I’ve participated as a Democrat in a number of parades in heavily Republican towns, so I am not unfamiliar with less-than friendly receptions. The response to the Reno Coalition of Reason’s entry into the 2011 Nevada Day Parade was, shall we say, interesting.
As is the case in most cat-herding scenarios, not everyone made it into the picture, but there were 22 (plus 2 kiddies) of us at yesterday's parade!
Contrary to what some of our members thought would happen, we were not pelted with rotten vegetables or screamed at by anyone in the crowd.
There were a number of people who felt the need to shout out that they were good with god. Um. Yeah. We know. Did we say anything to the contrary?
Then there was the young ROTC girl who tried to tell us that all good comes from god and if we’d just . . .
One dude shouted out God Bless America!!!!
And then there was the little boy. Couldn’t have been more than four years old, standing out in front of his family. Somehow this little boy, who likely could not read, knew what our sign meant. Someone had to have told him, “Those people don’t believe in Jesus.” Or did they tell him, “Those people don’t love Jesus?” And so he stood there, in confusion and with the kind of pleading quivering voice that only a three or four-year-old can muster, “Jeeeesuuus… Jeeesuuus…” My heart broke for this little guy whose adult caretakers could not just let this little boy enjoy the day. Gotta wonder about people like that.
Mostly we were met with silence.
Marching in the parade
Speaking of silence, we’ve let all the local press know about our group. Atheism and freethought is big news, but the Reno media seems too afraid to even talk to us. With the exception of Channel 4 who interviewed us on Tuesday, but never aired it, and KOH who aired it briefly in their news segment, the response has been one very similar to the crowd at the Nevada Day parade. Uncomfortable silence.
Or confusion. There appeared to be a number of people who misread our sign (God? Good? Yeah!!!). One parade goer shouted out, “Reason? What does that mean?” Seriously, how do you answer a question like that?
But we kept smiling and waving and giving out candy.
We felt some push-back from the various announcers along the route. The first announcer, frankly, was the best in reading our highly inflammatory and in-your-face blurb.
The Reno Coalition of Reason membership promotes living in the here and now with this walking entry celebrating the 100 ways people can love and experience the wonders of the natural world and the outdoors. Good without God? Millions are. Celebrate the natural world with the Reno Coalition of Reason.
Yeah. What a bunch of radicals! How dare we show up and talk about how beautiful the world is!
Ever the professional (and I assume all announcers at the parade were paid professionals), he read our blurb with the same professionalism he’d given all his other announcements. The others announcers, with varying degrees, not so much. The worst offender, in my opinion, was the female announcer whose delivery was flat and rushed as though her full intention was to inform the crowd, Yeah, I have to read this crap, but I don’t have to like it, and I want all of you to know it. Her every word screamed I cannot put my feelings aside and do the job I was hired to do in a professional and unbiased manner. (Judge for yourself: Video link)
This is not to say the day was a failure or a downer. Far from it.
By stepping out of the shadows, we let other like-minded folks in the crowd know they aren’t alone. And yes, our people were there too. There were waves and nods and smiles from more than a handful of people. A few enthusiastic hurrahs, some fist pumps, etc. Of particular interest to us were the timid waves, the “down-low” thumbs up. Yeah, we understand. Just glad we could let you know you’ve got a safe place to go if you ever want to join us.
Post-Parade. We did it! Reference aforementioned cat-herding.
And yeah, we’re already planning our entry for next year. More cohesive clothing, a float perhaps?
We’re not going away, and we’re growing.
Check us out.
Reno Freethinkers (Facebook)
Reno Freethinkers (Meetup)
It’s clear, the message is stunning/confusing for people and advertising, and parades are a great way to dispell that stigma.
Thanks for the report, and sorry I couldn’t make it.
About your picture on top: Why isn’t Jesus up there listening intently? He is said to have been academically oriented (although why he never left any writings is a mystery) and I’m sure he’d have been more open-minded and eager to learn than the people who are said to follow him! LOL!!
Click here for info and background about my blog header. It’s sciencey! And Jesus may have been willing to talk to the rabble (if you accept that he actually existed), but he wasn’t big on trying to figure out the natural world, as far as my reading of the New Testament can tell (and I’ve read it all).
Thanks for the explanation. I especially liked him telling about how he was forced to eliminate people, and who he would have included if he had had room.
Not having been raised Christian, I have never read the New Testament, and see no reason to do so now — lots of other things I’d rather read. All I know is the story about Jesus getting lost, and being found arguing law with the scholars in the Temple. I DO think that the New Testament is propaganda designed to convert the heathens, so who knows what is based on a germ of truth and what is made up. It does offer a look into the written genres of the time, and is very much open to interpretation, of which the best is historically oriented. My orientation toward all religious writings is that of an anthropologist studying the natives — no way I believe them, and don’t think highly of those who cherry pick what to believe literally!
No matter if one agrees with these folks or not this country was built on “freedom”, no matter what it’s freedom of it’s all still freedom. At least this group isn’t trying to influence government like some of the zealot groups around the country are.