‘Tis a good day to #creozerg


I’m in Springfield, Missouri, and today at noon I’ll be joining a mob of skeptics and atheists at the Gillioz Theater to prepare to hit the Creation Ministries of the Ozarks. We shall descend upon them as a horde and sweep through their “museum”, documenting the foolishness and mocking the silly. You’re all welcome to join, but if you do show up, there are a few rules to follow:

  • Be polite and nondisruptive. This is their property and you are a visitor.

  • Remember: the Christians running this show, and the Christian attendees, are the delusional victims here. Feel some pity for them.

  • Do not, however, forget that this is an institution dedicated to promoting lies and ignorance. Do not pull a Michael Ruse and start admiring what they’ve accomplished.

  • Do not loudly insult the gift shop, if they have one. They hate that — that was the one thing that made the goons at our last #creozerg snap.

  • Do not have gay sex on the exhibits.

  • Document. Take notes and photographs. Your goal is to come away from this with a better understanding of what the promulgators of ignorance are teaching, and to spread the word about their folly afterwards.

  • Converse. One of the cool things about these trips is that you’re in a large group of critical thinkers, many of whom may have expertise on the subjects being mangled by the exhibits. Ask questions. Learn stuff.

  • Just to be on the safe side, you probably shouldn’t have heterosexual sex on the exhibits, either.

  • Be in the right frame of mind: you are not a gang of hooligans planning to vandalize the place, you are skeptical anthropologists there to observe the peculiar and pathological folkways of a backwards, intellectually impoverished people.

  • Have fun.

I’ll try to throw a few comments on twitter, hashtag #creozerg, as we pass through the halls of unlearning. Don’t expect a lot, though; this is a small, rinky-tink local creation “museum”, unlike that monument to idiocy built by the notorious leech, Ken Ham. We’ll probably race through it fairly fast, just because there won’t be a heck of a lot to see.

(Also on Sb)

Comments

  1. Ruth/STL says

    This is near where “Slaughter House 5” was banned. Maybe leave controversial classic fiction in the hotel rooms to replace the bibles?

  2. Brownian says

    Do not have gay sex on the exhibits.

    Thanks, PZ. Frankly, I’m exhausted and can use a break.

  3. Kaintukee Bob says

    What if we have a partner of each gender? Can we have bisexual sex on the exhibits?

    What about sex *with* the exhibits?

    What? I always thought Eve was kinda hot, she really rocks the fig leaf.

  4. Pete Moulton says

    “We’ll probably race through it fairly fast, just because there won’t be a heck of a lot to see.”

    If there’s a dino ride, it could take a bit longer, eh, PZ?

  5. Daniel S says

    ‘Do not have gay sex on the exhibits.’
    I can’t help but notice that this implies we can have straight sex on the exhibits. Just sayin’.

  6. Stefan says

    And look here…Google gives you a malware warning when you go to their site –>

    Warning: Something’s Not Right Here!
    cmoto.org contains content from t26.cz.tf, a site known to distribute malware. Your computer might catch a virus if you visit this site.

    Google has found malicious software may be installed onto your computer if you proceed. If you’ve visited this site in the past or you trust this site, it’s possible that it has just recently been compromised by a hacker. You should not proceed, and perhaps try again tomorrow or go somewhere else.

  7. says

    WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
    I clicked on the link to the Creation “Museum” just out of curiosity and MY AVG KICKED IN AND STOPPED THE BROWSING!!!! It found a threat on the site: a piece of code that was attempting to take over my computer, phish for information, or something else. In short MALWARE. Specifically, it was an attempt to link to cmoto.org/wp-admin/network/choosedate.php, which AVG has determined to be evil.

    WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

  8. raven says

    I very rarely visit xian sites, especially ones run by individuals. Or linked to by xian trolls.

    There seems to be a high probability of acquiring malware.

    From one site, I ended up getting godspam email for months afterwards.

  9. 'Tis Himself, OM says

    Do not have gay sex on the exhibits.

    Just to be on the safe side, you probably shouldn’t have heterosexual sex on the exhibits, either.

    PZ never lets us have any fun. :-(

  10. electrabotanical says

    Springfield – the lower half of the state is making the rest of us look bad. I’d just like to point out that there are plenty of rationalists north of the Babbly belt.

  11. Nerdette says

    Is this the same museum near the giant statue of Jebus? If so, I visited six years ago for UChicago Scav Hunt. There is a giant poster of the man who founded the museum, dressed in movie dinosaur dig-garb, and sporting the title of “Dr.” When I asked the ladies at the front desk what he got his degree in, one woman, clearly tipped off by my pro-science shirt, began aggressively asserting that he was “a preacher, a teacher, and a scientist.” I gave a little puzzled look, responded, “Okay, but what did he get his PhD in? It says he is a doctor.” Again, she repeated the trio of roles. I was about to try again when the other receptionist answered, “I believe it was in theology.” I thanked her the direct answer.

  12. shouldbeworking says

    Masturbation is permitted if you use the right hand only. No left-leaning liberals permitted.

  13. Waydude says

    “…you are skeptical anthropologists there to observe the peculiar and pathological folkways of a backwards, intellectually impoverished people…”

    That’s fantastic! That’s how I get through life in Utah. Well, that and our amazing skiing! It’s snowing, bitches!

  14. tim rowledge, Ersatz Haderach says

    Masturbation is permitted if you use the right hand only. No left-leaning liberals permitted.

    How about if we get a friend to keep us upright?

  15. Hazuki says

    @11/Sili

    Bibles are for studying, not for rubbing off on. Bacon is for eating, also not for rubbing off on.

    That is what the corner of the lady receptionist’s table is for :)

  16. DrewN says

    Only sex for the purpose of procreation is allowed on the exhibits, and you must not enjoy it!

    I’ll bring the sheets with holes cut in them!

  17. Agent Smith says

    If you’re caught having heterosexual sex, say “It’s OK, we’re only microevolving the species.”

    If you’re caught having gay sex, say “Homosexuality is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. Thanks for distracting him with that picture of Eve.”

  18. Bruce Crutchley says

    Sounds like a lot of fun. I suppose It’s a good thing that we don’t have these over here (New Zealand – At least I don’t know of any), but it would be a good day out to do something like this

  19. Randomfactor says

    This is near where “Slaughter House 5″ was banned. Maybe leave controversial classic fiction in the hotel rooms to replace the bibles?

    Your project interests me strangely. Would it cause a rift in the space-time continuum to substitute paperback copies of Dianetics for the normal Gideon bibles?

  20. Sytec says

    Missed the zerg… and now can’t find out where people are drinking skeptically… We’re not off to a good start.

  21. Woof says

    Today’s #creozerg site appears to have been Pharngulated:

    Bandwidth Limit Exceeded

    The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to the site owner reaching his/her bandwidth limit. Please try again later.

  22. SinSeeker says

    Re: #32

    Interestingly enough, the museum is located in Hawksbury Village. This used to be called “Cherry Farm” when it was a Mental Health Asylum until it closed in the early 1990’s. The various buildings (“Villas”) that used to house the criminally insane and the mentally impaired were sold off to private buyers.

    Seems like the perfect location for a creation museum?

  23. Rumtopf says

    Bibles are for studying, not for rubbing off on. Bacon is for eating, also not for rubbing off on.

    That is what the corner of the lady receptionist’s table is for :)

    Ew. No.

  24. says

    Love the satiric sexual commentary and possible loopholes (NPI)in their rules that have been humorously suggested…too funny.

    Hmmm,…haven’t heard anything about transsexual/transgender transgressions(TTTs?)being disallowed on the properties.
    Z’at ok with ’em? (Just askin.. :) :)

  25. David Marjanović, OM says

    •Just to be on the safe side, you probably shouldn’t have heterosexual sex on the exhibits, either.

    *puzzled* Where else? I’ve never had heterosexual sex anywhere else.

  26. yiab says

    Do not have gay sex on the exhibits.

    A suggestion for next time: Do not have gay sex on the exhibits unless instructed to by security.