Why the hell not!
Satanists get OK for Minn. town monument
It was a deal with the devil.
A group of Satan worshippers has gotten the green light from local officials to install a statue honoring military men and women in a Minnesota park.
The Satanic Temple, which has never before succeeded in having a monument placed on public land, announced Friday that it had received approval to install the monument at Veterans Memo- rial Park in Belle Plaine, according to the Washington Post.
Lucien Greaves, spokesman for the organization based in Salem, Mass., told the paper that Belle Plaine officials “didn’t offer any resistance, to their credit.”
Greaves, who also uses the moniker Doug Mesner, said the group’s motives weren’t evil.
“It’s not about being shocking or upsetting the locals, though it’s an inevitable byproduct,” he said.
The Satanic Temple ap- plication to Belle Plaine officials described the monument as a “black steel cube with embossed inverted pentagrams with inlaid gold on four sides.”
“An inverted helmet rests on the top of the cube. A plaque on one side of the cube reads: ‘In honor of Belle Plaine veterans who fought to defend the United States and its Constitution.’ ”
The monument deal is the latest chapter in a battle that dates back to last summer, when a resident objected to a metal silhouette of an infantryman kneeling before a cross. The resident objected on the grounds that the cross violated the principle of separation of church and state.
Following the firestorm, the city opted to make a portion of the park a “public forum.”
Now the town won’t tell any group, no matter how controversial, to go to hell.
“It was discussed during our city council meeting when we authored the policy that groups that were unpopular or otherwise would put monuments in the park,” said Michael Votca, the city administrator.
“If they want to come here from Massachusetts and put something up to honor our veterans in Belle Plaine, go for it,” said Katie Novotny, a Belle Plaine resident and veterans advocate. “They deserve to be honored.”
Belle Plaine — population 6,661 as of the 2010 census — is located about 45 miles southwest of Minneapolis.