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skepticscott

(13,029 posts)
Wed Jun 13, 2012, 10:04 PM Jun 2012

A level playing field sucks, doesn't it?

"As our banner urged, 'Reason Has Prevailed,'" Annie Laurie Gaylor, founder and co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation told The Huffington Post.

Gaylor and other atheists are celebrating the Santa Monica City Council's unanimous vote Tuesday to prohibit churches, atheists, synagogues and other groups from setting up nativity scenes or other displays on Palisades Park.

The California beach city's nearly 50-year tradition of allowing 14 nativity scenes along two blocks overlooking the ocean became threatened in December when atheists managed to win 11 of the 14 spaces that the city made available through lottery. A synagogue also won a space, leaving only two spaces for nearby churches, which used to have all 14.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/13/santa-monica-nativity-scene_n_1595031.html?ref=topbar
11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
A level playing field sucks, doesn't it? (Original Post) skepticscott Jun 2012 OP
Query DonCoquixote Jun 2012 #1
Well I was going to put a blow-up doll on a cross mindwalker_i Jun 2012 #2
A level playing field sucks, doesn't it? AlbertCat Jun 2012 #3
The more interesting thing here is the reaction to a level playing field dmallind Jun 2012 #4
The result is no playing field. rug Jun 2012 #5
Yep - taken away rather than give atheists equal access to it dmallind Jun 2012 #6
There's no menorah in #5. rug Jun 2012 #7
The sequence is generic as very clearly stated. The process however, applies here too. dmallind Jun 2012 #8
As it should be skepticscott Jun 2012 #9
Ow. It hurts to read the Hufflepuff Post's comments section. daaron Jun 2012 #10
Liberal does not by any means skepticscott Jun 2012 #11

dmallind

(10,437 posts)
4. The more interesting thing here is the reaction to a level playing field
Thu Jun 14, 2012, 11:28 AM
Jun 2012

The evolution of these things, be it public prayer or after school groups or celebratory displays, always goes something like this:

1) Ooh isn't this nice - good friendly Christians having a public space to celebrate and promote their beliefs. Nobody can possibly find a reason to object because everybody loves Christianity.

2) Oh OK some of the good friendly Christians went a bit too far but it's no big deal - a few complaints will blow over if they settle back down to good friendly Christianity for all.

3) Well I'll be damned some people just won't let good friendly Christianity's occasional excesses be forgotten. Now we have to include these pesky Jews and Muslims and weird religions. But still we'll all settle down and both real and fake religions will have some space. Luckily still mostly Christian though - we can hide a Menorah or two and a couple other heathen fetishes.

4) Shit. Now the blasted atheists want to start spreading their lies about solstices and vernal equinoxes being the cause for annual celebrations, and asking questions about why the truth of a bearded invisible man who gives us salvation if we're good is different from the obviously mythical kid's story of a bearded invisible man who gives us presents if we're good. Do we have to let THESE buggers display stuff too?

5) Bollocks. The lawyers say we fucking do have to. What the hell did the Shysters do to earn the $650k in taxpayer money we gave them to fight this? The bastard atheists just won't let Christianity alone even though it's the one true faith and has had the public space to itself for decades. Fuck it if they get to show their stuff we can't have that. We can't let that commie evil Satanist amoral god-hating crap share the public space with good friendly Christianity. We have to ban them all and blame the godless scum for taking away our lovely good friendly Christianity from the only place it can be seen. Fuck. Now the second item on the council agenda...repaving the access roads to our city's 118 untaxed Christian churches.....

dmallind

(10,437 posts)
6. Yep - taken away rather than give atheists equal access to it
Thu Jun 14, 2012, 11:41 AM
Jun 2012

Imagine that. Number 5 yet again.

dmallind

(10,437 posts)
8. The sequence is generic as very clearly stated. The process however, applies here too.
Thu Jun 14, 2012, 12:10 PM
Jun 2012

Once atheists had to be treated equally, all access was revoked. It's usually the case.

 

skepticscott

(13,029 posts)
9. As it should be
Thu Jun 14, 2012, 06:11 PM
Jun 2012

But it takes something like this to get the lie put to claims of "equal treatment".

 

daaron

(763 posts)
10. Ow. It hurts to read the Hufflepuff Post's comments section.
Fri Jun 15, 2012, 09:35 PM
Jun 2012

It hurts so bad! Where does this confusion that HuffPo is a lib rag come from? It's disingenuous blatherskite.

 

skepticscott

(13,029 posts)
11. Liberal does not by any means
Sat Jun 16, 2012, 02:00 PM
Jun 2012

equate to rational and clearheaded. You need go no further than this site..or this group...to be utterly convinced of that.

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