Hi,
I thought you’d like to see my pic of the FSM demo I held in Parliament Square (London). I’ve also sent you a copy of the pamphlet I made.
Perhaps a little background is in order.
In 2005, the British Government passed a law called the “Serious Organised Crime And Police Act” (SOCPA). Buried deep within new regulations dealing with money laundering etc was an additional, entirely unrelated provision that made it illegal to protest anywhere within 1 kilometre of Parliament without getting express permission from the Police a week before the protest (yup - protesting is a serious organised crime!). The rules were designed to get rid of a guy called Brian Haw, who has been protesting about Iraq (first sanctions against, and now the war) for 5 years non-stop (it hasn’t worked - he’s still there!).
Since the law came into force on August 1st 2005, people have been arrested AND convicted under SOCPA for such heinous crimes as standing at the Cenotaph (the UK’s national war memorial) reading the names of British soldiers killed in Iraq.
Under the principal of “defiance through compliance”, the 3rd Wednesday of every month has seen a series of Mass Lone Demonstrations against SOCPA. The idea is this: what if loads of protesters all turned up at the same time all wanting individual permission from the police to demonstrate? As the police can only really turn down an application on the grounds of public safety or public order, that means if 100 people turn up and apply for permission, then the unfortunate police have to license and approve 100 lone demonstrations. So we all troop down to Charing Cross police station a week before and apply. Come the 3rd Wednesday, we all meet in Parliament Square to demonstrate about - well whatever you feel like.
Anyway.
Last month I read in the paper that since the Creationists have had an arse whipping over “intelligent design” in US schools, they’ve turned their attentions to the UK, on account of we don’t have rules about the separation of church and state.
In September a creationist group calling themselves “Truth in Science” sent a pack to every secondary school (read ‘high school’ if you’re in the US) promoting the teaching of intelligent design as a counterpoint to the proven science of evolution, and including lesson plans and materials for GCSE students (GCSEs are the UK’s centralised secondary education school exit exams).
As it is just as important for UK students to learn about the Flying Spaghetti Monster alongside the scientific theory of evolution and non-scientific metaphysical ideas such as “Intelligent Designâ€, I figured I’d use my Mass Lone Demo for this month to spread the truth of His Noodliness to the people in and around Parliament Square.
It worked really well - I made an anglicised version of the FSM leaflet to distribute and stood by the gates of Parliament in full pirate dress extolling the virtues of Flying Spaghetti Monsterism. Mostly I got just smiles, but there were enough “yars” from people to make me think there are a lot of closet pirates in London. I even got some people to stop and listen to my brief description of the history of the Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, how the FSM created the world and why they should become pirates as well.
Peace
Jo Selwood
Attached: leaflet.pdf
Link to propaganda materials
“closet-pirates”. Now THAT’S something you don’t hear everyday.I don’t think any of those Intelligent Design packages reached us (in Northern Ireland) but that may have been just in Secondary Schools instead of my Grammar school. Anyway I hope that your demonstration did something to stop these creationists as I was disgusted at being forced to do a short-course GCSE in R.E. Apparently the only truly “religious” subject is, yup you guessed it, Christianity.
“you make your own idea based on proofs and facts, worldly stuff.”
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Must..
resist..
urge..
to..
yell..
RETARD!
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Uuurghhhhhh, oh noodly lord, why do you send these fools to try my patience so?
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Anyway, Birmingham UK fundamental atheist here, all fired up and ready to un-spread the word. Anyone who would like to take advantage of my sheer stamina when it comes to ranting can contact me via my website. Oh, and Mark Thomas is the man. Saw him on his last couple of tours. Did anyone see him wioth Rob Newman last year? Totally awesome. I seem to recall reading something of an atheistic slant in his book “As used on the famous Nelson Mandela”.
Oxford, Sussex, London and Birmingham, hmm? I’m in Manchester. Anyone else want to chip in a UK location? I’ll keep track by sticking some broken dry spaghetti in a map and hopefully the British Isles will come to resemble a tasty hedgehog.
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Then our revolution can proceed nationwide.
Uomo,
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Don’t know what it’s like to study GCSE RE but looking at the completed exam papers is fascinating. I did some temporary clerical work at an exam board a few years ago and, during one very slow afternoon, had a flick through some of the RE papers. Some were hilarious, some were terrifying.
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It was very obvious that one popular reason for choosing to study RE is that it’s perceived as easy. You could see the examiners desperately trying to find ways of awarding marks to answers almost as incoherent and irrelevant as the hatemail we get here. The religious mind at its finest.
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The more worrying answers came from schools which clearly required all of their students to sit GCSE RE. These were often Catholic schools which had chosen to answer a particular paper on Catholicism and its history. Time and again, students supplied almost word for word exactly the same answers as one another. Near-identical paragraph-long responses. Religious education methods at their finest.
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What stuck in my head particularly, though, were a few endearingly honest responses written by students who gave the impression of having not bothered to attend any of their RE lessons and who were consequently addressing the examination in a spirit of uninformed free thought. I particularly remember:
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‘People say God can see everything but how could he be that big?’
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and
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‘God can’t be in the sky because he’d fall through the clouds and he can’t be underground because he couldn’t breathe so where is he hiding?’
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Perhaps some kids are just naturally immune to indoctrination. Pastafarians in the making.
If there any creationist/ID pamphlets (1 page prefered) out there similar to the FSM one that Jo & Co. produced, I’d like to get my hands on a copy. I think it would only be fair to display them side by side.
@nikkiee:
“I think it would only be fair to display them side by side.” - Why?
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Richard Dawkins said this: “…when two opposite points of view are expressed with equal intensity, the truth does not necessarily lie exactly halfway between them. It is possible for one side to be simply wrong.”
Dawkins is in love with himself. He lights scented candles, lubes up, and makes sweet love to himself in the moolight.
@Davey. An awareness campaign. Also a recruitment drive. People can choose for themselves between the two alternatives. Ulterior motive: Point out the stupidity of ID. I have already picked out the areas where I will post them. There was a push in Aust. last year for teaching of ID. Has been relatively calm lately, but is due to raise its ugly head again. The religeous right doen’t give up that easily. Please has anyone got one of these pamphlets. I think I saw posts saying they were handed out at schools or halloween maybe?
RAmen
Where did you get the pirate hat? :P
Not a religious message, but just a comment on how truly, astoundingly, sadly pathetic you are. If you’ve got a problem with creationism, then why not attack it in a vaguely sensible way, with intellectual criticism? All you’re doing is offending people, and providing money for a guy who can’t be bothered getting off his arse to get a job, so comes up with this instead. Just pathetic.
@nikkiee:
With you all the way, you’re v v cool to be actually *doing* something. Good on ya!
Good luck with that. It took a revolution to change England’s mind about us in the USA, but you’ll manage. FSM be with you my pirating brother.
RAmen
So it’s good to hear that there be many a pirate in the isles, but what of me mateys in the great white north?
Come on Canada! let us support his noodleyness as our brethren in the sea do….
and Fageghetti, leave Dawkins alone. he has a wife…..
RAmen
@Davey
Thanks Davey. It’s just something I feel passionate about. Doesn’t take much long to stick up a few pamphets. I’ve got a few recruits, so maybe we’ll dress up while doing it.
Might have to go to a few ID/creation sites and see what propaganda I can dig up myself.
RAmen
To Spoon Tang
eBay
CF
It is important to note that the majority of the blessed Pirates were English in origin (other countries produced poor imitations such as corsairs, imposters like Bucaneers etc) and as the motherland of REAL Pirates it is important that we defend the faith in England. As soon as we can get Richard Dawkins to wear a Pirate Costume I know that the blessed FSM will visit us all with bounty and beer. RAmen.
Chunkylimey,
I think it is inaccurate to call Pirates English in origin. Piracy has been around for millennia. Although the Elizabethian image of a Pirate is best remembered, Vikkings and others predate this.
Arrrr!!!
Oh yeah, Vikkings are a type of Religious, Norse, Seagoing, Rape and Pillaging sort. Just like Vikings - except they wear a dog collar.