LSU photo manipulation erases crosses on Christian fan group’s chests

[Heretic]

Freedom?

Original:

What was published:

"In reproducing the photo for a campuswide email, LSU made the decision to airbrush out the crosses on the students' chests. See, The Painted Posse is a group of Christian-centered Tiger fans, and, well, someone somewhere inside LSU decided not to mix football and religion. (Which is a bit surprising, considering that in the SEC, football IS religion.)

"I was a bit surprised, because our pictures get used so frequently, and the cross had never been edited before," Cameron Cooke, one of The Painted Posse, said in a recent interview with the conservative website Campus Reform. "The cross painting is important to me because it represents who I am as a Christ follower, and it reminds me who I need to act like in Death Valley.""

More here:

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/lsu-photo-manipulation-erases-crosses-christian-fan-group-022942232--ncaaf.html

Reiterating Maryland's earlier colonial legislation, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, written in 1779 by Thomas Jefferson, proclaimed: "[N]o man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities."

Those sentiments also found expression in the First Amendment of the national constitution, part of the United States' Bill of Rights: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

[GodzillaDeuce]

you can tell that guy on the left is a christian even without the cross lol

[TOMapleLaughs]

Sorry, but this doesn't even register on my care-o-meter.

[taxi]

Yeah I really don't see what the big deal here is. It's not as though these guys were banned from the stadium. The sports team using the photo as a promo is not a Christian team. They don't want to discourage non-Christian fans by using Christian symbols in their promotional pictures.

This is advertising and marketing. In general, religious symbols are going to be avoided unless they want to target people from one group specifically.

[Common sense]

What's the reaction had this been a Star of David or a crescent?

[taxi]

What's the reaction had this been a Star of David or a crescent?

[Tearloch7]

What's the reaction had this been a Star of David or a crescent?

[Jägermeister]

Nothing wrong with that, the guys aren't facing any repercussions.

If they'd kicked them out of the stadium or made them take off the crosses IRL then maybe there would be an issue.

As far as tweaking a photo to put it into advertising this is a pretty minimal change.

[aGENT]

Yawn.....

[Heretic]

So...for those who say this is no big deal - does that mean you're in favour of media censorship?

If they didn't want the "crosses" why did they even bother to use that picture?

There were thousands of people at that game.

[aGENT]

LSU campus email is now "media"?

[Heretic]

LSU campus email is now "media"?

[taxi]

So...for those who say this is no big deal - does that mean you're in favour of media censorship?

If they didn't want the "crosses" why did they even bother to use that picture?

There were thousands of people at that game.

[Heretic]

What does a private organization altering their own marketing have to do with media censorship? If anything, not allowing the manipulaton of the photo is censorship. Was someone stopping this kid from creating his own media with a cross in it?

There were lots of other people at that game, but they obviously felt this was the best photo to represent the team, minus the cross.

[Jägermeister]

Private? It's a University.

So...if there was a religious group and in the background there was a protester say holding up a pro choice sign (or what ever that group is say against), and this group air brushed out the sign - you'd be okay with that?

Or is it as long as it doesn't affect you then it's okay?

[Heretic]

LSU simply avoided "the material represented does not represent the views of LSU" disclaimer, and decided to eliminate any potentially concerning symbols. I imagine they would do the same with a "pro-choice" poster as well, just as they should.

LSU is a University, they should represent the views of everyone that goes there. If they put religious, anti-religious, political, etc. messages in their advertising, they aren't doing a very good job of that are they?