# Removal of a kitty statue. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 27, 2003, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999 "2003-08-27T16:05:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MrTuffPaws](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@MrTuffPaws](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrTuffPaws)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/1 "2003-08-27T16:05:01Z")
Well, the 10 commandments have been removed today from the Al courthouse. Not letting such a loss get to them, the fundamentalist decided to start removing statues too. [http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/local/6628817.htm](http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/local/6628817.htm) > [@](#): > > “In the grassy area in front of this building, there is a statue of a cat, having been placed there with the most insignificant excuse possible, that pagan statue is an insult to Christians everywhere, and I respectfully request its removal from any local, state, county [or] federal property” Yes, the lady in all of her Christian wisdom feels that a bronze statue of a cat is symbol promoting paganism. Where the holy fuck does she get this idea??? For crying out loud, how could anyone mistake a statue of a cat as a religious symbol??? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/2 "2003-08-27T16:15:24Z")
Well, the lady is a nutcase, so that might explain it. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/3 "2003-08-27T16:18:27Z")
ONE EXCUSE IS AS GOOD AS ANOTHER! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/4 "2003-08-27T16:27:47Z")
Well, these things are entirely subjective. Some people see postings of the Ten Commandments as an establishment of religion, some don’t. I think the lady is off her rocker, but I feel the same way about those who want the Ten Commandments removed. This is what we’re in for, though, when we set ourselves up for rule by the easily offended. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/5 "2003-08-27T16:28:02Z")
If you gave that cat tits and a wig it might _sort of_ look like [Bast](http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/bast2.htm), the egyptian cat goddess :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/6 "2003-08-27T16:33:57Z")
Do people often give cats tits? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/7 "2003-08-27T16:46:50Z")
**Hamish** ’s cat has sort of got udders, does that count? ---
**Author:** ![Tanaqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Tanaqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanaqui)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/8 "2003-08-27T16:53:27Z")
It’s a panther, not a cat. The little details are what counts! 😉 > [@](#): > > Well, these things are entirely subjective. Some people see postings of the Ten Commandments as an establishment of religion, some don’t. How the heck are they “entirely subjective”? How can you possibly compare a freakin’ _statue of a panther_ to a sign that contains the basic tenents of the biggest religion in America, including one that says “You shall have no other Gods before me”? > [@](#): > > An **unsuccessful** Republican candidate for the Texas board of education, Castillo said she believes the monument should remain in place in Montgomery and that the panther in Fort Worth should go. Praise the wisdom of the people of Texas! I can’t believe this nutjob wanted to be on the board of _education_. _shudder_ > [@](#): > > The image of a sleeping panther has long been a part of Fort Worth history, beginning in the late 1800s, when a Dallas attorney reportedly claimed after visiting Cowtown that “things were so quiet, he had seen a panther asleep on Main Street.” > > Such stories, whether true or false, later provoked city police officers to wear a patch of the dozing cat on their uniforms. And it was the reason a concert and dance hall off East Lancaster, now demolished, was renowned as much for its name – Panther Hall – as it was for the stars who performed there. A pagan symbol? Riiiiight. Someone is desperately grasping at straws here; it’s pretty pathetic, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/9 "2003-08-27T16:55:41Z")
Hm. Sounds very much like a case of “YOU got to remove a statue against OUR will, so now WE should get to remove a statue against YOURS! NYAH NYAH!!” ---
**Author:** ![fushj00mang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d26b3c/32.png) [@fushj00mang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fushj00mang)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/10 "2003-08-27T16:59:23Z")
If stuff like this goes on for much longer, I have the bad feeling that church bombings are going to be much the rage in the 2010’s. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/11 "2003-08-27T17:05:00Z")
Does the posting of the Ten Commandments amount to the U.S. Congress making a law establishing a religion. It is plain that it does not. There is no official American church. Does the posting amount to Federal interference with the free exercise of religion. Again, no. Since these conditions aren’t met, there is, in my opinion, no legitimate constitutional problem with the posting. Arguments for or against the display thus stand on political and asthetic arguments, the same ones that could be made for or against, say, a reclining panther. I’m a Pitt grad, and thus like panthers very much. I don’t want to see the statue removed. But the demand to do so is as legitimate as demands for removal of the Ten Commandments. It’s asking for something to be removed because it pisses you off. These arguments will now be won by the number and shrillness of the pissed off people in question, a trend I don’t like much. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/12 "2003-08-27T17:42:40Z")
C’mon. She obviously doesn’t really feel that way, she’s trying to prove a point. Haj ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/13 "2003-08-27T17:50:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lieu \* > \*\*Do people often give cats tits? \*\* I usually give mine one of those soft treats shaped like a little fishee. ---
**Author:** ![Gadfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gadfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadfly)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/14 "2003-08-27T17:51:08Z")
> [@](#): > > C’mon. She obviously doesn’t really feel that way, she’s trying to prove a point. You do realise that you’re referring to a religion that contains individuals deluded enough to “exorcise” (read: suffocate) a young autistic boy, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/15 "2003-08-27T18:02:44Z")
Of course, when you have no valid point to make (the panther is not a religious symbol and no conceivable argument can be made that it is), then you end up looking like an irony-impaired moonbat. Which doesn’t help her case very much. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/16 "2003-08-27T18:08:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hajario \* > \*\*C’mon. She obviously doesn’t really feel that way, she’s trying to prove a point. \*\* I’m not sure about that. She is quoted in the story specifically objecting to the panther because it is “sinister,” but she said she would not object to a steer because Ft Worth is known as Cowtown. Perhaps a nice golden calf would suit her? ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/17 "2003-08-27T18:09:54Z")
[Cartman] No kitty! That’s a bad Kitty! [/Cartman] I think this lady (and I say lady like it’s a bad word here) needs to describe why it’s paganism especially when there’s just one kitty. Unless by paganism she [means](http://www.m-w.com) > [@](#): > > 2 : one who has little or no religion and who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods : an irreligious or hedonistic person And then as such, that negates her point. Hey Lady, pull the finger out of your ass and smell the morning shit! ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/18 "2003-08-27T18:36:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Moto \* > \*\*Does the posting amount to Federal interference with the free exercise of religion. Again, no. > \*\* Well, not for the Christian religion, anyway. For all those pesky non-Christians, however … ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/19 "2003-08-27T19:31:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lieu \* > \*\*Do people often give cats tits? \*\* Not really. The Toms can always tell when they’re fake because they’re too perfectly rounded and they float in the hot tub. That and silicone leakage is a cancer risk. Besides, how many cats do you know have $5k to slip to the Vet…? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999/20 "2003-08-27T19:53:05Z")
_Release the Octuplets!_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/removal-of-a-kitty-statue/197999.md?page=2)