Bus Company In Poland Finally Succumbs To Ridiculous Pressure Put On By a Religious Publication To Change Bus 666 Taking Passengers To The Town of Hel
AP NEWS- — There will be no more going to Hel on bus 666.
The bus to the town of Hel on Poland’s Baltic coast has long been popular with tourists. But some Christian conservatives have protested the number signifying the devil on a bus leading to a place that sounds like the word “hell” in English.
The local bus operator, PKS Gdynia, announced this week that bus 666 will no longer run to Hel. It said it had flipped the last number and would now run the line under the number 669 starting on June 24.
Local media said the bus company acted under the pressure of Christian groups who had pushed for the change, but were already thinking of returning to the old number amid a public outcry over the change.
The local news portal Trojmiasto.pl said that the line operated under the number 666 since 2006, first as a local joke before attracting riders from across Poland and beyond. Some people rode the bus simply to say they had taken the 666 bus to Hel, Polish media reported.
Fronda, a Catholic publication, has for years called for the 666 bus to be renamed, arguing that it had Satanic overtones and that “to present the reality of eternal damnation as amusing in any way is just plain stupidity.”
It lamented that fact that many Polish journalists, even Catholic ones, took pleasure in the joke.
Can't make this stuff up. There's a town in Poland named Hel, and the bus that leads to it is Bus 666. Pure luck, maybe bad luck, but nonetheless ... pure luck. In no way shape or form to people think this bus is actually a sign of devil worship ...well unless of course you are Fronda, a Catholic publication who got so up in arms at people leaning into the joke that they went and protested and bullied the company to change the number of the bus claiming Satanic overtones.
What on earth are we talking about here ? This publication is pissed people are leaning into the joke about riding a bus to Hel … no shit. People have been leaning into jokes for things for 58548493939 years. Anyone in the world named Dick hears 29494939 jokes a day. What about dick doctors …they get it to.
People with the last name Hiscock … open game. Guy quits "We must have rubbed Hiscock the wrong way." Everyone laughs. It's inherent for people to make stupid jokes and lean into things that are easy. Bus 666 to Hel falls in that category. What the fuck did they think was going to happen? People not make jokes? We're stupid as a society of course we will make jokes. Absolutely wild move from these people to think they could stop people from making jokes and leaning into the most obvious joke of all time. It's Bus 666 to Hel … what are people supposed to do, this stuff writes itself.
If I have learned anything over the years it's that the Catholic religion can't figure it out. Now listen I'm a catholic and this has nothing to do with what you believe in or don't believe in, I'm talking from strictly a PR standpoint. The Catholic Church loves to get out and scream and yell when controversial movies come out, how we shouldn't see them or they are going against scripture etc. And you know what it does? It makes practicing Catholics run out and see these movies or watch these shows, or read these books faster than you can blink. Every single time. They never learn … case in point here. They screaming and cried for years, and finally did get it changed, but it without a doubt in my mind drew more attention to the bus and the gimmick. Additionally, the people who knew making jokes about it pissed them off, only did it more.
The last question I'll ask is this. Where does it stop? If these Holy Rollers got a bus to change it's number … what's next ? Banning Devil Dogs? If a street has Satan or a person has the last name Satan does it have to be changed Could Frank watch The New Jersey Devils in Poland or are they banned? The possibilities are endless, but if I know anything I know there's one group crazy enough to make it their life mission to not rest until every evil reference (even ones that have absolutely no affiliation with the devil, hell or anti Christian morals) is gone … it's the Catholics.
Lighten up people ….