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Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 12:52 pm
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A common cry that I hear from Atheists is that we are discriminated against by other people. This is true. However, stopping such discrimination in its tracks is your responsibility.
If you truly want to dispel the negative perceptions against Atheists, be vocal about it! Get out and say to your local populace, "Hey! I'm an Atheist! I'm a moral, upstanding person just like you!"
I myself have been successful with this tactic. I live in the Bible Belt. I'm also very vocal about my Atheistic beliefs. I can say without ego that I'm fairly well-liked within my local area. By being vocal, I've been able to show the local populace that Atheists are not Satan-worshiping, bred-to-kill, immoral nor evil people.
True, you may not be able to convince the older folk. But if you're young - a student, ideally - you should be able to convince open-minded peers, and in turn future generations.
I don't expect this to be fool-proof. Nay, in many places it may be unsuccessful. But if you can convince one person - just one - that Atheists are just people like them, you will have made a huge difference.
At least try it. Worst-case scenario: You're hated by bigots who would have hated you anyway.
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 7:25 pm
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Worst case scenario possibility that you forgot (out of the many related ones):
People who hated atheists hear you are atheist. As opposed to just knowing you were moral and upstanding just like them, they now start seeing flaws in your work performance, homework assignments, or even the way you comb your hair. "evil" is stamped on your head by the imagination of not just older people, but fanatics who believe you should burn in hell for your blasphemy. ( i think it is considered a blasphemy... to not believe in jesus christ's teachings after you heard/read/know-about them)
You either get shot, or you survive by getting the crappiest possible job, since people who would have thought about hiring you because of your skills, now thought twice about it, since they all know atheists are immoral people who would probably steal from them.
But enough about the jokes. I bet, even after speaking out your beliefs, there's still people who think you "will see the light in the end", or who just try to convince you that your view on this issue is wrong. If it is that way... i'd rather not let anyone know, and keep their preaching to theirselves... domokun
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Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 8:21 pm
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Anonymouz Worst case scenario possibility that you forgot (out of the many related ones): People who hated atheists hear you are atheist. As opposed to just knowing you were moral and upstanding just like them, they now start seeing flaws in your work performance, homework assignments, or even the way you comb your hair. "evil" is stamped on your head by the imagination of not just older people, but fanatics who believe you should burn in hell for your blasphemy. ( i think it is considered a blasphemy... to not believe in jesus christ's teachings after you heard/read/know-about them)
You either get shot, or you survive by getting the crappiest possible job, since people who would have thought about hiring you because of your skills, now thought twice about it, since they all know atheists are immoral people who would probably steal from them.
But enough about the jokes. I bet, even after speaking out your beliefs, there's still people who think you "will see the light in the end", or who just try to convince you that your view on this issue is wrong. If it is that way... i'd rather not let anyone know, and keep their preaching to theirselves... domokun Yet if we don't try, we will always have to live in shadow. Without effort, we will always be considered evil and have to hide our true selves. We have to speak out and dispel those negative connotations or live with them forever.
Besides, I have more faith in humanity than that. Not every religious person is a bigoted zealot. Certainly some of them would be assholes about it, but there's bound to be at least one person who will acknowledge our humanity.
I never said it would be easy. I never said it would be painless. But with enough effort, we could make sure that no Atheist in the future would ever have to go through the widespread discrimination that we do now. And to ensure that our children would have a better world to live in... Is that not worth slaving for? Is that not worth dying for?
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Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 12:19 pm
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Well, the problem with being active is that many people who are atheist stand to lose much by letting people know. I myself cannot allow my family to know what I believe in, becuase it would throw my future down the drain.
It would make a mess of things, and I'd probably end up losing the support I get as far as fianances and college. If only people didn't react so harshly to finding out those around them do not believe in god. I think that once a person has found grounds, and is out on thier own, and succesful in life with a job and a place to live...then they might be more able to be vocal without the consequences being too harsh.
The thing is though...it's kind of like with furries. If you are vocal about what you are into, or what you believe in with the intent of correcting misinformation...people come down on you and your kind in a negative way. If you are not vocal, and you keep quiet, than people run around saying bad things and untrue things, and no one is there to set them straight. It's a double edged sword, a you get burned either way, a damned if you do, and damned if you don't kind of situation.
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Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 1:05 pm
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Sanguvixen Well, the problem with being active is that many people who are atheist stand to lose much by letting people know. I myself cannot allow my family to know what I believe in, becuase it would throw my future down the drain.
It would make a mess of things, and I'd probably end up losing the support I get as far as fianances and college. If only people didn't react so harshly to finding out those around them do not believe in god. I think that once a person has found grounds, and is out on thier own, and succesful in life with a job and a place to live...then they might be more able to be vocal without the consequences being too harsh.
The thing is though...it's kind of like with furries. If you are vocal about what you are into, or what you believe in with the intent of correcting misinformation...people come down on you and your kind in a negative way. If you are not vocal, and you keep quiet, than people run around saying bad things and untrue things, and no one is there to set them straight. It's a double edged sword, a you get burned either way, a damned if you do, and damned if you don't kind of situation. True. I suppose it's a matter of personal opinion and situational conditions that would drive someone to either choice. For me, though, living a lie is worse than not living at all.
It's a lose-lose situation... And the only way to possibly get out is to lose.
Although, I truly believe that we'll never escape the awkward situation we're in without effort. If society doesn't have any good examples of Atheists to look to, we'll be ostracized forever. Hiding your true self may lead to less hardship now, but in the end, being open about it would probably bring less in the long run.
Either way, it's a personal call. Everyone knows the results of their decisions and can decide for themselves whether or not it's worth it.
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Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 1:41 am
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I let people know I'm an atheist, but only if it comes up. I don't just randomly shout "ZOMG i m teh atheist! :0" That would be, like, awkward.
It's kind of like the Christians who have to mention that they're Christian at every possible moment. It gets annoying fast, and nobody cares.
So if it comes up, yes. If not, then why should every single one of my coworkers know I'm an atheist within my first two weeks on the job? That's creepy. The subject is bound to come up eventually, but still-- even at my job, where I work a lot with television and the media, I only directly said "I'm an atheist" twice. Once was when some coworkers and I were joking about how a band playing on one of the NBC late night shows sounded like a Christian band. The other time was when a coworker was looking for a good Catholic church to go to, and my parent's church came up, and I recommended it. She asked if I went there, and I said no, and that I was an atheist, to avoid any confusion. I've been at my job for almost a year.
But yeah. People who flaunt their religion all the time are weird. sweatdrop
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Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 10:35 am
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Meirelle I let people know I'm an atheist, but only if it comes up. I don't just randomly shout "ZOMG i m teh atheist! :0" That would be, like, awkward. It's kind of like the Christians who have to mention that they're Christian at every possible moment. It gets annoying fast, and nobody cares. So if it comes up, yes. If not, then why should every single one of my coworkers know I'm an atheist within my first two weeks on the job? That's creepy. The subject is bound to come up eventually, but still-- even at my job, where I work a lot with television and the media, I only directly said "I'm an atheist" twice. Once was when some coworkers and I were joking about how a band playing on one of the NBC late night shows sounded like a Christian band. The other time was when a coworker was looking for a good Catholic church to go to, and my parent's church came up, and I recommended it. She asked if I went there, and I said no, and that I was an atheist, to avoid any confusion. I've been at my job for almost a year. But yeah. People who flaunt their religion all the time are weird. sweatdrop Precisely. We shouldn't lie or hide who we are, but there's no need to be overtly open about it; that would be unnecessary.
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Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 11:34 pm
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Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 12:25 pm
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Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 8:32 pm
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Posted: Mon May 07, 2007 8:50 pm
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Death God Hitsugaya That's why I don't let the adults out where I live know. They're all fundies. 6000-year-theory-fundies. This is somewhat of an unrelated note, but I feel compelled to point it out. I hate it when religious bigots call themselves "fundamentalists" when they are nothing of the sort. Fundamentalists would follow the original teachings of Christ, correct? The original teachings of Christ state that each devout Christian must carry their own cross - make their own sacrifices. One of the sacrifices he teaches is to love your fellow man. Therefore, true fundamentalists would love everyone regardless of belief, color, race, creed, gender, ideals, morals, or bubblegum flavor.
For example, if you were to tell a true fundamentalist that you were an Atheist, their response would be something like this: "Oh, that's fine. Christ loved everyone, and I follow Christ, so I love everyone." However, if you were to tell a fake fundamentalist that you were Atheist, their response would be something like this: "YOU SHALL BURN IN HELL, SINNER!"
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 2:39 pm
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