The Atheism Plus "movement" -- good, bad, ugly?

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Re: The Atheism Plus "movement" -- good, bad, ugly?

Post by Coito ergo sum » Mon Aug 27, 2012 8:34 pm

Robert_S wrote:Where did you find those pics that fast? :what:
I googled "skepchicks drinking" and some of the first few images are from this website www.theotheratheists.net - it has like a mother load of skepchick funnies....

Disclaimer: the use of the words "mother" and "load" were in no way intended to be sexist or profane.... apologies to any offense any Skepchicks or Freethoughtbuggers might have faced -- send your therapy bill to 555 West Fuckoff street, Bumfuck, Egypt.

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Re: The Atheism Plus "movement" -- good, bad, ugly?

Post by Sean Hayden » Mon Aug 27, 2012 8:45 pm

Thinking Aloud wrote:There's definitely something up on the ceiling that keeps distracting her/them. I'm wondering what it is. Seems not to be distracting the blokes though.
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Re: The Atheism Plus "movement" -- good, bad, ugly?

Post by SteveB » Mon Aug 27, 2012 8:47 pm

For every drink a Skepchick drinks, a social justice issue is solved in the world.
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Re: The Atheism Plus "movement" -- good, bad, ugly?

Post by A Hermit » Mon Aug 27, 2012 9:05 pm

Coito ergo sum wrote: The Myers/Freethoughtblogs/Skepchick contingent is pretty influential in the atheist/skeptic community/demographic. By succeeding in their efforts they will effectively, de facto, gain control over the major organizations that we all know, JREF and TAM, American Atheists, etc. Make no mistake, that is their goal.
Remember...shiny side out! http://zapatopi.net/afdb/
In order to achieve this, they are drawing lines. If you play ball with them, and become one of the good guys, then all is well. If you don't, you are not only holding a different view and to be debated. You are to be banished -- you "disgust" them -- you have no place in atheism/skepticism. You are a misogynist, enabler, mansplainer, gaslighter, and all sorts of other things. Just the namecalling isn't the real problem -- it's that they will try to effect their foes in real life -- harassing them, making them a "pariah", "running them out of the movement," etc.
This is actually a load of bullshit. If you go over there and concern troll you may get a hostile reaction on one or two blogs there but considering the constant stream of this kind of thing that some of them get I think a bit of a short fuse is understandable: http://freethoughtblogs.com/greta/2012/ ... nazi-slut/
“GRETA CHRISTINA YOU FUCKIN HOE… I HOPE YOU GET RAPED YOU FUCKIN FEMINAZI SLUT… GO CHOKE ON A DICK AND DIE
Seriously...think about what it's like to deal with a constant stream of that kind of crap every day and ask yourself how much time you'd want to spend re-explaining feminism to every self important little twerp who turns up in comments to tell you you should be nicer to the menz...

It's certainly possible to disagree and criticize and have a grown up debate over there. Happens all the time. Just don't be a jerk or a pompous ass about it...

I don't think atheism should be a movement, other than a demographic of people who openly don't believe in gods and who are vocal enough to one degree or another to explain why. They want to turn it into that, plus a political movement. I'd prefer they did not do that.
Who are you to tell them what they can or can't do? Do you hold a patent on atheism? If you're not interested in joining a movement then don't fucking join, no one is putting a gun to your head.

It's funny, I keep seeing two objections to the A+ idea; first is the complaint that it's DIVISIVE and all this DIVERSITY will DIVIDE atheism!!!1!!

The other is that it's somehow going to force all atheists into some grey, uniform Femi-StalinistNaziStaiTaliban mold!!!1!!!1!!!1!!1!1eleventy!1!!

When it fact all it is is a group of people agreeing with each other that they have a concern for social justice issues and approach such issues form the atheist/skeptic perspective...oh and that they aren't going to put up with people telling them to shut up or be raped...

Why this gets anyone's panties in such a twist is just a mystery to me....

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Re: The Atheism Plus "movement" -- good, bad, ugly?

Post by Coito ergo sum » Mon Aug 27, 2012 9:20 pm

A Hermit wrote:
Coito ergo sum wrote: The Myers/Freethoughtblogs/Skepchick contingent is pretty influential in the atheist/skeptic community/demographic. By succeeding in their efforts they will effectively, de facto, gain control over the major organizations that we all know, JREF and TAM, American Atheists, etc. Make no mistake, that is their goal.
Remember...shiny side out! http://zapatopi.net/afdb/
They've come out and said it. They're calling it "our" movement (meaning their movement), claiming the right to banish others from it, and they are looking to replace the "New Atheists" with a "New New Atheist" (see the New Statesman article that says exactly that). It is not a conspiracy. They say it.
A Hermit wrote:
In order to achieve this, they are drawing lines. If you play ball with them, and become one of the good guys, then all is well. If you don't, you are not only holding a different view and to be debated. You are to be banished -- you "disgust" them -- you have no place in atheism/skepticism. You are a misogynist, enabler, mansplainer, gaslighter, and all sorts of other things. Just the namecalling isn't the real problem -- it's that they will try to effect their foes in real life -- harassing them, making them a "pariah", "running them out of the movement," etc.
This is actually a load of bullshit. If you go over there and concern troll you may get a hostile reaction on one or two blogs there but considering the constant stream of this kind of thing that some of them get I think a bit of a short fuse is understandable: http://freethoughtblogs.com/greta/2012/ ... nazi-slut/
That's nonsense. What happens is, if you go over there and post a polite, but contrary, position, stating, for example, you don't agree that Surly Amy should get a policy that bans people from selling "fake jewelry" or that wearing "I am not a skepchick" t-shirts should be banned, either --- you get banned from Freethoughtblogs. Greta Christina did exactly that to me. I did not "troll" -- I merely chimed in and I did not call anyone names, I did not even say they were wrong -- I was careful to state "In my view..." and then provided reasoning. I was also told to fuck off. In fact, not only was I banned by here -- she had actually responded to my post telling me that if that was my view -- if I thought that the t-shirt was not harassment, etc. - then I was not welcome there. I posted one final response, indicating that I would honor her request and leave and not return. She said she would help me flounce, and stated I was banned.
A Hermit wrote:
“GRETA CHRISTINA YOU FUCKIN HOE… I HOPE YOU GET RAPED YOU FUCKIN FEMINAZI SLUT… GO CHOKE ON A DICK AND DIE
Seriously...think about what it's like to deal with a constant stream of that kind of crap every day and ask yourself how much time you want to spend re-explaining feminism to every self important little twerp who turns up in comments to tell you you should be nicer to the menz...
Probably no worse than the death threats that Richard Dawkins gets. Everyone thought those were funny, though, cuz he's an old white guy....

Look -- I didn't say that someone who says that to her was not out of line. I said that "fake jewelry" and "I am not a skepchick" t-shirts are not sexual harassment. There is a difference, which I hope you can see. But, you get banned over there if you try to explain that the woman wearing the t-shirt had every right to do so.


A Hermit wrote:
It's certainly possible to disagree and criticize and have a grown up debate over there. Happens all the time.
Only if you don't disagree or criticize. Go there and see. I have.

A Hermit wrote:
I don't think atheism should be a movement, other than a demographic of people who openly don't believe in gods and who are vocal enough to one degree or another to explain why. They want to turn it into that, plus a political movement. I'd prefer they did not do that.
Who are you to tell them what they can or can't do? Do you hold a patent on atheism? If you're not interested in joining a movement then don't fucking join, no one is putting a gun to your head.
Who am I? Who are they to tell ME and EVERYONE ELSE what they "can or can't do?" If they claim the right to assert their position on what everyone can and can't do, then I claim that same right.

Likewise, if they don't like TAM, they can not go - they don't have to bitch and moan about how DJ Grothe runs it, now do they?

Why is it that you grant them the privilege to push for what they want, but the rest of us have no such right?
A Hermit wrote:
It's funny, I keep seeing two objections to the A+ idea; first is the complaint that it's DIVISIVE and all this DIVERSITY will DIVIDE atheism!!!1!!

The other is that it's somehow going to force all atheists into some grey, uniform Femi-StalinistNaziStaiTaliban mold!!!1!!!1!!!1!!1!1eleventy!1!!

When it fact all it is is a group of people agreeing with each other that they have a concern for social justice issues and approach such issues form the atheist/skeptic perspective...oh and that they aren't going to put up with people telling them to shut up or be raped...

Why this gets anyone's panties in such a twist is just a mystery to me....
For the same reason that Evangelical Christians piss people off. They're not content with having their own view, and their own community. They aren't satisfied until everyone else believes it too, and we can't get away from it, because they're shoving it in the faces of every atheist group out their.

They're not just concerned for social justice issues. They're concerned with running people out of town, and marginalizing them, if they don't play along. They want to make people "pariahs" and if anyone doesn't join them, then they are to be run out of the business. That is what they've been saying, isn't it? Look at Carrier's ridiculous piece on this from last week. One read of that is exactly why panties get in a twist -- it's because they're looking to Atomic Wedgie anyone who doesn't genuflect and agree that they are the Way, The Truth, and The Light.

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Re: The Atheism Plus "movement" -- good, bad, ugly?

Post by Azathoth » Tue Aug 28, 2012 12:42 am

Every time I think they can't get any stupider they out-poe the poes again. Look at this for fuck's sake. This is the official logo for their forum :funny: :fp2:
Atheismplusheadersmall1.png
Outside the ordered universe is that amorphous blight of nethermost confusion which blasphemes and bubbles at the center of all infinity—the boundless daemon sultan Azathoth, whose name no lips dare speak aloud, and who gnaws hungrily in inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond time and space amidst the muffled, maddening beating of vile drums and the thin monotonous whine of accursed flutes.

Code: Select all

// Replaces with spaces the braces in cases where braces in places cause stasis 
   $str = str_replace(array("\{","\}")," ",$str);

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Re: The Atheism Plus "movement" -- good, bad, ugly?

Post by Xamonas Chegwé » Tue Aug 28, 2012 12:46 am

Looks like "A + theism" to me - so they are incorporating theism within atheism. Clever tactic. Lot of money to be made in theism. :tea:
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Re: The Atheism Plus "movement" -- good, bad, ugly?

Post by JacksSmirkingRevenge » Tue Aug 28, 2012 12:50 am

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Re: The Atheism Plus "movement" -- good, bad, ugly?

Post by Jason » Tue Aug 28, 2012 1:02 am

Do these people even know what 'social justice' is about?

John Rawls A Theory of Justice
"Each person possesses an inviolability founded on justice that even the welfare of society as a whole cannot override. For this reason justice denies that the loss of freedom for some is made right by a greater good shared by others."

As they go about running people out of their 'movement' for 'social justice', trying to make them pariahs, and vilifying and dehumanizing them as much as they possibly can. :roll:

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Re: The Atheism Plus "movement" -- good, bad, ugly?

Post by surreptitious57 » Tue Aug 28, 2012 2:00 am

Xamonas Chegwé wrote:
Looks like A + theism to me - so they are incorporating theism within atheism.
There is one glaringly obvious contradiction in that logo, well two actually. The first is humanism. Humanism, as the name suggests, references equality for all humans, regardless. So how do the feminists of Atheism Plus find that compatible with their ideology? Why identify yourself as a feminist if you are a humanist? Surely the latter term is more preferable as it is all inclusive. But how all inclusive is the feminism of the feminists of Atheism Plus? The other contradiction is skepticism. Considering how Atheism Plus is insulating itself from the Atheist Movement as a whole and only refencing group think within it then how exactly is that skeptical?
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Re: The Atheism Plus "movement" -- good, bad, ugly?

Post by JimC » Tue Aug 28, 2012 2:59 am

I don't think atheism should be a movement, other than a demographic of people who openly don't believe in gods and who are vocal enough to one degree or another to explain why. They want to turn it into that, plus a political movement. I'd prefer they did not do that.
I absolutely agree with this.

However, a lot of the idea of an atheist "movement" has been a media beat-up from the beginning. Dawkins, Harris et al were not trying to create a movement, they were writing to explicate their version of atheism, and/or give religion a much needed boot in the arse. The media created the "New Atheist Movement" spin when the books became popular...

Atheism+ on the other hand is definitely and self-consciously wanting to be a "movement", and a very restrictive one at that...
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Re: The Atheism Plus "movement" -- good, bad, ugly?

Post by Robert_S » Tue Aug 28, 2012 3:06 am

JimC wrote:
I don't think atheism should be a movement, other than a demographic of people who openly don't believe in gods and who are vocal enough to one degree or another to explain why. They want to turn it into that, plus a political movement. I'd prefer they did not do that.
I absolutely agree with this.

However, a lot of the idea of an atheist "movement" has been a media beat-up from the beginning. Dawkins, Harris et al were not trying to create a movement, they were writing to explicate their version of atheism, and/or give religion a much needed boot in the arse. The media created the "New Atheist Movement" spin when the books became popular...

Atheism+ on the other hand is definitely and self-consciously wanting to be a "movement", and a very restrictive one at that...
As long as they put a stop to the "with us or you're sub-human" attitude, then more power to them!
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Re: The Atheism Plus "movement" -- good, bad, ugly?

Post by hadespussercats » Tue Aug 28, 2012 3:14 am

Xamonas Chegwé wrote:Looks like "A + theism" to me - so they are incorporating theism within atheism. Clever tactic. Lot of money to be made in theism. :tea:
The t in atheism is RIGHT THERE, waiting to be made into a plus sign.
I'd never join a movement with such poor graphic skills. :nono:
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Re: The Atheism Plus "movement" -- good, bad, ugly?

Post by laklak » Tue Aug 28, 2012 3:29 am

A Hermit wrote: ..., it's about paying attention to the great work someone like Jen McCreight, for example, does instead of reducing her to a boob joke at every opportunity.
I didn't know of her so I did a Google. Here she is:

Image

I'd never reduce her to a boob joke, she's got one helluva fine rack! But I'd certainly motorboat the Hell outta those puppies.
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Re: The Atheism Plus "movement" -- good, bad, ugly?

Post by charlou » Tue Aug 28, 2012 5:35 am

hadespussercats wrote:
Thinking Aloud wrote:
hadespussercats wrote:All right, I've read the first and last pages of this gigantic thread, and will make a stab at the rest, but right now I'd just like to know:

Who cares what the Blag Hag gang (or anyone else, for that matter) decide to call themselves?

If atheism isn't a movement (you said yourself, CES, that you didn't think it was-- and I agree), then what do we care about splitters? Or people using the word wrong?
The other reason to at least pay attention is that, right now when someone from "the media" wants a token atheist for a discussion, they call upon Dawkins, or Harris, (and wish they could call Hitchens) or the guys from AA or FFRF. At some point they're going to want fresh faces, and if you google "atheism" and find page after page of "Atheism Plus" and "Skepchicks" you're going to assume that you've found a new 'voice of atheism'.
They are a new voice of atheism. They're just not the new voice of atheism.

I don't necessarily care for Dawkins or Hitchens speaking for me, though they are enchantingly articulate (or were.)
I definitely don't care for that yahoo in charge of AA speaking for me. (See-- They're using a girder from the Trade Center like a Cross! Oh noes! America is ruined!)

This just seems silly. Find what you think is important, and put it out there. Maybe you'll get to be a voice of atheism, too.
re the bit I've bolded .. How does anyone be the voice of non-belief in god/s?
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