AMERICAN ATHEISTS ACTION ALERT9/13/07Speak Out for Atheist Free Speech! Support Kathy Griffin, Target of Catholic League Bullying, Emmy Academy Cowardice!http://www.atheists.org/action/alert-13-sep-2007.html A monologue by comedienne Kathy Griffin delivered at her acceptance of a creative arts Emmy award will be heavily censored when the program airs this Saturday on the E! entertainment channel. The move comes after the Academy for Television Arts & Sciences caved-in to demands from the Catholic League that Ms. Griffin be chastised for a ?vulgar, in-your-face brand of hate speech? and ?blasphemous? remarks.Ms. Griffin, who is an open Atheist, told those attending the awards ceremony that ?a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus ? Can you believe this shit? Hell has frozen over. Suck it, Jesus, this award is my god now.?Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists, told reporters, ?It?s permissible to make religious comments at the Emmy Awards and other public events as long as they do not criticize or threaten the self-appointed ?Religion Police.? Celebrities can go on national television to ?thank? Jesus, or Allah, or Scientology for their success, but an Atheist cannot make an honest and forthright statement that their success came from developing their talents and working hard??SUPPORT KATHY GRIFFIN, CONTACT THE ACADEMYAmerican Atheists is asking all free expression to speak out on this important issue! Atheists, Freethinkers, Humanists and other nonbelievers deserve equal rights, and the opportunity to express out opinions in respect to religion. The Academy ?caved in? to a Roman Catholic pressure group known for making extreme and unwarranted comments about artists, writers and political figures who criticize, protest, ?insult? or make humorous remarks about religion, specifically Catholicism.Here?s what we can do?SUPPORT KATHY GRIFFIN. You may sent a comment via Ms. Griffin?s web site. We suggest that you identify yourself as an Atheist or some other appropriate appellation, and tell her that you oppose the ?religious bullying? of the Catholic League. You may also wish to copy your message to her agent, Mr. Tim Curtis, at the William Morris Agency: tc@wma.com. THE ACADEMY FOR TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES needs to hear from Atheists and other nonbelievers throughout America! Tell the Academy that they cannot selectively pro-religion remarks, while censoring humorous comments or other monologues made by Atheists! The Academy can be reached at: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences5220 Lankershim Blvd.North Hollywood, CA 91601-3109Phone: (818)754-2800Fax: (818)761-2827E-mail: webmaster@emmys.org Please be polite when contacting the Academy! Encourage them to reconsider their hasty decision to censor Ms. Griffin?s remarks, and urge them to run the full text of her monologue when the awards ceremony airs this Saturday night on the E! network. Read the American Atheists Press Release — Visit http://www.atheists.org Share your letters and replies with us Spread this Action Alert! AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.
Support to Kathy: done. Posted on her forums.
Support of Kathy to her manager: done. Sent him an email in support of Kathy.
Support of Kathy to the Emmy peeps: done. Sent an email deploring their decision and asking for the censorship be removed.
Will it work? It better. I’m getting sick of people with their bully attitudes towards Atheism. First (in my lifetime) Bush Sr. says Atheists aren’t citizens. Then, a black woman tells us to shut up on air. After that, a poll says no one would vote us as president over someone who would obviously run our country into the ground. Now, the TV won’t let us speak? What’s next, will the Hitch be banned from Newsweek, The Times, etc? Will Sam be denied his Ph.D. until he recants his heresies? Will PZ be banned from blogging? Screw it, man, I’m tired of having my mouth stuffed with a sock! >_
Hmmm…
Support of Kathy to her agent: uncheck. Says my mail is undeliverable to that destination.
Oh, and before I get slammed, my comment about Hitch was print media in general. I know he mostly writes to Newsweek and Vanity Fair. I just reread it and thought people would get the wrong impression.
Less child molestation, more shutting up, Catholics.
http://www.churchofjesusfuckingchrist.com
Hmmm…this one’s going to backfire on AA…but just the same…
Sure they can Ellen…but that’s not what happened…She didn’t simply state her reward came from hard work…she had to defame anothers belief in the process…
Kind of reminds me of when so many of you got your BVDs in a wad when Bush 1 made the comment about not understanding how an atheist could consider themselves an American…
I guess you can dish it out but can’t take it…
George H Bush said, in his run for the Presidency, ” I don’t know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.”
He later upheld that statement after he was in office, when asked to apologize for it’s bigotry.
He’s entitled to his opinion. But when he’s speaking as the leader of the country, and as someone of such heavy influence, one would think he would temper his bigoted mouth.
But then, why worry about atheists?
We’re barely even human, after all.
I’m a little reluctant to throw support behind this. I like the first part “a lot of people come up here and thank Jesus for this award. I want you to know that no one had less to do with this award than Jesus” I’m glad someone finally got up on stage and said that. But the second part “Can you believe this shit? Hell has frozen over. Suck it, Jesus, this award is my god now.? was a bit much. I don’t think that blasphemy is a good reason to censor it, but it is quite offensive. Not to me, but to xtians. I didn’t like bush 1 saying I’m not a patriot or a citizen, and I didn’t like seeing the results of the poll on foxnews, but I think this was just a little too far.
Religious freedom means everyone gets to believe what they want, and everyone has to respect each others beliefs. While I hardly get respect from a religious person, I try (sometimes it’s very difficult) to show their beliefs the respect I would like to see from them. Although I will admit I’ve been quite rude sometimes, and intentionally too.
As Pat Condell states, “Asking me to respect your religion is like asking me to respect your toupee.” Kathy Griffin rocks!
To all Christian trolls…heads up: Western civilization has a TRADITION of religous parody, satire, and outright mockery of religion. You can start with Aristophanes (read The Frogs) and move through medieval literature and continue on. Moliere comes to mind. Pick up a book, put down the Kool-Aid and tater-tot casserole and those goddamn glittery crosses with kittens. It’s the right thing to do.
I don’t have to respect anyone else’s beliefs, I just have to tolerate them unless they infringe upon my liberty. I have zero respect for religious beliefs and I make sure that those around me know it. Honestly, how can I respect a belief that a magical zombie jew born of a virgin created the universe six thousand years ago and he will send me to hell unless I accept his existence without any proof. Oh, and he has infinite love for me.
Suck it, jesus!
Not only do christians have to wind their god idea up on Sundays, now they need to pull on the puppet strings to make it work at all. The christian god idea needs censorship to give it any legs. No wonder the Muslim god idea is kicking the ass of the christian god idea.
“Mommy Kathy doesn’t believe in my christian god idea, she said so in public right after my jeebus idea gave her an Emmy.”
Hey Christians, does your Jesus need a pacifier or a diaper change?
Suck it Jesus!
OT alert
Anybody that thinks General Patreus is beyond volunteering to be BushCo’s mouthpiece should read this.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2956422.ece
She was right in everything up until she said “Suck it Jesus”. That was a very immature comment, and an ?in your face? insult to billions of people, which will backfire and give us a bad name.
I have no respect for religion….I find religion repulsive….All religion can kiss my ass
Suck It Jesus
Respect!?!
You don’t have to agree with someone to respect them. Bush1 may not agree with Atheists but he should have showed us some respect. What he said was disrespectful.
I too have no respect for religion and find it repulsive and most religions can kiss my ass also, BUT I respect anyones right to believe what they want, to a point of course.
If you want respect, it is a two way door.
I know many here if not all will disagree but I think Ellen should stand up and say Kathy owes an apology for her “Suck it” comment. It was hateful, rude and disrespectful. This is not what Atheism is about.
Hey gotta remember that Kathy’s a joker, and they tell jokes that aren’t always funny to everyone. I think it’s funny that any award recipient would try to talk directly to Jesus! That’s funny.
If Christians aren’t going to bother to even search for their god, they have no right to censor such comments. Vulgarity lives in the heart of religion, not some four letter word.
Funny. There is an opion piece here about why Kathy is incorrect:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296683,00.html
In the column, she says that Jebus is responsible for the award…..
In here reasoning, she says “Jesus died on a cross 2,000 years ago. His dying words were, “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.” “
Well, according to the bible, the last words where: “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “E’lo-i, E’lo-i, la’ma sabach-tha’ni?” which means, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Eli’jah.” And one ran and, filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Eli’jah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed his last.”
Well, I guess his last words were actually a loud cry, but the words before that were asking why his god has forsaken him. Oh well.
Phree
are you that blind !!! what Bush said was bigitory to a class of real people and citizens to the US. What Kathy said was about a made up man some people choose to follow !!! that would be like you saying what IMUS said about black women is the same as calling Santa Clause a Fat OLD MAN !!!! one is made up or man made and the other is a real section of the population !!!! GET A CLUE DUDE !!!!!
Jaydave,
I agree, we should not feel bad about insulting imaginary creatures, nor should we have to respect a fictional character that was not, and could not have been, a U.S. citizen.
What Bush Sr. stated was a direct insult to many that fought and died for this country. It is not a point of view held by our founders. When the president of our country states that citizenship should have a religious test, he is an ENEMY of this country, and should be exiled at the very least. It is like a president stating that they hate free speech, or that they are repealing the constitution in favor of a new monarchy. The president has no authority to do such things, and it is entirely against the ethics america represents, and was founded on.
ohh, yeah
I forgot:
Suck it, Jesus!
Just wanted to be on record as saying it without censorship. Free speech is not dead. Say it often and publicly if you feel that it is true. There is not a damn thing they can do to us. We all have that freedom, enjoy it.
Deepdiver
Im glad Kathy said what she did…her point is clear
The point is that when someone gets up in front of a diverse audience and they thank Jesus…they are disrespecting all the other stupid ideas..I mean faiths….they are also pissing me off, an atheist….they have no respect for anyone when they proclaim there stupid ideas in front of all to hear….
so suck it jesus….and 3 cheers for Kathy….
If they aren’t going to censor George and his STUPID son “W”, they certainly shouldn’t censor Kathy’s comment. Insulting a fantasy is tame when compared to suggesting that American citizens should not be.
Suck it, Jesus, you infantile disgusting bastard*
* I leave it to the Christians to figure out how to get a two thousand year old fantasy to “Suck it”.
Jay Dave is right. Suck it Jeeeezuz.
Amen,jshanewhit.
AMEN!!!!
I guess my point is mute here. Yep, I agree the belief in jesus sucks, but 2 wrongs don’t make a right. I think I am a bit more mature than to rub it in their face unless they personally ask for it. Oh well.
I think E! will have made a big mistake if they cut out the blasphemy.
They could really get their ratings up on what is otherwise a very boring show, if they were coy about whether they will or whether they won’t.
They’d get far more publicity and viewers if there were some suspense. It should also be the very last segment for max effect.
Now think about those holes Jesus has in his bod. Could that be where the sucking sound comes from?
I strongly associate a sucking sound with all those televangelicals, as they try to get their listeners’ retirement savings out of them.
I think I saw Jeezuz in n airport bathroom. He sure does have a “wide stance”
Comment from: DeepDiver
So very true…
What’s the difference betweeen an atheists intolerance towards religion and a religious person’s intolerance towards gays…?
Absolutely nothing…
The difference is that religion is make-believe and gays are actually real people (except to xtian bigots of course)
Damn it. I need a drink, that is twice in a week phreedm and I agree on something.
BUT… it is not the religion I have no tolerance for, it is the actions of some of the people in those religions that I have no tolerance for.
Phreedm, don’t agree with me again. Can’t handle a 3rd time.
The only word they should have censored was “shit.”
“Suck it” is Kathy’s catchphrase.
Christians have no greater right not to be offended than anyone else.
everyone knows that what she said is true, go Kathy.
Comment from: DD Dropout
You know, this one almost got past me…
What is hollywood…? A bunch of left wing anti-christians….
Mel Gibson couldn’t find a distributor for his movie BECAUSE it was a religious movie…
E isn’t censoring Kathy for the religious folk…they’re censoring Kathy to PROTECT non-believers from the wrath of the majority of America…
It’s one thing to read about this…it’s a totally different senerio to actually watch it…
Most people have yet to hear about this controversy…if this were aired…many in middle America would simply boycott E and Kathy Griffin…
Ellen is guilty of reacting instead of acting…and doesn’t realize an ally when she see’s one…maybe her fax machine was busy and didn’t get the talking points…
Religion is fairy-tale land, make-believe stories we made up.
Homosexuality is a natural occurrence that is not make-believe.
Phreedm:
Thus, it is logical and necessary to beat people down for housing irrational beliefs.
It is not beneficial at all to put down homosexuals for something they had no control over.
Big fucking different, butthead.
phreedm
hollywood is a cesspool but most claim to believe in god.you don’t see communist nations putting out porn movies,advocating drug use etc.they are atheist and believe in family values.answer that big guy.
Damn, missed the bandwagon. It is one thing to mock someone’s beliefs and another to mock their right to be citizens. The Constitution guarantees everyone born on US soil is protected under the big C. I don’t get the whole thing at all…she didn’t bash xians, she just bashed Jesus. A dead person.
Suck it Jesus, Aquinas, Jahweh, Jehovah, Allah, Hitler, Jimmy Swaggart, Pol Pot, and “W”–oops!.
If she had said “Allah” instead of “Jesus” and “Jesus” instead of “award”, would anyone be leaping to her defense?
Comment from: reason
OK…so let me get this stright…you’re claiming communist nations ARE atheists…
History show’s that communism has killed nearly 100 million in the past century…however, atheists (communism) believe in “family” values…
Thanks for validating a point I’ve made many times on this blog…
And speaking of strange bedfellows…
Last week it was Bin Laden sounding like the Dems and many who post on this blog…
Today it’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei…
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070914/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_us_iraq_2
Hey did anyone else see the article on foxnews (I know I know) about this?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296683,00.html
That’s what I get for trying to defend them. they spit in my face. sigh.
DeeperDiver
The reason I think the Jesus can suck it acceptance speech was not going to far is because…
these stupid ideas saturate my daily life with their massive institutionalized bullcrap…from birth through marriage to death…these fuckers are choking the sense out of me…
I’ve been wanting to do a similar acceptance speech for the longest time…I wouldn’t have chosen all the words Kathy chose…but the message would definitely be the same
Yes Charlie, I totally agree. But you have to agree also that Atheism has a bad immage and this set us back even further. We lost alot of the fence sitters that night. The only thing I would not have said is ‘Suck it’. Everything else, I support 100%.
Dangerman, it actually made me gag.
Phreedm: Thanks for once again, showing how dumb you really are and how good you are at manipulating what people say to your distorted views.
Atheism has a bad rap because we are seen as blasphemers….just like Kathy pointed out so elegantly….
We dont have to say Suck It….we just need to say We Are Atheist
Religion is running our country right now….and arnt they doing a great job as a christian nation
fuck that
I am an intolerant atheist. I am intolerant and hateful and disrespectful towards the following…
1. Christian rock and anything ever written by Michael W. Smith with lyrics like “Lord” and “Savior” and “Don’t Touch My Genitals”.
2. Glittery crosses
3. Glittery kitten sweaters
4. Church ladies with mullets
5. The Southern Baptist Mafia
6. James Dobson
7. Science textbooks depicting Jesus riding a dinosaur.
I have a long list but those are my top 7. Yes, I am disrespectful.
I can’t imagine anything more boring then this awards ceremony, but if I could hear Ms. Griffin say “Suck this, Jesus” I would definitely watch it.
Of course this joke about the mythical jesus human god probably will be censored because the corporations who pay for this boring show with their boring commercials don’t want to offend their brainless Christian customers.
I can’t imagine this censorship in Europe, which is not infested with god stupidity like America is. What is wrong with Americans? They deny scientific facts but they accept the idiocy of the Resurrection. They want to censor anyone who points out the obvious fact that Christians are insane.
phreedm
yes you have to be a atheist to belong to communist party in communist nations.yes the reds killed over 100 million but not because they were religious believers.
american media isn’t control by atheists communist or noncommunist.as long as americans buy garbage media will put garbage out.90% of americans worship a god, you can see his picture on the dollar bill.
Suck it Jesus! Damn, that felt good.