This broadcast from KVOA TV in Tucson falls in the category of ‘Believe It Or Not’.  

TUCSON (KVOA, Priscilla Casper) – Some might call it a Tucson icon, while others say it is a problem that needs to be dealt with.

A dinosaur statue named Roxy Rex has been located at the intersection of Tanque Verde and Grant Road in Tucson next to McDonald’s since 1994.

The previous owners of the McDonald’s worked out a deal with Universal Pictures to bring the fake dinosaur to Tucson after it was used in the Jurassic Park movie, according to Lizzeth Alvarez with Dias Management, which currently manages the McDonald’s location.”The owners back then had a son,” said Alvarez. “He was young and had an obsession with dinosaurs.”

Now, a group wants to see Roxy Rex disappear. On Aug. 15, a member of the Facebook group “Christians Against Dinosaurs,” which has more than 28,000 members, posted about asking people to call the McDonald’s and have him take it down.

Alvarez said that they first thought it was a joke until many customers started calling and wanted to save Roxy Rex. “It is part of our community now, our customers love it,” said Alvarez. “We love it.” However, some members of the CAD Facebook group News 4 Tucson spoke with don’t see it that way.

“Well, the simple truth is that there is no such thing as dinosaurs and there was never anything such as dinosaurs,” said Norbert Lutoslawski, a member of the Facebook group.  “I would be willing to bet without even looking that homicide stats have risen since the dinosaur has been there… addiction rates, unemployment all types of negative energies,” said Gerard James, another member of Christians Against Dinosaurs. “There is just no real proof for dinosaurs and we challenge anyone who will tell us we are wrong.”

Dr. Robert McCord, a curator of paleontology at the Arizona Museum of Natural History, has discovered thousands of fossils during his more than 40-year career and said that dinosaurs existed. “I am finding it hard to take them seriously and that it is isn’t a joke,” said Dr. McCord. “What is the evidence that they don’t exist? We have museums full of fossils that says they do and thousands of individuals who have collected them and seen them come out of the earth.”

Whether you believe dinosaurs existed or not, Roxy Rex won’t go without a fight. “We respect everyone’s beliefs and I think it is great that we are able to do that and we live in a country where it is freedom you know, so we say that, ‘Hey we don’t have anything against your beliefs, but we are not taking the dinosaur down,”‘ said Alvarez.

This fight may not be over. Some members of this Facebook group claim to have gotten more than 300 dinosaur statues and other items removed this year alone across the country.

Really? With everything going on in the world this is what we are going to argue about? I’m so perplexed I don’t even know what to say. The gentlemen quoted are real people, they have Facebook pages in addition to the Christians Against Dinosaurs page.  Oh, and they are from the East coast and have probably never even met Roxy Rex.  

Not to be out done, there is another Facebook group ‘Dinosaurs against Christians Who Are Against Dinosaurs’.  I haven’t tried to verify the dinosaurs identities, but I’m on their side on this debate. 

8 replies
  1. Tricia
    Tricia says:

    I’m all for Dinosaurs but Roxy Rex is a bit of an eye sour. Who are these people with all this time and energy to devote to silly causes. If they would rally together devoting their time and attention to solving hunger or child poverty the world would benefit. But there’s no fun in that because it’s not a FIGHT and so many of these silly causes are about winning or more importantly someone else has to lose. I’m sure these people feel strongly that they are right and they are angry that others don’t see it. My mom (aka Carrie)told me long ago that anger isn’t attractive. Maybe all the years of kindness and beauty is what keeps her so beautiful.

    • Carrie Bonello
      Carrie Bonello says:

      I agree some folks just like a good fight and being right is upmost in their minds. But this one seems so silly. Thanks for the compliment so sweet of you.

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