Religious Material in GeoCaches

[team tisri]

Its not religion things that bug me, its the attitude of some people think they got to push their belief everywhere they go.

 

What's the difference between leaving a religious tract and leaving a voucher for a Big Mac? Both are arguably assuming a future finder will be interested in what you left behind. Maybe somebody really fancies a Big Mac. Maybe somebody considers McDonalds to be the worst corporation to disgrace the face of the earth. Maybe somebody is searching for a deeper meaning in their life and appreciates the religious tract. Maybe they just got out of an abusive experience within that religion and would rather stick pins in their eyes than read the tract. What's the difference? If they like it they can take it away, if they dislike it they can ignore it. At least if you're not interested in the tract in a cache you can just ignore it, which is a whole lot less irritating than trying to tell the Mormons in the marketplace that I'm not interested in what they're offering.

 

Does freedom only apply to people who think the same as we do?

 

Apples and Oranges there.

 

Religion is like sex, it should stay in the bedrooms.

 

Not really apples and oranges at all.

 

If someone leaves a tract pushing the virtues of their preferred religion or political party it's nothing more than an invitation to read it. You can accept or decline the invitation freely and without consequence either way.

 

If someone leaves a voucher offering a free Big Mac it's nothing more than an invitation to have a Big Mac. You can accept or decline the invitation freely and without consequences either way.

 

Where would you draw the line regarding what information is acceptable and what is not? If people argue that posting a Christian tract is inappropriate because it might offend atheists, what about posting a picture of a football team - would that offend supporters of other teams? Would a voucher for a Big Mac offend vegetarians or Hindus? Would a voucher for a bacon cheeseburger offend Muslims or Jews? Or would people merely accept that other people have different outlooks, ignore the material they disliked, and get on with their lives?

 

I really can't understand why people get so hot under the collar over someone putting forward their viewpoint, and then come on a comparably anonymous forum to put their viewpoint about it. Maybe we should lock all the forums, in case someone reads something they find offends them.

[+ras_oscar]

I'd much prefer encountering that material in a cache, where i'm free to ignore it than in the hand of someone who chooses to approach me on the street.

[+Ethankwolfe]

What I'd like to know is where you people that are offended go caching that you find sooo many caches large enough to even accept trade items let alone religious tracts?

 

I have been caching over 11 years in 40+ states and 4 countries, and I can really only remember encountering tracts less than half a dozen times and prayer beads only once.

 

I fail to see the frequency in the OP's stats that would precipitate such angst other than maybe a phobia for religion.

 

Love me some angsty geocaching topics though. Thank you all for the smug superior feelings. I hadn't posted in over 6 months. This has been fun.

 

I find a bunch in urban caches in the Ohio/ Kentucky area. Not all in the same small area, either. Seems like a lot of other people have been finding some, too.

 

Look man, you've got to stop this whole superior nonsense. Please. I made a topic in a forum asking what people thought. No angst, no phobia, just expressing an opinion and hearing others. But every time you post, you act like I'm waging a war or something. I've already had someone accusing me of insulting people when in fact I never did, the last thing I need is you making me sound like I'm in a rage about this when I'm really just listening and responding.

 

I get that this is how you deal with these things, but come on. You're not superior. We're all just doing something we enjoy.

[+Touchstone]

I made a topic in a forum asking what people thought.

 

Doesn't bother me in the least.

 

[/angst]

[+thebruce0]

I've already had someone accusing me of insulting people when in fact I never did, the last thing I need is you making me sound like I'm in a rage about this when I'm really just listening and responding.

You should read my comments again and take'em to heart.

[+narcissa]

This thread is a good example of why it makes me sad when geocaching is used for purposes beyond good old fashioned fun.

[+thebruce0]

One persons' good ol'fashion fun is another person's call to arms.

[+geodarts]

Where would you draw the line regarding what information is acceptable and what is not? If people argue that posting a Christian tract is inappropriate because it might offend atheists, what about posting a picture of a football team - would that offend supporters of other teams? Would a voucher for a Big Mac offend vegetarians or Hindus? Would a voucher for a bacon cheeseburger offend Muslims or Jews? Or would people merely accept that other people have different outlooks, ignore the material they disliked, and get on with their lives?

 

I guess there are lines to be drawn. Getting on with my life does not mean I should turn a blind eye to whatever I encounter. I would not feel obligated to trade something in order to remove a pamphlet espousing racial hatred or covered with swastikas. One religious Chick track equates the gay community with "terrifying politicians" and strong arming the media to create "little sodomites in our school system." I wonder if that kind of religion crosses the line any more than a pamphlet advocating marriage equality?

 

I recently had to swap out the container on one of my caches. I noticed that the old one had been filled with a lot of trash - ranging from business cards to small binder clips and broken things. The one exception was a group of Astros baseball cards. The container that I left in its place included several Giants cards, but the Astros did not offend me. I might have drawn the line if someone had left a Michael van Gerwin item, but that is another issue.

Edited June 5, 2014 by geodarts

[+Ethankwolfe]

I guess there are lines to be drawn. Getting on with my life does not mean I should turn a blind eye to whatever I encounter. I would not feel obligated to trade something in to remove a pamphlet espousing racial hatred or covered with swastikas. One religious Chick track equates the gay community with "terrifying politicians" and strong arming the media to create "little sodomites in our school system." I wonder if that kind of religion crosses the line any more than a pamphlet advocating marriage equality -- and if both are left for someone to take and read, then is trading an issue?

 

I found something similar in a cache once as well. Note that most of them aren't that inflammatory, but this one certainly was.

 

I find that kind of rhetoric extremely damaging, and on an entirely different level than the rest of the material I've been discussing. That kind (anti-gay, anti-Semite, racially charged, or any similar traits) is just plain hate speech and that goes straight to the garbage. I hope nobody disagrees there.

[+The Leprechauns]

Nobody wants to find religious material in their cache.

Also, religious pamphlets aren't trade items as far as I'm concerned. If it were a rosary, or a neat little crucifix, something that someone would want that wasn't just an advertisement, then I would never remove that. But the pamphlets? I don't feel the need to trade anything for those.

Note that most of them aren't that inflammatory, but this one certainly was.

 

I find that kind of rhetoric extremely damaging, and on an entirely different level than the rest of the material I've been discussing. That kind (anti-gay, anti-Semite, racially charged, or any similar traits) is just plain hate speech and that goes straight to the garbage. I hope nobody disagrees there.

Done backpedaling yet?

 

If so, based on your posts I'm not sure I can trust your definition of "extremely damaging rhetoric."

[+Touchstone]

I hope nobody disagrees there.

 

I doubt it, but no doubt some people will state that you should trade anyway. I say, "whatever"

 

It would also be consistent to remove such material with Section D, item vii of the TOU.

[+Snoogans]

I hope nobody disagrees there.

 

I doubt it, but no doubt some people will state that you should trade anyway. I say, "whatever"

 

It would also be consistent to remove such material with Section D, item vii of the TOU.

 

I dunno. I read that section of the TOU. If it's just your average burn in hell unless you bow to my Big Sky Daddy threat.... How could someone who believes it's all imaginary actually feel threatened? Never seen a tract that was homophobic or racist. If there are such, my bet is Chick prints them, but they haven't found their way into my collection.

[+Ethankwolfe]

I dunno. I read that section of the TOU. If it's just your average burn in hell unless you bow to my Big Sky Daddy threat.... How could someone who believes it's all imaginary actually feel threatened? Never seen a tract that was homophobic or racist. If there are such, my bet is Chick prints them, but they haven't found their way into my collection.

 

Like I said, I've only seen the one that fit into that category, but it was -decidedly- homophobic.

 

...

If so, based on your posts I'm not sure I can trust your definition of "extremely damaging rhetoric."

 

It was specifically targeting a group of people as "evil". I didn't call it extremely damaging lightly.

[+geodarts]

The tract I referenced is called "Uninvited," but I am not going to post a link here. My "line" is along the lines of "would I say or do something if it were said in front of me." If yes, I would "trade up" by removing it from the cache, since nothing may be better than what us bring said. If not, I would ignore it.

 

I have seen Chick material in a cache, read it out of interest in how faith is being presented, but saw no need to carry it with me. I am hoping not to find anything approaching what I quoted in a cache. I suppose the prevalence of micros makes it less likely, but it would be interesting to do a study about what people do when presented with various materials.

[fendmar]

When you consider that a purpose of the material is to get people thinking/talking about the subject, it seems that it has been quite successful!

[+Manville Possum]

I dunno. I read that section of the TOU. If it's just your average burn in hell unless you bow to my Big Sky Daddy threat.... How could someone who believes it's all imaginary actually feel threatened? Never seen a tract that was homophobic or racist. If there are such, my bet is Chick prints them, but they haven't found their way into my collection.

 

Like I said, I've only seen the one that fit into that category, but it was -decidedly- homophobic.

 

...

If so, based on your posts I'm not sure I can trust your definition of "extremely damaging rhetoric."

 

It was specifically targeting a group of people as "evil". I didn't call it extremely damaging lightly.

How so? Did the pamplets have geocachers on them?

[team tisri]

Where would you draw the line regarding what information is acceptable and what is not? If people argue that posting a Christian tract is inappropriate because it might offend atheists, what about posting a picture of a football team - would that offend supporters of other teams? Would a voucher for a Big Mac offend vegetarians or Hindus? Would a voucher for a bacon cheeseburger offend Muslims or Jews? Or would people merely accept that other people have different outlooks, ignore the material they disliked, and get on with their lives?

 

I guess there are lines to be drawn. Getting on with my life does not mean I should turn a blind eye to whatever I encounter. I would not feel obligated to trade something in order to remove a pamphlet espousing racial hatred or covered with swastikas. One religious Chick track equates the gay community with "terrifying politicians" and strong arming the media to create "little sodomites in our school system." I wonder if that kind of religion crosses the line any more than a pamphlet advocating marriage equality?

 

I recently had to swap out the container on one of my caches. I noticed that the old one had been filled with a lot of trash - ranging from business cards to small binder clips and broken things. The one exception was a group of Astros baseball cards. The container that I left in its place included several Giants cards, but the Astros did not offend me. I might have drawn the line if someone had left a Michael van Gerwin item, but that is another issue.

 

Drawing lines is all well and good but trying to avoid anything that anyone might find offensive leads to the ultimate in blandness. To the more fundamental members of some religions the idea of two men or two women marrying each other is offensive, so perhaps the marriage equality pamphlet should also be removed to avoid offence? I fully appreciate the concept of what might be called "mainstream thinking" but even there if we're not careful we end up with the masses deciding what they like and any dissent being stifled because some opinions are deemed unacceptable.

 

So we might easily say "there are lines to be drawn" but that in turn raises the question of where those lines should be drawn and, perhaps more importantly, if a universal line is to be drawn who gets to decide where it is drawn? For myself I'd just take a view that says if the CO decides they don't want something in their cache, for whatever reason, they are free to remove it. If someone else wants to trade it for something else they are free to do so, trading for something of comparable value (which for a tract is unlikely to be much). Otherwise just ignore it.

 

As (I think) Snoogans said earlier, if you believe that whatever deity presented in the tract does not exist then why would you feel threatened by whatever claims are made about it?

[+Snoogans]

As (I think) Snoogans said earlier, if you believe that whatever deity presented in the tract does not exist then why would you feel threatened by whatever claims are made about it?

 

Because this:

 

People want to share and they want to increase the number of like minded people in their community.

 

Doesn't matter what side of the coin you're on or if you're like me and you prefer the edge. People rarely post to hear dissenting viewpoints. Then again, I never learned much from folks that always agreed with me.

[+_Sway_]

on second thought, I've decided not to play

Edited June 6, 2014 by Sway_xx

[+geodarts]

 

Drawing lines is all well and good but trying to avoid anything that anyone might find offensive leads to the ultimate in blandness.. . .

 

So we might easily say "there are lines to be drawn" but that in turn raises the question of where those lines should be drawn and, perhaps more importantly, if a universal line is to be drawn who gets to decide where it is drawn? For myself I'd just take a view that says if the CO decides they don't want something in their cache, for whatever reason, they are free to remove it. If someone else wants to trade it for something else they are free to do so, trading for something of comparable value (which for a tract is unlikely to be much). Otherwise just ignore it.

 

As (I think) Snoogans said earlier, if you believe that whatever deity presented in the tract does not exist then why would you feel threatened by whatever claims are made about it?

 

There is no need for blandness. I am all in favor of discussion and would have no problem with finding a cache that might contain any number of items -- including Christian tracts or information about Sai Baba, Krishna, Buddha, Humanism, or Marxism. I am not threatened by ideas. I have traded for items from a Christian cache that I found interesting, and been awarded a Nixon political button for being an initial finder - I keep it in the same collection with my "unite and fight" union button. But I do draw some lines and there are certain things that I hope I would not ignore.

 

As I stated earlier, my personal lines have to do with whether I would tell a person to stop if they were doing something in front of me. I ignore people who are proselytizing on the street, or politely take whatever material is being offered. But I recently saw a "hidden camera" news feature that recorded people's reaction to a customer in a deli berating an Islamic clerk as being a threat to American values. Some people choose ignore it and to say nothing; others choose to tell the customer to stop. I hope I would choose the latter.

 

Who gets to decide if a line should be drawn? I don't think we need a rule. "Trading even" implies an individual value judgment that people make in different ways. If I should ever find something in a cache that would make me want to tell someone to stop, then I think I could "trade up" by removing it, just like I traded up when I removed a crumpled aluminum can from a cache.

 

With that sad, we should all recognize that there are a lot of different lifestyles and beliefs in this game. Several years ago, I saw a booth at an event selling geocoins with a markedly different view than I have about how you respond to illegal aliens. I saw no need to debate the issue at a caching event, but if I saw the coin in a cache I would think about discovering it and provide an alternative viewpoint in my log.

 

I have friends who are very active with scouting programs and have found caches devoted to scouting -- but the most flak I have ever received in these forums was when I pointed out that one of the qualifications for being a scout leader was having a certain sexual orientation. So I am sure we can all offend each other to no end,. I am also grateful that this game has allowed me to meet people from a wide range of backgrounds and interests. To the extent that we can respect each other by thinking about what we leave or what we take from caches, it is all to the good.

Edited June 6, 2014 by geodarts

[+DadOf6Furrballs]

I was FTF on a cache once, it had a $1 bill inside for a FTF prize. It said "In God We Trust".

 

I wasn't offended in the least.

[team tisri]

 

Drawing lines is all well and good but trying to avoid anything that anyone might find offensive leads to the ultimate in blandness.. . .

 

So we might easily say "there are lines to be drawn" but that in turn raises the question of where those lines should be drawn and, perhaps more importantly, if a universal line is to be drawn who gets to decide where it is drawn? For myself I'd just take a view that says if the CO decides they don't want something in their cache, for whatever reason, they are free to remove it. If someone else wants to trade it for something else they are free to do so, trading for something of comparable value (which for a tract is unlikely to be much). Otherwise just ignore it.

 

As (I think) Snoogans said earlier, if you believe that whatever deity presented in the tract does not exist then why would you feel threatened by whatever claims are made about it?

 

There is no need for blandness. I am all in favor of discussion and would have no problem with finding a cache that might contain any number of items -- including Christian tracts or information about Sai Baba, Krishna, Buddha, Humanism, or Marxism. I am not threatened by ideas. I have traded for items from a Christian cache that I found interesting, and been awarded a Nixon political button for being an initial finder - I keep it in the same collection with my "unite and fight" union button. But I do draw some lines and there are certain things that I hope I would not ignore.

 

I must admit I tend to be concerned when people appear to be threatened by ideas that don't match their own thinking. I often figure that if what I believe is wrong I'd rather know so I can get my own thoughts straight. If anything it's often more interesting to talk to someone with a different outlook, as long as the discussion can focus on the topic and not turn into personal insults.

 

As I stated earlier, my personal lines have to do with whether I would tell a person to stop if they were doing something in front of me. I ignore people who are proselytizing on the street, or politely take whatever material is being offered. But I recently saw a "hidden camera" news feature that recorded people's reaction to a customer in a deli berating an Islamic clerk as being a threat to American values. Some people choose ignore it and to say nothing; others choose to tell the customer to stop. I hope I would choose the latter.

 

I remember talking to a guy on holiday who appeared horrified at the number of Muslims in my home town. This person asked me directly whether, if I had the chance, I'd wave a magic wand and get rid of them all (presumably by "sending them home" or some such, not harming them). He seemed stunned when I said I wouldn't, but like I said the Muslims I know in my area don't cause any trouble and just go about their daily lives much like I do. There are some obvious differences - my wife doesn't cover her head and I enjoy pork as much as any other meat, we don't pray five times daily at prescribed times and so on, but these aren't issues that threaten me. As it happens one day I'd locked myself out of my house and my Muslim neighbours offered me a chance to get out of the cold until my wife got home with the keys.

 

Who gets to decide if a line should be drawn? I don't think we need a rule. "Trading even" implies an individual value judgment that people make in different ways. If I should ever find something in a cache that would make me want to tell someone to stop, then I think I could "trade up" by removing it, just like I traded up when I removed a crumpled aluminum can from a cache.

 

There's always a sense of value judgements, although I often think that if people try and censor those with beliefs they find offensive all it does is adds fuel to the fire. The guy I mentioned who honestly expected me to wish the Muslims in my area would just leave would probably cry even louder if his viewpoints were restrictied or "shut down" in any way. It makes more sense to me to engage the people who hold viewpoints that appear extreme with a view to trying to figure out why they think the way they do.

 

With that sad, we should all recognize that there are a lot of different lifestyles and beliefs in this game. Several years ago, I saw a booth at an event selling geocoins with a markedly different view than I have about how you respond to illegal aliens. I saw no need to debate the issue at a caching event, but if I saw the coin in a cache I would think about discovering it and provide an alternative viewpoint in my log.

 

Can't argue with that. My own view is that if I thought a particular lifestyle/activity/whatever was inappropriate it makes more sense to discuss it directly with whoever is leading me to think it's inappropriate, rather than just putting random material "out there" with no indication of who, if anyone, will read it. For the sake of choosing something non-contentious, let's assume I believe it's the height of sinfulness to wear a blue hat on a Thursday. So if I see people wearing a blue hat on a Thursday I might talk to them to explain why I find their sartorial selections so offensive. I might convince them, I might not, but I can at least have the discussion in a place that's relevant. If I just post flyers in a box under a dead tree saying that people who wear blue hats on a Thursday spend eternity being poked in the eyes with sharp sticks, for all I know the next person to find the cache might just take the flyers and use them for kindling.

 

I suppose that partly comes from a perspective that a finger-wagging approach of "... or you'll go to hell and then you'll be sorry" generally achieves very little except for annoying people and making sure they don't listen to anything else you have to say.

 

I have friends who are very active with scouting programs and have found caches devoted to scouting -- but the most flak I have ever received in these forums was when I pointed out that one of the qualifications for being a scout leader was having a certain sexual orientation. So I am sure we can all offend each other to no end,. I am also grateful that this game has allowed me to meet people from a wide range of backgrounds and interests. To the extent that we can respect each other by thinking about what we leave or what we take from caches, it is all to the good.

 

That makes sense, I'd tend to say that it's worth avoiding deliberate offence unless someone is spectacularly prickly and the only way to avoid it is by walking on eggshells, or if there's a particular good reason and it can be done in an appropriate manner. So while I don't see a benefit in posting political or religious material in caches, I also can't understand why people get so upset about it. It's a flyer, either read it or ignore it. If it troubles you replace it with your own flyer.

[+DonB]

Recently, and especially in big cities, I've started noticing religious pamphlets shoved into caches. Anything from flyers for a local church, to business cards that say "I'm a Mormon" with a number to call. I've even found one with one of those cheap little "you're going to burn an here's why" leaflets folded up and stuffed in.

 

Really? Come on, guys, this is a hobby. Nobody wants to find religious material in their cache. Especially since those caches have precious little room as it is! I'll admit right now, I yank that stuff out and throw it away any time I find it. It simply doesn't belong there.

 

Anyone else notice this sort of thing? What kinds of locations do you usually see it happen in?

Who made you cache master? If you don't like it ignore it, no one's twisting your arm to read it.

[+tozainamboku]

Recently, and especially in big cities, I've started noticing religious pamphlets shoved into caches. Anything from flyers for a local church, to business cards that say "I'm a Mormon" with a number to call. I've even found one with one of those cheap little "you're going to burn an here's why" leaflets folded up and stuffed in.

 

Really? Come on, guys, this is a hobby. Nobody wants to find religious material in their cache. Especially since those caches have precious little room as it is! I'll admit right now, I yank that stuff out and throw it away any time I find it. It simply doesn't belong there.

 

Anyone else notice this sort of thing? What kinds of locations do you usually see it happen in?

Who made you cache master? If you don't like it ignore it, no one's twisting your arm to read it.

It think you are being too harsh with the OP. The cache contents guideline state

Explosives, fireworks, ammunition, lighters, knives (including pocket knives and multi-tools), drugs, alcohol and any illicit material should not be placed in a cache. Geocaching is a family-friendly activity and cache contents should be suitable for all ages

.

While proselytizing tracts are not in this list, there are certainly people who might find them inappropriate and non-family friendly. An adult can tell the that a tract expresses someone's religious belief, but child may not be able to the difference between someone expressing their beliefs and someone stating fact. The nature of proselytizing is to make it sound like your belief is a fact, so when a tract says a certain group of people are going to hell, a child may think that they or their parents are going to hell.

 

If you find a tract is that offensive, or is one where you think a child may get the wrong ideas about certain group the tract says are going to hell, then I see no alternative but removing the tract. Sorry to the Christians who think this is stealing swag from a cache. I just don't think the tract is family-friendly and cache appropriate.

 

Of course some tracts take a different approach and state how Jesus turned their life around. While I might believe that Jesus had nothing to with it, I am happy that they have changed their life for the better. I also think it may be easier to explain to a child how faith and spirituality may help people resolve various emotional problems and that Christian churches, just like mosques, synagogues, and Hindu temples, can help some people.

[+DonB]

Yep, my kids always read the pamphlets in a cache and completely ignored the goodies.

[+thebruce0]

If you find a tract is that offensive, or is one where you think a child may get the wrong ideas about certain group the tract says are going to hell, then I see no alternative but removing the tract. Sorry to the Christians who think this is stealing swag from a cache. I just don't think the tract is family-friendly and cache appropriate.

Interesting; as a Christian, there may be Christian items even I would remove for being inappropriate. Not necessarily to geocaching, but to Christianity as in, if I think this tract is so hellfire-burning-condescending-condemning that it would offend a majority of people, I'd likely remove it as well. But not because it's religious - rather because its tone is offensive, and it doesn't really necessarily do its job in the best way, putting Christianity in a bad light for a lot of people.

 

Though again it might depend on the region as well. Maybe they're everywhere. Removing it would become the 'exception', the odd thing to do, and ultimately pointless. Who knows. But in my area, burn-in-hell type tracts I just find as ineffective a method of proselytizing, and most people I know would find it offensive and paint Christianity in a worse light. It's not just about "speaking truth", it's about how you speak to people to best accomplish your personal goal or mission, if you have one.

 

There is a line to be drawn. I disagree that "religious material" does not belong in a cache. But I do agree that there is religious material that crosses the line of offense and appropriate content as being "family friendly". In short, I wouldn't want a child to see a religious tract (of any belief system) and be scared because of it. There are far better ways to proselytize, and very very different ways depending on age, region, and beliefs. Discussion is a far better method than dropping random pieces of paper into a cache.

 

Personally, I don't proselytize through geocache swag, because I think it's mostly ineffective and unoptimal. But I also don't think it's something that, by rule/guideline, "does not belong" in a cache at all. I also accept that others may remove such content; I can only hope that it's not just because "omg religious materialz".

Edited June 9, 2014 by thebruce0

[+cerberus1]

When we do maintenance on hides, usually all the business cards, pamphlets n such go bye-bye.

Lotta good it did to leave 'em there...

 

Other's hides, unless it's stated on the cache page a memorial or photos are enclosed, I 've yet to look at any paper materials.

Might glance if it's the right shade a green - hey ya never know.

A guys been stashing loot lately...

[Jayme H]

Like the game of geocaching, there are many ways to play the game of life. Lots of people believe lots of different things. That is okay. Let's step back from the emotional investment of each of these perspectives and re-focus on the Geocaching Guidelines.

 

For geocache listings: Geocaches do not solicit for any purpose.

Cache listings perceived to be posted for religious, political, charitable or social agendas are not permitted. Geocaching is intended to be an enjoyable, family-friendly hobby, not a platform for an agenda. Cache pages cannot require, and should not strongly encourage, the placement of new caches. This is considered an agenda and the listing will not be publishable.

 

For geocache contents: Contents are family-friendly.

Explosives, fireworks, ammunition, lighters, knives (including pocket knives and multi-tools), drugs, alcohol and any illicit material should not be placed in a cache. Geocaching is a family-friendly activity and cache contents should be suitable for all ages.

 

Because geocache listings reside on Geocaching.com (and Geocaching.com is unable to support individual beliefs and agendas as our own) we enforce the "no agenda on your cache page" aspect of the guidelines. What we cannot police is what is placed in a geocache once it is listed, so we don't. If you find something in a geocache that replicates the items listed from the geocache contents guideline above, please use your best judgement in how to best handle that situation, removing any items that don't adhere to the guidelines. Any action taken beyond the geocache content guideline referenced above indicates an individual's choice in acting on their personal belief system (whatever it may be), which we also cannot police.

 

We are a community that varies in personal belief systems but is very much united in the desire to have new experiences in the world and share them with each other...let's focus more on what unites us than separates us. With that being said I will now be closing this thread.