It has been many months since the last update of Secular Discrimination Report. I have had to focus on other things in my life and SDR fell by the wayside. Most recently, I was going through New Jersey Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) school and riding as a first aider on my local first aid squad. EMT school is now finished and I am soon taking the test for state certification. The end of class leaves me more time for other things, such as this. Bigotry and discrimination against the nonreligious certainly has not gone away, and I have continued to monitor it as best I can.
To tell you the truth, it’s getting harder to deal with the horrible things said about us, though. This is especially true as the attacks against us have been growing steadily in the past few years. It’s frankly infuriating, but I will do my best to continue to monitor religious bigotry, especially against the nonreligious, and present it to you. There is a bright side: the bigots are more vocal against us because we are being more vocal. That is bound to happen. Many nonreligious are no longer scared to speak out, nor are we scared to simply acknowledge that we exist. In that sense, we are continuing to gain ground.
To those of you who have written to me during this absence, I have not ignored you. Expect responses soon.
Now on to the promised links:
Christian Bus Ads Fire Back (KCCI.com)
Christian ministry “Covenant of Love” is has their own pro-Christian ads on buses on Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority buses this month. It is reportedly in response to the recent atheist ads that have been on buses throughout the country. From what I have seen, the article title seems misleading. The ads don’t appear confrontational in any way; I would hardly say that they “fire back.” They simply express their own positive view of Christianity, and that’s a great thing. This is what we need, dialogue, which we have been essentially excluded from for too long. We get our say and the religious get theirs. Religious ads have existed since long before the atheist ads, though. One could argue the religious already more than had their chance, and in fact dominated the discussion. This is more confirmation that we are making headway. We are a threat. Despite the long history of unopposed religiosity, they feel that they need to respond to us.
Atheist group takes message to Lakeland via billboard (Tampa Bay Online – TBO.com)
Talking about ads, another atheist group has put up a billboard, this time by the Atheists of Florida. As with the rest, there is nothing offensive unless one chooses to be offended. It’s a message to other like-minded people that they are not alone, just as with other billboards that have gone up: “Don’t Believe in God? You are not alone.”
Of course, the website’s comments display the same bigotry and irrational thought we have come to expect from bigots whenever atheists dare even display that we exist. For example:
Posted by ( zgolf1 ) on 11/02/2009 at 01:53 pm.
I think that the people behind this billboard should stand on a street corner in Polk county and spread their word directly to the people. I am fairly certain that before the day was out that their beliefs would change once that were loaded onto bayflight.
Threatening members of the Atheists of Florida with physical violence because they state that atheists exist? That’s not very Christian.
