.
 
RecoveringYuppy said:
...Who's enraged? Neither the OP link nor yours mention anyone being enraged. I'm sure some are but I certainly don't think that atheists should hide their views because fundies get enraged. Anyone important enraged by this?
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It has absolutely nothing to do with 'hiding views'. Going out of your way to 'unbless' a highway is not an illustration of views - it's a protest of OTHER PEOPLE'S views. If you view fundies as unimportant, do not be surprised when they pray for your incarceration. Seriously - it's like a group of atheists sat down and said, "Hey, guys, what's the most childish way we can show we're atheists?"

*eyeroll*
 
RemieV said:
It has absolutely nothing to do with 'hiding views'. Going out of your way to 'unbless' a highway is not an illustration of views - it's a protest of OTHER PEOPLE'S views. If you view fundies as unimportant, do not be surprised when they pray for your incarceration. Seriously - it's like a group of atheists sat down and said, "Hey, guys, what's the most childish way we can show we're atheists?"

*eyeroll*
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Look, I know these Gung-Ho types can be embarrassing, and I wouldn't want to hang out with one, but I am glad they exist.

The religious have tv stations, swathes of the media, mega churches, a political party, a vast fortune, and billions of rabid followers. The deck is completely stacked, and they are not afraid of going after atheists in very public and abusive ways.

Does a blessed highway matter? No. But the mentality behind elected officials blessing a publicly funded project for Jesus sure as hell does. It is literally a case of give them an inch and they'll take a mile.

So, again, they're a fringe group that can make me cringe, but I'm glad they exist and do things I'm too lazy and complacent to do.
 
Jekyll's Guest said:
Look, I know these Gung-Ho types can be embarrassing, and I wouldn't want to hang out with one, but I am glad they exist.

The religious have tv stations, swathes of the media, mega churches, a political party, a vast fortune, and billions of rabid followers. The deck is completely stacked, and they are not afraid of going after atheists in very public and abusive ways.

Does a blessed highway matter? No. But the mentality behind elected officials blessing a publicly funded project for Jesus sure as hell does. It is literally a case of give them an inch and they'll take a mile.

So, again, they're a fringe group that can make me cringe, but I'm glad they exist and do things I'm too lazy and complacent to do.
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You don't have to have permission, from anyone, to bless a highway.
 
Roadtoad said:
You are, of course, aware of a small, insignificant document called The Constitution, right?
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Yes, of course. I'm not familiar with you or your views. Are you implying that Christians are protected by the Constitution but Atheists aren't?
 
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