The Atheist Bus Campaign in the United Kingdom was born from the idea of countering the wide array of Christian advertising said to adorn public billboards and London buses. Political blogger Jon Worth first came up with the concept and the momentum was later joined by the British Humanist Association, which set up, with generous help from Richard Dawkins, a public donation web-page. The campaign raised a staggering £136,000 which led to the branding of 200 bendy-buses in London and 600 vehicles in England, Scotland and Wales, with the mildly controversial message, ‘There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life’. The poem below is about the recent case of a Mr Ron Heather, a bus driver from Southampton, who refused to drive a bus laden with the advert, out of a sense of ‘shock’ and ‘horror’ to his religious sensibilities.
Probably no buses
“There’s probably no God” in Southampton
“Now stop worrying and enjoy your life”.
Now that’s not strictly true – God’s nationwide,
Dwelling on buses, from north to south,
Bringing the atheist message to all.
Southampton’s the home of Mr Heather
A Christian. The British Humanists,
Have been left perplexed by said bus driver’s
Refusal to drive transport with the sign.
“We just can’t understand”, they responded.
Muttering confusion, as the pulpits
Of small coffee shops and internet chat rooms
Ask one question: “Why the word ‘probably’
When the campaign’s defined as atheist?
© Edward Beaman-Hodgkiss
The full story can be read in this BBC Hampshire article.
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