A public park in Claremont, New Hampshire has a Nativity scene and a menorah put up by the city, so naturally, an atheist wants in on the action. But it’s not enough for Sam Killay to put up a generic non-religious display. He wants to be edgy enough that the city ends public displays entirely.

And if that means pretending to be a Satanist, so be it.

“It’s going to piss a lot of people off,” said Sam Killay, 36. … … he plans to use an explicit anti-religious image such as satanic symbols like the pentagram or an inverted cross. … “I don’t think I’m asking too much,” Killay said.

At first, I didn’t like how he was giving away his game like that. Being a dick doesn’t work if you announce ahead of time that your goal is to be a dick. When it comes to holiday displays, the most successful strategy I’ve seen is when atheist or Satanic groups sincerely request their own displays because it genuinely represents their positions. You don’t even have to be offensive. A sign that says “Atheists exist” would likely be enough to anger the kinds of Christians who think they own December.

But the more I learned about what Killay was doing, the more it made sense. This is a guy who, According to Newsweek, “works with disabled adults.” He also tried the polite route many times over by asking the city council to move the religious displays to private churches located right across the street. They refused. That’s why he’s now taking the more drastic approach.

He’s not a dick in “real life,” in other words. He’s just a guy who’s frustrated by elected officials who want to promote popular religions at the exclusion of all the other ones.

The city hasn’t decided how to handle his request. But they would be wise to treat him no differently from a Christian or else they could be on the receiving end of a lawsuit.

(Image via Shutterstock. Thanks to everyone for the link)

