Hello Atheists, non-theists and and the un-religious of all stripes.

[futurebird]

I think some of you took issue with a post I made over at Debunkingwhite so I wanted to make an apology if it seemed like I was in any way trying to minimize the discrimination, and hatred any open atheist faces... especially in the hyper-religious United States. It is ridiculous that we can contemplate a political candidate (just as an example)

Comments

[dibsy]

Thank you for your reasoned and thoughtful post.

Personally I can see the impression that 'new atheism' as a movement could have on people, and having Christopher Hitchens as a very visible proponent of it can be disturbing. The man makes some very trenchant points about Islam but a lot of his stances, especially his pro Iraq war stances, can seem to skirt dangerously close to racism or Islamophobia.

I read with interest your comment that you wish you could become religious. The reasons you give, that of a supported moral structure and a sense of community are very appealing and I personally would love that as well. The moral code, though, is something we all have to struggle with, and any acceptance of an externally policed ethical code can only result in resentment or blindly following without thinking; and we all know where that goes. For the community, well, friends and wine is working for me so far.

[definatalie]

It's par for the course that when one encounters someone with polar opposite beliefs that one may be threatened or upset or outraged. But to put all atheists in a "white male" box is odd, seeing as there's some kind of blanket value judgement there about "white" and "male" being bad or evil. I personally found the whole thing disturbing. Why is there such need to put someone in the "bad" or "evil" box?

I'm always happy to talk about these things and I try not to get too personally entangled in other people's judgements of me and what I do or do not believe in.

[sinmantyx]

You generally find what you are looking for. I haven't read ALL the related comments, but as far as I can tell, nobody has said white male = bad, or even implied it.

[eeeo]

I am continually striving to make a large fortune so that I can indirectly(and maybe directly) spread non-theism.

Unfortunately Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have this capability but do nothing of the sort.

[freudian_slip]

i can honestly say the post didn't really bother me, probably fairly accurate to be honest. however, i am not sure i understnad what "debunking white" means. that might be a bit more offensive.

[futurebird]

Well, I can't claim to speak for the community, but most of the members there are white people who wish to look at ways of addressing racism as it exists today-- that is, the kind of subtile racism that's hard to put your finger on. The best way to understand the community is to read the posts there. I'm there since I want to look at issues of internalized racism and classism that I have in my own life, and because it is a lively community where these questions and problems are talked about openly.

I guess the name sort of sounds like it's "debunkingwhitepeople" like it's against white people or something... but, that's not really the idea at all-- it about debunking the ingrained notions and assumptions that come with racism in a way that might seem like "over-analysis" to some but that often proves to be very productive in getting to the root of how and why racism still exists --even though many people try very hard to fight it.

[theonides]

The "New Atheists" are just a label given to a bunch of guys who recently wrote books about atheism that became bestsellers, and by extension, anyone willing to be openly atheist. But there is really nothing "new" about them except that they are able to get books published in the mainstream press. And they are hardly organized into some kind of group.

When I was younger, I also wanted to believe, and I eventually realized that it was doing more damage to me to keep trying than to simply acknowledge the truth and become comfortable with myself in my own skin, rather than what other people expected of me. There are times when I miss the Catholic masses I grew up with, but not enough to go back.

As a white non-libertarian woman, I've faced discrimination for this choice. But I couldn't live with a lie anymore. However, as you say, each of us has to make the choices we are comfortable living with.

[futurebird]

The "New Atheists" are just a label given to a bunch of guys who recently wrote books about atheism that became bestsellers, and by extension, anyone willing to be openly atheist. But there is really nothing "new" about them except that they are able to get books published in the mainstream press. And they are hardly organized into some kind of group.

Thanks. This helps me to understand what was going on a bit more. I thought it was a real group with just one agenda.

[theonides]

Nope. The three big 'new atheists" are all extremely different. Hitchens is an antitheist and neo-con. Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist. Sam Harris is a neuroscientist who dabbles in Buddhist mediation (much to many atheists' disdain) and reserves most of his harshest arguments for the liberal religious for covering for the fundamentalists. Some throw Dennett in there who is a philosopher. There are other less common names included, but each comes at their atheism from their own individual perspectives.

[solid_squid]

Definatly not one group with one agenda, that's just the media's fondness for putting people in a labelled box so they can write headlines. Although it might also be the fact that atheists are becoming more outspoken in matters of religion pushing it's way into politics. Because almost all athiests speak out against this it may have given some people the impression that there was one agenda that all atheists followed, when in fact keeping religion out of politics is one of the few things that they all actually agree on