This is the Louisiana State University Painted Posse:
This is the Painted Posse as they appeared in a campuswide email sent out by LSU:
See any differences?
The kids in the picture certainly noticed. Because the Painted Posse is a Christian group and LSU photoshopped out the crosses on their chests.
“I was a bit surprised, because our pictures get used so frequently, and the cross had never been edited before,” said Posse member Cameron Cooke in an interview with Campus Reform.
“The cross painting is important to me because it represents who I am as a Christ follower,” Cooke added, “and it reminds me who I need to act like in Death Valley.”
The school’s excuse is that they were trying not to offend anybody and didn’t want to give the appearance of endorsing Christianity.
A few points:
- No one is offended by the presence of Christians at your school. They’re a part of the community as much as everybody else.
- To LSU officials: Thanks for trying to do the right thing… even though you totally screwed up. Seriously. I appreciate it.
- If you didn’t want to give the appearance of endorsing Christianity, then you should have used a different picture! You’re at LSU! There’s no shortage of fanatical students with school spirit! I went to a college where you rarely ever saw people wearing hoodies with our school’s name on it much less painting their chests — LSU doesn’t have that problem! Just point the camera a few feet to the right.
The school seems to be sympathetic to the reaction and vows not to let it happen again:
The school, in a statement, indicated that it was not trying to censor any views, but rather to avoid the appearance of endorsing one. “We don’t want to imply we are making any religious or political statements, so we air-brushed it out,” the school said in a statement to Fox News. “Only one of the students, who didn’t appreciate it, actually contacted us about it. So next time, we’ll just choose a different photo.“
That’s… a rational response to a small crisis, I guess.
So stand by for a right-wing freakout at how Christianity is under attack from the left.
(Thanks to @dougphilips for the link)