City worker allowed to carve "Cross" Graffiti in Park

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Dardedar
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City worker allowed to carve "Cross" Graffiti in Park

Post by Dardedar »

Image

Here in Fayetteville we have a city park employee, with approval of their supervisor, going around and cutting "crosses" into tree trunks with his chainsaw.
This despite there being a $1,000 fine for anyone else would make such graffiti marks in our park. See the article here:

Park Officials OK With Worker’s ‘Cross’ Carving

He thinks it might help with crime if people can view his crosses and perhaps be inspired to stop an pray. Comments are open to the public. Here is my response to the article:

***
Thanks to Joel Walsh for this excellent article. Contrasting illegal graffiti with these crosses is exactly right. They are both illegal graffiti no matter how sincere Mr. Kilpatrick's intentions are. One struggles to accept his claim that he actually believes someone looking at an ancient torture symbol might help with local crime, but, maybe he really does believes that.

The comments from the legal professors are a little too gentle in my opinion but, close enough. This is clearly inappropriate (and illegal as we shall see) activity Mr. Kilpatrick is engaging in.

Let's get this straight: spray a symbol on a tree, get a thousand dollar fine, but a state official can carve his favorite religious symbol onto trees and chairs all over our public park, public property, and he gets a check from the government while doing it? Is that how it works?

No, this is entirely unacceptable and it's not a close call. If a person wants to erect crosses, paint crosses or carve crosses on their own land, they can do that all day long (while following local sign ordinance laws). If they want to get organized about it they can convert their property to a church and engage in this habit entirely tax free. The ACLU and I will be there to fight for their right to do this. But the notion that it is acceptable that we are paying *or allowing* a state employee to go around our park and carve crosses in trees with his chainsaw is ridiculous. This graffiti needs to come down, and he needs to remove it.

The alternative is a religious and art potpourri. We can organize groups with battery powered chainsaws to go through the park and carve religious symbols to all the major contemporary spiritual movements of the day: Flying Spaghetti monster, Darwin Fish, the Invisible Pink Unicorn and a few thousand others.

Is that a good idea? No, I don't think so. We have a tax free church on every corner for folks to engage in unlimited religious art and practice. We don't need state employees putting up ads for their religion in our park. This is sanctioned vandalism of our park and it is park officials abusing their job and position to illegally endorse and impose their religion on a general population that has not hired them to preach to us when we go for a walk in the park.
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Doug
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Re: City worker allowed to carve "Cross" Graffiti in Park

Post by Doug »

Hmm. Two of the three crosses are for thieves! I wonder what's up with that. Why honor them too?
"We could have done something important Max. We could have fought child abuse or Republicans!" --Oona Hart (played by Victoria Foyt), in the 1995 movie "Last Summer in the Hamptons."
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Re: City worker allowed to carve "Cross" Graffiti in Park

Post by David Franks »

Doug wrote:Hmm. Two of the three crosses are for thieves! I wonder what's up with that. Why honor them too?
One of the thieves was saved right there on the spot; that would explain one of the extras.

Win, place and show, maybe?
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Re: City worker allowed to carve "Cross" Graffiti in Park

Post by Doug »

David Franks wrote:
Doug wrote:Hmm. Two of the three crosses are for thieves! I wonder what's up with that. Why honor them too?
One of the thieves was saved right there on the spot; that would explain one of the extras.

Win, place and show, maybe?
DOUG writes:
In one gospel, Luke, one of the thieves is saved. Only one thief insults Jesus.
In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark both robbers are insulting to Jesus.

Just another Bible contradiction.
"We could have done something important Max. We could have fought child abuse or Republicans!" --Oona Hart (played by Victoria Foyt), in the 1995 movie "Last Summer in the Hamptons."
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