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Originally Posted by mixedmedia
Sheesh, you're not going to play the martyr card, are you? How ironic.
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I have a pretty decent list of bookmarks of news stories that feature mistreatment of atheists by theists, but all you really need to do is google it.
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Originally Posted by mixedmedia
Compare the struggle for equal rights among homosexuals and other minority groups on a meaningful point by point basis with those of atheists and then maybe you can make that analogy.
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Atheism was a capital crime in Rome, and many theorize that tens of thousands of atheists were put to death. The Dark Ages in Europe featured atheists being persecuted by the Catholic church, which often included torture and death.
CURRENT state constitutions that feature anti-atheist provisions: Arkansas, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. It's no uncommon, in the US, for atheists to be barred from holding public office.
“I don't know that atheists should be regarded as citizens, nor should they be regarded as patriotic,” George H. W. Bush.
Just recently, a young man had communion at a publically funded college and decided to take the communion wafer (Eucharist) instead of eat it. He has been attacked by the church and has had death threats from anonymous theists.
http://www.wftv.com/news/16798008/detail.html
So please, don't act like atheists are just people who some people disagree with. Atheists have been persecuted throughout history and are still persecuted today.
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Originally Posted by mixedmedia
But you can't - which is very keenly illustrated in the fact that no meaningful social movement has had the luxury of so spending so much time evaluating the intelligence level of the people who are oppressing them. Atheist oppression is pretty much encompassed by the statement, 'Christians don't like us.' Everybody else really doesn't give a damn.
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There are plenty of secularist organizations, but the ACLU is really all we need, and they have been trying to help.
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Originally Posted by mixedmedia
I don't like that christian 'oppression' horseshit, either,
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Yeah, the crusades and inquisition were clearly blown out of proportion. How dare people suggest that Christians oppress people?
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Originally Posted by mixedmedia
At least christianity is a real belief in 'something.'
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No they don't, at least from my perspective. But that's not even a little bit relevant.
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Originally Posted by mixedmedia
I don't see the point in making an effort to proclaim, 'I don't believe in that thing and I'm going to name myself in defiance of that thing...that I don't believe in.' Just seems silly to me.
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Again, atheist is a term to describe what one is not. I am a
rationalist. If you read nothing else in this post, I hope it's that.
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Originally Posted by loquitur
I never thought of MLK Jr as being personally pushy. By all accounts he was a pretty together kind of guy. And I gotta tell you, Will, comparing yourself to MLK smacks a bit of....... hmmmmmmm, what's the word? Grandiosity?
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That wasn't my intention at all. I was directly addressing your assertion that "People who are secure in who they are don't have the need to get pushy."
People who are feeling oppressed often have no choice. I'm not comparing the black equality movement to any supposed atheist movement, but I'm sure anyone can see that
some atheists are pushed around a bit.