It seems in America today, being an atheist is tantamount to being unpatriotic. We're constantly labeled "militant" by christians. My friend Hess did a blog post about it which I thought made a lot of sense. He defined militant and passionate. I agree with him, I'm a passionate atheist. And I've honestly never met a militant one. I have met angry ones, though. But personally, I get angry too. I think we have a lot to be angry about.
Anyway, I've been quiet about my atheism for 8 years. I keep my mouth shut. I never confront people, I never even mention it to people. It's a personal thing. Or it has been. I'm not ashamed of being godless. I just don't care for confrontation, and I don't like offending people.
But why should I have to hide who I am? It's more acceptable to be gay than atheist now. But maybe if all of us closet heathens came out and showed that we're here and we're.. uh.. not queer necessarily.. uh.. relatively nice ethical people, it won't be so polarized.
Ok, so that's a pipe dream. But since I started Believers Anonymous, and now Heaving Dead Cats, I realize it's time for me to stand up and be myself.
So instead of going by Fruitloop, I'm going to use my name. I'm Neece. And I'm an Atheist. And I'm a Good Person. Deal with it, christians. :D
Great post :D
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy how others, (Christains are the worse) react when told one is Atheist. Like shocked. Whenever I tell someone I'm Atheist. The person looks at me like I'm a multi headed goat.
LOL at the term "militant". That term only applies to Christains and Muslims mainly. Who have no problems killing in the name of god. Which is what a "militant" does.
Thanks Colleen. And I agree, I don't know of any atheists that have ever bombed anything in the name of no god.
ReplyDeleteWhile how many wars were started in the name of one god or another? Um, yeah. And how many militant christians have bombed or killed innocent people at Planned Parenthoods across this country?
We're not militant at all. Not any atheists that I know at least.
Pro-Lifers crack me up. Don't kill the unborn, but it's ok to kill the living and blow up buildings.
ReplyDeleteI know! What the hell is up with that? Well, I guess we shouldn't be too surprised by that kind of backwards thinking. I mean, their guidebook was written in the freaking bronze age.
ReplyDeleteWell, hi Neece! It's good to know your name, and I'm glad you started this site, I'm enjoying your posts.
ReplyDelete"The person looks at me like I’m a multi headed goat."
hehehe
That's a good description. My religious friends are pretty open minded (I live in San Francisco), but when I flat out stated to a couple of them that I don't believe there's a god, I saw the sort of look I might get if I told them I killed their pet - shocked, a little hurt, and also kind of angry.
Years back one of my relatives gave me the "I don't care what you believe in, as long as you believe in something." line (I think this probably contributed a bit to the delay in my coming to grips with my lack of faith). It's like some people just have to know that you're as convinced of the existence of the supernatural as they are, otherwise you're accusing them of being insane or stupid.
I was happy to label myself as an agnostic for a while, but I realized that I was using that word as a shield. Once that realization hit me, I knew it was time to start using the term atheist. There's just no reason that the word "atheist" should carry the stigma it does in our society, and the more people adopt that label, the less negative power it should have. I hope.
That being said, I haven't directly discussed my atheism with my family yet, although I get the sense that conversation is coming soon, and I know that some people are in a position that makes it necessary to hide behind the agnostic label. In some parts of this country, announcing your lack of faith is practically like asking to being ostracized, or possibly even physically attacked.
"I mean, their guidebook was written in the freaking bronze age."
ReplyDeleteBut, but, that just means it's ancient wisdom! Time tested! Lessons that have held up through the ages!
Sorry about that last, long post. Oy. I always did set my Infocom descriptions to "maximum verbosity"...
Hi Barbara! Nice to know you too, and thanks so much! :D
ReplyDeleteYeah, I am always amazed that christians are offended by hearing that someone is an atheist. You're right, maybe they do feel like you're calling them stupid or insane.
I was an agnostic for a long time before I finally accepted the atheist moniker. But once I realized I was truly godless, I felt I had to be honest too. At least with myself. I too was using agnosticism as a shield I think.
You're right, you'd think if more people admit to atheism, it will lessen the stigma of it being such a "crime". But that's really optimistic. :P
My mother knows I'm an atheist, but she doesn't really care about it either way herself so it's not a big issue. My husband's family is all religious, and it will probably come out at some point. I can't imagine they'll be too happy about it.
Being around here and being an atheist in some parts, yeah, if I were to stand up it would probably be a bad thing. People are pretty churchified around here.
Yeah, ancient wisdom. Right. Ugh. What a lame argument. And just to clarify, it was written in the Bronze and Iron Age. :P
Don't apologize for sharing here, Barbara. I am glad for the long comment. I like maximum verbosity. You're most welcome here. :D
There you go!! =)
ReplyDeleteIt kinda makes sense that some people would get so passionately angry that they'd be called militant by ignorant people. The attitude towards atheists over there seems to be one which automatically makes atheists an 'enemy'. Not just an outsider, but more of an invader.
ReplyDeleteAt least that's the impression I get from hearing a lot of American atheists tell of their experiences, which you Neece, and Barbara, also just confirmed.
I guess I'm lucky here in Australia. We're still mostly a Christian nation, but there doesn't seem to be such a stigma against atheists.
Thanks Tony. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Mark. You're right, the look I've gotten when mentioning it was like Barbara said.. like I had kicked their kid or something. An enemy, yes. You've got it right.
Yeah, when I lived in Melbourne, Australia, people seemed so open-minded and accepting. I was more of an agnostic then, but overall I felt comfortable to think freely there, unlike over here with the thought police breathing down our necks.
[...] Anyway, here is my original post which you can find at my new main blog: [...]
ReplyDeletethank you, Keep up the Great work :)
ReplyDeletethanks for the excellent post. was a great read.
ReplyDelete