Think Christians aren’t like Muslims? Think again.
An atheist billboard in Cincinnati has been relocated after the landowner received “significant threats” demanding its removal.
“Everything that has happened shows just how vital our message is,” said Shawn Jeffers, co-coordinator for the Cincinnati Coalition of Reason. “It proves our point, that bigotry against people who don’t believe in a god is still very real in America. Only when we atheists, agnostics and humanists come together and go public about our views will people have a chance to learn that we too are part of the community and deserve respect.”
Let’s not be gracious about this. The people responsible for these threats are terrorists. There is no other reasonable way to look at it. While there are thousands of church advertisements littering roadsides all over America, theists (presumably Christians) are not happy to grant the same freedom to atheists. They have taken matters into their own hands, and are attempting to subvert the Constitution through threats of violence or anything else that sufficiently terrorizes anyone who sides with us. They are terrorists.
The first thing that needs to be done about this is simple. The FBI, or the Department of Homeland Security, or somebody needs to pursue these people as doggedly as they would pursue someone who had called in a bomb threat to an airport. They are criminals, and need to be punished severely. The freedom of speech is crucial to everything that America is supposed to stand for. Attacking that freedom is literally attacking America.
The second thing that needs to be done is that everyone — atheist or not — who values freedom needs to vocally denounce attitudes like that of Jack Jones, of downtown Cincy:
“My thoughts? I think the sign needs to come down. Its atheist. Its going to cause problems around all the churches, not just catholic, but lutheran, baptist, all of them,” said Jack Jones of Downtown.
Let’s think about this statement for a minute. The billboard is going to cause problems?? What problems could it possibly cause? Is it calling for violence? Is it threatening anyone in any way? Is it advocating anything illegal or unethical?
No. Of course it isn’t. So what problems could it cause?
You and I both know the answer to this. Some theists might get so offended by it that they cause problems for atheists. Let’s be very clear about this. They want us to stay silent and invisible, and are willing to resort to violence to ensure that state of affairs.
There is no other way to look at it. This is terrorism.
I’m very offended by this attempt to deny us our freedom. I’m angry. I am not interested in hearing moderate theists cry about how not all theists are extremists. I don’t care about any of that. I just want these terrorists stopped. I want the government to protect all of its citizens equally. I’m tired of terrorism being selectively prosecuted based on the whims of the majority religion.
