A quick snip from a longer post that’s bound to anger some folks in these parts:
I think the atheist dickhead phenomenon is about at this level of discussion [of short, sweet, rude, and raw] right now. It’s no longer about God, it’s about “others.” It’s about the purity of your unbelief, measured not against any philosophical standard or line of argument but about finding religious believers septic and converting polite unbelievers to the more radical view that religion runs from noxious to poisonous, not from good to bad. It’s also about your solidarity with others who share your radical unbelief and how you measure the attitudes and intentions of other members of the tribe.
Of Atheist Tribes
R. Joseph Hoffman
[disclaimer: I'm not trying to throw any kerosene on any smoldering fires right now.]
R. Joseph Hoffman is a long-time supporter of Paul Kurtz and his “kinder, gentler” form of atheism and secular humanism (here’s a link to Kurtz’s Neo-Humanist statement).
I’m not sure I agree with everything Hoffman has said in this essay/blog-post, but it should give rise to some interesting discussion. I’m still mulling over how he’s described an “atheist tribalist,” and I’m pretty sure I’ve encountered a few in my short lifetime (thus far) as an atheist.