July 4 Aerial Banner Schedule - Pictures win shirts!

What happened to the South Carolina banner that was planned for the Myrtle Beach area?

In Detroit it is Hart Plaza not Heart.

UPDATE 6/30: North Carolina has been removed after the company said, "I'm not going to Hell flying that sign!"

And that is exactly why campaigns like this are important.

mlmilewicz - Caution my respected friend, those comments got me banned and blocked from the AA FB page yesterday. I plain and simply could not agree more. The campaigns are at best childish and poorly constructed, at worst they work against the cause we all share. AA is not know for being the intellectual powerhouse of the movement, and here is more proof. Have they said how much was expended on this campaign and was it authorized by the board. If so this board needs to do some thinking.

I am stunned that these banners were flown with the ambigous and unintelligable messages. At best the messages were ready as antagonistic. Does someone at AA think that is the way to affect change and gain respect. Apparently AA thinks any publicity is good, and does not care about the quality and respect it could gain from these events.

BTW: Before they attacks from the loyalists begin, I am a lifelong anti-theist, so don't dare accuse me of trying to appease the religious, AA defenders can not hide there any longer.

Who the hell spends thousands of dollars trying to promote something they "don't" believe in? I don't believe in the tooth fairy but I sure as shit wouldn't waste my money to tell others that. You atheists are just as bat shit crazy as the people you frown upon.

Cathie, do you understand the difference between "trying to force your beliefs on everyone else" and simply announcing that we exist? Don't you think it's interesting that just saying "we're here!" is so disturbing?

Are those times local? I'm in Texas and considering going to the Rangers game. Your list shows the fly-over times to be 1600-1700. The game starts at 1905. That seems awfully early for anyone to see the banner.

mlmilewicz, I think your argument is fair IF your goal is to convert religious people to atheism. I, for one, don't really give a shit if we "piss off some people," as long as a few 'in the closet' atheists relate to the message.

You people are just as stupid as the Jehovah's Witnesses, Baptists and evangelicals trying to force your beliefs on everyone else.
You are not going to convince anyone of what you believe, not with flying banners or billboards or ranting on soapboxes.
People believe what they believe whether or not there is any logic to it. I don't want Jehovah's Witnesses or evangelicals at my door, and I don't want you either. You're all just annoying. Start minding your own business and leave people alone.

American Atheists continues to launch "awareness campaigns" designed by fourteen year old forum trolls. Who chooses these slogans? "God-LESS America" and "Atheism is Patriotic" both employ exclusionary language, just like "You KNOW It's a Myth." All of these suggest disrespect and imply that religious Americans are somehow less, or are secretly disingenuous.

I complained about the "You KNOW It's a Myth" billboards, stating that most people viewing them do not, in fact, agree that it's a myth. The response AA sent me was that the billboard was only targeting people who remained with their church despite agnostic or atheist tendencies. Obviously, however, the majority of the audience viewing these billboards was devout Christians.

Contrast this to "You Can Be Good Without God." This is equally true no matter who is reading the billboard. This can be backed up statistically, and is demonstrated by atheists across America every day. This is a message that remains true regardless of who's reading it.

Consider the difference in message between "Atheism is Patriotic" and, say, "[a graphic] Atheist Patriots Wishing You A Happy 4th." (No, it can't be flown.) The first statement can easily be read to imply "Atheism is Patriotic, Religion is Not" by a biased viewer. Point of fact: biased viewers comprise most of the intended audience. Why put it up in the first place?

This is why I refer to these ads as trolling, because, like trolling on a forum, they can easily be extended to "That's not what I said, but now that you bring it up..."

Meanwhile, something like "[a graphic] Atheist Patriots Wishing You A Happy 4th" is going to piss some people off already. We're at a place in time where just saying "I'm an atheist" can piss people off. People are going to be agitated and they're going to notice, but the message itself isn't something injurious. You can't ultimately protest against someone wishing you a happy Fourth of July. You can, but you just look like a jerk.

"God-LESS America" makes it sound like we want to kick religion out of America entirely. Maybe you do, but I only want to eat my piece of the pie in piece. I'd appreciate not seeing atheist awareness campaigns that look like they were pulled off by 4chan or LulzSec.

Hello,

The godLess America logo is great! Will there be stickers for sale with this logo on it?

Thank you,

--FC

Did something fall through for Grand Forks, ND? I was downtown the entire time and didn't see anything.