Let the atheists march in St. Pat's parade
Barb Shelly
Surely I’m not the only one who finds the exclusion of the Kansas City Atheist Coalition from the St. Patrick’s Day parade to be somewhat laughable.
OK, the atheist group was planning to march in the parade with signs saying things like “positively godless” and “morals without mythology.” But what, people in the crowd might be scandalized by that? Personally, I think the statements would have sailed over most people’s heads.
The parade committee issued a statement, saying that the parade “celebrates the Feast Day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, and the Christian teachings and beliefs that he lived and suffered for.” The parade committee turned down the atheist coalition out of “respect for the legacy of St. Patrick,” the statement said.
I suspect it will be a revelation to many that Kansas City’s St. Patrick’s parade has religious significance. Frankly, it’s better known for imbibing and revelry than for solemnity and reverence.
If nothing else, the parade committee should thank the atheists for providing organizers the opportunity to clarify what the parade is supposed to be about. As a show of gratitude, they should reconsider and grant that permit.
George Hunsucker
Northland
2 months, 1 week agoIt is a privately funded parade and should have the RIGHT to tell this anti-Christian group NO.
Maybe they should have THEIR parade ms. shelly?
JR Beillenhouser
2 months, 1 week agoI agree with George.
Perhaps the KC Star should help to fund it. After all, you share many of the same beliefs.
You could call it the “Progessivism Parade”.
Your catch phrase could be “Trying the same thing that led to the death of 100 million in Russia and China in the last century. It has to work somewhere.”
Darrel Ray
2 months, 1 week agoThanks Barb, we atheists just want to join in with the obviously secular fun. If the parade organizers don’t want secular groups in their parade, they need to change their statements on the application form. Currently, they let a lot of secular groups, even groups who are quite “unCatholic”even antiCatholic. We wonder if they would let a Pagan group march in their parade since St. Patrick was so instrumental in persecution and killing many Irish Pagans?
Erika Scarlette O'Shea
2 months, 1 week agoThanks Darrel Ray! They sort of already let a Pagan group in. The Kansas City Renaissance Festival (which I’ll be walking for) has fairies, satyrs, and many other mythical pagan creatures dancing for it in addition to the traditional court and villagers. Though not specifically Pagan, that’s fairly close. Don’t get me started on Leprechauns…
Joaquin X Santiago
2 months, 1 week agoIf the St. Pat’s parade is a privately funded affair I suppose they have the right to dictate who participates - unless, of course, they are planning to use public facilities such as streets, cops, etc.
Sandra Meade
2 months, 1 week agoThe right for a private organization to discriminate does not extend to public property. Discrimination based on religion is prohibited by city ordinance (not to mention the 1st and 14th amendments to the constitution). Despite claims of being “privately funded”, they are in fact using public property, paid for by tax paying citizens, including atheists. Therefore, the public is partially funding this parade, it is using public streets, and must conform to city anti-discrimination ordinances. The atheists should be allowed to participate.
Doreen Mundy
2 months, 1 week agoThis is really ridiculous. The parade lets the RenFest participate, which has nothing to do with Christianity. Not to mention the symbolism of Shamrocks and Leprechauns, and the anticipation of over indulging in alcohol and other revelry. People don’t watch or go to the parade to see the religious organizations present anyway, they go for the fun, so who really cares if an non-religious group is marching? Not me!
Josh Hyde
2 months, 1 week agoThanks for your writing, Barb. I just wanted to provide one clarification: we never mentioned in our application what our banner(s) were going to say. The part of the justification for their exclusion of us from the parade came after they had already turned us down.
Gary L. Birge
2 months, 1 week agoIt simply is not right to deny Kansas City Atheist Coalition considering all the other non religious entities that are participating in the parade. to suggest that the parade is a ‘HOLY” day is at best ludicrous! Beads for boobs, debauchery in the streets and alleys, bars on every corner, scantily clad men and women? really Give me a break! The true beginnings of St. Pat was the celebration of the persecution and slaughter of pagans with a snake tattoo on their hands truth be told…….
Robert Martin
2 months, 1 week agoIs public money being used for this religious event. If so I believe this to be wrong. If public funding is being used then the Athiests must be allowed in the parade. my way of thinking.
Larry Stringer
2 months, 1 week agoThank you for supporting diversity and seeing this issue so clearly.
JR Beillenhouser
2 months, 1 week agoIf you bothered to do research instead of just knee jerk writing responses, you’d know that the parade pays a fee to the city to have the parade, thus allowing it use of the streets. It pays for cleanup, and it pays for the police.
I guess it is one thing to be secular and be in the parade but different to be anti-religion and be in the parade.
Again, you guys can have your own parade. No one will come, but that is another story.
Your catch phrase could be “What belief is responsible for the greatest mass murder of individuals in history?” or how about “Athiesm, the building block of Communism. See how well it worked out for Russia and China.”
Doreen Mundy
2 months, 1 week agoOh, and here is an FYI. The Parade is allowing the Kansas City Zombie Walk to participate in the parade. They have a float and “Irish” Zombie walkers. I can really see how Zombies fall under their “keeping it Christian” requirement.
Adam Yarbrough
2 months, 1 week agoAtheists exist. That seems to be the point of the group - to let it be known that they exist. That does not imply anti-religious attitudes being assumed. It also does not imply state sponsored atheism is the goal of this group.
Just like bars in Westport march to make the simple statement - “We exist. Come drink with us if you like us.” The marching of any organization in a parade is usually simply to show a lot of people that “we exist.”
It’s really not that offensive. It’s also not at all indicative of a plot to remove any individual from any church nor is it a plot to take over the government. Quit projecting.
David L. Remley
2 months, 1 week agoWhy, in this instance, can’t the atheists be a little sensitive?
George Blake
2 months, 1 week agoI have to wonder if this really IS a privately funded parade? I remember seeing so many past ones with Police, Firemen, etc. marching in them. It is clearly a violation of Church v. State to do so. It would also be one if they were there even to merely keep order without these organizers paying for it. I don’t even know if there really WAS a true Saint Patrick. The Catholic Church has pulled the wool over people’s eyes in the past. Remember Saint Christopher Medals? Totally false. They were finally forced to stop selling them.
JR Beillenhouser
2 months, 1 week agoYou can still buy St Christopher medals.
And yes, they are paying for police. Why don’t you do some research.
Phil Cardarella
2 months, 1 week agoI assume that each of those participating in the parade will begin the day with Mass and communion, right? Right.
Do the organizers have the right to refuse the atheists? Probably. Is it a bit sanctimonious to do so? Definitely.
Frankly, I have never understood taking the effort to be an atheist, rather than just an agnostic. Too much work for me. Heck, you can be a Catholic for one hour a week — and a lapsed Catholic for no inconvenience at all! And you can even march in the Parade and get s#!&faced!
George Hunsucker
Northland
2 months, 1 week agowe saw how some “Catholics’ are so true to their faith by voting for zero who supports killing babies phil….
Thank you for highlighting these 1 hour a week, if that, Catholics…..
Bernard Slobodnik
2 months, 1 week agoThe KKK has freedom of speech but nobody will advocate that theu attend a march honoring Civil Rights so why say that Atheists can be in a parade that is remembering a Christian saint? The KKK has freedom of speech but nobody would even advocate that because it would be insensitive and inappropriate.
Jesse Dirks
2 months, 1 week agoThanks Bernard, for the parallel, which is clearly appropriate. When I think of atheists, I too equate them to the kkk. It’s all of those lynchings, and what-not. Actually, the KKK is a religious group. At least they meet what appears to be your primary prerequisite. Why not invite them to participate in some good christian fun? As long as those ATHEISTS aren’t, god forbid, (pun intended), attending.
JR Beillenhouser
2 months agoNice strawman Jesse, but Bernard has a point. The KKK is clearly against blacks,jews, and catholics and would not be allowed in a civil rights protest.
Atheists are against religious and do everything in their power to mock them. Why should anyone expect them to be included?
David Fruits
2 months agoI’m shocked it took that long for an abortion reference. Every Star story, always ends up supporting them thar librulz and that multi billion dollar abortion industry, right?
Jesse Dirks
2 months agoJR- Because this particular holiday, (like many other of our holidays), has been secularized for the enjoyment of everyone in contemporary society. It clearly isn’t just celebrated by Catholics, it’s celebrated by Americans. We are Americans, JR. We deserve to participate, and have our say as well. Not sending us an invitation to your birthday party, when you sent invitations to every other kid in class, is just a silly childish form of sophisticated bullying. Nobody is being checked and confirmed for their Catholicism before entering the parade. The message being sent is “anything goes as long as you are not an atheist.” We are a part of this country, and of the future being created. Enjoy your attempts to exclude us and keep us separate. It won’t change anything. We’re still gonna be here tomorrow. :)
Brian Terra McNaughton
2 months agoJR: That’s a very nice false equivalency there.
By that standard, should I assume all christians support the death of soldiers because Fred Phelps holds signs that read “thank god for IEDs”, given that he is also a christian?
I don’t assume anything of the kind of course, but the logic is the same.
As far as the parade, the organizers should have recognized that some of their approved participants are secular organizations, and thus not create an unnecessary double standard by excluding KCAC.
Mike Henggeler
2 months agoI’ve never seen the parade as being “pro” any religion. It references a figure from history and certain historical events. But I don’t see it advocating a particular religious belief.
Thus I think if the atheists want to participate, they should tone down their message a little. “Morals without mythology” is at least borderline offensive. My faith should not be denigrated by being referred to as mythology.
JR Beillenhouser
2 months agoBrian - it is well known that atheists have been using that same logic for years. You know the old one that religion is responsible for more deaths than anything else. Sorry to throw it back at you, but athiests have been doing this for years. If you don’t like it, tough, remember it the next time you or your buddies use it.
Jesse - if your organization proved that it would march and not disrupt, I’m sure it would be invited. However, recent history shows that athiest groups mock religious every chance they get, leave pamphlets in churches mocking beliefs, put up billboards with the only intent to make fun of other people’s beliefs. If you want to be taken seriously, then grow up. Until that time, you will be ostracized.
BTW,believe whatever you want. I don’t care. The majority believe otherwise. You may not like how it permeates the society, but deal with it. Try to be those open minded, enlightened individuals you claim that you are.
Nick Dailey
2 months agoThat’s the problem with Christians, they think they’re so obviously superior. They do all they can to basically brainwash their young from the beginning, and convert anyone they believe can be. Honestly, I still can’t fathom how such a great number of people believe in such nonsense, when they can give no proof of anything they believe in. I was taught Christianity as a child, and over the years as I’ve become an adult, I’ve lost faith because there was never any sign of a God in my times of need, in our country’s times of need, in anyone’s time of need. Where is this loving God? I believe in logic, and asking questions. Christianity wants to keep people from using their heads, and replace it with “God is the answer”.
Douglas Einer
2 months agoThose darn atheists-!
Remember all of the times that massive killings/genocides were done ‘in the name of’ atheism-?
Or all of those times when only the persons who could ‘prove’ that they were atheists were spared-?
Neither do I.
JR Beillenhouser
2 months agoDouglas -
Over 100 million people in the last century were killed by athiests, including any religious who opposed their rule. Religious were in fact picked and killed because they were religious. Yes they were also communists, but atheism is a tenet of that system. From China, to Russia, to Vietnam, to Columbine, CO, athiests selected religious to kill and did so because of their beliefs.
You can choose to play linguistically motivated games, but you are just kidding yourself.
Richard L Wagner
2 months agoOne detail that all the so-called Irish Catholics seem to be overlooking: Lent. In the Church calendar, any active Catholic would be aware of the season in which we are in. The so called Irish Catholic Parade in Kansas City is anything but religious anyway. If you are REALLY Catholic and REALLY religious, why are you participating in a parade that is mostly know for drinking and debauchery and urinating in public?
Who cares if the atheist participate. I don’t think that God does.
Brian Terra McNaughton
2 months agoJR: you might note that not all atheists are antagonistic of religion. The slogans listed are more “we’re here too” than “deny your god”.
Where exactly did you get that “100 million killed” statistic?
If you want to get into body counts by people of a certain group, organized by faith, than I’m afraid your own group wouldn’t come out to well.
JR Beillenhouser
2 months agoCommunists who are athiests killed over 100 million people the last century ago. And yes they did it to push their “religion is the opiate of the masses” doctrine.
And I’d take your 100 million against say the number killed in the inquisitions “The estimate of the death toll during the Inquisitions ranged worldwide from 600,000 to as high in the millions covering a span of almost six centuries. ” from http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/vatican/esp_vatican29.htm
Oh and go ahead and play the “well they didn’t do it in the name of religion BS” card. Sure they did. You can’t have it both ways. If you are religious and evil, you are evil. If you are athiest and evil, you are evil too. And that card is really hard to play when religious were systematically killed or put into gulags for their beliefs by people intent on stamping out religion.
Jim Christensen
2 months agoThis group amused me no end. Their cries of discrimination are puzzling.
I actually Paid Money to attend one of their events and was met with ridicule and insult.
I even got a disturbing phone call from someone claiming to know them.
Hey, but I guess I can’t complain. After all, I did get to go to their meeting.
For Eighty Bucks.
Wish I could get a refund.
Mike Henggeler
2 months agoNick Dailey—proof is unnecessary, that’ what “faith” is all about. As for no sign of God, maybe you need to open your eyes and do a major reassessment. Nothing good has ever happened in your life? Or, if it has, I suppose it is 100% due to your skills.
JR Beillenhouser
1 month, 4 weeks agoI agree with George.
Perhaps the KC Star should help to fund it. After all, you share many of the same beliefs.
You could call it the “Progessivism Parade”.
Your catch phrase could be “Trying the same thing that led to the death of 100 million in Russia and China in the last century. It has to work somewhere.”
Read more here: http://voices.kansascity.com/entries/let-atheists-march-st-pats-parade/#storylink=cpy
Reported as toxic or spam from one of our open minded athiest friends.