My opening will digress from the headline to help it make more sense. Jasini pointed out some billboards in our area to me, ones put up by the suicide hotline, ones she said are creepy to her:
- You are never alone
- Someone is always listening
I can see what they are meant to convey; I see why they don’t convey that to Jasini, or to myself, for that matter. They are meant to convey an emotional assurance, and they do so by stating a physical impossibility and severe invasion of personal privacy. If one isn’t put off by the illogic of the statement, the arrogant hubris should make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, as the saying goes.
Church signs have similar dilemmas. They are often put up to give sort of emotional assurance and comfort, but actually present illogical statements and insults to people’s sense of personal agency, as well as highlighting the hypocrisies of the congregation in question:
- Come as you are
- All are welcome
There are statements that shouldn’t need to be said. If you feel a need to say them, they probably aren’t true, and putting them in large letters outside your building is just highlighting your hypocrisy for the community to mock you. Sooner or later someone isn’t going to be allowed to come as they are, or someone is going to be turned away.
At The Rainbow 