Atheist Billboards Vandalized In Sacramento Area

[Kadie]

Feb 16, 2010 10:29 am US/Pacific
Atheist Billboards Vandalized In Sacramento Area

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ― One of a collection of billboards just put up in the Sacramento area supporting atheist beliefs has been vandalized.

Before being defaced, the billboard along the causeway between Sacramento and Davis read "Are you good without God? Millions are." But someone has spray painted the words "also lost?" to the end.

The billboards were put up by the Sacramento Area Coalition of Reason to tell fellow nonbelievers they are not alone.

"This shows loud and clear just how necessary our message is, because prejudice against people who don't believe in a god remains very real in America." said Rachael Harrington, coordinator of Sacramento CoR.

The coalition has asked Clear Channel, the owner of the billboard, to file a police report. Clear Channel has offered to replace the billboard free of charge, according to Harrington.

http://cbs13.com/local/athiest.billboards.vandalized.2.1498012.html

[Zoeisright]

1. More Xtian Terrorists.

They get so defensive when anyone questions faith - any faith. Shows me their 'faith' is about as shallow as a piece of paper, and just as strong.

[onehandle]

2. I don't want to be preached to by the billboard's sponsor or the billboard's vandal.

Proselytizing from both sides is annoying.

(I'm not responding to anyone else in this thread. Read #12 #14 and #16)

[Xipe Totec]

5. It is also protected speech n/t

[onehandle]

12. If the billboard said: 'Are you good being Straight? Millions are,' DU would be up in arms.

Don't preach to me about my personal life.

My being gay or straight or a believer or non-believer is my business.

Don't preach to me.

(I'm not responding to anyone else in this thread. Read #2 #12 #14 and #16)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

15. If it had read "Are you gay? That's OK."

...homophobes having a problem with it would get their asses banned.

[smoogatz]

17. Really bad analogy.

Non-believers are a small (but growing) minority in the U.S. So suggesting that somehow they're pushing a majority point of view on an oppressed minority population is obviously wrong, and completely misses the point.

[Luminous Animal]

10. I find all billboards an ugly nuisance

but a religious or non religious message is no more annoying to me than a pitch to gamble or buy soup.

[Adsos Letter]

18. Your comment has a distinctly Jeffersonian ring to it

The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg. Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia (1782) :D

[eppur_se_muova]

39. One of my favorite quotes!

And getting rid of all billboards sounds pretty even-handed. ;)

[wuushew]

11. How is it proselytizing?

The billboard makes no appeal for a change of belief. Having been frequently exposed to the Christian variety I don't see the similarities.

Your definition is so broad as to include all advertising.

[onehandle]

14. Yes. I've heard that one. It's wrong. The billboard suggests a state of being.

It's a marketing trick.

(I'm not responding to anyone else in this thread. Read #2 #12 #14 and #16)

[RaleighNCDUer]

13. Saying "you are not alone" is not proselytizing in any sense of the word.

It is only outreach to a pre-existing community which is despised as a community.

It is no more proselytizing than "Gay? You are not alone." is. Or "Liberal? You are not alone."

The OTHER side, however says "Non-believer? You are DAMNED!", which I suppose makes THEM feel good but is meaningless to us.

[onehandle]

16. It's suggesting you may be good without God.

A marketing trick as I mentioned above.

And the vandals are jackasses.

(I'm not responding to anyone else in this thread. Read #2 #12 #14 and #16)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

20. So you're saying people can't be good without God.

[ret5hd]

24. Why do you keep writing "i'm not responding to anyone else", yet you keep responding?

:rofl:

[onehandle]

26. I added that to existing posts.

People have a bad habit of not reading through a thread before asking the same question as another that was answered elsewhere.

[ret5hd]

29. Yet, here you are again.

[onehandle]

31. Forgive me, Internet Police.

How about I don't intend to address the subject again?

Am I within the 'law' again.

[Adsos Letter]

21. Agreed; no attempt to recruit here, only to acknowledge a factual situation.

In a supportive way.

[Marr]

42. It's called advertising, and almost no one likes it.

If we were allowed to vandalize every ad that annoys us, I suspect spray paint sales would increase by 1000000% overnight.

[KittyWampus]

3. Why define oneself by what one is not or what one is without?

[enlightenment]

6. Why define oneself by what one is or what one believes they are?

Funny - that sounds just as foolish as your question.

[Luminous Animal]

9. Because individual atheists often feel they are without allies.

When I was diagnosed with cancer and going through treatment, the pressure to turn to religion or spirituality from my friends, nurses, doctors, and therapist in order to deal with my emotional stress and physical well-being was extremely stressful!

I found an online community of atheists that helped me deal with that pressure in a graceful, and for the most part, successful manner.

[sui generis]

4. Apparently christians are still up to their old grafitti tricks

was a time when every brothel, market and back alley in rome had christian grafitti scrawled on it

I would ask "are you without a billboard budget? Do christians vandalize? How would you like it if humanists scrawled crap on churches?"

What a dirty little bunch of busy body people. If it was my city the lions would be well fed.

[proteus_lives]

35. "If it was my city the lions would be well fed."

So you'd kill people with different religious views then you if you had the power?

Now that's liberal! :eyes:

[sui generis]

47. I am so profoundly sorry for your loss

humor is a dreadful thing to live without, for the rest of your life.

I hear you can adopt in some states. . . .

good fucking grief dude. literal much?

and on THAT topic . . . christians and lions; I'd say the fucking christians are ahead in that playoff, so do NOT adopt some pathetic posture pretending to be a victim.

Here are your :eyes: back, don't roll them all in one place.

[Warpy]

7. Belief would seem to require perfect consensus

considering how threatened believers are by the mere existence of unbelievers.

Hey, guys, we're here, we have a right to be here, and we'd like to comfort our fellow unbelievers who are feeling alone. It's got nothing to do with you.

Deal.

[Sebastian Doyle]

8. Those billboards are up pretty high

Not easy to climb up and deface them. Maybe God tagged them Himself? :hide:

[progressoid]

27. It was a miracle

Just like Jesus on a potato chip.



http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1423248.html

[newtothegame]

19. Isn't Clear Channel an evil corporation? n/t

[Zomby Woof]

28. On DU, all corporations are evil

Unless they do something we like or agree with. Like make computers with cute apple logos, etc.

Always loopholes with this crowd. :D

[Sebastian Doyle]

32. Well, it was founded (literally) with Bush Crime Family money.

A by product of Chimpy's brief ownership of the Texas Rangers baseball franchise, actually.

The Clear Channel buyout of hundreds of radio stations was certainly evil, as it helped right wing radio spread its hateful distorted message, which helped Chimpy steal the 2000 election.

And the Clear Channel buyout of concert promotion, which has now merged with Ticketbastard, has led to fucking ridiculous ticket prices to the point of where you now literally pay $200 to see the same bands you paid $20 to see in the 80's.

All of that is unquestionably evil.

Paradoxically, they also own radio stations such as Green 960 in San Francisco and KPOJ in Portland. KTLK in LA may be one of theirs too (I can't remember for sure). In this case, greed overrides right wing hatred, as these stations have proven profitable.

[defendandprotect]

33. Didn't know that ... but they now own History Channel - dum-de-dum-dum ....

[Warpy]

44. Well, that explains all that bible and Nostradamus crap

they play during the evenings and on weekends.

I liked it better when it was the Hitler Channel. At least some of that stuff was historically interesting.

[wuushew]

22. I find the use of a question mark interesting

Was the vandal unclear about the merrits or benefits professed by divine truth?

Take these approaches

"Also lost?"
"Also lost."
"Also lost!"

[Eyerish]

23. It must suck to be so insecure in your own beliefs...

that a billboard makes you feel threatened to the point where you must vandalize it.

[Adsos Letter]

25. I doubt that it's insecurity (although it might be)

More likely this person/goup's conviction (however misplaced) that failure to oppose what they see as a message leading people to eternal destruction (in their view) might stand against them at "The Judgement."

Just a guess for a motivation other than insecurity in their own beliefs. :)

[Fumesucker]

37. John 3:16

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

That's it, that's all a believer has to do..

Nothing there about failure to oppose a message leading other people to eternal destruction.

Your scenario is without merit.

[Adsos Letter]

46. My scenario is hardly without merit...

while your quotation of John 3:16 is an accurate summation of the gospel message, it does not follow that all Christians believe that their behavior on earth is irrelevant to their standing in the judgment. There are those who believe that failure to oppose a message they believe will lead other people to eternal destruction will cause them to incur loss at that same judgment.

Whether it meets an accurate understanding of the gospel is irrelevant; I was only speaking to intent.

[liberal_at_heart]

43. I heard my father listening to a tv evangelist make this very same argument

He was saying that to get to heaven you had to bear fruit which in this instance meant converting people and collecting souls for God. I couldn't believe it but this preacher was actually saying that you couldn't get into heaven without converting people and there are people out there that will believe this garbage. I swear when my father gets to watching those tv evangelists I have to put on some music to drown them out. I cannot listen to it.

[Soylent Brice]

30. the one that was put up here in cincinnati has an even more interesting story

the guy who owned the lot that the billboard was on was receiving death threats. they took it down eventually.

so very xian for someone to threaten death because someone believes differently than you, but you can't drive through indiana without seeing billboard after billboard about how god smotes the baby-killers.

the hypocrisy is astounding.

[defendandprotect]

34. Remember that Madlyn Murray O'Hair was eventually killed . . .

Evidently she was harassed all her life by religious fanatics --

C-span began to put her on TV every once in a while back in the 1990's . . .

That went on only a few years before she and a number of her family were dead!

[Soylent Brice]

36. for those who aren't aware of who that is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madalyn_Murray_O'Hair

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abington_School_District_v._Schempp

[Rebubula]

38. Been an Atheist...

...for better than 20 years. Never felt a need to proselytize my opinions to anyone. Never had a problem with any Christians or Muslims when the topic arises.

If you go pushing your beliefs (or lack thereof) into the faces of people that think differently - sometimes they push back. Get over it.

[liberal_at_heart]

41. I can understand both sides of the argument

I agree that anytime you put your beliefs out in the public square you are going to receive criticism whether you are Christian, Muslim, atheist or any other religion or philosphy and it may even be construed as prostylizing even if that is not the intent. But at the same time I can understand how some atheists feel a need to reach out to other atheists. My teenage daughter feels pretty isolated. She doesn't know anyone who believes the way she does. Everyone she knows is Christian except for me and her father. I am Buddhist and her father is agnostic. She can't even talk about books she likes such as The Golden Compass or the Da Vinci Code without having Christians slamming them. She needs to be able to find others she can share her interests with. I think seeing a billboard like this one would probably make her feel good, like maybe she isn't alone.

[Quantess]

40. What Would Jesus Deface?

[Throd]

45. I find it somewhat amusing.