Comments on: The Atheist Bus Campaign and Barack Obama

By: Seth Pollack

Seth Pollack — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:22:33 +0000

Here in Chicago there are buses with ads for an organization promoting Islam. The site is gainpeace.com. I went there and filled out a form and got a packet with a Koran, some pamphlets and a CD.

There are similar campaigns here in New York: One called “Why Islam?”, which has been widely advertised on the subways, and another called “Ask The Rabbi.”

None for atheism, which is rather telling.

By: Blue Nine

Blue Nine — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:05:13 +0000

Here in Chicago there are buses with ads for an organization promoting Islam. The site is gainpeace.com. I went there and filled out a form and got a packet with a Koran, some pamphlets and a CD. I have not looked at any of it yet. They probably should have done this about five years ago.

By: Aj

Aj — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:57:58 +0000

Seth Pollack,

Posting snarky ads on buses is just wasteful.

I’m going to assume you don’t know what snarky means.

By: Greta Christina

Greta Christina — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:30:42 +0000

I think the atheist bus campaign worked so well, in part, because it had a concrete (not to mention fun) goal that people could see and appreciate when it was accomplished. Ditto the Kay Hagan campaign (not so much with the fun, but a very valuable concrete goal if it succeeds.

it’s hard for any organization to raise money just do keep doing the everyday things they’re doing. Even if those things are really valuable. And the economy being what it is, that’s just going to get harder. I think atheist organizations are going to need to do more hustling and fundraising… and do it around specific, tangible goals.

By: JewishAtheist

JewishAtheist — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:18:28 +0000

I think such a campaign would get all the funding it needed in the U.S. Who wants to start it?

By: Siamang

Siamang — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:56:40 +0000

OT, but Kay Hagan has issued a statement about the horrible Elizabeth Dole ad.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/29/dole-ad-fabricates-audio_n_138874.html

The end of the ad features a picture of Hagan with a female voice yelling “there is no God!” — the clear implication is that the voice is Hagan’s. In fact, the Democratic candidate is a Sunday School teacher and an elder at her Presbyterian church.

The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday morning that Hagan’s campaign is seeking a “cease and desist” order against Dole’s new attack.

Good to see the Huffington Post talking about this. More exposure the better.

By: Seth Pollack

Seth Pollack — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:31:06 +0000

It’s all of these things:
1. The United States has over 30 cities with greater than 500K people, the U.K., only a handful. People, money, and causes are decentralized further here.

2. There is no prominent atheist in American scholarship, no one to rally behind. When one is creating a singular cause, having a figure to champion the cause goes a long way. Dawkins has a lot of clout in the U.K., and while he’s certainly respected here, he’s not going to get a primetime interview on the network news.

3. This money could be- and likely is- put to FAR better use here. The United States has more elected officials, bureaucrats, than any other country. Many of them have agendas informed by or popularized using religion. We are in the midst of deciding whether a far-right creationist is elected to the executive office. Posting snarky ads on buses is just wasteful.

By: noodleguy

noodleguy — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:06:30 +0000

Its because religous fundamentalism and evangelism are 100% more powerful in the US than in the UK. Many countries in Europe are fairly secular, the US is not even close.

By: Santiago

Santiago — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:02:18 +0000

Actually, what I found is that a big percentage of people donating where NOT from the UK, commenting stuff like “I’m from Canada, but it feels so good to strike back”. I think US campaigns are non existent because no one has proposed one yet, although my feeling is also thath an atheist ad would find a much chillier reception in many parts of the US.

But if this campaign is any guide, an ad in the US is likely to find support from all over the world, so it doesn’t matter if US atheists are a bit more frugal than most (which I don’t think they are).

By: Mark Browne

Mark Browne — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:06:26 +0000

It occurs to me that a campaign like that in London would not work in the US, because too many people would refuse to use the bus, so the bus company would lose business. Over here (I am British) the religious proportion is less, and they are probably less concerned anyway.

Although I do know one Christian who might choose to avoid a bus with that ad on it