Public schools receive 'In God We Trust' poster donations as new Texas law requires their display

[groundloop]

Source: CNN

Texas school districts have begun receiving donated posters and framed copies of the national motto, "In God We Trust," that they will now be required to display in accordance with a new state law.

The law says a public elementary or secondary school or an institution of higher education "must" display a durable poster or framed copy of the motto in a "conspicuous place" in each building if the poster or framed copy is "donated for display at the school or institution" or "purchased from private donations and made available to the school or institution."

[snip]

Some in the community object, including the Southlake Anti-Racism Coalition (SARC).

"SARC is disturbed by the precedent displaying these posters in every school will set and the chilling effect this blatant intrusion of religion in what should be a secular public institution will have on the student body, especially those who do not practice the dominant Christian faith," the community group said in a statement following the donation.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/19/us/texas-schools-in-god-we-trust/index.html

[Turbineguy]

1. Yeah

I want that shit rammed down my throat.

[C_U_L8R]

2. Any religion that requires mandates

isn't worthy of believers. They don't even have faith in their own faith.

[ificandream]

21. You said it all. Thanks.

[DBoon]

3. someone should make an "In God We Trust" poster ...

...with Zeus on it.

Or Odin

[sakabatou]

4. +10

[geardaddy]

5. Or Vishnu

or Allah.

That would really get their knickers in a twist.

[lambchopp59]

48. oooooh... a drawing of allah... yikes!

[geardaddy]

54. Or just the name?

[TheRealNorth]

10. Or the Flying Spaghetti Monster

[forgotmylogin]

12. "In gods we trust"

Do a whole series: Greek Mythology, Norse Mythology, Bible, Allah (minus physical depiction, perhaps translated verse), Indian and African deities, the Marvel Universe, Cthulhu mythos...I'm sure we could donate appropriate art/poster work for all these.

[DBoon]

13. yes - a "pantheon"!

[Montauk6]

19. Then the Jeezoids'll probably cry, "CRITICAL RELIGIOUS THEORY!"

[Slammer]

43. Cthulhu for President

Why vote for the lesser evil?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

18. If someone submits a 16 by 20-inch poster, with "In God We Trust" in 6-point Calibri, and

the rest a huge illustration of Beelzebub, then does the school have to accept and display the poster?

Or, even worse, an illustration of a drag queen.

[rurallib]

22. maybe a large naked jesus

let 'em wrestle with that one.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

23. So to speak.

Typically, these bills are jammed through with not a whole lot of thought involved. It's only later, when Speedo-wearing Jesus shows up on the poster, that the legislators begin to see what they have done.

[GreenWave]

20. Or our deity has a proper name

not some generic word meaning deity.

[NullTuples]

37. An entire series of them, all around a classroom!

[WinstonSmith4740]

41. That was my first thought.

People make this way too complicated. I would have put it up in my classroom with the names of the numerous gods around it. Satan, too. The way to beat these people is to use their own bullshit against them.

Pretty sure this town decided to take down the 10 Commandments instead of having to display this statue.
https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2018/12/18/satanic-temple-cleared-to-enter-the-10-commandments-lawsuit

[geardaddy]

6. Oh puke

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. Do the schools have any choice? They have to accept the poster, as long as it contains the words

"In God We Trust"?

Hmmmm. That leaves a lot of leeway. Imagine what sort of backgrounds those posters might have.

See https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142958730#post3.

[Earth-shine]

14. Do we have a choice? It's on our money. Yuck!

[moonshinegnomie]

24. the law is very specific

it has to contain the motto,the us flag and the texas flag.
no other words or pictures.


however the law doesnt say what language the motto has to be in. Im thinking arabic. and donated to schools in the reddest part of texas.
under teh law they have to display them

[muriel_volestrangler]

28. Use a font which gives that up-to-date feeling:

[Safety Dawg]

34. It actually says

the poster can only contain a representation of the US flag centered under the motto and a representation of the Texas flag. A creative designer can get a ton of mileage out of the word "representation"

[NullTuples]

38. So the message is very clear: Republican Christian God only

[Slammer]

44. Apparently no choice

From the story:

The law says a public elementary or secondary school or an institution of higher education "must" display a durable poster or framed copy of the motto in a "conspicuous place" in each building if the poster or framed copy is "donated for display at the school or institution" or "purchased from private donations and made available to the school or institution."

I'd guess if they already had a donated poster that they wouldn't be forced to put up whatever poster you donated.

On the other hand, most schools in Texas have multiple buildings.

So I'm sure if you wanted to go through the work, you could find school buildings in a major media market in Texas which don't have a poster and donate one with your chosen religious image on it.

You'd probably have to sue if it displayed something other than Christian imagery to get them to actually display it. But the law as written would appear to be on your side (even if the judge probably wouldn't be).

I'd recommend putting a big Star of David on the poster and having the people who don't want it in their schools come across as anti-Semitic. That'd probably be an easier win in the courts than Zeus or Cthulhu.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. Photocopy the back of a dollar bill, enlarge it, frame it and put up a title

"This is what matters most to State Sen. Bryan Hughes".

[Hekate]

9. Gimme that old time religion: let us worship Zarathustra, just the way we used ta...

I’m a Zarathustra booster, and it’s good enough for me.

[CJW]

11. Old sign

"In God we trust
All others pay cash"

[JustAnotherGen]

15. As long as the

money transferred from me to Texas in 2017 via the SALT Cap isn't being used to pay for it -

To each their own.


The people of Texas have all of the power to change their government.

[Fullduplexxx]

16. So where is the separation church and state lawsuit?

[NullTuples]

39. Pretty sure that's been tested many times since the Cold War when the slogan was adopted

The court rulings always claimed that since no specific god (except the Christian god, conveniently named "God" just like the proper noun in the motto) was mentioned, it's not exclusionary.

[LudwigPastorius]

17. Oh, for Christ's sake!

[rockfordfile]

25. How un-American of them. Yeah they hate USA.

[Missn-Hitch]

26. I am fine with it.

Nothing like forced religion to make people question it, then reject it altogether.

Bring on government proselytizing.

Society is moving in the right direction. First, polytheism. Second, monotheism. Keeps getting closer to the true number of god(s).

He he he.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

27. Some particulars:

Texas public schools required to display “In God We Trust” posters if they are donated

The law passed last year says schools must display the national motto in a “conspicuous place” but only if the poster is “donated” or “purchased by private donations.”

BY BRIAN LOPEZ AUG. 18, 202220 HOURS AGO

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

A new law requiring Texas schools to display donated “In God We Trust” posters is the latest move by Republican lawmakers to bring Christianity into taxpayer-funded institutions.

Under the law, Senate Bill 797, which passed during last year’s legislative session, schools are required to display the posters if they are donated.

{snip}

[Initech]

29. Religious conservatives ruin everything!

[peppertree]

32. And true to form, they seem to be the ones who LEAST believe in God.

Their hate, wars, and pro-fraud/abuse policies of all kinds - are the best proof of that.

[ificandream]

40. Amen to that!

[BigmanPigman]

30. If they made me do that

I'd go to a different type of school to teach. Maybe that is what they want is to get rid of teachers who love democracy and know the constitution. My school was in a Dem state and there was a picture of Bush up in the office wall because we were supposed to but that was it. Maybe the schools could decide that a "conspicuous place" is in the bathroom or supply room.

[paleotn]

31. Can I send them a plaque...

emblazened with "In Fairies We Trust"? Same thing, really.

[keithbvadu2]

33. Which God? The singular God or the three-part God?

Which God?

The singular God or the three-part God?

[Coventina]

35. OK Satanists, you know what to do!!!

[jmowreader]

36. Like this helps

Are we supposed to believe all the bullying, mass shooting, vaping, raping, heroin use, and whatever other bad things are going on in schools are suddenly going to vanish because the Texas government decided to hang posters with the word "God" on them in the hallways?

[purr-rat beauty]

42. Ya'll Qaeda

fuck these Theocratic assholes

[DFW]

45. I would contribute to a fund if....

Its purpose would be for adding supplements to each poster saying, “all others pay cash.”

[twodogsbarking]

46. In Dogs We Trust.

Better.

[ashredux]

47. Actually, some say, trust in the Lord, but tie your Horse to a tree.

[alphafemale]

49. This sounds like a time for Cthulhu

https://images.app.goo.gl/LvpsMBKvUwRGk6RG9

[Conjuay]

50. if I was still in a school

that put up that poster, a bumper sticker reading “ALL OTHERS PAY CASH!”
would mysteriously appear under it.
Thanks, Jean Shepherd, for looking out for us!

[czarjak]

51. Nothing beats Elohim?

[Novara]

52. Of course this is a violation of the Establishment Clause, but ...

... to this SCOTUS, there's no such thing.

So appealing this will do no good. THIS corrupt SCOTUS would invalidate the Establishment Clause if they could. And since they don't have the authority to change the Constitution, they could legally render it meaningless.

[TexasBushwhacker]

53. It only became the official motto in 1956, during the Red Scare

The same is true for inserting "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. It's totally fear based, now and before.

I've always preferred E pluribus unum.