After Being Denied “8THEIST” License Plate, NJ Woman is Suing State’s Motor Vehicle Commission

[deucemagnet]

<snip>
In August, American Atheists’ President David Silverman requested a plate reading “ATHE1ST” (with a 1) only to have it rejected for being “offensive.” He appealed that decision and the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission quickly reversed course. (Or, as they called it, fixed a “clerical error.”)

Dave Silverman holds his new license plate (Dave Muscato – American Atheists)

In November, New Jersey resident Shannon Morgan, unaware of what Silverman had been through, attempted to get her own vanity plate reading “8theist.” Again, it was rejected on grounds of being “objectionable.”

Shannon wanted to know what would happen if she requested “BAPTIST” instead… and that one went through without a problem.
<snip>
http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/23czlj/after_being_denied_8theist_license_plate_new/

So simply identifying yourself as an atheist is "objectionable" according to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. Oh well, David Silverman appealed and got his "ATHEIST" license plate, so I guess all atheists should just stop their whining, right?

[progressoid]

1. I'm sure it was just another clerical error.

[Flying Squirrel]

6. Or a clergical error.

[Warpy]

2. Considering how the Christers always freak out

when they find out somebody around them is an atheist, I'd never put that on my car. It would be in the body shop weekly, getting dents from kicks and scrapes from keying fixed. It would cost a fortune.

I admire their guts if not their discretion.

[Brainstormy]

3. Same here

I live in Georgia and learned my lesson, financially speaking, from simply having an Obama bumper sticker on my car. Would never risk the wrath of neighbor-loving Christians with an atheist license plate.

[phantom power]

4. For conservatives "freedom" means "freedom to be like my conservative tribe, or suffer our wrath."

[deucemagnet]

9. There were a lot of comments to that effect on reddit,

and a lot of respondents claimed that they had Darwin "Jesus fish" and various other bumper stickers on their cars and never had a problem. I agree with you, though. I remember back during the second Gulf War I saw a car in the parking lot of the supermarket that had a lot of anti-war and anti-republican bumper stickers. I saw the woman who owned the car loading her groceries into it and I just had to ask her if she was afraid that her car would be vandalized because of the bumper stickers. She said no, her car was never vandalized and that she never really gave it any thought. I told her that she was much braver than I. In retrospect, it seems silly that I should compromise the expression of my beliefs over my 10 year-old car's paint job.

[Lordquinton]

12. I think it depends greatly on where you live

Here in California it wouldn't be much of a problem, but down south, as one poster has stated, could be another story.

[AlbertCat]

5. But...

She has 8 theists in the car with her at all times! What's the problem?

[AtheistCrusader]

7. I thought it was some sort of cannibalism thing.

Ate Theist? What?

[Rob H.]

8. I'm probably an evil person for saying this

...but the first thing I thought was how funny it would be to make a license plate frame for it that said, "...IT WAS DELICIOUS."

[deucemagnet]

11. LOL, that's just the kind of thing that appeals to my dark sense of humor,

but of course, we're just interested in the young ones, preferably babies. Old theists are much too chewey and bitter.

[Curmudgeoness]

10. But "hot chik" or "he man" or "omg wtf" or "eazy"

are not objectionable?

If you don't think that atheists are looked down on, this is the sort of thing that will prove you wrong. Still a long way to go.