Canadian Atheist
Athée Canadien
Fear is the mindkiller
Sep 3rd
I’m older than the other folks here at Canadian Atheist, so my perspective can be a bit different. I remember a Y2K job I had once. I was subcontracted to a government ministry. There was lots to do, since at the time no one knew what would happen when the clock ticked over. Maybe it was hype, but people were worried.
Then it came and went, and people thought how silly they had been. I got a better job, and moved on. But then the Dotcom bubble burst, contracts dried up, and those into tech stocks lost everything.
I ended up relegated to temp work, but you fall down, you get back up, dust yourself off, and keep going.
One of the jobs I had was working in an office building downtown. The work was dull, but the people were nice. We had a West Indian lady manager, another woman with a thick Eastern European accent, a cute girl from Dubai, a no nonsense Caribbean girl, and the baldest, gayest, Jewish guy, I ever met.
This particular morning was like any other, coffee, small talk, gossip, gay guy on the phone with his partner…
Someone mentioned a plane hitting a building somewhere. We were on the 22nd floor, hahah. No, really. Dumb pilot.
Mental image: plane with propeller bouncing, all cartoony, off a building.
Gay guy gets off the phone, babbling about a plane. Yeah, yeah, we heard about that, already.
“No, there were two planes.”
I’m not sure I can accurately describe the look in his eyes, but it was a mirror of what I felt, numb fear. I was a child near the end of the cold war, and he was older than me. The childhood fear of how everything can change radically, and horribly, was what I felt.
Caribbean girl, getting off her phone, mentions a TV set located on a lower floor, people are down there already. We had a service desk, so I volunteer to hold down the fort, while the others check it out.
Now, I’m a bit of a news junkie, I know how CNN works, big story, few details, lots of talking heads, same details over and over. No twitter or youtube yet. And two planes.
So, I’m in the office alone, and I figure I’ll check the news sites. CNN, timed out, Toronto Star, timed out, over and over, all the news sites I can think of, timed out.
The internet is down.
I eventually got the details second hand when they came back, about 20 minutes later. Not a lot of talking after that, and we got sent home before noon with the rest of the downtown workers in the city. Sent home, like when a really bad snow storm hits.
I didn’t watch the news for the next couple of days, live news is always frustratingly incomplete. But more details filtered through at work… planes diverted to Canadian airports, the entire USA becoming a no fly zone…indefinitely, friends of mine driving rental cars home from business trips, all the hijackers were Muslims, more hijacked planes, the pentagon, Iran and Syria acknowledge the American right to vengeance, British commandos dropped into Afghanistan, and the Taliban government refuses to turn over any terror suspects, or even ask them to leave their country. Not giving an inch.
Nothing much was happening a month later. Even neocon Dubya seemed at a loss for anything but rhetoric. Was this going to be another Bush desert war, or the beginning of something bigger?
Very soon though, NATO was at war, nothing cold about it.
Six months later I was in a bar after work, with a Filipino friend. The tables were small and it was a bit cramped. We started talking with this couple who were next to us; a young English guy, and his lady-friend, a girl from Wisconsin.
Unsurprisingly, the conversation turned to world politics, I think we were all curious about the variety of points of view that might be present.
It was a good mix, but as the conversation shifted to 9/11, our female companion began using a napkin to wipe tears from her eyes. She continued to talk though, and no one mentioned the tears. The four of us stayed talking until the bar closed.
That is almost nine years ago, and I’m getting old. I remember Challenger and Columbia, and where I was when Diana died. And I remember the gallows humor that followed all of these. 9/11 took longer to get to the jokes, and in some ways I still don’t think we are there yet, but the wars continue, pullout or not. Maybe after that is all over.
More recently I attended an SSA conference. Young people are so earnest, and free of baggage. I even made some ‘facebook friends’, and one of them had this to say about the “Terror Mosque” issue:
If it would have been allowed in NY before 9/11, it should be allowed now.
And I agree.
Our standards for property rights and religious freedom shouldn’t change because of 9/11. But I also know that for many Americans, many people, 9/11 changed everything. And I know how they feel.
“No, there were two planes.”
Still as clear as yesterday.
Let’s go to Ohio!
Sep 2nd
Okay, so Joe wasn’t wild about the counter-religious protest in a Toronto neighbourhood last week. Fair enough, Joe, you raise a number of valid points. However, I think we can all get behind this Ohio protest:
Several Ohio strippers are protesting outside a church whose members want to put their strip club out of business. The bikini-clad dancers are picketing a congregation that has photographed customers’ number plates and asked if their wives know where they are.
I’ve never been to a strip club. I find them more than a little disgusting and, quite frankly, disturbing. I’ve known a few women who worked as strippers, and none of them really liked their jobs much. Maybe in the super-classy places we see glamorized on TV there are women who enjoy taking their clothes off for leering, drunk boors – I’m skeptical. However, I’m not such a prude as to try and inflict my own discomfiture with the concept of stripping on an entire community.
The Fox Hole club’s owner has told the pastor he will call off his protest if the church ceases its demonstrations. But the pastor has refused, saying, “as a Christian community, we cannot share territory with the devil”.
Ah yes, the loving tolerance that is so prevalent in the Christian community rears its ugly head again. Apparently the territory that the church “shares” with the world extends in a radius at least 14.5 km around the church building.
The point to be made in all of this is that while you absolutely have a right to avoid strip clubs, it’s entirely possible to do so without going on a campaign of intimidation against them. You don’t want it in your community? Don’t go! Is your husband going? Well then the two of you need to have a chat, I suppose. Either that, or get over the fact that some people go to strip clubs (it’s much easier to do so when you realize that some of the strippers are in their 40s).
Happening now: Hostage crisis at Discovery Channel
Sep 1st
This post will be pretty much just a stub. There is currently a hostage situation taking place at the Discovery Channel’s headquarters in Maryland. The assailant, James Lee, has posted a radical list of demands, encompassing environmentalist policy, military intervention, and with particular vitriol for human reproduction. A partial list of demands can be seen at Pharyngula.
I am writing this in order to state clearly and immediately that I repudiate and condemn this action by Mr. Lee, who does not speak for me as an atheist, an environmentalist, a military objector, or a fan of Daniel Quinn. Innocent people should never be used as fodder in an ideological struggle, and I abhor violence as a means of social protest. I encourage all those in the secular movement to do the same – we are quick to malign moderate Christians and Muslims for not speaking up against extremists. We now have an example of a far-left atheist extremist – let’s not forget our principles.
It seems that Mr. Lee is mentally unhinged, and while I hope this standoff ends without anyone being hurt, my concern is for the hostages. I am also not looking forward to watching smug assholes turn this into justification for anti-environmentalism and anti-atheism (which they are virtually guaranteed to do – people love pointing out hypocrisy, as long as it isn’t theirs).
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UPDATE: Mr. Lee has been shot and killed by police (3:20 PST). As of 2:30 PST there is no word on his condition, but it seems like he might not be dead.
The Salvation Army destroys books
Sep 1st
An interesting email exchange was passed along to me that I’ve been given permission to publicize regarding books that are sold at Salvation Army Thrift Stores.
Over the course of the exchange (which lasts several months and includes many non-responses from the Army), it is admitted that the Salvation Army occasionally censors donated books that they receive that do not fit their Christian worldview. The censored books are then destroyed.
I’m not going to post the entire exchange here, or give out names or emails, but here’s some choice snippets (Salvation Army spokespeople in bold):
The Salvation Army store staff do their best to screen books so that we don’t sell books of a pornographic nature, or those that promote promiscuity.
If you find a book that you feel falls into the above categories, please don’t hesitate to bring it to the attention of the store Manager.
Regarding books that describe various philosophies on creation and evolution, non-Christian philosophies and beliefs, etc. we do sell those, as long as they don’t promote non-Christian beliefs. Again, if you see something that should not be on the shelf, please address it with the Store Manager, who will be happy to remove it if it’s unsuitable.
Does this mean that you will be more vigilant about Shakespeare, Greek mythology, or similar classical literature?
- No, because to meet the criteria which you are advocating, we would have to have staff with a thorough knowledge of every author, their opinions, theologies, writing styles etc and that is possible. We do the best we can with the resources and knowledge that we have available to us. We realize that our system is far from perfect,but we try to screen the books at our warehouse and again at store level, but it is difficult because of the enormous volume we process.What books (besides pornography and promiscuity) are removed from your shelves?
Books that promote any religion other than Christianity. Certain authors who we know use bad language, explicit sex or violence in their books. Again, I repeat our knowledge in this area is limited so it is highly probable that we miss some unsuitable books.What happens to those books? Are they put in a place where others may read them?
Destroyed, not re-circulated.
Of course the Army is not known for it’s progressive ideas, including about homosexuality:
For this reason such practices [as homosexuality], if unrenounced, render a person ineligible for Salvation Army soldiership, in the same way that unrenounced heterosexual misconduct is a bar to soldiership. The Army recognises the strength of feeling about sexual identity, and the difficulty many find in expressing this identity in keeping with scriptural standards.
However, it believes firmly in the power of God’s grace to enable the maintenance of a lifestyle pleasing to him, including a lifestyle built upon celibacy and self-restraint for those who will not or cannot marry. No one who yields to the lordship of Christ and who undertakes by his grace to live in accordance with the teaching of Scripture is excluded from Christian fellowship and service in the Army.
So when donating at Christmas, or giving away used clothes, books, or other belongings, consider Value Village or other thrift stores which donate portions of their profits to secular charities.
Blasphemous Americans
Sep 1st
At first, when I read this, I was laughing, then I thought what a dumbass, now I’m a little concerned for the crazy old guy. Certainly what this guy did was stupid, but so are blaphemy laws.
Rumblings of secularism in Bangladesh
Sep 1st
This is a promising turn of events:
A Bangladesh court has ruled that people cannot be forced to wear skull caps, veils or other religious clothing in workplaces, schools and colleges. The ruling came after reports that a college in the north had forced students to wear veils. The high court also ruled that women cannot be prevented from taking part in sports or cultural activities.
Bangladesh is a Muslim country, with nearly 90% of its population professing Islam. Despite this handicap, however, the courts have passed a law that stands in stark contradiction of those of the stereotypical Islamic nation (think Iran, Pakistan, Maldives). This is good news for a few reasons: first, it suggests that perhaps moderately-religious people are willing to, and capable of, shouting down the more conservative forces in society and embrace equal rights. Second, it suggests that there is no religious tradition for which this can be true (debunking the tired trope that Christianity birthed secular philosophy). Third, it is strongly suggestive that countries like Bangladesh are motivated to embrace secular philosophy and move forward along with other parts of the world.
Hello From China!
Sep 1st
I’ve been in China for about 10 days now. While facebook and BBC are blocked our blog isn’t (yet..hehe)! So I’m happy to be doing a live update instead of relying on a scheduled one. I will post some pictures and come back with some interesting stories about religion in China or at least some entertaining pictures of me at the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army.
We’ve been learning a lot about religion while we’re here. While I still don’t know a ton about it John summed up some of it nicely in his last post. While the state is atheist (because of their “communism”…uh huh) people are still religious and superstitious in the wrong ways. I’ve heard stories about people believing they have a hex on them and all these strange things. An even bigger part of the problem with religion in China is that people who are religious often get put into jail… (this is all anecdotal). I was working at a call center and there was a guy there handing out all this information about different religions that had been suppressed by the Chinese government. One that is pretty popular is the Falun Gong.
I’ve heard different things about the Falun Gong. Some people really support them and want the government to get off their back. But some people I’ve talked to have said they are a crazy cult that takes all your possessions and money. Sort of like Scientology, I guess. On the outside it seems almost harmless and sort of “good for the soul”… but once you’re in it eats you alive. John’s father has told us that the stories are really really over blown, though.
Most of the tourist places that we visit have a lot of religious history to them… mostly Buddhist. (A few day ago we were somewhere where a bit of the Buddha’s finger was hanging out.) But Christianity is leaving its mark around the country, too. I was sort of surprised to see a big western style church with a big cross on the top of it while coming into Shanghai. A big difference is that the catholics here don’t want to be associated with the Vatican… they want their own Catholicism. I haven’t really figured out how big the tension is about that yet, but I plan on sticking my nose into it a bit further in the days to come. I’ve also run into a couple mormon (I think) missionaries. I heard them speaking pretty solid Chinese to a few workers on the street. Gotta give them credit for learning a freaking hard language just to get their message out, I guess.
Anyway, just a hello from across the world! Keep Canada wonderful for me.
I go away for one week and this is what happens?
Aug 31st
So my posts over the last week were all pre-canned discussions since I was on a vacation down the west coast, and what do I get when I return?
Apparently the most misunderstood press release to ever make it out of the chambers of CFI Transnational hits the internet, only to be removed (ha, like that’s possible) and replaced it with a clarification.
Also, Glenn Beck met with his closest 50,000 (or so) friends and it becomes headline news.
PZ Myers almost died, but is pulling through on new meds. Of course, he’s still a dick though.
Finally, Australia’s election resulted in a bloody tie.
My regular blogging will slowly resume as I think of things that I feel the internet must know.
Why is everyone stupid except me?
Aug 31st
From time to time, I find intense gratification when people whose opinions I respect overlap with mine. An author or musician or public figure who I admire will come out and say something that I agree with completely. Obviously it’s no accident that the people I admire will largely share my opinions on things, but when someone like John Legend makes a salient point about race, or Roger Ebert goes outside of film critique to say something I’m down with, I get a little tingle in my lobes.
So you can understand how depressing it is to see the nearly-universal negative reaction to CFI’s statement about the “Ground Zero Mosque” – truly there has never been a dumber name. I don’t need to re-hash either the content of the complaint, nor summarize the reactions to it. You can just scroll down the page and see it all over this site (or just click here). I’m fine with the people here at Canadian Atheist disagreeing with me – I don’t think we’ve agreed on anything yet. It seems that this site is structured primarily as an exercise in opposing viewpoints; a frustrating but I suppose ultimately useful exercise.
But Orac? Et tu, man?
I never thought I’d ever be aiming a heapin’ helpin’ of not-so-Respectful Insolence at the Center For Inquiry (CFI), one of the premier secularist organizations in existence, but yesterday I found in my e-mail a mind-meltingly moronic press release that came from an organization that should never, ever produce anything this mind-meltingly moronic.
I read Orac’s blog, Respectful Insolence daily. As someone who works in the field of health care, I find the discussion of alt-med woo and critique of medical studies interesting. Nothing puts a smirk on my face quite like reading another well-crafted takedown of this anti-vax loon or that homeopathic quack. That’s why this piece was such a let-down to me. For those of you who don’t want to read it, I’ll summarize it for you briefly:
Waah, waah, not all religious people are evil. Waah, waah, CFI is mean to the faithful. Waah, waah, you can’t condemn religion but stand up for religious freedom.
It’s a poorly-kept secret that the man behind Orac is a practicing Catholic Crommunist will present any old rumour he reads on the internet as though it were fact (sorry Orac :P). I will save any criticism of the level of compartmentalization and mental gymnastics it requires to be a well-published skeptic but also be a religious believer. There are authors on this site who fit that description who will probably do a more judicious (and polite) job of describing the intricacies of cognitive dissonance than I can. Most of the time, Orac doesn’t talk about religion, and his beliefs are not related in any way to his blogging. I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt here and assume that he’s not just griping because someone took a swat at him as a Christian [or not, as the case may be].
But he is parroting a largely vacuous argument that I see cropping up all over the place: that CFI’s statement equates religious people with terrorists. I read the statement after reading the reaction to it. I read it again, many times, looking for the sentence (or even the single word) that states that religious people are evil, or terrorists, or that adherents to a faith-based doctrine are going to blow stuff up. It isn’t there.
I am baffled again and again by the inability of people who I otherwise think are fairly intelligent to see the distinction between the idea and the person. I have a well-established hate-on for conservatism. I think it’s a largely unvarnished, un-nuanced, overly-simplistic philosophical doctrine that neglects to take into account very important information about the world, preferring instead to argue about what ought rather than what is. That being said, it is child’s play for me to be friends with a conservative person, by merely recognizing that my beef is with their ideas, not with them as a person. If they do something I disagree with, I say so, and we move on. Some of my close friends here in Vancouver are religious, some are alt-med, some are into supernatural woo-woo of all kinds. Big deal – we disagree, I say so, and we move on.
CFI’s statement was simply that – faith is a bad thing. Faith doesn’t make people good, but it is used as a justification for a great deal of evil. Respect for faith-based anything grants an undue amount of privilege to a philosophy that is basically “I believe in it, therefore it is so.” As a skeptic of any type, you simply must reject that kind of belief out of hand. It is faith that gives fuel and credibility to child-touching priests, to soul-sucking leeches like John Edward, and to terrorist groups. When we say that faith is something to be encouraged, we are granting implicit license to those actions that are based on faith – the good and the bad.
The CFI statement was a recognition of this. Faith spurred the terrorist attacks. Any encouragement of faith rather than reason is a betrayal of people who were the victims of this faith-based initiative. Does this mean that religious people are terrorists? Does CFI think that churches should be razed to the ground? Only in crazy-town, which is where these posts seem to be originating, based on a quick IP-check of those posting. What CFI has said is that the encouragement of faith is bad, not that people who have faith are bad; misguided, perhaps, or poorly-informed. You simply cannot deny that the most religiously-pious and rigidly faithful people who died on September 11th, 2001 were those hijacking the plane (well you can, but you’d be wrong). Building any monument to faith is granting prestige and license to all of the outcomes of faith, even the ones we deplore.
Now it will come as literally zero surprise to me when every other author here (and most of the readers) jump on my head about this. All I can say is go back and re-read the release. If you still disagree with me, say so, and we’ll move on.
Spiritual Atheism
Aug 30th
Some people have suggested that I can be an atheist and hang on to some of my “supernatural” or “spiritual” beliefs. Most recently someone referred me to the “Centre for Spiritual Atheism“.
The goal of the Spiritual Atheism project is not to provide a specific spiritual philosophy (that is your own responsibility); but, rather, to unify all Spiritual Atheists, regardless of their particular philosophies and points of view.
Half of what they talk about is pretty “secular humanist” like. They say that they live their lives striving to be happy while also striving to maximize the happiness of those around them (humans and tress a like).
But the site goes on to explain that Spiritual Atheists don’t believe in a god but only believe in things that further “define the nature of the universe” (whatever that means). They seem a bit hippy talking about how all our words and thoughts are in harmony with the connected universe and all that is in it.They said that atheists can still transcend the “here and now” and find this deeper connection and motivation in the universe.
Can atheists be open to transcendental experiences? There is of course a circular argument here that says if you say “no, because there is nothing to transcend” then you’re just not “open minded” enough to transcend that which is transcendable and therefore it’ll never happen to you until you believe there is something there to transcend. I thought part of the meaning of transcendental was that there was to be something supernatural beyond that which we can see. Isn’t that sort of like God?
I guess it’s all in the definition. These people are saying there is some sort of unifying force between humans, nature and the universe – but they’ve decided not to call it god and instead call themselves spiritual. While in progressive Christianity and my own definition, “god” is just that… some kind of unifying force.
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