(no subject)
I've been thinking about my objection to atheist/skeptic organizations. Such groups have always seemed too much like churches for my taste. I'm uncomfortable with even the most loosely organized groups. I don't even use my Facebook status for copypasta causes, no matter how much I care about them.
Any group interaction is normative, to some degree. The idea that everyone should arrive at their own conclusions independently is central to my own ideas about skepticism. Any meeting is going to have some kind of structure that limits expression. Any idea that is repeated verbatim is robbed of the nuances of personal expression that make it honest and allow the next person who encounters it to fairly evaluate it.
Any group interaction is normative, to some degree. The idea that everyone should arrive at their own conclusions independently is central to my own ideas about skepticism. Any meeting is going to have some kind of structure that limits expression. Any idea that is repeated verbatim is robbed of the nuances of personal expression that make it honest and allow the next person who encounters it to fairly evaluate it.