Atheist Ad allowed on OC Transpo buses.

According to the Ottawa Sun this morning a contraversial athiest Ad will be permitted to be posted on OC Transpo buses. What are you thoughts? Do you care?

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2009/03/12/8718201-sun.html

Pardon my ignorance, but why is this an issue?

I read somewhere that someone or some group had put forth the opinion that by allowing an atheist ad to be posted, they are basically thrusting an atheist's opinion and/or philosophy down people's throats, to which I think that premise holds NO water as Christian or christian-based ads and such are allowed to be posted ad nauseum in some cases and that's considered to be perfectly acceptable or permissible?

What did I miss exactly?

I don't agree with the ads as it invites other groups to have the same rights, which is not a good thing. Ads should advertise a product or service, not an idealism.

next ad,

NeoNazi's - back in black

Wife Swappers - Love thy neighbour

etc etc etc

If there are religious ads on the buses now, they should be removed.

Cronie wrote:Pardon my ignorance, but why is this an issue?

I read somewhere that someone or some group had put forth the opinion that by allowing an atheist ad to be posted, they are basically thrusting an atheist's opinion and/or philosophy down people's throats, to which I think that premise holds NO water as Christian or christian-based ads and such are allowed to be posted ad nauseum in some cases and that's considered to be perfectly acceptable or permissible?

What did I miss exactly?

I think the wording of the Ad could be offensive to some. Did you read the article?

The Ad says - "There's Probably No God. Now Stop Worrying and Enjoy Your Life."

wow! See, to me, that's hilarious! But then again, I have a warped sense of humor, and tend to follow Carlin's philosophy that everything in the proper context can be hilarious!

When are we as a society going to put an end to this ridiculous PC crap... People are going to get offended, PERIOD. you cannot avoid it, and tip-toe'ing around subjects and going out of one's way really just puts and maintains a burden of sorts on everyone.

For those who aren't familiar with John Stuart Mills, I would highly recommend reading his essay "On Liberty." It certainly had a profound effect of me and being a philosophy buff I can't get enough of that stuff personally.

To sum it up, Mills postulates that his view on answering the proverbial question of "what is right action" or "what is the good life" is simple: man should be free to pursue and achieve anything he desires to undertake and should live his life to the fullest so long as he doesn't become a burden or impose his will onto others.

Very simple in my view.


EDIT: I should clarify that Mill's philosophy, like Communism, looks great on paper and sounds great as a premise; the challenge lies in trying to put it into practice properly and smoothly.

Religion will always be a hot button topic and this new Ad is no exception. My pet peeve with most religions is on paper, they sound great and make a lot of sense and put forth very interesting views and challenges; but like most things, once it's in practice, lines begin to blur and when left to personal interpretation, that's where things get REALLY interesting.

Losers. The ad is dumb, the city council is dumb...everyone is dumb.

I personally find the Ad funny as well Cronie. I also agree with Number Twenty Nine that Ads should be for a product or service and not an ideology.

The ad implies that people who believe in God (not just Christians, by the way, but the majority of the world's population) are worried and not enjoying life.

I don't know about you, but my morality has more to do with trying to be a good person than "worrying" that God will smite me. And I can still enjoy life without stealing, cheating or lying. Try it, it actually works.

P.S. You guys *do* realize that atheists are the minority, right?

P.P.S. How's this for a slippery slope ad:

"Go ahead and have sex with your mother, father, sister or brother. Otherwise how else would Adam and Eve have become grandparents?"

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

Cronie wrote:Pardon my ignorance, but why is this an issue?

I read somewhere that someone or some group had put forth the opinion that by allowing an atheist ad to be posted, they are basically thrusting an atheist's opinion and/or philosophy down people's throats, to which I think that premise holds NO water as Christian or christian-based ads and such are allowed to be posted ad nauseum in some cases and that's considered to be perfectly acceptable or permissible?

What did I miss exactly?

I think the wording of the Ad could be offensive to some. Did you read the article?

The Ad says - "There's Probably No God. Now Stop Worrying and Enjoy Your Life."

Number Twenty Nine wrote:I don't agree with the ads as it invites other groups to have the same rights, which is not a good thing. Ads should advertise a product or service, not an idealism.

Excellent point. PSA's and whatever floats your boat, but ideologies, well go to your local chapters store in the spirituality section or get your fix from the pulpit at your local church, mosque, synagogue, etc...

you know what Clutch? We should put up an AD that says FIGHTING MONTAGOOSE! and then in small letters, have gmhockey.com

Wrager,

Of course, and naturally, the radical atheists will trumpet this as a major blow to the oppression of atheists everywhere, bla bla bla...

majority, minority, it shouldn't matter. #29 had/has a great point: leave the ideologies and such off the market, if you will, and leave that to the usual capitalistic orgy of consumer seduction as it's always been.

Mills' philosophy is very easily stated; pretty much near impossible to implement.

John Stuart Mill, of his own free will,
after half a pint of shandy was particularly ill.
Plato, they say, could stick it away,
'alf a crate of whiskey every day!
Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle,
and Hobbes was fond of his Dram.
And Rene Descartes was a drunken fart:
"I drink, therefore I am."

Yes, Socrates himself is particularly missed;
A lovely little thinker, but a bugger when he's pissed.

-- Monty Python

I was thinking of just littering the city with bumper stickers but I suppose your idea is more legal :D I wonder how much that would cost.

wprager wrote:Mills' philosophy is very easily stated; pretty much near impossible to implement.

John Stuart Mill, of his own free will,
after half a pint of shandy was particularly ill.
Plato, they say, could stick it away,
'alf a crate of whiskey every day!
Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle,
and Hobbes was fond of his Dram.
And Rene Descartes was a drunken fart:
"I drink, therefore I am."

Yes, Socrates himself is particularly missed;
A lovely little thinker, but a bugger when he's pissed.

-- Monty Python

LOL!! I'm practically crying! That's a fantastic post Wprager...thanks for that.

As for my Mills post, I was being somewhat genuine, but mostly tongue-in-cheek simply saying that while I agree with Mills (as well an Kantian, Nietzche and others too) implementing those kinds of views and such is next to impossible, as you said.

Cronie wrote:Pardon my ignorance, but why is this an issue?

I read somewhere that someone or some group had put forth the opinion that by allowing an atheist ad to be posted, they are basically thrusting an atheist's opinion and/or philosophy down people's throats, to which I think that premise holds NO water as Christian or christian-based ads and such are allowed to be posted ad nauseum in some cases and that's considered to be perfectly acceptable or permissible?

What did I miss exactly?

If the Christian ads continue, these ads should be allowed too.

According to the article, the current policy says "religious advertising which promotes a
specific ideology, ethic, point of view, policy or action, which in the
opinion of the city might be deemed prejudicial to other religious
groups or offensive to users of the transit system is not permitted."

So if you're going to ban the atheist ad, ban all ads that promote religion.