Hello everyone! Writer, philosopher, inspiring evolutionary biologist, and street epistemologist C.G. Cruttenden here.
In a small city to my north called Corning, NY a large sign, much like the Hollywood sign overlooks the city. The sign reads "Christ is the Answer." I have wanted to see this sign removed for years and today have decide to get off my ass and get to work on just that. I have contacted government officials and I'm still waiting on a response. Now, before I do what I do and write a provocative letter to the cities paper I want some feedback. Have any of you ever achieved getting something like this sign removed? If so what channels did you go through? I'm also open for content ideas for my peice that I will send to the 'Corning Leader' (The cities newspaper) as well. Keep in mind we are talking about rural upstate NY. That means most readers will be from towns that consist of 1 store, 1 red light, 4 bars, 10 churches and 2 gunshops. So let's open up the free-thought flood gates! Start hitting me with what you guys think.
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Is it on public property? Are public funds used in any way for its maintenance? Does the local government claim it in any way?
If the answer to any of these is yes, you have a shot.
I'd say its a worthy cause to aim for the sign's removal. Touching on what CyberLN said, it depends... If the sign is on private property then sadly there's not much that can be done....
However if it is on public lands, it could be held as an affront to the religious (or non-religious) rights of others: a violation of the first constitutional amendment of the United States, which offers both religious/speech freedoms and also the separation of church and state.... Public property is not church property, and visa-versa.
Best of luck, man! I hope it's taken down promptly... The myth that this country is founded on that religion needs to be debunked once and for all.... Here's hoping!
When people say that the U.S.A was founded on the basis of Religion, I tell them that all people in office were Atheist or Deist because of the First Amendment. They just kind of walk away after that.
If removing it fails, there is also the tactic that The Satanic Church did with the Baphomet statue. If Christianity can have their sign, every other religion can have theirs as well.
It would be funny to see the reaction when someone demands to put up "Allahu Akbar" in Arabic.
Or perhaps some FSM message?
I considered sneaking up there and draping a sheet over Christ with, "SCIENCE" spray painted on it.
Try something along the lines of .......
"If Christ is the answer ...........
.....then your asking the wrong 'effin question"
If you can't get it removed, maybe you can put up your own sign that follows, saying: "What was the question?"
Oddly enough, I asked that same thing to my mother at about 7 years old when I first noticed the sign.
You can add the question yourself on a sign before it:
Who brought slavery in our loved country?
Who .....(put more questions here)?
....
(next sign)
"Christ is the answer"
HAHA that would piss them off.
I'm an almost lifelong resident of Corning, NY. Periodically the sign has been manipulated/defaced over the years. I''m fairly confident it is privately owned and maintained on private property with literally zero involvement/association with local/county/state governments. Not 100% certain, but I would be willing to bet that is the case. I can also confidently assure you that if you approach this as "...most readers will be from towns that consist of 1 store, 1 red light, 4 bars, 10 churches and 2 gunshops." in any communications, that probably won't help you achieve your objectives most effectively. Bear in mind that on a per capita basis, with Corning Inc headquartered in the town, we probably have one of the best educated populations in the state: Many Brainy Engineers + Small Population. At the same time, and for the same reason, we have a (relatively) ethnically diverse population, so you might get some traction there. Many in Corning Inc itself might even kinda wish that sign would quietly go away, as its existence probably doesn't help their recruiting efforts considering how many non-nationals, representing a vast variety of religions, they recruit to work at their company. Good luck.
It's on private property not much you can do sorry for your luck. Unless you want to break but if somethign did happen you saying you are thinking about it already pretty much puts a bullseye on ya. If you want do to something but the property next to it clear out a spot and make your own sign.
So glad I read this, sucks about the sign, but I got a good laugh out of the possible solutions which startled people near me, made me laugh even harder.
Hi CG, I admire your persistance and for standing up for what you believe in. (or what you don't believe in, I should say!!) These community organizations put these things up as if EVERYONE agrees that there is a God. There is ABSOLUTELY NO consideration for anyone who does not have the same belief. Like I posted yesterday, the Pope ain't worth a shit until he starts putting the pedophiles in prison, along with the higher up clergy that are hiding the violators !!!
If you want this sign removed, you have to first ascertain some information on its status. Primarily, was the sign put up with government money through government offices, or was it erected by a private individual who owns the sign?
If the sign was put up with government money by the authority of government offices, the letter you write will be fairly straightforward. It is illegal for the US government to respect any particular establishment of religion, and this stated explicitly in the US constitution. Any honest lawyer or judge will recognize that putting up a Christianity-endorsing sign with government funds is against the separation of church and state, for it is by its very nature respecting a particular establishment of religion.
If the sign is privately owned, the letter will be a little more complex. If the private owner also owns the land on which the sign stands, there's probably not a lot you can really do other than point out that this sign is visible to road users and passers-by who may or may not be Christian. But the law in this regard stands in the owners favour; it's like putting up a billboard on your own land. If, however, the land on which the sign stands does not belong to the sign owner, then it's a case of arguing that this sign is fundamentally illegal, because it represents a clear trespass on, and use of, someone else's land.
You could also see about erecting your own sign nearby that reads: "If Christ is the answer, how stupid are the questions?"
Let us all know how you get on.
I think your idea is offensive. Don't get me wrong, I'm no Christian but I am an atheist who believes people have the right to freedom of peaceful expression.
Why would your first response be to get the sign removed and not say have your own system of belief represented by your own sign?
You will not 'inspire' anyone with passive aggressive behaviour like denial of expression, have your own sign put up, try being the inspiration you seem to think you are.
WD
Well, it was an emotional response.
When you truly understand how evil the character of Christ is in the story. you might understand better the situation.
If you see a sign that says "HI HITLER" in the middle of the road, you might have the same response.
The same response if a christian sees a sign saying; "Satan fucks GOD again." or something.
The main idea is that it breaks the peace.
The problem is that Christians, being the ignorant hypocritical arrogant people they were brainwashed to be, do not consider other people opinions as relevant, but think of themselves as humble by thinking that they are the chosen ones and the rest deserve to burn.
If someone thinks you deserve to burn, it is kinda logical that they do not care about what other people feel when they see their evil totalitarian worshiping signs.
The only thing that a sign like the ones you mentioned would cause me to think is about the mental state of the person who put it there.
I'm not offended by freedom of expression, I'm a grown-up, I accept that with freedom of expression comes opinions that I will not agree with. It would have to be a sorry state of affairs and speak poorly of a society that we are worried about peaceful freedom of expression.
Now, if the sign had a burning atheist nailed to it I might take exception.
WD
If someone put "Satan is the Answer", see how many Christians would reply to it with the same emotional response.
There is freedom of expression and there is provoking(intentional/unintentional).
Why would you put a billboard there in the first place?
Because you want people to see that Christ is the answer.
Fuck whoever disagrees about it, "this is a christian nation."
That is the message I get when i see something like that.
It is propaganda, like what you see in an election, but unlike an election, the political parties have the decency of removing those to stop annoying the losers and try to get more votes for the next time.
Yet the Christians do this 24 on 7 always.
I understand that it gets annoying and provokes some to have an emotional response.
Why don't you acknowledge this?
It's on private property. I don't like it much, but that's the 1st amendment.
"Christ is the Answer," may be protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of speech and religion. Therefore, it may not be as simple as contacting https://incrediboxgame.co/ government officials to have the sign removed.
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In addition to advocating for the removal of the sign, consider proposing alternative solutions that could address your concerns while respecting the rights of others. This could include https://retrobowlonline.io advocating for the installation of a more inclusive or neutral message, or suggesting the establishment of guidelines for future public signage to ensure diversity and inclusivity.