We Were Just Kidding! February 26, 2009

We Were Just Kidding!

By Guest Contributor
February 26, 2009

Cartoonist Cam Cardow drew this political cartoon in The Ottawa Citizen:

cam

Heh. Cute riff on the atheist buses.

A reader disagrees, however:

I’m sure you can think of something to say about it; for myself, I’m too disgusted to comment.

I’m not disgusted. I don’t think this is implying that atheists are about to believe in God (or are about to apologize to one for anything); rather, it’s saying it’s tough to enjoy your life given the crappy world economy. Is that fair to say?

…

On a side note, I’m *loving* how the atheist bus ad is spawning all sorts of parodies, with everyone writing comments in the font/color scheme of the original (which is simple, yet brilliant).

(Thanks to Jon for the link!)

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What Are Your Thoughts?leave a comment
  • Eric

    Wow, that was actually funny. I’m way too used to the “other side” being humorless.

  • Godfrey

    See, the problem is, the xtians all think that this is going to guilt the atheists into reconciling with the group insanity. That’s actually a pretty sorry position to take. But, hey if you give up a real life for a fantasy life…

  • Nick

    Funny stuff. And I don’t think “the xtians” think anything. It’s just a joke.

  • Daniel at Good Reason says the font is Dirty Headline (and it does look quite similar). I’ve had that Cumberland Fontworks font for years (since the guy that originally made it put it up as a download). (It’s free for personal use.)

    I do see his fonts pop up now and then, and wonder if he got ripped off each time (it apparently happens quite often).

    I wonder what the thinks of all this ballyhoo. And I wonder if he got anything from the ad company?

  • I have such a problem with Poe’s Law. I really can never tell if a theist is joking or being serious. The longer I am an atheist, the more everything a theist says sounds like it ought to be a joke if it isn’t. It’s all absurd.

  • Miko

    I laughed when I first saw it, but I can see how some would regard it as a variant of “no atheists in foxholes.”

  • Richard Wade

    I agree with Miko and I laughed too. I saw it like, “There are no atheists in unemployment lines.”

  • Christophe Thill

    It’s neither really funny, nor really disgusting. It’s just silly. It shows (if it’s real and not a parody) that believers are as clueless about the economy as medieval farmers and fishermen were about the weather. How exactly do they think god fits into the equation of the current crisis? I see no link in the chain of events, where a supernatural intervention might have taken place.

  • I think people who take offense at jokes and caricatures need to lighten up. After all, if we’re offended at christians making fun of us, we’d be hypocritical if we then snort at the christians who are offended when we make fun of them!

    That said people obviously have every right to feel disgusted. I just think it’s silly and unnecessary.

  • Luther Weeks

    Now if Obama were scrapping the Faith Based Initiatives, it would be a great vision for next year.

  • Re Christophe – I think you underestimate the author of the joke. I think a more charitable interpretation is that atheists will supposedly get so depressed about the crisis that they turn to god in the hopes that that’ll help. 😉

  • I’m the “too disgusted to comment” guy, and my point was as Miko said – a variation of “no atheists in foxholes.” The cartoon is obviously from the point of view that there are no real atheists, only people who pretend there’s no god until the chips are down.

    I used to date a christian woman who eventually destroyed the relationship with her relentless attempts to convert me. After we split she sent me a letter in which she told me her hopes that I would experience profound misfortune – and she meant that as a GOOD thing, an expression of love, because she believed only bottoming out would bring me to Jesus. That twisted reasoning is the same as the logic behind the bus ad comic – everybody’s suffering, how wonderful! Because it will bring people to religion.

  • Reginald Selkirk

    rather, it’s saying it’s tough to enjoy your life given the crappy world economy. Is that fair to say?

    That’s not my interpretation. It is saying that a) God is destroying the economy to punish us for being outspoken atheists, and b) we should recognize this godly action and c) cave in to the godly extortion.

    It’s about as funny and about as smart as those hellfire preachers blaming Katrina on the gays and other sinners in New Orleans.

  • Polly

    I didn’t take it the way Hemant does at first glance. Now, I can kinda see that, but I still think it’s jab in the ribs.

    After we split she sent me a letter in which she told me her hopes that I would experience profound misfortune – and she meant that as a GOOD thing

    Xians love to imagine the misfortune of non-believers destroying their “pride” and driving them into the loving arms of their abusive heavenly father. My mother breathed out the holy threats on god’s behalf, too. She said, “I just hope it doesn’t come to something really bad happening to you in order to get you to come back to your senses.”
    Utter bullshit. It’s their own schadenfreude at work and there’s nothing “loving” about it.

  • Coi

    I believe that a parody can be a form of flattering OR a criticism, it depends very much on the authors intent and the way he or she puts it into his art/parody.

    This one in particular doesn’t seem to either defend or attack atheism. I think it criticizes the anti-ad campaign that the bus-ads have evoked. Anyway, it’s funny.

    – no bother clicking on my link, my weblog is still mostly written in portuguese. working on an english version.

  • Daniel

    Because of the juxtaposition of the two signs it’s clearly a jab at atheists, saying in essence that it’s easy to be a non-believer when everything is going well but we’ll be looking for the sky-ghost if things start looking bleak. I don’t find the cartoon funny, but I am not bothered by it either.

  • Oh come on people, that’s pretty funny. I don’t even care if it’s parody or a genuine attempt to “guilt” us into believing, it’s funny.

    As an atheist who draws cartoons occasionally, I would have done it myself if I’d thought of it.