ATTN: Parents

[Oysters Rockefeller]

Or,

they chose a way which will reaffirm the idea that atheists = satanists among evangelical christians and it will invariably be used as ammo for why separation of church and state is wrong and all atheists need to be expelled from the US.

I'm going with the above scenario.

Yeah, this.
HFA probably didn't change any minds or soften any hearts with that move. And honestly, I'm not sure they were even trying to. And that's the problem.

[Elder Iptuous]

I agree with Navkat.
surely, it's all dumb, but i can see where they are coming from.  tfa says that they aren't really protesting the 'blessing' of the road, but just the drawing attention to the church/state connection, which seems completely justified, imo.
i would tend to doubt that this was done specifically to reinforce the connection between atheism and satanism, but they sure could have chosen a better term than 'unholy water'... (the alien thing was kind of dumb, too. i wonder if that was an off the cuff joke, immediately regretted)

a reasonable reason to protest, poorly executed.

[Reginald Ret]

They should have gotten all different kinds of religious people to come put down their own wards making Polk county the metaphysically safest county on the face of the earth.
Kinda reminds me of a Babylon 5 episode, http://youtu.be/YXPaGCRngWw

[Doktor Howl]

I agree with Navkat.
surely, it's all dumb, but i can see where they are coming from.  tfa says that they aren't really protesting the 'blessing' of the road, but just the drawing attention to the church/state connection, which seems completely justified, imo.
i would tend to doubt that this was done specifically to reinforce the connection between atheism and satanism, but they sure could have chosen a better term than 'unholy water'... (the alien thing was kind of dumb, too. i wonder if that was an off the cuff joke, immediately regretted)

a reasonable reason to protest, poorly executed.

That's one way to say it.

"A BUNCH OF DUMBFUCKS" is another.  There is no church & state issue, here.

[Elder Iptuous]

they said they are protesting a billboard that was put up near the 'consecrated road' that is from the Christian Churches of Polk County and Polk Under Prayer that features the portraits of the Mayor, School Superintendent, and Sheriff.  Now, that's not a serious violation of the state sanctioning a particular religion, but there is an implication there that i think should have been shied away from.
so, it's a trifle.
but then.... so is the protest.
"they holy watered the road, so we're gonna UNholy water the road!... wanna take a picture?"
no big deal. maybe a bit sophomoric, but i don't see why it should garner scorn.

Perhaps you are thinking that the new breed of atheists has a tendency to be zealous, abrasive, and pompous?
i'd agree, for the most part.
i don't see that here. (in tfa, at least)
i see humor (albeit weak) being used to make a small point.
so why the ire?

[Doktor Howl]

they said they are protesting a billboard that was put up near the 'consecrated road' that is from the Christian Churches of Polk County and Polk Under Prayer that features the portraits of the Mayor, School Superintendent, and Sheriff.  Now, that's not a serious violation of the state sanctioning a particular religion, but there is an implication there that i think should have been shied away from.

Why?  The amendment says that congress will recognize no particular religion, and that nobody shall be prevented from worshipping or expressing worship.

That second bit includes public figures.  What they CAN'T do is make religion a prerequisite for the job, as spelled out in article I.

[Doktor Howl]

Perhaps you are thinking that the new breed of atheists has a tendency to be zealous, abrasive, and pompous?
i'd agree, for the most part.
i don't see that here. (in tfa, at least)
i see humor (albeit weak) being used to make a small point.
so why the ire?

What ire?  Against the atheist spags?

Because it was dumb, and it sort of gives every evangelical moron with an axe to grind THAT much more ammunition.

[Elder Iptuous]

We are in agreement that nothing illegal was done by the officials of the town.
i don't think the atheists were making that claim either.
it just looks bad.  the way they describe the billboard in the article it says, "all the authorities in this town are Christian... get it?!"
in my opinion, this is something that should be avoided on grounds of decency (not based on legislation)

i guess i can see why giving evangelical morons more ammunition might be irritating.
i wasn't bothered by that because i know they have an infinite well of ignorance to pull forth ammo from, so it didn't upset me.
but i see your point.

[Oysters Rockefeller]

I'd be interested in knowing if that billboard had pictures of other people on it, and how many if so.

For instance, if it's just the officials...that's pretty shady.

But if it's a whole congregation, and the journalist thought it'd be more interesting not to mention that part...well, that changes the context a little bit.

Either way I think the HFA handled it wrong. But the degree of my dissapointment in them could change significantly.

[Lord Cataplanga]

Or,

they chose a way which will reaffirm the idea that atheists = satanists among evangelical christians and it will invariably be used as ammo for why separation of church and state is wrong and all atheists need to be expelled from the US.

I'm going with the above scenario.

Yeah, this.
HFA probably didn't change any minds or soften any hearts with that move. And honestly, I'm not sure they were even trying to. And that's the problem.

This. They have been trying to polarize the religious attitudes in the US for years now.

[Elder Iptuous]

ahh...
i'd never heard of the HFA any more than i'd heard of PUP.
do they have a long history of being douches?

[Lord Cataplanga]

ahh...
i'd never heard of the HFA any more than i'd heard of PUP.
do they have a long history of being douches?

I don't think it's specific to the HFA. The subset of atheists that are politically active and care a lot about religion (the kind of people who join the HFA) usually are not annoyed by evangelical morons acting like morons unless they are an inmediate threat.

They believe fundamentalists are a lost cause, and that forcing encouraging them to act like morons will make the moderate believers distance themselves from the nutcases. Hence, the polarization.

Of course, by acting like morons themselves, they are causing normal people like you to distance themselves from the New Atheists, but they know you will still be on their side on anything that really matters.

[Cain]

If the New Atheists had done their philosophical homework, they'd be aware of a point Nietzsche made a long time ago, that what people find disagreeable is not necessarily a statement itself, but the tone with which it is said.

Given the New Atheist tone is almost always smug, condescending, arrogant, belittling etc...Which also opens the door to fundamentalists using their "reasonable voice" to make themselves look better.

Direct attacks on a person's identity just make them reaffirm that identity even more strongly.  Bringing down a socio-religious organisation that has existed, in one form or another, for nearly 2000 years is not going to be done with verbal bludgeoning and appeals to one's own intellectual and moral superiority.

It's an intelligent, subtle and long-term game, and thus one the New Atheists are completely unsuited to play at.

[Lord Cataplanga]

If the New Atheists had done their philosophical homework, they'd be aware of a point Nietzsche made a long time ago, that what people find disagreeable is not necessarily a statement itself, but the tone with which it is said.

Given the New Atheist tone is almost always smug, condescending, arrogant, belittling etc...Which also opens the door to fundamentalists using their "reasonable voice" to make themselves look better.

Direct attacks on a person's identity just make them reaffirm that identity even more strongly.  Bringing down a socio-religious organisation that has existed, in one form or another, for nearly 2000 years is not going to be done with verbal bludgeoning and appeals to one's own intellectual and moral superiority.

It's an intelligent, subtle and long-term game, and thus one the New Atheists are completely unsuited to play at.

That "tone" business is something that is debated a lot on atheist communities. Some believe that diluting their message by minding their tone is like cheating or something. That only truth should matter.

Even though they don't believe in absolute morality, it's important to them to always feel morally superior.

[Elder Iptuous]

Even though they don't believe in absolute morality, it's important to them to always feel morally superior.