Comments on: Discrimination in Wilson County, Tennessee

By: Friendly Atheist » Wilson County Will Not Discriminate

Friendly Atheist » Wilson County Will Not Discriminate — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 23:01:49 +0000

[...] few days ago, I mentioned that the Wilson County Fair in Lebanon, Tennessee was offering $2 off the price of admission if you brought in a church bulletin — this on a specially themed “God and Country Day” [...]

By: cipher

cipher — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 14:33:03 +0000

Hemant – if you go, PLEASE be careful.

By: Amy

Amy — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 19:16:27 +0000

I will be attending this event with NAFA (North Alabama Freethought Association) on Sunday. This group is being led by Blair Scott, director of Alabama Atheists. We will be attending the fair wearing atheism related t-shirts and with webpage printouts in hand.

By: llewelly

llewelly — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:35:26 +0000

Darryl:

The Republicans–before Bush–had been champions of States’ rights and Federalism, you know, “shrink the Federal government, and put power back in the hands of the States.” I’m for that. Not a crazy absolutist version of it like the whackos want, but a reasonable version

Haha. Reagan exploded the national deficit to record heights. Then old George Herbert Walker Bush broke those records. The 'shrink the Federal government' Republicans didn't die when G.W. won in 2000. They died in the Republican primaries of 1980, when Reagan advocated the Laffer (or is laughter?) curve, and old G.H.W. Bush called it 'voodoo economics'. Reagan's voodoo-thinking won the debate, and that was the last time G.H.W. Bush, or any other prominent Republican, had anything bad to say about the Laffer curve, or giant deficits. Today, to the extent that any federal politician can be honestly described as a small government republican, the small government republicans consist of Ron Paul (I know, he's a racist creep, but he is relatively consistent in voting against almost all large government expenditures), and a few democrats - yeah, there are more democrats in federal government today that vote small government than there are republicans. States rights has gone more or less the same way. Ever since about 1980 or so, people who want states rights and small government have been better off voting democrat, even though most modern democrats have little interest in either cause.

By: JT

JT — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:08:01 +0000

Just so you guys know – the group that is going to be there protesting – they are going to have t-shirts that say “I support foxhole atheists” or “Foxhole Atheist” – I would go (I’m a foxhole atheist) but had a prior commitment:

http://atheists.meetup.com/699/calendar/8483896/

By: Vincent

Vincent — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:58:39 +0000

Of course it’s worth the fight.
Nobody paid any attention to the discrimination in the South until a bunch of northerners went there and got it on the national news, and public rejection of what was going on ultimately made the Civil Rights Movement successful.
Make discrimination news and it will change.

By: TXatheist

TXatheist — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:28:56 +0000

Hemant, it’s the south so don’t be surprised, seriously. I’m glad you brought it to our attention but that’s a little too far from Austin for me. Remember the 10C monument at the Austin Capitol? The Attorney General said with a straight face that it’s a secular monument(concerning it’s purpose).

By: Heidi

Heidi — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 07:30:56 +0000

I rather doubt the county fair is connected to the government at all. In my experience County Fairs are named so for the place, and are private enterprises. It could be the land on which the fair takes place is county-owned, but what happens there is not run by the county government.

By: Richard Wade

Richard Wade — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:14:47 +0000

rememberer said,

If it makes y’all feel any better, many Christians hate the “God and Country” schtick as much as you do.

Enough to show up to denounce and protest it? I’ll be looking for these Christians in the newspapers and on TV. If only atheists demonstrably object to it they will be dismissed out of hand but if your “many Christians” protest it will be big news.

You are what you do, not what you think.

By: Darryl

Darryl — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:40:14 +0000

You know, this makes me think about states rights–follow me here:

I’m an independent, but I vote mostly Democratic. I live in a state where my vote is wasted because it’s overwhelmingly conservative. In other words, I really don’t get representation, not by my senators or congressmen, and not by my President. The Bush years have been exceedingly frustrating for me.

The Republicans–before Bush–had been champions of States’ rights and Federalism, you know, “shrink the Federal government, and put power back in the hands of the States.” I’m for that. Not a crazy absolutist version of it like the whackos want, but a reasonable version.

Think of what that would mean. Now, states like TN, where there are a lot of conservative, right-wing, Christian fundamentalists, piss the hell out of people like me and step on my rights all day long, but if we encouraged states to go their own way on issues like church-state separation then the country could sort itself out: conservatives could migrate to the conservative states and liberals could migrate to the liberal states.

Consider the benefits: beyond the obvious–no more bullshit to put up with–the “blue” states would have more wealth (liberals tend to be wealthier than rednecks) and would be able to invest more in rational government policies, there would be less financial drag on the state economy from all the trailer trash sucking on the government tit and all the bullshit ideas that fundies come up with (a lot less lawsuits), and the “red” states would probably fuck themselves royally and have to go begging to the Federal government to bail them out (ah, the healthiness of shame!). Of course, on the down side, we’d probably have to fight another Civil War eventually.

Well, I can dream.