Regular readers know how much respect I have for Oliver Willis (e.g., e.g.). He is, however, dead wrong when he says this:
Atheists being dicks to the religious, this time in the U.K. I cannot understand an entire belief built on putting down others. It sucks when Christians, Jews, Muslims, and others do it and its lame when Atheists do it. I guess this means they’re in the big leagues now: as offensive as everyone else.
In the first place, as a general principle, he's sorely mistaken to think that not believing in God equates to "an entire belief built on putting down others." This is hyperbolic and hysterical. He's regurgitating the victimology put forth by the sort of Bible-thumper who spends every waking moment searching for excuses to take offense. This is an asinine statement, particularly coming from someone whose brain is usually engaged.
But let's attend to specifics.
Oliver's objection is to a sign that's been posted on, at this moment, 800 buses in the U.K. The sign reads: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."
As I said in the Comments over at his place:
That’s a tame, even friendly, message, and I for one am overjoyed to see atheists putting out a little something to contradict the endless flood of proselytizing from the Christianists.
If you follow his link to Ariane Sherine's commentary in the Guardian, you'll see this:
... the campaign was originally started as a positive counter-response to the Jesus Said ads running on London buses in June 2008. These ads displayed the URL of a website which stated that non-Christians "will be condemned to everlasting separation from God and then you spend all eternity in torment in hell … Jesus spoke about this as a lake of fire prepared for the devil". Our rational slogan will hopefully reassure anyone who has been scared by this kind of evangelism.
For too long, atheists and agnostics have been cowed, afraid to speak up and speak out when overly religious people use their faith as a club to drive policy and a trump card to dominate discourse. A big part of the problem has been attitudes like the one Oliver displays. Proclamations of faith deserve as much respect as any other assertion of belief, but no more. Letting them stand unchallenged is unhealthy for society. This is particularly true when the religious majority seeks to intimidate people who do not share their beliefs.
Ariane says elsewhere in her column:
Today, thanks to many Cif readers, the overall total raised for the Atheist Bus Campaign stands at a truly overwhelming £135,000, breaking our original target of £5,500 by over 2400%.
What that says to me is that there are a lot of people who are overjoyed to find out -- maybe for the first time -- that they're not alone in feeling squashed under the jackboot of sanctimony. Good for them, good for Ariane Sherine, and boo on Oliver Willis.
NB: Picture of James Dobson added for artistic purposes. I do not mean to suggest that he was specifically affiliated with the Jesus Said ad campaign to which Ariane refers. It is true that this is more or less the message he preaches all the time, though.
[Added] Do not fail to read Alastair's comment on this post.
5 comments:
I've never yet met an X-ian who didn't prefer the delicious frisson of feeling oppressed for his faith to sexual congress of any sort, even with altar boys. They love this stuff, it gives them wood. Who are we to deny them?
Heh. I wouldn't say all, but I would say there are all too many for whom imagined martyrdom is a fetish.
Them: "Jesus is lurve, so you'd better bloody well embrace him or else spend eternity in torment, sinner!"
Us: "Actually I don't think I will, thanks very much."
Them: "Stop preaching your message of hate, you militant atheist!"
LMAO!
Someday when I am not so much of a humorless secular progressive I will be able to be as succinct as that.
Succinctness is a curse that does not afflict me. I have humbly composed an ode to Richard Dawkins, which you can find here.
Post a Comment