This is the God Anubis or Yinepu.
According to this man in his article: "He is that wacky Egyptian god with the head of a jackal and the body of a human, [who] is [now] hanging around Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
Actually, a 26-foot-tall statue of Mr. Anubis, known as the god of the dead or the underworld, was installed Friday at Founders Plaza, at the airport's northwest corner."
We had a few things to say in regard to this, however.
It might behoove you to be a little more respectful of the beliefs of others. Anubis still has adherents around the world (and no, I'm not one of them); would you be inclined to refer to Jesus as "that wacky Semitic god with the nifty crown of thorns?"
Anubis is not "Mr." anything; would you refer to Jehovah as "Mr. Jehovah?"
Kindly grow up and acquire a little respect for others.
Rob,
Were you offended? Are you practicing the religion of the pharaohs? If so, nice point.
If not, get over yourself.
Your comments about the god Anubis are very offensive and betray a triumphalist christian smugness towards the gods of other cultures.
Learn a little humility towards those of other faiths. Would you say equally smart-mouth things about Jesus, or the Buddha, or the deities of Hindus, etc.?
Masks Off, I do not personally worship Anubis, but I do know that there are those who do. I do not believe I am out of line in asking for a little respect for their faith. As a member of a minority religion myself, I find myself having to stand up for unusual beliefs, so I also stand up for the beliefs of others.
And from the looks of things, I'm not alone.
I should like to toss my voice into the mix as having found the tone and reference to Anubis objectionable and insulting. I mean..."wacky"? Really?! That seems rather condescending and colonialist ("Oh those funny savages back then").
A bit of sensitivity towards things that aren't American or Christian in the future would be most appreciated.
The worst part is that they replaced his traditional scepter with a candy cane. This statue was created to be a guard of honor for the pharaoh Tutankhamun- which was a wonderful gesture by the organizers of that king's tour- and now we caricature him into yet another cheap, commercial Christmas ornament? What's next, shall we have Jesus singing "Jingle Bells" while being nailed to the cross?
I would have loved to have visited this monument and seen it treated with a decent amount of respect. As it is, the placement of this statue hardly "highlights the cultural and economic significance" of anything- only the inability of the airport to appreciate the honor of hosting this illustrious guest and their failure to treat him appropriately. It is offensive on so many levels, and I encourage the people of DFW airport to replace the wAs scepter and issue an apology.
Actually I do worship the gods. I'm a Greco-Egyptian Reconstruction Polytheist (Basically I worship the gods of Greece and Egypt by the ways they did in Ancient Times ((though of course modifications like no animal sacrifice)) and other gods=I worship gods of Greece and Egypt but I honor and treat respectfully all gods (Yahweh, Yama, Oghma, and etc))).
But yeah....really tempting fate there with the god of embalming and guide of souls...
They do sell alcohol at airports do they? Well then people can before their flights make libations to him before their flights for safe passage (Underworld passage that is, Anubis is equated with Hermes the Arcadian god of Travel and Money AND he guides the souls of the living in travel and the dead to the underworld. BUT I doubt these fellows had that in mind when they did this....)!!!As for smiting, I am not sure what Anubis would do-depends if he likes the statue or not-or candycanes. Again not sure but I know a few like myself who are staying away from Dallas airport for a while.....
Dan,
You're not only the minority, you may be "it".
The PC culture of the US has gone too far. You can't say "boo" without someone who worships ghosts being offended.
Get over it. It wasn't meant as an anti-Greco-Egyptian slight. Nor was it meant as a slight of those that aren't Americans or Christians.
IN THE US, WE GENERALLY REFER TO A MALE AS MISTER, Mr. OR SOME OTHER VARIATION. WHY? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE USED TO DOING.
We're not used to using surnames as the first name, nor the last name after the maternal grandmothers' name.
Get over yourselves. If you're so "offended", don't read the newspaper. Don't listen to the news. And above all, don't talk to the "normal" Texan or American.
Masksoff, Dan is not "it." Reconstructionist Pagans are not common, but they are around. But even if he were the only one, it would still be appropriate to show respect for his beliefs, just as it would be appropriate to show basic respect for any other religion.
This isn't a "PC" issue, it's one of basic decency. What happened to that famous Southern courtesy?
"IN THE US, WE GENERALLY REFER TO A MALE AS MISTER, Mr. OR SOME OTHER VARIATION. WHY? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE USED TO DOING."
So you say "Mr. Jesus?"
"Get over yourselves. If you're so "offended", don't read the newspaper. Don't listen to the news. And above all, don't talk to the "normal" Texan or American."
Yes, apparently a number of people are offended, and it's only by those people speaking up that things get changed. If you don't like it when the article writer (or you) are called on insensitive remarks, don't read the paper or, better yet, stand up with us for religious equality. You know, "liberty and justice for all."
And I would hope that the "normal" Texan or American knows about the notion that all religions are respected in this country. If you don't believe that, perhaps you'd like to read up on what happens in theocracies?
Very well said, Rob. Whilst I can let the "Mister" part slide, the "wacky" bit though was quite off. Sometimes it can be hard for mainstream folks to understand the concept of cultural sensitivity unless they are finally marginalised themselves. Bigots are still worse than insensitive, hegemonic a-holes but they are still a-holes. And they need to be shoved back to realise that shoving is rude.
Posted by random @ 3:37 AM Sat, Dec 27, 2008
Isn't Anubis supposed to be the Gatekeeper of the Underworld? I mean I know airports are Hell during the holidays, but isn't this taking things a little too literally...?