Tuesday, December 06, 2011

'Satanic' Christmas lights anger town

Drive around at night this time of year, and it won't take long until you'll find a display of lights. But one light display in Carter Town, Tennessee is upsetting residents. It's not a light display you'd expect this time of year. "I was just horrified, horrified," Deborah Jones said of the first time she saw the sign.

Bright red letters saying "The Devil's Inn is closed until Judgement Day", along with a message reading "Satan Satan Hear My Plea, Satan Satan Come To Me" illuminate the side of Highway 19-E each night. Jackie Blevins built the display over a week ago. "[I] put this sign up here on the building because of what has happened right here," Blevins said as he pointed to cars he refinished with skulls and devil's horns.



Blevins said his cars were banned from area car shows, and in response he built the sign as a way of showing his anger. While his decorative choices may rub some people the wrong way, he says, it's just his personal form of expression. "It is my freedom of speech, my freedom of religion for these cars out here. They don't mean nothing. They're just a chunk of lousy metal," Blevins explained.

But with a controversial message in plain sight, some who drive by don't see it that way. "Knowing that a child could ask a parent is Satan really there? Is Satan in his home? What is a parent supposed to say to a child," Jones said. Some people have even tried to take the sign apart themselves. But Blevins says if you don't you don't like what you see, the best action you can take is to just come and talk to him. "Don't down me. Don't judge me. Don't condemn me because of what you see," Blevins said.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"What is a parent supposed to say to a child?"

You tell them that Satan is just as make-believe as Santa. They even use the same letters!

Lurker111