Daylight Atheism contains a posting that covers the remarks made by Illinois State Representative Monique Davis against Atheist Rob Sherman.
it's dangerous for our children to even know that your philosophy exists! Now you will go to court to fight kids to have the opportunity to be quiet for a minute. But damn if you'll go to [court] to fight for them to keep guns out of their hands. I am fed up! Get out of that seat!
The post concludes with the recommendation:
If you have the time, please call or mail her - politely, but firmly - and let her know that you do not appreciate an elected official showing such hate and bigotry toward one of her own constituents. It's not out of the question that we can enlighten her to the ugliness of her own actions and shame her into treating American atheists with more respect in the future.
No!
Stop!
This is the type of case where the right thing to do would be to contact her and the Democratic Party and any and all news organizations within the state and . . .
Demand her immediate resignation!
She has proved herself unfit to be a legislator in these United States.
She does not deserve our polite and respectful disagreement.
She deserves to be replaced by somebody who will do the job of Representative the way it is supposed to be done.
She deserves to be fired.
Nothing less.
Her contact information can be found here: http://www.ilga.gov/house/Rep.asp?MemberID=1148
ReplyDeleteSpringfield Office:
241-E Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-0010
(217) 782-1795 FAX
District Office:
1234 West 95th Street
Chicago, IL 60643
(773) 445-9700
(773) 445-5755 FAX
Cook County
Contacting the Democratic Party can be done through: http://www.democrats.org/contact.html
I'm not against the idea of her resigning, I just greatly doubt it's going to happen. She's a long-term incumbent and atheists don't have the political clout to force her out of office if she refuses to resign. In fact, I think making the effort would just cause her to dig in her heels. A more modest endeavor would have a greater likelihood of getting her to recognize her mistake and think more carefully in the future.
ReplyDeleteForget it. Davis' rant was disgraceful, but how would demanding her resignation be any better? Think about it. Expelled! No Faith Allowed! That's esactly how the religio-fascists want to portray us to the public.
ReplyDeleteeric
ReplyDeleteI really do not understand your topic.
Davis is the one who wanted Shermer 'expelled' from the room. Davis is the one who said of atheists that 'you have no right to be here'. Davis is the one who said, 'it is dangerous for children even to know that your philosophy exists.'
And yet atheists are supposed to be apologetic and submissive about the fact that a representative of the people said that they ought not to have any right to testify before the legislature?
We should submit to the idea that we may be ignored and even belittled by a government that is as much our government as anybody else's?
I truly do not understand.
Anonymous
ReplyDeleteI see the quote you provided as being taken out of context. The phrase, in context, occurred with a discussion of Martin Luther King, who used the term "negroe" repeatedly in his speeches and writings.
Though, it is almost certainly the case that critics will be more than happy to take this sentence out of context for political reasons. Somehow, their religion does not prevent them from bearing false witness when it is useful to do so. In this case, false witness is borne by taking a statement out of context in order to present the speaker as saying something other than what the speaker said.
I used the contact form on the Democratic Party website to demand her resignation.
ReplyDelete'I see the quote you provided as being taken out of context.'
ReplyDeleteI gave the context. The problem is that he lumps all 'Negroes' together - he's doing exactly what Davis did, generalising about a group from the actions of an individual.
I am an atheist. I believe Monique Davis should resign for what she said. I'm just warning people that making Sherman into some sort of human rights champion will backfire spectacularly. Concentrate on what she said, why it's wrong. Don't make him a martyr. And remember that atheists may be right - and on the side of the non-existent angels - but it doesn't mean we can't be dicks, too.