Humanist Billboard Vandalized in Moscow, Idaho

[Ian David]

Press Release:

Humanist Billboard Vandalized in Moscow, Idaho

Washington, D.C -- Vandals have blacked out—apparently with spray paint—part of a billboard in Moscow, Idaho that reads "Millions are good without God" so that the word "without" is unreadable. The billboard, which was placed by the American Humanist Association in mid-September, is part of an AHA advertising campaign to spread awareness about being good without God. It's the third billboard the organization has displayed in the Moscow area and similar advertisements have been put up around the country.

"We're disappointed that someone felt the need to sabotage our message," said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. "We don't see the billboard as being controversial or an attack on religion; we see it as just stating a point of fact. It's saddening that some people react with such antagonism to the mere statement you can be good without a belief in God."

"I knew there would be some disagreement with the billboard's slogan, but I do wish that those who objected would have opened a dialogue with us rather than trying to stifle our message and damaging property," continued Speckhardt. "A phone call would have been much nicer."

The American Humanist Association has filed a police report with the Moscow Police Department. In addition, it has alerted the billboard company they contracted with, Lamar Outdoor, who said they will assess whether or not the billboard can be cleaned. If not, the American Humanist Association will pay to have the billboard replaced.

"If we replace the billboard our next slogan might read 'Being good without God clearly not for everybody'," Speckhardt joked.

The billboard can be found on Highway 95, just south of Moscow near the Sweet Avenue cross street, facing northbound traffic. Lamar Outdoor said that occasionally billboards are vandalized, but it hasn't happened in several years. This is the first American Humanist Association advertisement that has been defaced to the organization's knowledge.

"We have had a few complaints about our advertisements, but most have been respectful of our right to speak our minds," said Speckhardt.

The American Humanist Association (www.americanhumanist.org) advocates for the rights and viewpoints of humanists. Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., its work is extended through more than 100 local chapters and affiliates across the United States.

Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism, affirms our responsibility to lead ethical lives of value to self and humanity.
###

More:
http://www.americanhumanist.org/news/details/2009-10-humanist-billboard-vandalized-in-moscow-idaho

[FiveGoodMen]

1. Fuckin' commies!

[uriel1972]

2. Surely theists

being all godly and goodly would never do such a thing... wait, what was I thinking?

[WhollyHeretic]

3. I think I found the culprit

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6825895&mesg_id=6826096

:eyes:

[uriel1972]

4. That poster what a jerk....

the nerve to call all athiests hateful and intolerent whilst advocating the suppression of any athiest message. I think it's a personal problem of theirs.

[Ian David]

5. "You are ignoring the author of this thread" n/t

[LeftishBrit]

6. Great to have the signs IMO...

and I wouldn't deem it appropriate vandalize a religious sign, so why should others vandalize a humanist sign?

Mind you, I once was on a thread about fatal road accidents, and someone said that they thought that careless driving/ road accidents were partly caused by the decline of religion. I pointed out that, despite a vast increase in the number of cars on the roads, the absolute number (not just proportional to the number of drivers; the *absolute* number) of road deaths in the UK has declined significantly in the last 60 years - during which time we have also become much more secular.

[realisticphish]

7. being religious makes you drive better

huh. that's a new one to me

[onager]

8. My Islamic conrol groups say "Pfft!"

...careless driving/ road accidents were partly caused by the decline of religion.

I've lived in two Muslim nations where religion hasn't declined much at all since the 7th century CE - Egypt and Saudi Arabia (the latter being home to the holiest sites in Islam, of course).

Just upthread I posted about the horrible car wrecks I saw on a daily basis in Egypt, and the number of pedestrians killed.

Silent3 then went and looked up the grim statistics on Egyptian traffic fatalities:

"Driving in Egypt, a country with one of the world’s highest rates of road fatalities per mile driven, is a challenge." So says the U.S. govt. website on international traffic stats.

I'd guess Saudi Arabia is not as bad. It's bigger and there are fewer things/people to hit. Unscientific personal observation: I drove myself around in Saudi Arabia. But in Egypt, my company banned all employees from driving...after an Unfortunate Traffic Incident.

Bonus Irrelevant Note to Xians who really want to "be more like Jesus:" go to Saudi Arabia and commit highway robbery. The legal penalty for that crime is crucifixion.

[charlie]

9. How many bobblehead dashboard Jesii are there in Egypt?

See? Jesus wants to help, but if you won't let Him ride along, well...

[onager]

10. Dashboard Korans are very popular!

I often saw them lying on the dashboards of wrecked cars, spattered with broken glass and blood.

I would have bought a Bobblehead Mohammed on sight, but that whole "graven image" thing got in the way.

Right down the street from my apartment in Alexandria was a storefront for the Bible Society of Egypt. (Naturally, my personal abbreviation for that establishment was "BS-Egypt.") They might have had Bobblehead Jesi, but mostly just a sad collection of fly-blown and sun-faded old children's books, cassettes, and Bibles in Arabic.

BS-Egypt never seemed to have any customers and I was surprised to see it at all. The Muslim Brotherhood and Egyptian Islamic Jihad REALLY hate competition. Twice while I lived in Alexandria, they expressed their displeasure by starting large riots aimed at the Coptic Xians.

[charlie]

11. Dashboard Korans, kee-rist

Can you imagine keeping Origin of Species or Ingersoll essays around as a blankie? Books are meant to be read and crucifixes are for... well, I don't know what they're really for, but surely they're as misapplied as a box of laundry detergent on a freakin' dashboard.

There's no end to their totems, yet somehow, we're the ones always fighting rearguard because we "fetishize" science and verifiability.

I remember you checking in during the riots. Your own skewed perspective kept me from overly worrying about you, so I could read with the Jets vs Sharks theme underscoring your posts in my head. And laugh :D

[Euromutt]

12. In the UAE, it's CD-ROMs of the Koran

Dangling from the rear-view mirror. Great fun when it spins and reflects sunlight into the eyes of oncoming drivers.