‘A’ week on Facebook was on the 29th of March through the 6th of April and yet I’d venture a guess that at least half my atheist Facebook friends still have their A’s up or have somehow incorporated them into their regular profile pictures. You’ll note the date is now the third of May.
Why does this irk me? I dunno. It just seems cliquey and exclusionary. You’re with us or you’re against us. We’re all individuals (“Yes, we’re all individuals.”). I wear my atheism proudly. To me it represents my childlike enthusiasm and curiosity for all the wonders of science and nature. What I wonder, however, is how many potential atheists are being turned off or away by this herd mentality. Where’s the focus on the beauty and wonder of the universe, a la Carl Sagan, that brought so many of us where we are today? Where’s the unique humor, a la Douglas Adams, used to expose so many obvious and fantastic truths that, yes, made us laugh, but also made us see the world from a bizarrely right-side-up perspective?
So where are we now? What we have devolved into, I’m afraid, my friends, is an anonymous group of internet atheists, rallying around the flagpole righting wrongs most of us can’t begin to comprehend or at least righting wrongs in a misdirected or misguided manner. Also of note is that when this happens, you end up preaching to the choir or spiral downwards into shouting matches with those who don’t agree with you. Nothing helpful is accomplished. What I’ve found to be true on the internet is that it’s a great place for people to anonymously vent their ire. Following this statement, I’ve come to the conclusion that the vast majority of internet atheists are using anonymity, the internet, and their cause du jour to stifle what could and should be pockets of healthy, rational discussion and debate.
The big question is, how do we get rid of the Internet Atheist meme and get back to a world where the norm is atheists, agnostics and freethinkers having rational (if heated) discourse over important topics? I think we start by getting rid of cliquey memes such as Atheist A’s for profile pics long after A week is over. Imagine if Christians did the same thing? We’d find it unsettling, yes? And they probably find what the Internet Atheists are doing unsettling, as I’m sure many other groups do – and here’s the kicker – I’m including fence-sitters in this. Don’t push them over the fence into the hands of those who would love to take hold and advantage of a vulnerable heart.
If you’re reading this and you have an A up as a profile pic, don’t be offended. Just think to yourself. Do I want the first thing people associate with me to be ‘Atheist’ or ‘Oh, hey, that’s John. We had fun skiing that time together.’
At the very least, do it for me, won’t you?
Please Stop Being an Internet Atheist
Cuddles,
Kate
I was going to start a group for atheists who didn’t want to join in the latest internet atheist memes, but even I don’t like irony that much.
I was thinking of extreme and mild similar scenarios…
a) All enjoyers of soft-boiled eggs having a representative picture on facebook.
Why I wouldn’t do it: I’m not ashamed of liking runny yokes but it seems, as you said, clique-y.
b) All non-smokers announcing this via a facebook picture.
Why I wouldn’t do it: Yeh, smoking is not an evidence-based positive life decision but, again, it’s clique-y to shun them in such an odd way.
So yeh, I just think the A is a little weird.
I am very happy to see someone that is connecting to what I’ve been thinking about. I am tired of the sites that simply trade barbs with the Religious people, who trade them back, like a more advanced version of the old schoolyard “Nuh Uh, you did” “Nuh Uh, you did”, or that same schoolyard attitude of simply making jokes about the last opinion with the “Ha, Ha, did you hear what that Idiot said?” to drown out their statement with intimidation.
I am looking for people that I can relate to and trade deeper thoughts and discuss why I have come to the conculsions that I have reached. Rational thought should be the foundation of advancing all knowledge, and I want to find an avenue of intelectual disscustion. Simply trading back and forth barbs and attacks is not the answer. In such a case, you are only lowering yourself to their level.
We need to rise above all that. I can except Religious thought, provided they except me and leave me and my thoughts alone as well. I don’t think you will ever defeat Religion. And I believe only some people can become an Atheist. Those that free themselves from Religious thought.
There is no point in going door to door to convert people to my views. And preching to the masses is irelevant as well. If you are an Atheist, you came to those conclusions on your own.
This is definitely an interesting discussion. I’m wary of joining up with the latest memes just to do so. In fact, I left Atheist Nexus because it wasn’t really doing anything for me. I certainly often think, “Yes, I’m an atheist, okay, so are you…now what?”
However, I did A week on facebook because I’m only friends with people I actually know, and I thought it would have the opposite effect of what you’ve described above. My hope was that people who knew me casually would think I’m a person who’s nice, into certain hobbies they might share, but also an atheist, and that hopefully they’d realize they know someone who is one and isn’t in their face about it (arguably A week is about being in-your-face, but I stuck to having my A up for only the week itself).
It’s taken a while for me to be comfortable telling people I’m an atheist to begin with, and I saw A week as an opportunity to show people they know a “friendly atheist” rather than be part of a blockade of atheists parading on a social networking site. I don’t really feel the need to point out to my religious friends that I think they’re wrong, but I don’t think I should be ashamed of my stance, either.
That’s how I saw my participation, at least!
The Human Element….
I share your sentiments. While it is nice to have like-minded people around, I’ve found that it very tiresome to see nothing but the same rehashed posts and an occult like movement. I cannot imagine simply devoting oneself to entirely deconstructing religion all the while neglecting those things that we find beautiful (i.e. art, aesthetics, learning, nature,) or even other causes we cherish in our lives. Otherwise we could be apply labeled as merely angry people.
One of the most bothersome elements I have encountered as someone formerly of faith, are those who are just dismissive of the anthropological, cultural, and historical components of religion. While faith may be irrational in its own right, and embodies very distasteful components to it, the subjective experience to some is paramount to sanity- and could perhaps be characterized as very existential in people’s lives. I can remember the total life altering experience of my de-conversion and just how tumultuous that was. Initially, it was mentally more difficult to cope with than a demanding deployment in Iraq.
I do not speak metaphorically, rather very much literally on this point. While it was mentally stressful to deal with a daily of threat of roadside bombs mixed with the occasional explosive-laden vehicle, direct small arms attacks, and indirect mortar fire, these things all happened within the context of a struggle for the cause of a stable democratic state. Friends were hurt or killed, coalition and Iraqi alike. Men and women, adult and child. Insurgent and Al-Qaeda videos retrieved from the marketplace spoke volumes of the inhumanity that man is capable of. An experience like this does not go away, as a gentle reminder of something coming suddenly in your direction, a loud noise, or a flash of light entering the periphery serves the memory as well. But at least this comes with a calculated expectation. We expect conflict, a clashing of ideals. We know there are people that relish in afflicting misery, or act under the auspice of indoctrination. But when we have to face similar questions of our faith, life is rather difficult. For those who have not experienced this when faith crumbles, it’s a mental avalanche and can catch a person unexpectedly. Leaving a faith behind requires you do so while having to stomach the fact that you’ve been sheep-like for quite awhile. It is an admission of vulnerability. Your worldview is completely restructured, and this takes some getting used to. It was not an easy start. I shall close by saying that these are the people we want to bridge the gap with. Sometimes a hammer in a glass shop may not be the best idea.
I don’t think the attitude you’re attributing to “internet atheists” is limited to atheists. Take a look at this post at Tiger Beatdown and see if any of these pop music fans sound familiar: http://tigerbeatdown.com/2010/04/22/ladypalooza-presents-how-amanda-palmer-lost-a-fan-or-my-own-private-backlash/
Yes, we should call out mobbishness when it could cause harm to individuals, but leaving an A up on Facebook is hardly the best line to draw. If you really expect the majority of atheists (or any other group) to think and write with the clarity of a Sagan or Adams, you’re always going to be disappointed. Even most professional writers aren’t of that caliber. If there was ever a time when the norm was “atheists, agnostics and freethinkers having rational (if heated) discourse over important topics,” I’ve never heard of it.
We should also remember that some of the angriest atheists (online or off) are working through issues stemming from the family rejection, loneliness, and other effects of coming out as a non-theist in a theistic society. It doesn’t excuse their behavior, but the root of it isn’t simply cliquishness and we’re not going to help them by declaring them “against us” for simply leaving a scarlet A up on their Facebook profile.
“this herd mentality”
I think this only exists in an extremely limited sense. People like knowing there are other people who have similar ideas, so they aren’t alone. Some of us who live in, say, the Bay Area, Seattle, or NYC don’t need to go online to find other atheists. The atheist in rural Georgia is probably not so lucky.
Beyond this, there’s no real herd. There’s no membership, there’s no list of beliefs or behaviors, etc.
I have to agree with limadean.
Hi,
Wonder if anyone knows about golf or gadgets and knows about this:
I played a round of golf a couple days ago with a mate and she mentioned that Garmin are making a wrist watch Global positioning system specifically for golf.
She said the GPS in the watch comes pre programmed with over 14 thousand US courses and can monitor shot distance, hole, par and an odometer.
Has anyone heard about these or just how much these are etc?
I’ve been looking for cheap GPS systems and this seems pretty streamlined doubled up as a wristwatch.