Nope, nope, nope, overwhelmed
I'm freaking out again and I guess this is something that has to happen at least once a week for the rest of my life because what the fuck.
I really, really wish I didn't take things so goddamned personally. I really wish I could step back and approach my field in a strictly scientific way, perfectly calm and level-headed, I am not responsible for anything but my own interests. But I could hear myself yelling at the guy over the phone and even Gill looked a little surprised at my outbursts. And I don't know why I couldn't just calm the fuck down, the guy wasn't being rude at all, he just wanted to have a conversation.
But see, that's not entirely true, is it. The moment I told him I was an atheist, he actually laughed and said "No you're not, you're agnostic, no one can be an atheist."
I think that's what set me off, now that I think about it. Wait, this is why I took it personally. This is why I flipped my shit and started yelling at him. I have every right to, right? He can't just....assume he knows me, assume that I decided to be an atheist overnight and assume I want to somehow be convinced of the myth that a god exists. I understandably became angry and instead of responding with a clear conscious I just told him that there's absolutely no argument he could pull out of his ass that could even slightly convince me otherwise. I've heard it all before and I warned him not to test me.
He had it coming, really. I warned him politely to drop the subject because I was in the middle of working towards a deadline and it wasn't the right time and place to have such a conversation.
But he insisted, and the moment you start questioning what I have devoted my life to studying, that's when I get fucking furious. You can laugh at my lack of faith, you can laugh at how I view reality-- all you'll get is my anger and a snide comment. But once you start chipping away at my love of anthropology as if your ignorance and blatant attitude will suddenly open my eyes to a brand new way of thinking, you'll get every single inch of my fucking wrath.
What gets me truly livid is the fact that these people think they're right. No matter how many times you destroy their so-called evidence, they don't budge because they're afraid to. They truly believe they're being scientific. They truly believe that sticking to their guns proves that their "evidence" is valid and infallible.
No, sir, you don't have to convince anyone if your evidence truly spoke the truth. The evidence should be able to stand on its own, with or without your belief system. He pulled everything he thought he knew into the argument, as if I had never heard of intelligent design and the stupid circle theory of knowledge and the absolutely ridiculous rice experiments to prove god's existence. I've heard it all, every single "argument" that makes scientist either cringe or laugh hysterically. These people think they're being scientific, and that's what gets me! They think they can just step into the scientific arena with their bullshit and somehow have an equal voice in an argument. And then they pout and throw tantrums when scientists are like "what the fuck are you doing here? Get out".
No, this is not a public forum, this is not an open debate. That is not how science works. The arguments you've presented were shut down decades ago, and it kills me that this is the shit that people cling to, this is the shit people remember. 60% of my country, one of the powers of the world and a center of scientific research, does not believe in evolution. That's completely THEIR OWN FAULT because they're the ones that keep evolution from being taught in schools. They're the ones that sit in committees and school boards and make sure that complicated scientific theories remain on the chopping block when budgets are cut short. It's pathetic, it's fucked up, it's embarrassing.
"You keep acting like it's us versus them, and that's not how it should be."
BUT THAT'S HOW IT IS! Of course it's us versus them, we have people that dedicate their lives to studying in their fields while you have people that work ordinary jobs that have nothing to do with science. We are not equals, you are not scientists, you do not have equal say in what we know. We're not the ones infiltrating your churches and areas of worship and telling you how ridiculous you all are and here are the reasons why. Don't expect to push us and not be pushed back. You're damn right it's us versus you, you made it that way.
And the more they argue, the more their ignorance shines through. Right away, I knew this guy had absolutely no idea how genetics work. He even used the famous "but carbon dating can't date that" argument, which I'm not ashamed to admit, I laughed right into the phone at his stupidity, I couldn't help myself. He truly believed he was being scientific because he knew what "natural selection" was and how it can't explain evolution.
Yeah, I know that buddy, I've been studying this for several years, thank you. Natural selection on its own cannot explain evolution, wow, you really opened my eyes, I had no idea.
What are the mechanisms of evolution then?: Natural selection, sexual selection, allele mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, isolation, the biological bottle-neck affect, reproduction, predation, plate tectonics, climate patterns, habitats. There's so much that goes into evolution, it's no wonder that someone with just a basic knowledge of one scientific field couldn't grasp the entire concept.
And it's fine! If people want to believe that we were designed, that's cool, I don't give two shits about how stupid you are. But once you step into my field and demand my attention, I'll fucking rip your "arguments" one by one until you're left with absolutely nothing. I mean....I was so angry, I was shaking with it. I couldn't control my fury and I certainly became less and less scientific as the conversation went on because I was taking it all very personally. I'm pretty sure I called him ignorant several times and I'm pretty sure I laughed at him a little too much.
He said that not believing in god takes more faith than believing in him.
If I had a fucking NICKEL for how many times I've heard this ridiculous assumption, I would have paid off my student loans years ago. Seriously, this is their favorite argument, as if this amazing epiphany will suddenly show us the light and make us go "oh my god, you're absolutely right! I'm basing my lack of faith on absolutely zero evidence! If god appeared on that piece of toast, he must be real! Woah!"
And I told him, after monstrous laughter, "that's like saying not collecting stamps is a hobby. That's not even an argument, it's not even half an argument, it's so blatantly stupid that I feel embarrassed for you. That's the best you've got? You're not convincing anyone with that....except people who are gullible, like you."
Seriously, I ripped into him, I was really rude and totally awful. I felt like he needed a verbal slap in the face and I had no intention of converting him, I just wanted him to realize how much of our time he was wasting. I had warned him, damn it, to back the fuck off before I said something I regretted, but he wouldn't budge so neither would I.
If you attribute anything to god, science stops. If you just say that we were designed, okay great, how does that help us in our understanding of biological diversity? Did the designer leave blueprints to our different species, showing the details of our construction? Will god ever descend from heaven and say "okay guys, this is how I did it, it was awesome..."?
Absolutely fucking not. None of this has happened or ever will happen so knock it off. Science tries to explain reality, not your floating spaghetti monster. If you have a better explanation for something, an explanation that can be duplicated and proven over and over through rigorous testing, here's your PhD buddy, congratulations, you're a scientist now. Now you can have a say in the scientific arena. Now you paid your dues and earned your right to argue. We're all ears now, please, tell us what you've discovered.
But until that day comes, until you spend your life researching an idea and proving it correct based on evidence, then changing your mind when new evidence is presented that might contradict your theory, shut your fucking mouth you ignorant piece of shit.
Ugh.
....okay, deep breaths. I'm done. I'm done, I feel much better now.
Doesn't help that I'm at work and everything is just turning to shit real quick. I only have 6 hours left, that's a nice thought. And it's Wedneday, I'm almost done with this god-awful week. Tomorrow will be awesome because it's Halloween and I'll get to see my baby niece. Friday's going to be awesome because we're seeing the Little Mermaid in a huge ass theater! Saturday is going to be awesome because it's Saturday, what Saturday isn't awesome?
Deep breaths. Only 6 more hours to go. Deep breaths. Calm down.
I really, really wish I didn't take things so goddamned personally. I really wish I could step back and approach my field in a strictly scientific way, perfectly calm and level-headed, I am not responsible for anything but my own interests. But I could hear myself yelling at the guy over the phone and even Gill looked a little surprised at my outbursts. And I don't know why I couldn't just calm the fuck down, the guy wasn't being rude at all, he just wanted to have a conversation.
But see, that's not entirely true, is it. The moment I told him I was an atheist, he actually laughed and said "No you're not, you're agnostic, no one can be an atheist."
I think that's what set me off, now that I think about it. Wait, this is why I took it personally. This is why I flipped my shit and started yelling at him. I have every right to, right? He can't just....assume he knows me, assume that I decided to be an atheist overnight and assume I want to somehow be convinced of the myth that a god exists. I understandably became angry and instead of responding with a clear conscious I just told him that there's absolutely no argument he could pull out of his ass that could even slightly convince me otherwise. I've heard it all before and I warned him not to test me.
He had it coming, really. I warned him politely to drop the subject because I was in the middle of working towards a deadline and it wasn't the right time and place to have such a conversation.
But he insisted, and the moment you start questioning what I have devoted my life to studying, that's when I get fucking furious. You can laugh at my lack of faith, you can laugh at how I view reality-- all you'll get is my anger and a snide comment. But once you start chipping away at my love of anthropology as if your ignorance and blatant attitude will suddenly open my eyes to a brand new way of thinking, you'll get every single inch of my fucking wrath.
What gets me truly livid is the fact that these people think they're right. No matter how many times you destroy their so-called evidence, they don't budge because they're afraid to. They truly believe they're being scientific. They truly believe that sticking to their guns proves that their "evidence" is valid and infallible.
No, sir, you don't have to convince anyone if your evidence truly spoke the truth. The evidence should be able to stand on its own, with or without your belief system. He pulled everything he thought he knew into the argument, as if I had never heard of intelligent design and the stupid circle theory of knowledge and the absolutely ridiculous rice experiments to prove god's existence. I've heard it all, every single "argument" that makes scientist either cringe or laugh hysterically. These people think they're being scientific, and that's what gets me! They think they can just step into the scientific arena with their bullshit and somehow have an equal voice in an argument. And then they pout and throw tantrums when scientists are like "what the fuck are you doing here? Get out".
No, this is not a public forum, this is not an open debate. That is not how science works. The arguments you've presented were shut down decades ago, and it kills me that this is the shit that people cling to, this is the shit people remember. 60% of my country, one of the powers of the world and a center of scientific research, does not believe in evolution. That's completely THEIR OWN FAULT because they're the ones that keep evolution from being taught in schools. They're the ones that sit in committees and school boards and make sure that complicated scientific theories remain on the chopping block when budgets are cut short. It's pathetic, it's fucked up, it's embarrassing.
"You keep acting like it's us versus them, and that's not how it should be."
BUT THAT'S HOW IT IS! Of course it's us versus them, we have people that dedicate their lives to studying in their fields while you have people that work ordinary jobs that have nothing to do with science. We are not equals, you are not scientists, you do not have equal say in what we know. We're not the ones infiltrating your churches and areas of worship and telling you how ridiculous you all are and here are the reasons why. Don't expect to push us and not be pushed back. You're damn right it's us versus you, you made it that way.
And the more they argue, the more their ignorance shines through. Right away, I knew this guy had absolutely no idea how genetics work. He even used the famous "but carbon dating can't date that" argument, which I'm not ashamed to admit, I laughed right into the phone at his stupidity, I couldn't help myself. He truly believed he was being scientific because he knew what "natural selection" was and how it can't explain evolution.
Yeah, I know that buddy, I've been studying this for several years, thank you. Natural selection on its own cannot explain evolution, wow, you really opened my eyes, I had no idea.
What are the mechanisms of evolution then?: Natural selection, sexual selection, allele mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, isolation, the biological bottle-neck affect, reproduction, predation, plate tectonics, climate patterns, habitats. There's so much that goes into evolution, it's no wonder that someone with just a basic knowledge of one scientific field couldn't grasp the entire concept.
And it's fine! If people want to believe that we were designed, that's cool, I don't give two shits about how stupid you are. But once you step into my field and demand my attention, I'll fucking rip your "arguments" one by one until you're left with absolutely nothing. I mean....I was so angry, I was shaking with it. I couldn't control my fury and I certainly became less and less scientific as the conversation went on because I was taking it all very personally. I'm pretty sure I called him ignorant several times and I'm pretty sure I laughed at him a little too much.
He said that not believing in god takes more faith than believing in him.
If I had a fucking NICKEL for how many times I've heard this ridiculous assumption, I would have paid off my student loans years ago. Seriously, this is their favorite argument, as if this amazing epiphany will suddenly show us the light and make us go "oh my god, you're absolutely right! I'm basing my lack of faith on absolutely zero evidence! If god appeared on that piece of toast, he must be real! Woah!"
And I told him, after monstrous laughter, "that's like saying not collecting stamps is a hobby. That's not even an argument, it's not even half an argument, it's so blatantly stupid that I feel embarrassed for you. That's the best you've got? You're not convincing anyone with that....except people who are gullible, like you."
Seriously, I ripped into him, I was really rude and totally awful. I felt like he needed a verbal slap in the face and I had no intention of converting him, I just wanted him to realize how much of our time he was wasting. I had warned him, damn it, to back the fuck off before I said something I regretted, but he wouldn't budge so neither would I.
If you attribute anything to god, science stops. If you just say that we were designed, okay great, how does that help us in our understanding of biological diversity? Did the designer leave blueprints to our different species, showing the details of our construction? Will god ever descend from heaven and say "okay guys, this is how I did it, it was awesome..."?
Absolutely fucking not. None of this has happened or ever will happen so knock it off. Science tries to explain reality, not your floating spaghetti monster. If you have a better explanation for something, an explanation that can be duplicated and proven over and over through rigorous testing, here's your PhD buddy, congratulations, you're a scientist now. Now you can have a say in the scientific arena. Now you paid your dues and earned your right to argue. We're all ears now, please, tell us what you've discovered.
But until that day comes, until you spend your life researching an idea and proving it correct based on evidence, then changing your mind when new evidence is presented that might contradict your theory, shut your fucking mouth you ignorant piece of shit.
Ugh.
....okay, deep breaths. I'm done. I'm done, I feel much better now.
Doesn't help that I'm at work and everything is just turning to shit real quick. I only have 6 hours left, that's a nice thought. And it's Wedneday, I'm almost done with this god-awful week. Tomorrow will be awesome because it's Halloween and I'll get to see my baby niece. Friday's going to be awesome because we're seeing the Little Mermaid in a huge ass theater! Saturday is going to be awesome because it's Saturday, what Saturday isn't awesome?
Deep breaths. Only 6 more hours to go. Deep breaths. Calm down.