Monday, August 24, 2009

Wow, she really does wanna get fired

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You remember Angela Shiel? She's the silly Des Moines, Iowa bus driver who was suspended after she refused to drive a bus with one of those oh-so-offensive atheism bus ads, claiming the passive message, which calls out to closeted atheists and lets them know that they're not alone in their disbelief in gods, is somehow against her Christian beliefs. Because merely acknowledging the very existence of atheists – who, mind you, have been around since religion itself came into being – somehow erodes the foundation of Christianity, or something.

Well, this is one bus driver who seems rather keen on losing her job, as she's stated that she still plans to refuse to drive any bus that sports the atheist bus ads (these ads are visible on a sixth of the Des Moines bus fleet, and will be up for another three weeks), instead merely hoping she won't catch an atheism-ad bus again. Yeah ... that's likely.

DART officials told Shiel last week that she could keep her job as long as she didn’t refuse to drive a bus again. They could not promise her that she wouldn’t be assigned a bus with the atheist ad, said General Manager Brad Miller.

“We’re giving her a second chance,” Miller said. “There’s no assurances that there might not be another ad she doesn’t agree with. There’s so many different things that go into that, there’s no way we can guarantee anything.”

Miller said Shiel was told she would be subject to termination should she choose to walk away from the job again.

Shiel said today that her views on the ad haven’t changed and she still will not drive any bus with the ad.

“Hopefully I won’t get the sign anymore,” she said. “It’s a chance I have to take. …I like what I’m doing. I don’t want to start all over.”

Look, stop pussyfooting around and just fire the idiot already. She obviously has no respect for doing her job properly. (Plus, anyone illiterate enough to actually view such a passive message as offensive shouldn't be allowed to drive, anyway.)

(via Friendly Atheist)

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