Skepticism

Angry Atheists

Wow, this is a great post by Greta Christina! It’s not new, but definitely worth reading.

One of the most common criticisms lobbed at the newly-vocal atheist community is, “Why do you have to be so angry?” So I want to talk about:

1. Why atheists are angry;

2. Why our anger is valid, valuable, and necessary;

And 3. Why it’s completely fucked-up to try to take our anger away from us.


Oy, I accidentally published this earlier today and then deleted it because I wanted to save it for adding a personal commentary later. But now I found out that someone has already linked to it — on a knitting website no less — so I’m putting it back up and will add my personal commentary when I have time.

Happy New Year!

Writerdd

Donna Druchunas is a freelance technical writer and editor and a knitwear designer. When she's not working, she blogs, studies Lithuanian, reads science and sci-fi books, mouths off on atheist forums, and checks her email every three minutes. (She does that when she's working, too.) Although she loves to chat, she can't keep an IM program open or she'd never get anything else done.

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8 Comments

  1. Great article– I posted a link to it at one of my other virtual communities, and got this response: http://www.thebgb.org/topic_10386.html

    "Ah, does baby need a diaper change?

    I've never understood why atheists, who can be, as with this blogger, the most intolerant people in the world, constantly rant and rave for full tolerance for — and only for — themselves. Oh, well, maybe its coming from an adult's perspective. Children like this can be a mystery, you know."

    Brainless ass. I really want to throttle him sometimes.

  2. Wow, Rav. Did he even bother to read the article, or to note Greta Christina's age? Not that her age really MATTERS as to whether her points are valid or not…but still. That guy is a right ignorant git.

  3. Aye. I left him a note of incredulity, asking him if he weren't serious. His response will be interesting to say the least. –That is, if his response isn't simply to roll his eyes in boredom, laugh derisively, and loftily dismiss the unreasonable atheists.

    Frelling git.

    Although for personal reasons, I find it hard to condemn rank and file believers (they are telling comforting stories to frightened children), people like this remind me why I think we need more vociferous, cantankerous geezers out there like Dawkins and Hitchens.

    After fifteen centuries, it's about time the zealots had their feet trodden upon.

  4. I can't say I like that commenter's attitude. Not at all. I can understand why he may see atheists as being incredibly intolerant—Pharyngula can give that impression—but that hardly justifies his dismissive air.

  5. Intolerant is complaining that gay people are gettings special rights, when really, they are FINALLY getting equal rights. The same rights as non same sex couples living in the same house have had for a few years. The same rights that MARRIED non same sex couples had even been enjoying for decades before then (mostly tax related and things like healthcare benefits and inheritance rights).

    That's like complaining that everything in the US is becoming Spanish when border control in California decides to translate a number of their signs into Spanish so people coming into the US can read them in their own language.

    But according to him, behavior like that is not intolerance, it's just being an upstanding christian citizen protecting his values.

    It's a testament to just how out of whack his impression of "equal" and "reasonable" are …

    I'm running out of time, so I'll have to read the "angry rant" tomorrow.

  6. I’ve read Greta’s comments over and over again as well as the follow up that answers many of the questions and comments posed to her. I really can’t fault her.

    The Forgotten Son on BGB seems to have missed the point entirely.

  7. I'm an atheist and I'm not angry about anything. Is there something wrong with me? Just because them a@#h&*^% mo^%$#fu%$#rs are so f%*^*ng arrogant that they think that they can dictate what god i adore…oh, excuse me I forgot…I am not angry.

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