Police investigate after Satanic Temple holiday display at New Hampshire State House vandalized hours after unveiling

essentialsaltes said:

The statue, which the city sanctioned after explaining it was allowed because of the First Amendment, was unveiled Saturday night and was damaged shortly after.

Visitors to the State House on Tuesday could see a Christmas tree, nativity scene and Bill of Rights display, but the Satanic Temple holiday display was taken down after it was damaged.

The display depicted the pagan deity Baphomet and the Satanic Temple's seven fundamental tenets. In one hand, the figure held an apple to honor Isaac Newton and celebrate science and the pursuit of knowledge.

Police said their investigation is ongoing. They said they aren't investigating it as a [hate] crime, but they would if evidence points to that.

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Chesterton said:

This is a holiday display? What holy day do Satanists celebrate? I don't find it on my calendar.

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rambot said:

Why does it have to be a day?

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Chesterton said:

This is a holiday display? What holy day do Satanists celebrate? I don't find it on my calendar.

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ThatRobGuy said:

For those who haven't figured it out yet or are unfamiliar, the "Satanic Temple" aren't actual Satanists (in that, they don't believe there's an actual Satan), they're a trolling organization that uses lopsided rules that were made in favor of religion, to make people second guess those rules and reign in the religious influence in government.

I'm actually a fan of their work for the most part.

When a religious group says "we don't like separation of church and state, we think there should be allowances for a school sponsored bible study group", they say "Oh, cool, well since religious book clubs are allowed in school, then we, as Satanists, want to have a book club centered around the writings of Anton LaVay", they the say "Y'know, on second thought, having religious book clubs at public schools isn't a good idea, we should scrap those" Mission accomplished.

Their whole premise is "checking" the notion that "because I'm doing something in the name of a religious belief, the regular laws shouldn't apply to this action"

To use a simplistic example, when the Catholic Church gives wine to minors on grounds that it's religious tradition and shouldn't be subject to normal alcohol restrictions, their response would be "well, a toke of marijuana is a sacrament in our faith, therefore, the marijuana laws shouldn't apply to us"

The Satanic Temple - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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Chesterton said:

This is a holiday display? What holy day do Satanists celebrate? I don't find it on my calendar.

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Chesterton said:

I think you're missing the point. If you're going to have a holiday display, logic dictates that you have to have a holiday.

Plus spoiler alert: the Satanic Temple also does not have a temple.

I appreciate good trolling. They are totally lame trolls.

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ozso said:

Being pagan (or faux-pagan as the case may be) they can claim Winter Solstice, which takes place on Dec 21st.

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Chesterton said:

I don't think the devil needs you to play devil's advocate. Plus I don't know what the solstice would have to do with Isaac Newton.

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ozso said:

Hey, you asked. The fact is the winter solstice yuletide is celebrated by pagans, heathens, wiccans and satanists.

I don't know what it has to do with Newton either, or why you brought him up.

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Chesterton said:

Read the OP.

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Chesterton said:

This is a holiday display? What holy day do Satanists celebrate? I don't find it on my calendar.

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durangodawood said:

You wouldnt buy a calendar that shows the Satanic holidays.

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Chesterton said:

Maybe, maybe not. But I'm inquiring about what the Satanic holidays are. I'm pretty sure they're not federal holidays, but it might come in handy to know if I need to ask the boss for a day off work sometime.

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RocksInMyHead said:

There is this wonderful tool called a "search engine" - I believe it can give you the answers that you seek. I don't know that anyone here is a member of the Satanic Temple, so I think it would be unlikely that any of us would have that knowledge.

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DaisyDay said:

Satanists are specifically prohibited from posting here. I was reading the rules just the other day and I was a bit surprised by this.

As far as I know, which isn't much, the Satanists, the modern ones, don't have holidays, but seem not to mind acknowledging and participating in others'.

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