# Texas Hindus build 90 foot statue of Hanuman. Texas Christians perfectly fine with it. (Just kidding--Texas Christians freak out.) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 22, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048 "2024-08-22T15:08:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/21 "2024-08-22T18:08:58Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > fundies In a nutshell; If you aren’t ‘’‘born again’‘’ (the correct way) and worship Jesus (the correct way) then you are worshiping (even if you have no religion) Satan. ---
**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:** [August 22, 2024, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/22 "2024-08-22T18:10:04Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I couldn’t find my original thread but now that I think back on it I might have asked if it was that Hindus were technically pagans that the fundies had a problem ⁢ There are unfortunately some threads that are missing. I found some old screenshots of posts that are clearly not in the system–not found in search, by date, a Google search, nothing. Not even [archive.org](http://archive.org) saved them. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2024, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/23 "2024-08-22T18:23:04Z")
I’d very much like to see the statue and learn more about Hanuman. My beloved is of Indian descent (She was born in Alabama. Both of her parents were born in India), so she fits in just fine when we go tp Rathayarta (this may be misspelled), the festival of chariots. We get free vegetarian Indian food (we both LOVE Indian food). We get to hear Hindu songs, buy Indian goods and arts, and she usually buys some bracelets and a saree. There is a Swami Narayan temple in her neighborhood and we keep meaning to visit but never get arround to it. Also, IIRC they have a dress code that my clothes generally don’t meet. I should mention that my intended, despite having an Ohm/Ganesh tattoo and another tattoo honoring the godess Swati, is Christian not Hindu. I keep trying to get her to throw off the god of the colonizers and return to the faith of her ancestors. No luck so far. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/24 "2024-08-23T00:37:04Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > FWIW, there really is a huge South Asian population in town. Sugar Land itself is ~40% Asian by population of which ~1/3 is South Asian. So you’re saying that though it’s a part of the Lone Star state, people don’t seem to care? ---
**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:** [August 23, 2024, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/25 "2024-08-23T00:42:44Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > It’s on private property and people can do a lot of things on private property. Someone could put up a 90-foot statue of Donald Trump if they wanted. We have to remind right-wing news pundits of this at least a few times a year whenever one of them complains about the statue of Lenin in Seattle. > **[Statue of Lenin (Seattle)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Lenin_(Seattle))** > > The Statue of Lenin is a 16 ft (5 m) bronze statue of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It was created by Bulgarian-born Slovak sculptor Emil Venkov and initially put on display in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in 1988, the year before the Velvet Revolution. After the revolutions of 1989 and dissolution of the Soviet Union, a wave of de-Leninization in Eastern Europe brought about the fall of many monuments... It’s just a found object, on private property, that’s become a quirky little symbol of the community in the same way as the dog with a human face waiting for the bus and the 18-foot-tall troll crushing a Volkswagen with California license plates, but the Fox News crowd think it’s a symbol that we’re all dirty Commies (never mind that we routinely dress it in drag and put Halloween costumes and Christmas lights on it). ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/26 "2024-08-23T01:30:01Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > And then add a 92-foot tall statue of Moroni (the Mormon angel that adorns all their temples ) [Not all of the LDS temples have the Moroni statue.](https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/library/facts/#:~:text=After%20Russell%20M.,have%20an%20angel%20Moroni%20statue.) I’m wondering how those Texan Christians would react to a 90 foot statue of the Decalog. I’m also wondering what the responses would be if someone were to conduct a one-question survey: _Should the Decalog be on permanent dispay in public schools?_ _ **Without defining the word Decalog!** _ ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/27 "2024-08-23T01:34:31Z")
I’ll just note that the OP doesn’t provide anything like an opinion survey from a random set of the residents. We’re looking at a curated list of 3-5 people, selected from a population of 300 million. The story could be true. But, at the moment, this is effectively fake news. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/28 "2024-08-23T01:43:04Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > I’m wondering how those Texan Christians would react to a 90 foot statue of the Decalog I wouldn’t mind a 90 foot statue of a decapod. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/29 "2024-08-23T01:47:42Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > So you’re saying that though it’s a part of the Lone Star state, people don’t seem to care? I’m saying no state can be generalized to that extent. The temple is in one of the most racially diverse counties in the nation (not just Texas but in the nation) and a major suburb of the most populous city in the state. Stereotypes aside, it’s going to be as cosmopolitan as any other major urban area. The urban/rural divide is very real, especially in Texas, and that’s also reflected by the fact that there are multiple Hindu temples in the region. I’m sure there are locals who don’t like it. Maybe even a few wingnuts who might be thinking of doing something destructive. But you’re going to be able to find somebody to grouse if they let the grass get too high. In general, it’s just not going to generate much controversy. The Newsweek article in the OP is an example of that. It quotes “local” NBC affiliate KCEN. But the local Houston NBC affiliate is actually KPRC (maybe 4 or 5 miles from the temple). KCEN is in Temple, which is a couple hundred miles away and midway between Austin and Dallas. So, let’s just say maybe Newsweek is shooting for clicks more than journalism. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/30 "2024-08-23T03:17:52Z")
Boomer whoosh! ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/31 "2024-08-23T03:28:07Z")
Well, there are just people looking to the east. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/32 "2024-08-23T03:33:21Z")
I’m getting a Georgia Guidestones feeling here. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2024, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/33 "2024-08-23T03:33:37Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > I’m saying no state can be generalized to that extent. > > The temple is in one of the most racially diverse counties in the nation (not just Texas but in the nation) and a major suburb of the most populous city in the state. Stereotypes aside, it’s going to be as cosmopolitan as any other major urban area. The urban/rural divide is very real, especially in Texas, and that’s also reflected by the fact that there are multiple Hindu temples in the region. But do the sheriff and his buddies have a samurai sword? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/34 "2024-08-23T03:38:36Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > So you’re saying that though it’s a part of the Lone Star state, people don’t seem to care? What’s east of there? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/35 "2024-08-23T09:58:31Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I’m getting a Georgia Guidestones feeling here. Yes, and look what happened to them. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/36 "2024-08-23T11:07:39Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I’m getting a Georgia Guidestones feeling here. I was thinking the same thing. I think it’s less likely somebody will bomb this statue though, since it’s in a public area. The Guidestones were in a remote location with less eyes around. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/37 "2024-08-23T13:16:45Z")
I’m from around there- I grew up in Alief just north of Sugarland, and my parents practically lived in Sugarland the last 20 years of their lives. In fact, my parents lived around the corner in Meadows Place, about a mile and a half away. Nobody who lives nearby gives half a shit. That part of the Houston area has been extremely multicultural for forty or so years, and a big religious statue isn’t going to bother anyone. I’d guess that it’s all conservatives from elsewhere clutching their pearls and being upset. (funny story… My mom used to teach early childhood special ed in the local school district that the temple is located within, and she’d go ask churches and religious organizations for donations for various needs like money for new special-needs tricycles, or stuff like that. She’d _always_ go to the local Buddhist monastery first, and the local mosque second because they were always some of the most generous, but she could then point out to the Baptists and other conservative Christian churches how much the Buddhists and Muslims had already donated, and usually winkle more money out of them because they didn’t want to be shown up by the Buddhist monks or the Muslim mosque.) ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/38 "2024-08-24T18:29:43Z")
So, I was out running errands anyway, so I took the long way around town today. As suspected, this appears to be manufactured outrage clickbait. The statue is hardly visible from the nearest main road, and I only noticed because I was really looking. The temple itself is not on a major thoroughfare. Driving past, the statue is noticeable but hardly dominates the skyline. If I did not already know it was half-human, half-monkey, I wouldn’t have been able to tell from a casual glance. I would not be surprised at all if half the neighborhood didn’t even realize it was there or that, if they did, it wasn’t a statue of a human being. Also, the neighborhood seems to have a lot of South and Southeast Asian and Mexican immigrants. So not exactly the classic profile of Texas conservative Christians looking to be offended by people who don’t look or worship like them. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/39 "2024-08-24T18:45:28Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > The statue is hardly visible from the nearest main road, and I only noticed because I was really looking. You think that’s going to stop them complaining? It reminds me of the joke about the old lady calling the police to report a neighbor running around naked in his apartment. The cop comes and says he doesn’t see anything. “You will if you step on this chair,” the woman says. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048/40 "2024-08-24T18:57:23Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > You think that’s going to stop them complaining? The folks looking for outrage bait online? Nah. But they’d be outraged even if the statue didn’t actually exist and somebody made one up to post about online. The people actually in the area, even most of the conservative Christians? They weren’t complaining about it in the first place. Manufacturing outrage about manufactured outrage is too many levels of abstraction for me, at any rate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/texas-hindus-build-90-foot-statue-of-hanuman-texas-christians-perfectly-fine-with-it-just-kidding-texas-christians-freak-out/1006048.md?page=3)