A Mississippi man accused of destroying a statue of a pagan idol at Iowa’s state Capitol is now being charged with a hate crime.

A Mississippi man accused of destroying a statue of a pagan idol at Iowa’s state Capitol is now being charged with a hate crime.

    • betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.worldEnglish
      473·
      5 months ago

      …If the government is going to permit one ideology to put up religious iconography on their grounds, then they must include the other religions stop and take those down.

      • Coasting0942@reddthat.com
        24·
        5 months ago

        At the moment, SCOTUS treats no belief as a separate religion. In our life times we are going to have to aim for the more achievable “all religions matter”.

        • betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.worldEnglish
          123·
          5 months ago

          SCOTUS gets something wrong, what a shocker. You set your goals for how much progress you want to see in a lifetime and I’ll set mine.

        • _dev_null@lemmy.zxcvn.xyz
          7·
          5 months ago

          For reference, this is what it looks like for me (desktop firefox):

          So, looks fine to me formatting-wise. I read the intent to be that (1) they’re quoting you, and (2) they’re conveying a government building should not be a place for religious iconography, at all.

          I’d be happier if there would be no religious presence in government buildings too, but alas, the SC has ruled for what we’ve got. So I suppose it’s nice at least that we’ve got TST to help ensure our governments aren’t playing favorites

        • betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.worldEnglish
          4·
          5 months ago

          …If the government is going to permit one ideology to put up religious iconography on their grounds, then they must…

          …stop and take those down.

          Out of curiosity, does the earlier post’s strikethrough for the part I’ve now removed show up for you? I’ve heard that some apps don’t handle all of the formatting options particularly well.

        • Agrivar@lemmy.world
          1·
          5 months ago

          FWIW, I’m reading this thread in a Firefox browser on a PC and only the bolding works for me. I see the double-tildes at either end of what should be struck out text.

    • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
      261·
      5 months ago

      I’d put it on par with trespassing into a church and breaking the crosses. It’s destruction of other people’s shit because of the religion it represents but with no additional implications

    • prole@sh.itjust.works
      English
      4·
      5 months ago

      Christians demand that acceptance while refusing it (literally to the point of violence) to anyone else.

  • Veedem@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1111·
    5 months ago

    Ain’t it a bitch when OTHERS use the right you thought only you’d be able to use? What a dumbass.

    • machinin@lemmy.world
      35·
      5 months ago

      Many Christians probably believe that these laws were made for everyone except them. If you go to more conservative sites discussing the matter, they would probably be asking why people aren’t charged for hate crimes against Christians. It’s part of their persecution complex.

      • TheDoozer@lemmy.world
        18·
        5 months ago

        “Charged with a hate crime for what?”

        “For saying Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas! Starbucks changed to just a red cup so that’s a hate crime too! Schools are trying to stop coaches from making kids on their teams pray! And trans people exist! Hate crimes!!”

  • Kid_Thunder@kbin.social
    99·
    5 months ago

    she has accused the Satanic Temple of making filings that “are only meant to evoke strong emotions and incite others.”

    Uh yeah, it isn’t a secret or anything.

    What’s next? Is she going to say “I don’t think they actually believe in Baphomet either!”

    • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
      51·
      5 months ago

      “How dare you sue me for the crimes you passively goaded me into committing in your attempt to prove the value of the law”

    • tacosanonymous@lemm.ee
      6·
      5 months ago

      As a Satanist myself, I honestly think that would/should be their lawyers case.

      We are atheists and the argument that we’re not really a religion is something conservative courts might believe.

      I haven’t looked into any filings for religious exemption/status, etc so I’m not sure how we’ve made our case in the past. I think we should be prepared to advocate that our mutual belief in the seven tenets is our religion.

      • barsoap@lemm.ee
        2·
        5 months ago

        Here in Germany religions and world-views have equal status, and if Baphomet is a symbol of your specific brand of atheism and its values then desecrating it is, well, desecration: An insult of those values.

        Zen folks also aren’t religious in the western understanding, the whole distinction is a western construct, yet I don’t doubt burning down a Zen temple would be considered a hate crime even by Christians.

        From what I understand the legal situation in the US is actually similar. When people started the Sudburry school they had a look at the options and went straight-ahead for making it a denominational school as it offered the best conditions and flexibility. They specifically created a humanist creed just for that founding.

        Push come to shove, lessons to learn? More architecture, more fancy robes and chants.

  • Bluetooth@feddit.dk
    551·
    5 months ago

    And the Cristian wack jobs are in full force donating to his legal defense. Already at 116.000 usd, with completely normal and not at all fanatic comments, like “_ May God punish the foul souls bringing charges against you! There is a higher law than man made law, and you are upon that law. God bless you and keep you._”. Abhorrent behavior…

    • madcaesar@lemmy.world
      461·
      5 months ago

      God damn, I wish I didn’t have morals and a conscience… With my knowledge of religion and the scriptures I could be making BANK milking the gullible.

    • Drivebyhaiku@lemmy.world
      7·
      5 months ago

      Peter 2:13-17

      Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

      Sooo yeah “God is a higher authority you need not heed” is more like government is the official middle management. Obey the management.

    • mob@sopuli.xyz
      3·
      5 months ago

      Is 116.00 supposed to be like 116,000? Must have shot up since the article was published then?

      Cassidy is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 15. He has raised more than $84,000 for his defense from nearly 2,000 supporters, according to the fundraising site GiveSendGo.

  • _dev_null@lemmy.zxcvn.xyz
    46·
    5 months ago

    my conscience is held captive to the word of God, not to bureaucratic decree. And so I acted

    You know what is going to be held captive by bureaucratic decree? Your felon status, fucker!

    Can I have your AR-15 once you’re convicted? Because you won’t be allowed to own it after! And j/k about your rifle, I bet it’s a PSA p p piece of shit (dumbasses like this guy tend to be poor whiskey tango).

    • platypus_plumba@lemmy.world
      18·
      5 months ago

      • Reads “thou shalt not kill” commandment.

      • Declares holy war on indigenous people.

      This goes beyond irony blindness, this is straight cherry picking for convenience.

      • Zetta@mander.xyz
        281·
        5 months ago

        The intent is to force feed some of their own medicine back down their throats, I believe

                • EatATaco@lemm.eeEnglish
                  25·
                  5 months ago

                  But let me guess, were wrong.

                  Considering there are 3 of you and you all have different explanations, at least 2 have to be wrong. But I gave you the link to their reasoning, which is not what any of the three have said.

              • BreakDecks@lemmy.mlEnglish
                0·
                5 months ago

                Look, it’s clear that you don’t understand TST.

                What better way to spread awareness of religious liberty than to bait zealots into committing hate crimes, and then throwing the book at them?

                Assholes like this guy are a direct threat to liberty. Expose them and make examples of them. Set the precedent that Christianity doesn’t excuse fascism before Christians set the opposite precedent.

                • EatATaco@lemm.eeEnglish
                  01·
                  5 months ago

                  What better way to spread awareness of religious liberty than to bait zealots into committing hate crimes

                  Making people angry is probably the least effective way to get them to see your side. It’s well established that when people feel attacked, they are less open to changing their views. Of course, in cases like this, it’s probably impossible to avoid angering people.

                  But I see nothing in your post that actually shows what the TST thinks on this, only what you think is the best course of action.

  • Granite@kbin.social
    241·
    5 months ago

    I’m gonna nitpick: Satanism is not Paganism. This was a satanic idol and not a pagan idol.