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Following up on our discussion of how it is OK to be an Atheist as long as you know your place, we find a classic example of the kind of thinking that rationalist non-believers encounter all the time, even if it is not spoken out loud. This time it is spoken out loud:
This is a conversation between atheist Rob Sherman, presenting testimony before the House State Government Administration Committee in Illinois, and Democratic Representative Monique Davis, last Wednesday:
Davis: I don't know what you have against God, but some of us don't have much against him. We look forward to him and his blessings. And it's really a tragedy -- it's tragic -- when a person who is engaged in anything related to God, they want to fight. They want to fight prayer in school.I don't see you (Sherman) fighting guns in school. You know?
I'm trying to understand the philosophy that you want to spread in the state of Illinois. This is the Land of Lincoln. This is the Land of Lincoln where people believe in God, where people believe in protecting their children.... What you have to spew and spread is extremely dangerous, it's dangerous--
Sherman: What's dangerous, ma'am?
Davis: It's dangerous to the progression of this state. And it's dangerous for our children to even know that your philosophy exists! Now you will go to court to fight kids to have the opportunity to be quiet for a minute. But damn if you'll go to [court] to fight for them to keep guns out of their hands. I am fed up! Get out of that seat!
Sherman: Thank you for sharing your perspective with me, and I'm sure that if this matter does go to court---
Davis: You have no right to be here! We believe in something. You believe in destroying! You believe in destroying what this state was built upon.
And so on and so forth. The hearing was about the possible misdirection of a million dollars in state money being used to fund church activities.
The story is reported here in the Trib and and here on Pharyngula.
PZ (Pharyngula) further suggests that you contact Representative Davis to express your concer with her bigotry. PZ Suggests that members of her district do so. That's good. But an outcry from the rest of the planet may also be effective.
You can email Representative Monique Davis here.
Politics
Comments
Posted by: Virgil Samms | April 7, 2008 12:47 PM
Hell, I'll e-mail to complain that she has a friggin' AOL account!
Posted by: AtheistAcolyte | April 7, 2008 2:42 PM
Get out of that seat! I love it. She's so outraged.
Posted by: Zach Miller | April 7, 2008 3:56 PM
Another factoid; Ms. Davis is a member of the Reverend Wright's former congregation, Trinity United Church of Christ.
What an interesting church it seems to be!
Posted by: Gerard Harbison | April 7, 2008 4:15 PM
gee whizz....I hate to be the blasphemer ( I can't wait for the first idiot to call me a racist on this one...) but, um, not only is this scary for atheists, but it is yet another sad reminder that when the left creates token leaders ( in this case the Maya Angelou-rific, Oprafied black descendants of theoretical liberalism) they have to take the good with the bad--in this case, dangerous, dogmatic,fanatical religious belief, packaged in the leftern version of jemimafication-- Monique Davis.
Posted by: the real cmf | April 7, 2008 7:46 PM
Wow. I'm gonna have to try this some time on you, cmf:
http://www.xkcd.com/406/
Posted by: AtheistAcolyte | April 7, 2008 7:53 PM
What I don't get about Davis' comments is that they make no sense. Not only does she segue (if it can be called that) from atheism bashing and separation of church and state to gun control, but the controversy isn't over rebuilding a damaged church, but using those funds to support a private school housed in the church.
My guess is that this is some shameless demagoguing on behalf of a constituent involved with the school (which makes it no less reprehensible). What would she have said had the person testifying was Jewish, I wonder? Or for that matter, Christian?
Posted by: Mike the Mad Biologist | April 7, 2008 8:26 PM
My snail mail to Davis:
Posted by: decrepitoldfool | April 7, 2008 10:51 PM
Acolyte:if you zapped me with that, then I would throw you into this file: http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/White_people
Posted by: the real cmf | April 8, 2008 9:11 PM
"What would she have said had the person testifying was Jewish, I wonder"...
don't worry about that Mike,the left, and the Democrats have a long history of knowing which "Jew to pander to"...'Jewish' is sacred ground, even for atheists.
Posted by: the real (self hating) Bobby Fisher | April 8, 2008 9:20 PM