A rainbow-colored pole with a disco ball on top has been cleared for display this holiday season in the Florida state Capitol rotunda. As a legal Pastafarian minister, and all around funny guy, I find this FUCKING-HILARIOUS.
The Florida Capitol rotunda this Christmas season will be home to a Gay Pride Festivus pole made from beer cans, a 9-foot-tall menorah and maybe even a homage to the Flying Spaghetti Monster. “This display will communicate and represent the belief systems of atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, and other irreligious citizens of the state of Florida,” the application for the Flying Spaghetti Monster display says. It is “intended to inspire a sense of community and belonging for all those who view it.”
“Let this saga be a lesson to government officials who want to promote religion in public buildings. It’s just not worth the trouble,” the group wrote. “There are plenty of private spaces where religious symbols can be displayed. Government buildings should focus on government business – and that should never include promoting religion.”
src: http://goo.gl/dChKMI
src: http://goo.gl/esK5k4
A Festivus Miracle!
……but isn't the act of them putting all that other stuff up running counter to the statement they made about not putting symbols up in government spaces?
I don't really think so.. The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster was created satirically in 2005 to protest the Kansas State Board of Education decision to permit teaching intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in public school science classes. It's purpose was to be a symbol that satirized symbols. It wouldn't even exist if it were not for a certain other religion… pushing itself in government spaces. I'm quite positive they would prefer that the state simply do the right thing and not allow any symbols… theirs included. Short of the state preventing that they're simply using absurdity to show how absurd it is that other religions are freely allowed to shove their belief system in the face of others (on government property… non-issue if it was somewhere else).
+Paul Spoerry
I not talking about the flying spaghetti monster (who by the way, I don't believe exists :P). I'm referring to the festivus poll and the gay pride disco ball. If one symbol is offensive, they all are.(and I'm playing the red guy's advocate here, I'm not really offended by any of the things put up at holiday time)
This is how crazy it is. Somewhere here in Jersey (and I don't think it was this year, it might have been last or the year before), there was a huge brew-ha-ha. The town put up a Christmas tree and thought that it was being fair by putting up a menorah. The Christian community got bent because there wasn't a nativity scene.
The town officials explained that Christmas was represented with the tree. The Christians argued (and with legitimacy), that the tree is a secular symbol and isn't representative of the true holiday.
The town agreed to put up the scene, and right away people cried foul because now Christmas had 2 displays (you see where I'm going here). What they ended up with was nothing…… absolutely no holiday decorations of any kind.
'Tolerant' and 'equality' seeking zealots will ruin things every time.
" 'Tolerant' and 'equality' seeking zealots will ruin things every time."
– I disagree. Sometimes change requires a conflict (and I don't necessarily mean the sort that devolves into violence). If it weren't for equality seeking zealots we wouldn't have split from the UK. Mrs Parks wouldn't have refused to sit in the back, etc etc etc.
Tolerant would have been the secular approach of just a tree or really just… nothing. In reality, no representation of religion should be on government grounds. And it DOES get ridiculous… that's why they put up a pole and disco ball too.
+Paul Spoerry
I have no problem with upheaval for change. Not for nothing is there the saying that you can't make a cake without breaking a few eggs.
However, there is a particular reason I put the words tolerant and equality in quotes (and I think you know what it is without me telling you). These feckless reprobates whom I speak of, have no qualms about being intolerant an un-egalitarian in the quest for their brand of tolerance and equality, (and those in the way need to be put in camps….or be put down).
Like I said earlier, I am not offended by any display that is put up. The display itself isn't going to oppresses me, assault me, threaten me, throw me in a dissident prison, or kill me. It's a stupid display.
People have taken being offended as an occupation. Those are the folks that I have no tolerance for (and I know if not the nice or proper thing to think or do….but I'd like to round them up and put them in the camps they dream of putting those who disagree with them in).
"People have taken being offended as an occupation. Those are the folks that I have no tolerance for" LOL!!!! Yes, I think there is some truth to that.
I hear ya. None of it actually offends me other than that I believe no religion should be promoted on government property. At your church? Fine. At your house? Fine. At a school or courthouse? Nope. It's really pretty simple.
+Paul Spoerry
I don't disagree. I just can't get worked up about any display on government property, as long as I would have the right to erect one of my choosing as well if I was so inclined.
I actually might have to put that argument in my back pocket and pull it out in July. Then I can demand a bamboo tree be erected at the municipal complex for Tanabata. If they had stuff up during the winter holiday season, then I want July 7th to have a wish tree put up so I can hang my Tanzaku. 😛
LOL… yup. Which is exactly what they're doing here.