# Atheists unveil Florida monument **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 3, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-unveil-florida-monument/662549 "2013-07-03T15:11:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2013, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-unveil-florida-monument/662549/21 "2013-07-04T16:01:06Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > More still if installed by locals rather than someone with no interest (apart from trolling) from several states away. What a bunch of dicks–all involved. [Does this look like](http://www.meetup.com/North-Florida-Atheists/events/121228042/)people from several states away to you? > [@gaffa](#): > > I’m disappointed at the newspaper. How hard would it have been to either include the text on the monument, or a clear photograph of the text so we could read it? Just in the interest of fairness. > \* There are a bunch of good [pictures on AA’s Facebook page.](https://www.facebook.com/AmericanAtheists) Here’s a [previous thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=692657) from before the monument was erected. ETA: [Here’s another site](http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/06/29/american-atheists-unveils-godless-monument-in-front-of-florida-courthouse-and-announces-many-more/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed)with more good pictures and some videos. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-unveil-florida-monument/662549/22 "2013-07-06T16:22:01Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > Anti-Christian could technically be more appropriate, but that has connotations that the monument explicitly denigrates Christianity instead of being a monument celebrating a position that is at-odds with Christianity. You could make that argument if not for the punishments for the Ten Commandments. They aren’t quoting those because they believe them. They are showing them in order to ridicule. It is 100% an anti-Christian monument. It’s the exact opposite of what they claim it be on their website, i.e., an anti-religious-bigotry monument. And, no, the fact that they are combating the Ten Commandments is no excuse. You want to do that, argue why they are wrong. Now the Christians can just as easily put up a monument saying “The fool says in his heart that there is no God,” or similar. And they would be justified in doing so. Why in the world is the (Constitutional!) concept of religious tolerance so hard for people? I don’t normally use these, but it’s called for here: :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-unveil-florida-monument/662549/23 "2013-07-06T16:36:47Z")
I think maybe a rolleyes more would have made your point more successfully? Not sure though. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-unveil-florida-monument/662549/24 "2013-07-06T16:46:48Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > You could make that argument if not for the punishments for the Ten Commandments. They aren’t quoting those because they believe them. They are showing them in order to ridicule. It is 100% an anti-Christian monument. It’s the exact opposite of what they claim it be on their website, i.e., an anti-religious-bigotry monument. > > And, no, the fact that they are combating the Ten Commandments is no excuse. You want to do that, argue why they are wrong. Now the Christians can just as easily put up a monument saying “The fool says in his heart that there is no God,” or similar. And they would be justified in doing so. > > Why in the world is the (Constitutional!) concept of religious tolerance so hard for people? I don’t normally use these, but it’s called for here: :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: But see, the point is that the 10 commandments monument IS a big middle finger to athiests, and anyone not christian. Tit for tat, sir. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-unveil-florida-monument/662549/25 "2013-07-06T17:00:51Z")
Also, the punishments tend to undermine the argument that US law is in some way “based” on the Ten Commandments. Nice to see the Confederate flag there, protesting those godless, carpet-baggin’, n\*gger-lovin’ Yankees. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-unveil-florida-monument/662549/26 "2013-07-06T17:10:57Z")
The whole thing seems silly to me, but I never really understood being a passionate atheist. Maybe I’d “get” it a bit better if I lived somewhere where Christianity was omnipresent. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-unveil-florida-monument/662549/27 "2013-07-06T18:19:14Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > The whole thing seems silly to me, but I never really understood being a passionate atheist. Maybe I’d “get” it a bit better if I lived somewhere where Christianity was omnipresent. Here is an analogy that I find useful in describing it. Say everyone around you is a big fan of Soccer/Football, they are passionate about the sport and their team. Everything they own has a the emblem of their favorite team. They follow the game and their team, attending every match. Every time they talk to you it’s about the sport, who’s ahead in the rankings, how their team is doing. They always ask you who you are rooting for, as that is the natural order of things for them - rooting for a team. Whereas you don’t care a whit about the sport and would rather go to a movie. Now, take that imagery and amplify it. Now you are, through no fault of your own, in the stadium during the championship game. Both sides are shouting at each other and fights are breaking out, etc. Everyone is demanding to know who you are rooting for - who’s side are you on? Again, you…would really rather go to a movie. It’s a little like that. ---
**Author:** ![romadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@romadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romadea)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-unveil-florida-monument/662549/28 "2013-07-06T20:25:11Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > But see, the point is that the 10 commandments monument IS a big middle finger to athiests, and anyone not christian. Tit for tat, sir. How are religious monuments a middle finger to atheists? They have nothing to do with us. Totally irrelevant to me. On the other hand, this atheist monument is pointedly offensive towards Christians. It’s just childish, IMO. If you think it’s wrong that someone else is pushing their beliefs on you because they built a statue\* why do the same thing? \*Personally, an inanimate object has never made any attempt to convert me or anyone else I know ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-unveil-florida-monument/662549/29 "2013-07-06T20:32:41Z")
> [@](#): > > At another point, Eric Hovind, 35, of Pensacola jumped atop the peak of the monument and shouted his thanks to the atheists for giving him a platform to declare Jesus is real. [Any relation, I wonder?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_hovind) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atheists-unveil-florida-monument/662549.md?page=1)