# This would not go over well in the U.S. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 23, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199 "2008-10-23T13:03:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/1 "2008-10-23T13:03:43Z")
From the AP: "Irritated by an advertising campaign on the sides of London buses that promoted Christian evangelism, an informal group of atheists decided to respond with a message of their own. They said Wednesday that they had raised more than $113,000 within hours on the Internet. The money will be used to place ads on 30 buses carrying this message: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” " This made me chuckle. That fact that I am not religious probably helps. Can you imagine the holy hell that would be raised if someone tried this in the U.S.? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/2 "2008-10-23T13:14:32Z")
> [@Carl\_Corey](#): > > Can you imagine the holy hell that would be raised if someone tried this in the U.S.? No, I can’t. Give me $113,000 and I’ll be happy to try it out, though. ---
**Author:** ![Elysium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@Elysium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysium)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/3 "2008-10-23T14:46:30Z")
Awesome! I have 5 bucks to add to the bus-fund! Seriously, though, I think people would freak out. What was the public reaction there? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/4 "2008-10-23T15:05:42Z")
I think you’re all over-estimating the general tone of religiosity here. If it’s as great a force as the OP is hinting, then where’s the public outcry against _Religulous_? I’m sure there’d be plenty of outrage here and there, but you’d have to go looking for it in the places where you normally do find conservative religious thought. Otherwise, it would be a mere blip in the news. ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/5 "2008-10-23T15:13:39Z")
I’ll totally give to that cause! ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/6 "2008-10-23T15:15:32Z")
I don’t know why, but this reminds me of the “God Is Watching You” signs they erect near XXX shops. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/7 "2008-10-23T15:25:23Z")
Here’s the campaign’s site, with a picture of the buses. [http://www.atheistcampaign.org/](http://www.atheistcampaign.org/) ---
**Author:** ![kenner116](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@kenner116](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenner116)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/8 "2008-10-23T15:30:04Z")
I can’t see this being much more controversial in New York than in London. Now if you did this in Tulsa or Salt Lake City, that would be hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/9 "2008-10-23T15:54:44Z")
I thought it would get about the same reaction in most of the larger cities here as it would in England. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/10 "2008-10-23T16:20:32Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I think you’re all over-estimating the general tone of religiosity here. If it’s as great a force as the OP is hinting, then where’s the public outcry against _Religulous_? You mean the public outcry about the movie maybe one in a thousand people even knows about and one in a hundred thousand might have actually watched? yeah, whatever happened to that :). ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/11 "2008-10-23T16:55:18Z")
> [@Santo\_Rugger](#): > > I don’t know why, but this reminds me of the “God Is Watching You” signs they erect near XXX shops. I don’t know why, but your post reminds me of [this picture](http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s218/vetbridge/?action=view¤t=whereisshegoing.jpg) I took of my gf on a back street in St Martin. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/12 "2008-10-23T18:27:52Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > You mean the public outcry about the movie maybe one in a thousand people even knows about and one in a hundred thousand might have actually watched? yeah, whatever happened to that :). I know you’re being silly, but that would mean only 3,000 Americans have seen the movie. It has so far taken in over $9 million. If they paid $9 per ticket, that would mean more than a million Americans have seen the movie or one in 300. ---
**Author:** ![Neeps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a183cd/32.png) [@Neeps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neeps)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/13 "2008-10-23T18:51:00Z")
You know, I’m a full on atheist with all the trimmings, but I thought it was kinda lame. A friend sent me a link, but I couldn’t bring myself to donate (also, I wouldn’t get to see the ads and they’d already reached their goal). In the UK is seems rather…easy to put down the overly religious. I mean, no one really taks them seriously 🆒 Edit: Sorry, if it’s not clear, I live in the UK. This seems kinda pointless in my opinion. Still, I’m not going to complain about it. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/14 "2008-10-23T19:02:39Z")
Of course, there’s a God. She has a sense of humor. She created Sarah Palin. ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_Mann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@Rich\_Mann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_Mann)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/15 "2008-10-23T21:39:10Z")
“Probably”? That’s a little weak isn’t it? I would have gone with “God is how stupid people cope with their baffled inability to understand reality.” ---
**Author:** ![mudkicker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@mudkicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mudkicker)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/16 "2008-10-23T22:35:19Z")
I’ve been following this since it started. I don’t particuarly care about the bus ad, but I do think it was interesting how it all came about. A writer on Comment is Free made an offhand comment in one of her columns along the lines of ‘Wouldn’t it be so funny if…’, loads of Cifers weighed in and said they’d donate a fiver, and now it’s happening. Pleased for the writer - she’s quite a young journalist and this is good career exposure for her. I would love to see a bus ad like that here in Belfast. 🙂 Better still, a pro-choice one. I suspect the bus might be set on fire sometime soon after… ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/17 "2008-10-23T22:46:22Z")
> [@Santo\_Rugger](#): > > I don’t know why, but this reminds me of the “God Is Watching You” signs they erect near XXX shops. Hmmm…erecting ( 😃 ) “Sex Fiends Are Watching You” signs near churches… ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/18 "2008-10-23T22:54:11Z")
A bit of a hijack and probably completely wrong but anyway… The USA seems more religious and more heathen, both, than Ireland or the UK. Any extreme position that can be held someone or some group in the US seems to hold it. Such is freedom I imagine. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/19 "2008-10-23T22:59:42Z")
Eh. To be honest, I would have thought it much better if there were some drive for charity or something; “Feel free to spend your money bigging up your religion. We’re going to give some money to the needy, instead.” This just comes over as petulance, to me. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199/20 "2008-10-24T00:00:15Z")
Who the heck pissed in atheists’ Cheerios? They are well within their rights to promote “Don’t worry, be happy,” but you got to think there is a better way to spend time and money. Of course taunting others is its own reward to the simple and mean-spirited. Never mind, not the Pit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-would-not-go-over-well-in-the-u-s/469199.md?page=2)