Hey Hemant, Chaz here—thanks so much for spotlighting my Satanology antics! You nailed the essence of the campaign perfectly. At the heart of it all, it's about fairness, equality, and giving folks something meaningful (and hopefully humorous) to think about.
By the way, if anyone's interested in turning bad laws upside-down for a good cause, join me at Netroots Nation 2025 in New Orleans, where I'll be giving hands-on training in malicious compliance. Guaranteed to be both informative and entertaining!
Title: Malicious Compliance: Flipping Bad Laws for Good
"Don't miss this high-impact training on malicious compliance, turning restrictive laws against those enforcing them. For decades, we’ve exposed hypocrisy, forced policy reversals, and raised six figures—all while making headlines. Attendees will learn to leverage legal loopholes, use media-savvy activism to amplify their message, and deploy strategic provocation to compel real change. From challenging book bans to disrupting religious favoritism, this session is perfect for activists, organizers, and candidates ready to take bold, measurable action."
Thanks pally, keep up the fantastic work—I'll make sure the satire and mischief keep flowing your way!
Hi Chaz, How about taking a break from all that, and do a 180 point turn? Set aside all your opinions long enough to read the Gospel of Luke followed by the Acts of the Apostles. They're both written by the same physician and historian who was not an eye witness of Jesus' ministry, but he spoke with people who were. Then he accompanied Paul of Tarsus on his amazing journeys and wrote about them. It's history! Then you can go back to your project if still interested. Blessings!
Oh, terrific. Let's take the word of someone who couldn't be bothered to record anything he CLAIMS to have heard for at least 40 years AFTER the guy he supposedly is reporting on DIED, and on top of that, he won't put it down in the common Aramaic that everyone involved actually spoke, but in Koine Greek! Shall we also mention that a significant portion of said record is plagiarized from another record (Mark), and deviates significantly in multiple instances from that statement?
Your bible is a MESS from start to finish, flawed, not remotely historical, and most of all, UNCORROBORATED. Save your crap for believers. We're not having any.
Good point. But does it really matter who wrote what in the biblical book of fairy tales? There is no credible, reliable, objective, verifiable evidence for the existence of any "gods", including the christian one(s), so, to me, apologist/theist arguments about the accuracy, historicity, etc., of the bible are pointless - might as well argue about how high and fast santa's eight reindeer can fly, which reindeer is fastest; or argue about hera, zeus, thor, bigfoot (e.g., how big is his foot). . . When the religious have some legitimate evidence for the existence of their "gods", then they will have something worthwhile, until then, to me, all religious arguments are gibberish, at best.
Their argument that it’s in a book therefore it’s true also applies to Gypsy Danger.
If they try to evade that by quantifying that the book also names real life places and therefore it’s true, I’d point out that the Jaeger base is located in Hong Kong, a real life location.
Suit yourself. Just know that there’s far more ancient writings on Jesus and Paul than there is on most any other persons from antiquity such as Alexander the Great, Hannibal, most of the Pharaohs, etc.
But no one, at lest to my knowledge, claims Alexander, etc. to be "gods", or have perpetrated inquisitions, pogroms, genocides and other atrocities in their names. Perhaps you'd like to take a 180 degree turn, as you suggested to Chaz, and respond to - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnOCpacEOFA
Oh, "far more ancient writings" ... which you conveniently do not cite, nor offer any link for examination. I've done this dance before, and it's tiresome. If such writings were in the public domain, they be the subject of considerable discussion and debate, and yet they aren't.
Because I seriously suspect they don't exist. Once again I have to say it, impolite though it may sound: put up or shut up.
There is no evidence that Paul ever existed, just like the jesus myth. Why should Chaz waste his time reading fairy tales while christian fascists seek to overthrow our democracy?
On the contrary, there is a fantastic amount of evidence about Paul and Jesus. But don’t take my word for it, check with Yale, Harvard, Oxford or your favorite institute of higher learning.
Out of curiosity, why do you think reading selected passages from an old book/bible will change anyone's mind? What makes you think Chaz hasn't already read it and has rejected it as nothing more than christian fables and propaganda? Your assumptions are at best condescending and patronising. I've read your bible cover to cover, listened to christian-know-it alls many times, which is why I am an atheist.
They are allegedly written by the same person. And when you say it was a “near eyewitness account” of Jesus‘s ministry, you are simply claiming that there were no eye witnesses. It may be history, but it is not verified by anything else. So therefore, it isn’t history, it is the claim that must be proved.
Jesus’s own family thought that he was crazy. It says that right in the Bible. So are we to assume that his mother and his entire family forgot all about his miraculous birth and the proclamation that he was indeed “God with us?” Did all of the people who knew about the Virgin birth explained it to everyone else, just like these near eye witnesses explained it to Luke, but then they also forgot about it for 30 years?
And therein lies the problem, because it contradicts other allegedly near eyewitness accounts. Did Jesus go right up to heaven? Did Jesus preach for 40 days and then go up to heaven? Did zombies walk the street of Jerusalem and nobody noticed? Did the sun darken and nobody noticed?
And what are these sources that you site? We have lots of evidence not written that Alexander the great existed. We have the entire history of entire countries and civilizations. Where did the Ptolemy’s of Egypt come from? We don’t have the slightest evidence that any God or gods actually exists, whatever the history of Jesus might have been. What about the book of Mormon, which the adherents insist with the actual history of Jesus? They have as much evidence as you do.
I used to be a lot better with all of this stuff, but I don’t think about it too much anymore. But the unlikelihood of so much of what is recounted as truth, especially when compared to so much of what else is recounted as truth but is contradictory to the first set of truths, Makes it highly unlikely.
The impossible, I can believe. The highly improbable requires a lot more effort.
Exactly this. The Christian Nazionalists want the rules permitting religious symbolism on public land to favor them. Their whole idea is to make Christian symbols so pervasive that everyone thinks of Christianity as the default. They do not want 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 to make the connection that religious freedom means all religions and includes no religion.
Freedom from religion, particularly from christianity and islam, are absolutely essential to protect atheists and other non-believers from the harassment, coercion, intimidation and threats of religious know-it-alls. When theists, apologists, theologians, evangelists, preachers rave on about their loving "gods", they somehow forget/ignore the horrors of the "god" of Abraham, for example, Deuteronomy 7, God commands Israel to exterminate the indigenous population of Canaan. But christians actually see this ethnic cleaning as "good", because their "god" commanded the genocides, including the Israelites slaughter of children, rape of virgin girls and enslavement of any survivors of their invasions. William Lane Craig, well known theist and apologist, is very adamant that Israelites conquests were justified, no one was harmed except the Israelite soldiers who carried out the slaughter and children murdered by the Israelites benefited because they went to "god" sooner (I haven't been able to find his views about the benefits of abortion - e.g., going to "god" sooner..). There is a lot on YouTube about this. Here's an example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6anW3BVy3E
Abso-freaking-lutely THIS! Those who pushed for the Christian flag to be flown at the Hartford city hall think they have an exclusive right to pander their religion in a public space. WRONG! Ideally, NO RELIGION should be able to use public space as an advertising mechanism, but if ONE is allowed, ANYONE should be allowed. That said, whether Chaz Stevens succeeds in his attempt to get his Satanology flag displayed at City Hall or not is a tossup at best.
Still, I wish him luck, if for no other reason than to get in the face of those Christian virtue-signalers.
This creeping christianism is the whole idea. 'Flood the zone' and lock up the courts. Get it in front of the Supremes and hope they will declare The US to be a christian country. I have no great faith they won't win.
This is why organizations like the Freedom From Religion Foundation exists. They fight these fights, as well as those that are both bigger and a LOT smaller. I know this because they assisted me on an issue in my own home town ... which came out SUCCESSFULLY.
They are scrappers, and they don't quit, and I am very glad to be associated with them.
The FFRF is essentially focused on State / Church activity in the United States, but I see no reason why a similar organization couldn't be founded in Australia or anywhere else where government and religion are at odds. You might write Dan Barker about that and get his reaction.
A "christian country" will/would be a christian theocracy, which will follow the lead of current religious dictatorships: Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia,, Vatican City and Yemen - I'm surprised christians seem reluctant to immigrate to these countries. I've pointed out to christians from time-to-time that a christian dictatorship, for example in the U.S., would be as horrific as any muslim or catholic theocracy, but their answers have been that (their) "god" will make the christian nationalist dictatorship benign. Not sure why I doubt this, might be because of past christian genocides, inquisitions, pogroms, churches protecting their preachers, etc., who rape children...
The same people who would object to Chaz's flag as somehow being profane or vulgar have no trouble whatsoever raising a flag with the image of a torture/execution device on it.
Really, Christians? Why do you insist on reminding your savior of the worst day of his life?
They don't see it as a torture device but as the mechanism of their salvation. "He suffered that they could live" is their rationale. It's yet another case of god-glasses dominating their point of view, in addition to their utter reluctance to consider any other.
There is an entrenched sense of Christian privilege in this country, and while their heads would explode if a town flew an Islamic flag, they operate under the assumption it's okay if they do it.
I would like to ask these city councils the question that would expose their true motive. "Since there is no prohibition for people to fly whatever flags they wish on private land, and there is also no prohibition for private individuals to gather on public land and fly whatever flag they wish as part of their gathering, why is it so important to the city government to fly this flag in particular as a government action?"
They would likely throw up some word salad to obfuscate, to which I would respond by presenting bottles of Hidden Valley Ranch. Then ask to clarify. I want them on record admitting the truth.
Given the sort of people you are referring to (e.g., theists, apologists, evangelists and other religious/christian know-it-alls), I think it is always wise to spell out whatever... I'd like them on record admitting the "truth" too, with "truth" very clearly defined. Otherwise, as you point out, "They would likely throw up some word salad to obfuscate".
If christians, or any religions, want to fly a flag, I kinda remember they tend to assemble in a particular building on private land. How is it called already ? A crutch ? A clutch ?
I’m glad Chaz is doing this. It needs to be done and this is a great way to rub their noses in their excrement.
I noticed the phrase “satan loves the first amendment” sounds more like a Christian argument against the first amendment. Like all the church signs that say “satan was the first to support such and such decent quality or value”. I’m just worried that the phrasing might speed up the right’s shift to eliminating the first amendment altogether. They’re already doing it, it just might be phrasing they might use to defend their position that might work to gain sympathetic voters.
Keep it up Chaz, it works and I love to see them shifting in their diapers.
A solution. Only official national, state, or city flags may be flown. Policy change to take effect in one year. Flags representing as many non-Christian religions as possible to be flown during that year.
They're just jealous because their religion has to deal with constant sectarian bickering and occasional wars over theological minutiae. As a one-man church, you'd have to develop dissociative identity disorder before you could even 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 multiple sects!
Fly the American flag, fly the state flag and let well enough alone. There’s no reason to fly any other flags.
That said, I support Chaz’s efforts to be a thorn in the side of any government entity that chooses to be petty as hell in flying any flag that they deem “proper” while considering others to be “improper”.
I'm Australian and wondering if, with Trump and christian nationalists and similar are in charge, flying your flag upside down as a sign of distress is appropriate? Maybe with large signs saying that it isn't a MAGA protest.
I do see some folks flying the US flag upside down at antii-Trump rallies. I fly mine right side up; my shtick is reclaiming "patriotism" for the Left.
I don't think they'd go THAT far (got to have SOME PLACE to wave Old Glory, ya know!), but as someone else here suggested, they might decide to rule that only official government flags may be displayed on their flagpole.
Whether that actually happens or not is likely a tossup.
I am expecting several iterations of shenanigans before they reach that reasonable conclusion. There will be the "only county residents can apply" stopgap. Then the "only existing/historical organizations" stopgap. Then the "can't be offensive" stopgap. The first will pass legal review, the next two won't, but each will take a year or more to work through. Meanwhile, the Christian flag but not other religious flags will continue to be flown.
1. Recruit a local resident to team with you and make the request(s)
2. Use (or come up with) a real, ideally-previously-existing flag. I can envision the city winning against your lawsuit by pointing out that this is not a real flag, it is an attempt to use the flag pole for specific written political/religious messaging. There are many existing flags to choose from, it's easy enough to google them. I particularly like the one with Baphomet head in a pentagram on a rainbow field.
Using a standard flag also has the advantage of being a bit more resistant to the rule about inappropriate, offensive, etc.. After all, if it doesn't say anything, it can't be saying anything offensive. Immunize your request against complaints about wording by having no words at all. ;)
I thought of The Church of Sponge Bob Square Pants ... as an artist, I could do something with that.
However, I am not going to make the weekend front page (1A) of a major newspaper with such finery.
That said, I welcome and encourage you to post Mr. Baphomet. Go for it, I say! Expect to be told no, or more likely, expect to be ignored.
And then what?
Go ahead, file a lawsuit in Federal court, make a 1983 claim. Don't expect an ounce of help, you'll pay a lawyer $15K, or go my route, pro se. And man oh man, don't make a mistake in Court, as they will sanction you under Rule 11.
Expect that to take 6 months to a year, where the sheer anxiety and terror will wear you down. Oh, and you can't e-file, so you have to drop off your docs at the Federal court house. And you'll need to learn Bluebook, how to deal with the court, make a decent argument, etc.
And don't count on ChatGPT. It's biased, and if you lack critical thinking skills, you're even more hosed.
But, like I said, I encourage you to hoist your artwork.
Please! NOT Sponge Bob. That show (to me, anyway) is an exercise in idiocy, played over and Over and OVER again, to the point of madness. No, I don't watch it, but I HAVE been sufficiently exposed to its rampant inanity to have a fair understanding of what it is about.
Stick with Satan, please. Works better, I'm pretty sure.
SpongeBob is funny and has some great episodes despite it being entirely too silly. If you can the Tikki Squidward episode you should watch it, it was my favorite mostly because of the musical interlude.
I don’t miss watching it now that I don’t, but I enjoyed it when I did.
Oh I am merely a kibitzer not a player. As I said, I wish you well. I was just thinking through the ways they are going to try and get your suit thrown out, and how to preposition your effort to prevent that from happening. But you're the expert on these sorts of cases, maybe I'm just plain wrong in my advice.
I am not an expert ... I have just barely enough skills not to be sanctioned in Court. Judge routinely blasted me with NastyGram(s).
If not me, then who is my mindset. Unless a story about me breaks, I'm not found in the social media(s). Complete waste of my time, as making change doesn't involve following clicks and followers.
However, click bait most assuredly matters to the media, so hence the Satanology stuff.
I am an atheist who would rather see our public spaces be free from any religious propaganda. But frankly, I’d rather see a Satan flag up than a christian one. It’s more colorful, for one. 🙂
I'd rather not see any kind of religious iconography on our public spaces as well, but if Hartford wants to insist that the Christian flag is okay, they can damned well allow a Gay Pride Flag or Chaz's invention there as well.
If they allow ONE, they'd better allow them ALL ... or they can gear up for lawyers at 20 paces.
I applaud Mr. Stevens. Although I believe no religion or religious symbol should be on public property, buildings or schools, if one is going to be allowed, then all should participate. We need more people and organizations taking a stand and demanding equal treatment in these situations.
Hey Hemant, Chaz here—thanks so much for spotlighting my Satanology antics! You nailed the essence of the campaign perfectly. At the heart of it all, it's about fairness, equality, and giving folks something meaningful (and hopefully humorous) to think about.
By the way, if anyone's interested in turning bad laws upside-down for a good cause, join me at Netroots Nation 2025 in New Orleans, where I'll be giving hands-on training in malicious compliance. Guaranteed to be both informative and entertaining!
Title: Malicious Compliance: Flipping Bad Laws for Good
"Don't miss this high-impact training on malicious compliance, turning restrictive laws against those enforcing them. For decades, we’ve exposed hypocrisy, forced policy reversals, and raised six figures—all while making headlines. Attendees will learn to leverage legal loopholes, use media-savvy activism to amplify their message, and deploy strategic provocation to compel real change. From challenging book bans to disrupting religious favoritism, this session is perfect for activists, organizers, and candidates ready to take bold, measurable action."
Thanks pally, keep up the fantastic work—I'll make sure the satire and mischief keep flowing your way!
See ya'all in NOLA.
Okay, I gotta ask: where did all the comments go?
The ones I'm reading now?
On my browser, ALL of 'em are GONE. Just checked my phone, too, and they're not on it, either.
I see them all when I click on your Activity/Likes.
I should try that, but here in the post, all of the stuff, and particularly my answers to Glenn, all of it is GONE. Very damned odd.
I can see your stuff here in the post. Odd, indeed.
I can see them.
You know whose vanished in his Activity/Likes without a trace? Boreal’s.
Hi Chaz, How about taking a break from all that, and do a 180 point turn? Set aside all your opinions long enough to read the Gospel of Luke followed by the Acts of the Apostles. They're both written by the same physician and historian who was not an eye witness of Jesus' ministry, but he spoke with people who were. Then he accompanied Paul of Tarsus on his amazing journeys and wrote about them. It's history! Then you can go back to your project if still interested. Blessings!
Oh, terrific. Let's take the word of someone who couldn't be bothered to record anything he CLAIMS to have heard for at least 40 years AFTER the guy he supposedly is reporting on DIED, and on top of that, he won't put it down in the common Aramaic that everyone involved actually spoke, but in Koine Greek! Shall we also mention that a significant portion of said record is plagiarized from another record (Mark), and deviates significantly in multiple instances from that statement?
Your bible is a MESS from start to finish, flawed, not remotely historical, and most of all, UNCORROBORATED. Save your crap for believers. We're not having any.
Both her Gospel of Luke and Acts are false attributions. No one knows who really wrote them (or anything else in the bible).
Good point. But does it really matter who wrote what in the biblical book of fairy tales? There is no credible, reliable, objective, verifiable evidence for the existence of any "gods", including the christian one(s), so, to me, apologist/theist arguments about the accuracy, historicity, etc., of the bible are pointless - might as well argue about how high and fast santa's eight reindeer can fly, which reindeer is fastest; or argue about hera, zeus, thor, bigfoot (e.g., how big is his foot). . . When the religious have some legitimate evidence for the existence of their "gods", then they will have something worthwhile, until then, to me, all religious arguments are gibberish, at best.
Their argument that it’s in a book therefore it’s true also applies to Gypsy Danger.
If they try to evade that by quantifying that the book also names real life places and therefore it’s true, I’d point out that the Jaeger base is located in Hong Kong, a real life location.
Suit yourself. Just know that there’s far more ancient writings on Jesus and Paul than there is on most any other persons from antiquity such as Alexander the Great, Hannibal, most of the Pharaohs, etc.
But no one, at lest to my knowledge, claims Alexander, etc. to be "gods", or have perpetrated inquisitions, pogroms, genocides and other atrocities in their names. Perhaps you'd like to take a 180 degree turn, as you suggested to Chaz, and respond to - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnOCpacEOFA
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Oh, "far more ancient writings" ... which you conveniently do not cite, nor offer any link for examination. I've done this dance before, and it's tiresome. If such writings were in the public domain, they be the subject of considerable discussion and debate, and yet they aren't.
Because I seriously suspect they don't exist. Once again I have to say it, impolite though it may sound: put up or shut up.
There is no evidence that Paul ever existed, just like the jesus myth. Why should Chaz waste his time reading fairy tales while christian fascists seek to overthrow our democracy?
On the contrary, there is a fantastic amount of evidence about Paul and Jesus. But don’t take my word for it, check with Yale, Harvard, Oxford or your favorite institute of higher learning.
Provide it. Outside of the wholly babble there is zero evidence.
Out of curiosity, why do you think reading selected passages from an old book/bible will change anyone's mind? What makes you think Chaz hasn't already read it and has rejected it as nothing more than christian fables and propaganda? Your assumptions are at best condescending and patronising. I've read your bible cover to cover, listened to christian-know-it alls many times, which is why I am an atheist.
Heck, passages from their own bible won’t even change their own minds.
They’d have to actually read them.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4989723a316319286b1273a881d62b006e75162c408516bb5115248e9d7286cb.jpg
Wonderful! 🤣🤣🤣
They are allegedly written by the same person. And when you say it was a “near eyewitness account” of Jesus‘s ministry, you are simply claiming that there were no eye witnesses. It may be history, but it is not verified by anything else. So therefore, it isn’t history, it is the claim that must be proved.
Jesus’s own family thought that he was crazy. It says that right in the Bible. So are we to assume that his mother and his entire family forgot all about his miraculous birth and the proclamation that he was indeed “God with us?” Did all of the people who knew about the Virgin birth explained it to everyone else, just like these near eye witnesses explained it to Luke, but then they also forgot about it for 30 years?
And therein lies the problem, because it contradicts other allegedly near eyewitness accounts. Did Jesus go right up to heaven? Did Jesus preach for 40 days and then go up to heaven? Did zombies walk the street of Jerusalem and nobody noticed? Did the sun darken and nobody noticed?
And what are these sources that you site? We have lots of evidence not written that Alexander the great existed. We have the entire history of entire countries and civilizations. Where did the Ptolemy’s of Egypt come from? We don’t have the slightest evidence that any God or gods actually exists, whatever the history of Jesus might have been. What about the book of Mormon, which the adherents insist with the actual history of Jesus? They have as much evidence as you do.
I used to be a lot better with all of this stuff, but I don’t think about it too much anymore. But the unlikelihood of so much of what is recounted as truth, especially when compared to so much of what else is recounted as truth but is contradictory to the first set of truths, Makes it highly unlikely.
The impossible, I can believe. The highly improbable requires a lot more effort.
Heck, there’s more evidence for the Egyptian pantheon.
𝐼 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑤𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑦 𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝐴𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡.”
Exactly this. The Christian Nazionalists want the rules permitting religious symbolism on public land to favor them. Their whole idea is to make Christian symbols so pervasive that everyone thinks of Christianity as the default. They do not want 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 to make the connection that religious freedom means all religions and includes no religion.
Freedom from religion, particularly from christianity and islam, are absolutely essential to protect atheists and other non-believers from the harassment, coercion, intimidation and threats of religious know-it-alls. When theists, apologists, theologians, evangelists, preachers rave on about their loving "gods", they somehow forget/ignore the horrors of the "god" of Abraham, for example, Deuteronomy 7, God commands Israel to exterminate the indigenous population of Canaan. But christians actually see this ethnic cleaning as "good", because their "god" commanded the genocides, including the Israelites slaughter of children, rape of virgin girls and enslavement of any survivors of their invasions. William Lane Craig, well known theist and apologist, is very adamant that Israelites conquests were justified, no one was harmed except the Israelite soldiers who carried out the slaughter and children murdered by the Israelites benefited because they went to "god" sooner (I haven't been able to find his views about the benefits of abortion - e.g., going to "god" sooner..). There is a lot on YouTube about this. Here's an example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6anW3BVy3E
𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑢𝑝 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑔, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑔𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑎 𝑝𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑢𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑝𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑐 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑢𝑚, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛'𝑡 𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑠𝑒.
Abso-freaking-lutely THIS! Those who pushed for the Christian flag to be flown at the Hartford city hall think they have an exclusive right to pander their religion in a public space. WRONG! Ideally, NO RELIGION should be able to use public space as an advertising mechanism, but if ONE is allowed, ANYONE should be allowed. That said, whether Chaz Stevens succeeds in his attempt to get his Satanology flag displayed at City Hall or not is a tossup at best.
Still, I wish him luck, if for no other reason than to get in the face of those Christian virtue-signalers.
This creeping christianism is the whole idea. 'Flood the zone' and lock up the courts. Get it in front of the Supremes and hope they will declare The US to be a christian country. I have no great faith they won't win.
This is why organizations like the Freedom From Religion Foundation exists. They fight these fights, as well as those that are both bigger and a LOT smaller. I know this because they assisted me on an issue in my own home town ... which came out SUCCESSFULLY.
They are scrappers, and they don't quit, and I am very glad to be associated with them.
I hope FFRF will come to Australia soon.
The FFRF is essentially focused on State / Church activity in the United States, but I see no reason why a similar organization couldn't be founded in Australia or anywhere else where government and religion are at odds. You might write Dan Barker about that and get his reaction.
A "christian country" will/would be a christian theocracy, which will follow the lead of current religious dictatorships: Afghanistan, Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia,, Vatican City and Yemen - I'm surprised christians seem reluctant to immigrate to these countries. I've pointed out to christians from time-to-time that a christian dictatorship, for example in the U.S., would be as horrific as any muslim or catholic theocracy, but their answers have been that (their) "god" will make the christian nationalist dictatorship benign. Not sure why I doubt this, might be because of past christian genocides, inquisitions, pogroms, churches protecting their preachers, etc., who rape children...
The same people who would object to Chaz's flag as somehow being profane or vulgar have no trouble whatsoever raising a flag with the image of a torture/execution device on it.
Really, Christians? Why do you insist on reminding your savior of the worst day of his life?
They don't see it as a torture device but as the mechanism of their salvation. "He suffered that they could live" is their rationale. It's yet another case of god-glasses dominating their point of view, in addition to their utter reluctance to consider any other.
Indoctrination. It's one hell of a drug.
There is an entrenched sense of Christian privilege in this country, and while their heads would explode if a town flew an Islamic flag, they operate under the assumption it's okay if they do it.
I would like to ask these city councils the question that would expose their true motive. "Since there is no prohibition for people to fly whatever flags they wish on private land, and there is also no prohibition for private individuals to gather on public land and fly whatever flag they wish as part of their gathering, why is it so important to the city government to fly this flag in particular as a government action?"
One-word answer? "Favoritism." They want it ... badly.
More like them marking their territory.
Yet more territorial pissings that solve no real issues and are part of the problem.
They would likely throw up some word salad to obfuscate, to which I would respond by presenting bottles of Hidden Valley Ranch. Then ask to clarify. I want them on record admitting the truth.
Good luck - it would mess with the power trip and grift.
Given the sort of people you are referring to (e.g., theists, apologists, evangelists and other religious/christian know-it-alls), I think it is always wise to spell out whatever... I'd like them on record admitting the "truth" too, with "truth" very clearly defined. Otherwise, as you point out, "They would likely throw up some word salad to obfuscate".
If christians, or any religions, want to fly a flag, I kinda remember they tend to assemble in a particular building on private land. How is it called already ? A crutch ? A clutch ?
Cheech? Chachi?
Chiche ? Cachet ?
Chia-Pet?
https://chia.com/
Chaperlotte.
Chaparral
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/06/28/obituaries/28cristal2/merlin_160490823_70abace4-5db1-40d0-93c1-ca380d2ce87d-popup.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale
Chitty Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang...
A crotch? No that isn't it. That's what they molest when they've gotten access to children.
I’m glad Chaz is doing this. It needs to be done and this is a great way to rub their noses in their excrement.
I noticed the phrase “satan loves the first amendment” sounds more like a Christian argument against the first amendment. Like all the church signs that say “satan was the first to support such and such decent quality or value”. I’m just worried that the phrasing might speed up the right’s shift to eliminating the first amendment altogether. They’re already doing it, it just might be phrasing they might use to defend their position that might work to gain sympathetic voters.
Keep it up Chaz, it works and I love to see them shifting in their diapers.
“Turnabout’s fair play.”
"Sauce for the goose."
Which is NOT a horse of a different color! 😁
[𝑁𝑒𝑤 𝐵𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛’𝑠] 𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑔 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠, ℎ𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟, 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑠𝑎𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 “𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑓𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑙𝑎𝑔𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑒, 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒, 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑎𝑙” 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 “𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑐 𝑠𝑎𝑓𝑒𝑡𝑦.”
A solution. Only official national, state, or city flags may be flown. Policy change to take effect in one year. Flags representing as many non-Christian religions as possible to be flown during that year.
It's how it's done here. Complaints = 0.
That would also diffuse a potential row over 'pride' flags.
The Christian Post shouts into the void - "Chaz invented Satanology."
No shit, really?
Isn't all religion a manmade construct? The Druids pulled that shit outta their ass, along with the occasional stick.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/anti-christian-activist-invents-satanology-religion-in-protest.html
They're just jealous because their religion has to deal with constant sectarian bickering and occasional wars over theological minutiae. As a one-man church, you'd have to develop dissociative identity disorder before you could even 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 multiple sects!
The Christian Post: Not the sharpest light bulbs in the shed.
Fly the American flag, fly the state flag and let well enough alone. There’s no reason to fly any other flags.
That said, I support Chaz’s efforts to be a thorn in the side of any government entity that chooses to be petty as hell in flying any flag that they deem “proper” while considering others to be “improper”.
POW/MIA flag is frequently included in governmental displays.
Trump must hate that fact. Probably like a cross to a vampire* for him.
*yes, I now, vampires don't actually exist, I was just making a point.
Vampires exist:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_bat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_squid
I'm Australian and wondering if, with Trump and christian nationalists and similar are in charge, flying your flag upside down as a sign of distress is appropriate? Maybe with large signs saying that it isn't a MAGA protest.
I do see some folks flying the US flag upside down at antii-Trump rallies. I fly mine right side up; my shtick is reclaiming "patriotism" for the Left.
I had a neighbor in my old neighborhood who did the same
Totally acceptable
Wouldn't be half surprised if some of 'em overreact by just removing their flagpoles entirely.
I don't think they'd go THAT far (got to have SOME PLACE to wave Old Glory, ya know!), but as someone else here suggested, they might decide to rule that only official government flags may be displayed on their flagpole.
Whether that actually happens or not is likely a tossup.
I am expecting several iterations of shenanigans before they reach that reasonable conclusion. There will be the "only county residents can apply" stopgap. Then the "only existing/historical organizations" stopgap. Then the "can't be offensive" stopgap. The first will pass legal review, the next two won't, but each will take a year or more to work through. Meanwhile, the Christian flag but not other religious flags will continue to be flown.
Chaz, you are over the top. Good luck.
Some strategery thoughts:
1. Recruit a local resident to team with you and make the request(s)
2. Use (or come up with) a real, ideally-previously-existing flag. I can envision the city winning against your lawsuit by pointing out that this is not a real flag, it is an attempt to use the flag pole for specific written political/religious messaging. There are many existing flags to choose from, it's easy enough to google them. I particularly like the one with Baphomet head in a pentagram on a rainbow field.
Using a standard flag also has the advantage of being a bit more resistant to the rule about inappropriate, offensive, etc.. After all, if it doesn't say anything, it can't be saying anything offensive. Immunize your request against complaints about wording by having no words at all. ;)
I thought of The Church of Sponge Bob Square Pants ... as an artist, I could do something with that.
However, I am not going to make the weekend front page (1A) of a major newspaper with such finery.
That said, I welcome and encourage you to post Mr. Baphomet. Go for it, I say! Expect to be told no, or more likely, expect to be ignored.
And then what?
Go ahead, file a lawsuit in Federal court, make a 1983 claim. Don't expect an ounce of help, you'll pay a lawyer $15K, or go my route, pro se. And man oh man, don't make a mistake in Court, as they will sanction you under Rule 11.
Expect that to take 6 months to a year, where the sheer anxiety and terror will wear you down. Oh, and you can't e-file, so you have to drop off your docs at the Federal court house. And you'll need to learn Bluebook, how to deal with the court, make a decent argument, etc.
And don't count on ChatGPT. It's biased, and if you lack critical thinking skills, you're even more hosed.
But, like I said, I encourage you to hoist your artwork.
Have a good week.
Chaz
Please! NOT Sponge Bob. That show (to me, anyway) is an exercise in idiocy, played over and Over and OVER again, to the point of madness. No, I don't watch it, but I HAVE been sufficiently exposed to its rampant inanity to have a fair understanding of what it is about.
Stick with Satan, please. Works better, I'm pretty sure.
My brother loved SpongeBob. I loathe it.
SpongeBob is funny and has some great episodes despite it being entirely too silly. If you can the Tikki Squidward episode you should watch it, it was my favorite mostly because of the musical interlude.
I don’t miss watching it now that I don’t, but I enjoyed it when I did.
Oh I am merely a kibitzer not a player. As I said, I wish you well. I was just thinking through the ways they are going to try and get your suit thrown out, and how to preposition your effort to prevent that from happening. But you're the expert on these sorts of cases, maybe I'm just plain wrong in my advice.
I am not an expert ... I have just barely enough skills not to be sanctioned in Court. Judge routinely blasted me with NastyGram(s).
If not me, then who is my mindset. Unless a story about me breaks, I'm not found in the social media(s). Complete waste of my time, as making change doesn't involve following clicks and followers.
However, click bait most assuredly matters to the media, so hence the Satanology stuff.
Thanks for the thoughts.
Didn't know what a "1983 claim" was, so I Googled it. For those of us who also didn't know, here's what Google had to say:
𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 1983 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑚𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠, 𝑠𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑎𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑜𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑐ℎ, 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑜𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑑𝑢𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡 𝑢𝑛𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑖𝑧𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑤 𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑘 𝑑𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠, 𝑖𝑛𝑗𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑓, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑦'𝑠 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠.
There's the good old Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
https://www.spaghettimonster.org/
I am an atheist who would rather see our public spaces be free from any religious propaganda. But frankly, I’d rather see a Satan flag up than a christian one. It’s more colorful, for one. 🙂
I'd rather not see any kind of religious iconography on our public spaces as well, but if Hartford wants to insist that the Christian flag is okay, they can damned well allow a Gay Pride Flag or Chaz's invention there as well.
If they allow ONE, they'd better allow them ALL ... or they can gear up for lawyers at 20 paces.
Always a DEVILishly good time to see a Satan flag.
I applaud Mr. Stevens. Although I believe no religion or religious symbol should be on public property, buildings or schools, if one is going to be allowed, then all should participate. We need more people and organizations taking a stand and demanding equal treatment in these situations.
Protests, along with civil suits to ban all religious flags... Maybe some law firms would file the suits pro bono.