New update to old story: Something innocuous pisses off religious people.

Are they concerned that a signboard with the word "evil" is going to summon Satan or something? I mean, honestly, what are they worried about?

I find religion and the peddling of lies about magic omniscient people in the sky offensive. Can I make her change her church sign to omit all references to Jesus?

Most of the neighbors I spoke with indicated they're concerned for the children—Jefferson High School is a block away, as is the public library. And there are usually kids hanging out on Killingsworth.

Concerned about... their children reading a sign? I still don't understand. People read a sign that says "sin all the damn time" and then...? Start a gambling ring?

If the concern was on the word "damn", I could sorta understand, I suppose. But if they're freaking out over "sin" and "evil", I just think that's stupid.

As far as I know, no one has the right to never be offended.

The public library is a block away? Shh, no one tell the neighbors that their kids can find books with "sin" and "evil" there.

Well, and it seems that I routinely am forced to read signs in front of churches that disgust me...Turn about is fair fucking play, right?

Best church sign I've ever read, I'm not kidding:

"Start the new year off right: ON YOUR KNEES."

Best church sign I've ever read, I'm not kidding:

"Start the new year off right: ON YOUR KNEES."

I think that the neighbors and pastors have their panties in a wad over a whole lot of nothing, and if they had chilled out, the sign would have been changed soon enough. But from reading your story in the paper, the FL Room people come off real snotty and immature. Instead of hearing and attempting to understand that the neighbors (who were presumably in the area long before them) weren't crazy about something they were doing, their attitude became "Fuck you we can do whatever we want, and since you don't like it, we're going to do it forever and in your face." I'm not saying they should have bowed to the complaints, but they came off as assholes in that story.

I doubt the concern among community members (religious or not) is solely based on the fear of children becoming "evil" or the promotion of "SIN". Yes, it is absolutely their right to say whatever they want- but it doesn't really mitigate how distasteful the whole thing is.

I'll admit that this is a rather petty cause for anyone to choose sides over in the battle for separation of church & state (although if you think back to scott moore's recent article, this turf war has no boundaries), but reading that story made me want to run over to the Florida Room right now and throw money at them.

Religious people who get offended by people living and joking in secular ways, even if they were actually the vast majority in that community, are obviously not the typical customers of that bar. And religious people don't own words like "sin" and "evil" and shouldn't claim any authority with all the evil and sin their ways do too.

If this becomes the bigger fight I've been waiting for in my own backyard, then so be it, I'm ready to throw down!

They should change it to: "The Devil fornicates with your daughter. Yeaaaaaayyyy Satan!"

I live down the street and I love the sign!!

You know what I find offensive? The "HEAVEN OR HELL Church of Christ" just up the street from the Florida Room. Actually, I don't find it offensive. More humorous in a retarded kind of way really.

To all the people offended with the sign, I would think they would be more concerned with the dead drug addicts and the shootings popping up on Albina & Killingsworth. You know, time spent on REAL ISSUES, not spent protesting a sign that, I'm sorry, does not incite a person to become violent or join a gang.

Anyways, when I get home tonight I'll ask God and see what his opinion is.

It cracked me up the first time I saw it - I can't count the number of times I've driven past that sin and wished I had my camera to snap a pic and send it to "Today in PDX"

Maybe we can send a list of possible future signs.

"This Sign Is More Righteous Than You"

Hellll-lo ? Anyone remember that ever-changing marquee of the old Jockey Club on Killingsworth ? That place had some new horrible, offensive, or political message up there EVERY SINGLE WEEK, and no one ever cared enough to say or do anything about it. That, or they were too scared to even go in there.

Christ, the gentrification of N and NE is so fuckin' depressing.

The Jockey Club will always live, if only in memory at this point....

How about the sign that said "14 OZ BONER" that was on W Burnside around 11th? That sign was there for YEARS AND YEARS (presumably the back wall of one of the gay clubs on Stark). I remember seeing it as early as 1998 or so. I was always totally amazed it didn't come down and then sometime in 2003ish it did, and I was sad.

Also, "Hung Far Low Cock" was always amusing. Now it says "Hung Far Low Building" :(

I remember the "14 OZ BONER" sign! That was awesome. Plus, the sweet smell of hops was always in the air from the brewery, when it was an actual brewery.

These racists know very well what they are doing: "Mike Hanson says they are expecting a letter-changing pole to arrive any day, and then they’ll likely change the sign. “Maybe to something else offensive and vulgar,” [co-owner Patti] Earley says wryly."

Thanks for the backside admission that the previous sign was knowingly offensive. How very wry of you. It ain't wry to tell a neighborhood that YOU just moved into that they are "too sensitive." Who the hell are you?! Alas, that's the white man's prerogative.

What exactly does it mean to "keep it moist," and how is that not more offensive? And I suppose it's an accident that the name of the black woman who heads the neighborhood association, and who held a meeting about this issue has the same name?

What's the difference between 'gentrification' and 'manifest destiny?' Not a damn thing; in both instances, white people move into occupied neighborhoods and pretend no one else lives there - or no one or nothing else of value.

Then they treat the people of color accordingly.

This arrogance is actually welcome because it unmasks the fake, smile-masking fangs that people of color get all over this city. Thanks for making it plain.

This is just amazing to me. LIke the individual said before; This has been our neighborhood for years on top of years, people of color that is. There were times when people outside of races would not step foot in this neighborhood, or drive really fast to get thru it and make sure the doors were locked. LOL. All of a sudden now you want to come and buy our houses, put your businesses here, don t give us jobs when, and ride your bikes all over freakin town. Yes they need to change the sign to something more positive-and not something that s an inside joke... or realistically something someone not in the restaurant indsutry wouldn t know about. Oh and to let you all know, they don t care if the kids see the sign because they don t look like them. If you know what I mean.