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Makes me sick. In fla we have the "in god we trust" plates... I find those offensive. Who is we? It's not me. I find people who believe jn a pretend being who okays slavery, rape, genocide, murder etc offensive.To me this is a blanket denial , of his freedom of speech and "religion" or lack there of.
There is still a stigma attached to the term "Atheist"; it's fading but still strong in some quarters. The religious and some other groups think they have the right to control their environment to the extent that they don't have to see certain people or words that they disapprove of. Slowly, they are learning that they just have to suck it up and live in the Real World with Other People.
It's very similar to how fundamentalists would claim to love gays but would somehow be creeped out by, say, the license plate my publisher, who happened to be a lesbian, had years ago in Seattle: IM OWT. Love 'em, but keep 'em out of your neighborhood, if not your city, because they're icky. Yeah, that's real love, alright. Agape love, to boot, I'm sure.
Makes me sick. In fla we have the "in god we trust" plates... I find those offensive. Who is we? It's not me. I find people who believe jn a pretend being who okays slavery, rape, genocide, murder etc offensive.To me this is a blanket denial , of his freedom of speech and "religion" or lack there of.
I have a feeling this isn't the last we will here about this. It would be interesting though if someone tried to get "theist" as a license plate.
I'll bet there's a 50% chance that some sleepwalking bureaucrat would not know the difference and disallow it, too, thinking it's some slight variation on "atheist" to get around the prohibition. "Theist" is not a commonly used word outside of the forums, or theologians or philosophers.
I will just about guarantee that if the meaning is known or looked up, there would be a 10x greater chance of approving THEIST even though it is no more nor less provocative than ATHEIST. I'd say if ATHEIST is disallowed, then THEIST should be disallowed on the same "basis". Both are as innocuous, really, as ILUVDOGS or REPBLCN or LIBERAL or BOYSCOUT.
I'd like to know who has the right to deem this "offensive". Anything can be offensive to anyone really. I hope this isn't the last we hear about this. I hope he fights this to the bitter end.
I'd like to know who has the right to deem this "offensive". Anything can be offensive to anyone really. I hope this isn't the last we hear about this. I hope he fights this to the bitter end.
It is being fought...from the linked OP article:
Quote:
New Jersey's got another problem: David Silverman isn't just any atheist, he's the President of American Atheists, a group that's been around since the '60s with a track record of taking cities and states to court to uphold the rights of non-believers. It doesn't sound like Silverman was looking for a fight, but the Garden State just gave him one. He's already filed his first appeal.
I haven't quite made up my mind about David Silverman. Not a fan of his debate techniques, nor his ability to defend his offense, if you will. I don't know if it's fair-- or rather, a common atheistic practice--to take explicit OFFENSE to a religious display. I think the point, which I believe has been echoed by Silverman and his organization, is to promote fair/equal representation of all beliefs and non-beliefs. If 'THEIST' and 'ILUVGOD' are allowed, why not 'ATHEIST?' To that end, I admire the provocative nature of his approach. I'd still say he's a bit of a firestarter, but at the same time, he's making unequivocal legal headway on many fronts.
Last edited by EverydayAddams; 08-28-2013 at 09:28 PM..
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