You know about the billboards and the bus ads: Christian groups are very good at getting anti-choice billboards, or Jesus Luvs U bus ads, or whatever, plastered round the countryside. They can raise the money, and no one seems to mind or stand in their way (as it should be, I suppose). Some of the billboard companies, however, are actually Christian Run, so the Christian groups are getting fantastic discounts and other forms of extra help. That seems a bit unfair to me.
But then, when a secular, atheist, or humanist group tries to put up one measly billboard or a couple of ads on bus-sides, everybody freaks out, wrenches are thrown into the works, and there’s a big fight.
And, I know you’ve been watching this and waiting for your opportunity to get into the ring!
Minnesota Atheists, with the help of American Athesits, is putting up a billboard. “The purpose of the billboard is to advertise our organization, encourage local atheists to join, and offer a pithy, cogent argument that most atheists can support.” This is the proposed design at the time I wrote this post:
Here is the current version of the billboard as of Jan. 12th
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If your goal is to avoid controversy, good luck. I’d say that ad is almost designed to promote controversy. Talking about children always gets attention, but accusing christians of promoting “indoctrination” by educating kids into their cults (however true we all think it is) is guaranteed to get the christian blood boiling!
I’ll be watching this one with interest.
I think it would have been better without the first sentence. ‘Teach me to think by myself–learn more at Atheists.org…’ would have been clear enough, as long as the Atheists.org is prominently displayed, which it is.
It’s not just that this message seems to be selected for the purpose of picking a fight, it’s that it makes the atheist side of the fight the one with the broad non-evidence based assumptions. How can we know what any billboard reader is doing with her kids? Yet, we start off by accusing her of indoctrinating them.
Of course, if the point is to stir up controversy, then this billboard is well chosen.
These signs will face hostile scrutiny, of course. So wouldn’t it be better to stick with the nice lovable baby theme and leave out anything superfluous that could get misinterpreted? Like the nuclear-looking symbol on the lower right, a reminder of the atomic bomb and the potential for misdirected science to do harm (believers often use the A-bomb as an example of why we need god along with science). And like the crescent symbol in the lower center, vaguely islamic, just the thing to play into right-wing conspiracy theories and the “muslim atheist” meme. Why feed the crazies? ( I suppose the symbols are the logos of those groups.)
This is terrible, but I’ve got to be honest: I’d be much more likely to contribute if I could be assured that the billboard would not be written in Comic Sans…
I will make sure that all of these comments are passed on to the project! I think there is a current discussion about the type face. I also think they should use Huxley, but that’s just me!
1. I see two statements on your contribution form: “First and last name will be shared with other visitors to the site” and “Your state/province and country of residence will be shared with others so folks can find others in their community.” Those statements, with no opt-out provision, cost you $100.
2. For all I know, you won’t accept the credit card I want to use, yet you won’t let me determine that before I’ve submitted a lot of very personal information. That’s not playing fair. Why can’t I see the entire contribution form before committing to donate?
3. Whoever constructed the form isn’t quite with it. IIRC, Minnesota is sort of, like, right next door to, and bordering on, which means like adjacent to, Canada, but you won’t accept contributions from Canadians. Still, you say “state/province” will be shared. That’s more than just odd.
All in all, your contribution form is inconsistent to the point of sloppily unprofessional.
Jennifer Allen
Jennifer, stop saying “you” … it’s not me!
But I will pass on your concerns.
Unlike a couple of responders above, I don’t think the draft billboard accuses anyone of anything. The first sentence is no different than, “Please don’t smoke” to which the non-smoker shrugs and replies, “I don’t.” Moreover, there’s nothing on the billboard that singles out Christians.
That said, I’d prefer something like, “Don’t teach me your religion. Let me decide for myself.”
Frank Wells
New River AZ
Sorry for not addressing these comments earlier but I just noticed it was published in Greg’s blog.
In regards to the potential controversy that this billboard may or may not stir up, I am unconvinced that that’s a good enough reason not to go with the billboard. Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if the controversy is limited to a few grumbles in some church pews.
The message reflected in the billboard’s content (words and image) is one that is pretty ubiquitous among atheists: Religious indoctrination is bad. The supporters of the billboard refuse to pussyfoot around the overly sensitive feelings of evangelicals or any group by promoting our organizations and secular free thinking with a message that is both positive and agreeable among atheists.
Regarding the font, it’s been changed to something less trite and the logos have been dropped.
With the issues of the donation page including the sharing of your first and last name, I don’t have direct control about that but I will certainly forward that concern to the powers that do have control. I honestly don’t see anywhere on the website where donors names are shared, but it might be there somewhere. In the meantime, you could use a pseudonym or you can donate a personal check or money order to Minnesota Atheists P.O. Box 120304, Minneapolis, MN 55112.
Thank you for the comments and concerns!
Holy crap that is an ugly billboard. The yellow, the comic sans, the washed-out baby with black aura, the primary colors, the poorly placed linebreaks… Seriously guys, we should try to spread the word like the Christers do, but we don’t have to imitate their aesthetically-impaired products.
@Nepenthe: And that was a disparaging comment. But yeah, I can deal with it, and I get it. Some people organize and create something with volunteered time, effort, and money for arrogant windbags to belittle with unhelpful, know-it-all commentary.
To be sure, there is a satirical tinge to our billboard that purposefully mocks many of the “pro-life” billboards so I’m glad you recognized the theme. Of course, we do want the message to be solid in and of itself, and the over all feedback has confirmed that even though it’s not perfect and it won’t satisfy everyone’s standards it does seem to pass the opinions of the majority of people we received feedback from.
As I’ve mentioned before, the comic sans font has been replaced after much criticism from others a bit less berating. Also, the background fade was taken away.
I’d be happy to hear your specific issues with the line breaks though. Go ahead and be as brutal as you want. I can take it. But it would be nice if you were a bit more respectful.
Thanks,
Eric
The washed-out baby has been fixed. The solid yellow background is used for the entire billboard now and it looks much better.
Minnesota Atheists will not publish donors names if they don’t want to be identified. If you wish to use a credit card, you can sign up your credit card on PayPal and donate to us through PayPal. Also, as Eric said, your can just send us a check. Thanks.
Re: line breaks.
Here’s how it reads now:
Please don’t indoctrinate…. me with religion teach…. me to think for myself.
Makes little sense.
Either a line should be a complete thought or break in a logical place. Punctuation goes at the end of a line, not in the middle. Examples with the same text: “Please don’t/Indoctrinate me/with religion./teach me/to think for myself.” or “Please don’t indoctrinate me/with religion./ teach me to think for myself”. You can also vary size for emphasis without it looking random, for example, in the first variation you might make “indoctrinate me” a little larger.
@Nepenthe: Okay. I see your point about ideal aesthetics and we originally tried to make it fit with the second line end with the period. However, in order to keep the text and image as big as it is the lines had to be broken up the way they are listed.
Grammatically, it’s fine and I don’t see how it “makes little sense”.
@Eric
When a viewer reaches the end of the line, they have to adjust to the next line, so there’s a tiny pause. My comment has nothing to do with the literal grammar and everything to do with how the text reads and where the emphasis lies.
And, well, yes, you’re going to have that problem with the linebreaks since your message is about five words too long.
I appreciate the parody of obnoxious pro-life billboards, but that’s only because I’m not piloting a machine going 70 mph or attempting to not hit pedestrians while half glancing at this for 5 seconds.
I see a number of posters saying, “This is going to be controversial!”
Yes, it is. It’s an ad from an atheist organization. Any ad from an atheist organization, even if its message was as inoffensive as “Donate Blood!”, would be controversial to evangelical Xians.
Adjusting the picture of the kid a tad to allow the sentences to fit on single lines might be better than having the sentences split as they currently are. I assume the sign is stuck at its current proportions to fit in the frame where it’s going.
The atheists are drinking blood again!!!
@Nepenthe – It appears that you’re under the assumption that this billboards will be on a freeway. It will be on a street with traffic controlled intersections where the speed limit will be 35-40mph. Many will be able to see it while at a stop light, walking or driving slowly. But you already seem to know everything about everything…
…and besides I thin most people can read the message in less than 5 seconds and it has the potential to get attention. Not to mention drivers and pedestrians will take the same route multiple times so they will see it for many cumulative seconds.
Hi Eric,
Thanks for your willingness to take constructive criticism. Can I just reiterate that the logos (especially the crescent and star –who on earth thought of that??/) are likely to feed right-wingers’ misconceptions about atheism, without adding useful content? Thanks for your work on this worthy cause.
Lou
PS Imagine posting an atheist billboard in a predominantly muslim country, with a logo featuring a cross….
I think the Logos may have been removed from the most recent version.
By the way, I suspect that the vast majority of people who are going to see this are the ones looking at it on the internet or TV news as the controversy rages.
@lordshipmayhem: Yes. I totally agree with you that as long as we have a billboard with any message, no matter how innocuous, that is supplemented with the word “atheist” it will draw controversy.
We really wanted to keep the size of the child and text as big as possible. Unfortunately, we would have to significantly reduce the size of both in order to fit each sentence on one line.
@Lou Jost: Thank you. Greg is right, the logos have been removed. One of the big concerns is that it cluttered up the design and we really wanted to keep it bold and simple.
Here is a link to what the billboard will look like: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=211317648959613&set=a.114956245262421.24422.113574568733922&type=1&theater
Saw these on Pharyngula; please, please, if it’s not too late, for the love of gum change the typeface and the background color!
http://freethoughtblogs.com/xblog/2012/01/24/atheist-billboard-erected-in-minneapolis/