Athée Canadien
Joe
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Posts by Joe
Friday Roundup
Mar 4th
Another end of the week blitz… for your reading pleasure
- Atheist arrested in Florida
- Magnetic boy is not attracting anything… but Ewwww
- Bringing the internet to a neuron near you
- Atheism down-under coming to the surface
- An atheist book I have yet to read… but sounds interesting
- Quebec… on the front lines
- The ‘right’ kind of atheism? (Login might be required)
- Praise be, the Holy Placebo
Accessorizing Race
Mar 2nd
Race is often a hot-button issue, even though, modern science makes it clear that human ‘race’ is mostly just about superficial characteristics, no different from the plumage of eye and hair colour.
In this case, we have an artist, Beyonce Knowles, whose skin pigment has garnered negative attention before… going out of her way to express herself, and her heritage/identity in a way that some might consider going too far.
In a statement (via Jezebel), L’Officiel describes the Feli-inspired photo of Beyonce — sporting blackface, tribal paint and a dress designed by her mom — as a “return to her African roots, as you can see on the picture, on which her face was voluntarily darkened.”
Uh oh.
On the one hand, there are very good historical reasons for deeming any use of black-face to be extremely offensive, and yet, racist language is often used by African-American artists as part of their art; movies and rap music being the obvious examples.
Still, there is plenty of disagreement about whether this sort of thing is positive… taking control of racist language, and/or even moving beyond it… or whether it simply reinforces historical prejudice.
Where to start?
Well, I could say that in a modern western context, with historical slavery and prejudice as a given, that I, as a white-guy, should under no circumstances use black-face or racist language to express myself. And this seems reasonable, and is in fact, my general view.
Yay me.
However, I’m also forced to admit, that skin color does have a distinct ‘fashion’ accessory nature that goes beyond racial politics. Many white people, despite medical advice to the contrary, spend hours in the sun risking cancer, for the express purpose of getting the perfect tan. I did this myself when I was younger. (These days I’m work nights and have a complexion that makes vampires look ‘healthy’). Now, this is not ‘the same’ as black-face, obviously, but it does muddy the water a bit.
Similarly, there is a trend in South Asian countries for preferring lighter skin tones. And there is a lucrative industry in skin tone cremes in South Asian countries. Now one can probably trace this to European colonialism fairly easily, but at what point does body modification become offensive? The variety of skin tones in South Asia predates European colonialism, as does racism of the family background based caste system. Not that this makes it better.
Many East Asians, get there eyes ‘fixed’ to look more ‘Caucasian’, and there are butt implants for skinny-assed white people, and collagen injections for our overly-thin ‘white’ lips.
The bottom line is, that how we look(however superficial that makes us) is both part of our ‘natural’ identity and part of the identity we choose for ourselves. Should we be forced to stick within the parameters of our own racial ‘qualities’ when it comes to the identity we choose? That too seems…well… racist.
So, while it seems impossible to accept this as just fashion, if we don’t, aren’t we reinforcing the arbitrary divisions of race? Divisions that are, by their nature, superficial and not particularly scientific. Should we tailor our behaviour, and the way we look, to avoid offending others, or strive to push the limits and express ourselves?
Blame game in an unjust world
Feb 23rd
People are stupid, thoughtless, insensitive, petty, angry, irrational and violent. We really don’t deserve much… OK… maybe I’m being bit harsh.
We do have our heroic moments, the times when we excel.. and do the good.
A friend of mine is fond of the Darwin Awards,and for those not aware, these are awards given posthumously to those, not so clever people, who through shear lack of any sort of common sense, removed themselves from the gene pool in what some consider humorous ways…
Apparently they thought the barrel would skid across the parking lot like a rocket, with a tail of flame shooting out, and two rodeo clowns sitting on top waving their caps and wooting! But instead of sliding across the pavement, well, let’s just point out that four gallons of methanol in a 55-gallon drum greatly resembles a bomb.
And then…
A handicapped man, annoyed that an elevator closed and departed without him, thinks it over before ramming his wheelchair into the doors not once, not twice, but three times in all–only to plunge down the now-empty elevator shaft to his death.
Now some people find these awards callous, we are talking about people who actually died, after all, and often painfully, but the Darwin awards have been around for a while, and are still quite popular. Gallows humor is often popular, most especially when tragedy hits, even if its not ‘politically correct’, and is relegated to whispers and the lockeroom.
More >
Miracles
Feb 17th
Modern medical science is a miracle… think of all the amazing things we… not me I have an English degree… we can do. Cure disease, repair injuries… But then something happens, and it puts everything that we know in doubt. Clearly there is some other agency at work.
According to conventional medical wisdom, three-year-old Chase Britton shouldn’t be able to walk. He shouldn’t be able to stand, let alone balance himself as he puts one foot in front of the other. The fact that he even breathes on his own is nothing short of remarkable.He is, quite simply, a medical miracle.
It’s a miracle! Well… maybe… or, I could use another modern miracle… Google… and check for further information on Chase Britton …
I have not been shy about discussing journalistic behavior that I despise – so here’s another one. Take an unusual medical case and report the following about it: 1) Doctors are baffled, 2) this challenges everything we thought we knew, 3) some are calling this remarkable case a miracle, 4) the patient (or their parents) did not listen to the doctor’s negativity, and bravely persevered.
But… but… miracles are good right? Spoilsport.
Science is not a miracle, sometimes we discover things that are unexpected or unusual, and it allows us… again mostly not me… to do great things, but mostly science is a long hard process that takes generations of work… and some luck.
What is Just?
Feb 17th
An interesting podcast from Philosophy Bites, where Michael Sandel, a Harvard professor, talks about competing views of what is right. The example given will be familiar to most people, as it often ends up being a plot point on television and in the movies.
Would you torture a terrorist to get the information on the whereabouts of a bomb, which is going to kill thousands of people? Assume that the terrorist is guilty, and you know this is true.
The Utilitarian view, based on the good, or well-being, of the many; would argue that the pain created by thousands of people dead, outweighs the pain of one tortured terrorist, so torture is acceptable, if there is no other option.
The Kantian view, the basis of our modern idea of human rights, would oppose this on the basis of the dignity of the human being, even a terrorist should not be tortured. Universal rights are universal, after all.
Sandel however throws into the mix one more plot twist.
What if the only way to get the information about the bomb, isn’t by torturing the terrorist directly, but by torturing his innocent 14 year old daughter?
Are you a cold-blooded enough Utilitarian to get this job done?
And more importantly my geeky friends, what would Spock do?
What about Jack Bauer?
Sandel says the reason most people, even utilitarian minded people, will balk at torturing the girl to save thousands, is because we all have a sense of another kind of justice.
In this case, its the view of Aristotle, that justice is not so much about means or ends, but about what we think people deserve, based on their inherent virtues. In this case, since the terrorist is a bad guy, we find it easier to justify inflicting pain on him, whereas someone who is innocent, we feel, doesn’t deserve to be tortured.
So, is it about what you do, what the result is, or what you think people deserve?
And yeah, this is why I’m a relativist… for me, it depends on the details of the circumstance, not some vague hypothetical.
The science of people like me
Feb 16th
Racism, sexism, ageism, the reasons and ways we judge people are often so off-base its a wonder we get anything done at all. Often we label people who we see making these misjudgments: stupid, uneducated, ignorant… but I think that misses the point.
We tend to like people with whom we think we have something in common, no matter how trivial the commonality. After reading about Rasputin, whose spell over the Russian royal family ended only with his assassination in 1916, students were more likely to view the mad monk positively if told they shared his birthday. We rate faces as more trustworthy if the images have been modified by computers to resemble us.
We’re tribal, we look favorably on people who resemble us, while the alien, the different, the strange, is a visceral danger sign in our primitive brains.
Conformity, or groupthink—our tendency to do and even think like others—represents one of our greatest vulnerabilities.
What is worse, when other people make these mistakes, we tend to go along.
So how do we fight our group-think re-enforced stupidities? I keep hearing my fellow atheists talk about education and critical thinking, but people have to want these things. Simply telling people to smarten up never has much affect.
I was thinking about this the other day, and it all seems to come back to the fact that what we really need to do is not teach critical thinking, but SELL critical thinking. Who do people listen to these days? Jon Stewart, Glenn Beck… they aren’t the most knowledgeable guys, but they know how to sell their ideas. We need to take advantage of how we are all stupid, and use it to our advantage. Some of that isn’t going to be so palatable… sciencey types are often more concerned with accuracy rather than communication, but these are the skills needed
Key factors are humor, surprise, eye contact and absolute confidence
Being skeptical, serious-mined, critically thinking, introverts is not enough. If we’re going to do more than just preach to the choir, we have to engage people, in ways they respond to, not just the ways we wish they would.
Separate… but equal?
Feb 15th
Am I being Foul and Fair?
According to him, it would make it easier for women in the same city or state to find each other, become friends and help each other out.
“There are a significant number of girls who do not yet feel confident enough to share their points of view and opinions in the same domain as men. In my opinion they need some time to adjust.”
Members of the group have been debating the decision, with some supporting it. Others, however, mocked the decision, sarcastically claiming that girls registering with the group needed a male guardian’s permission.
Other men said the decision was exactly the same as banning young Saudi men from malls and family areas in the Kingdom.
When I was growing up, I remember being told that women can do anything men could do, and therefore should not be denied the opportunity to ‘play with the boys’. Seemed reasonable, but I’d still never hit a girl… boys on the other hand were fair game.
Equality is an ideal, at the best of times, and defending the privilege that one has, often seems to trump our high ideals…
Women are… temptresses, they distract men, so having them around is harmful to men. Further, women are weaker, both mentally and physically, so it is unfair to expect them to compete at the same level.
Men are… sexist and aggressive, their mere presence is oppressive and harmful to women. Further, the old-boys network ensures that women never get a fair shake. Even if they are able to compete on the same level, they are denied the rewards.
Sound unfair? Yes, unfairness is everywhere, and so are the benefits of privilege, often unearned.
So… being fair or being equal?
Invariably its easier to categorize and stigmatize, than actually deal with individuals, one by one. Dealing with people as individuals is tiresome and repetitive. They are always so much alike anyway, why should we have to waste our time?
We should just protect our own, insulate ourselves, stick with those who agree with us.
We should…remember equality… is better, even if its not always fair, to paraphrase a famous american, “not because it is easy, but because it is hard”. It is because the world is unfair and unequal that we should strive for better. Being around people who make us uncomfortable isn’t fair. And doesn’t guarantee we will get what we want, or that the game will be anywhere close to fair, but its the only way to grow stronger.
Coddling ourselves in insulated echo-chambers may make us feel good, but it also weakens us, as much as it protects us. Stepping outside our comfort zone is stepping outside our privilege. Sometimes we can get hurt, but bravery is often its own reward.
Easy to say, when you are privileged…and I am, but no less true.
Amish paradise
Jan 30th
While a bit oversimplified and vague, this article asks a question we can’t hide from.
Even if we avoid the evils of neo-eugenics, evolution doesn’t stop, so some consideration for where we are headed is warranted.
At this rate, the Amish population will reach 7 million by 2100 and 44 million by 2150. On the other hand, the growth may not continue if future generations of Amish choose to defect from the religion and if secular influences reduce the birth rate.
Drawing lines… are a must
Jan 25th
I’ve taken on the ‘accommodation’ mantel on this site at times, and I’m quite comfortable with it. I think a multicultural society…a multicultural world even… demands that we make concessions to the beliefs of others, even when we consider those beliefs wrongheaded. However, I’m not entirely ‘without a backbone’ in this regard, there are times when we need to stand firm on basic principles, and when we need to stand up for change.
I support a woman’s right to wear a burqa, as much as I support a woman’s right to visit a plastic surgeon and get whatever size fake boobs she wants. I don’t think either is a particularly good idea, and would counsel any woman to avoid both. I was also supportive of turban wearing Sikhs when they wished to be accommodated with regard to wearing their turbans as part of their RCMP uniforms. I consider this a minor accommodation as it is mostly symbolic having very little effect on the actual job they do.
Accommodating women by reducing certain physical requirements for certain jobs is something I find more problems with, but as long as it is done on an equal basis and not some lopsided quota system, I’m supportive of it.
However, when it comes to Sikh kirpans, I have to draw the line. Ceremonial or not, if its a knife, its a knife. And if weapons are prohibited in an area, then that includes all weapons. (One can argue whether the prohibition is appropriate, of course, but if it is, it should stand) Accommodation works both ways, sometimes reasonable sacrifices have to be made by minorities as well. You can’t demand accommodation and then not be willing to do it yourself. This is a security concern.
Further, there are times, even within our own society, when practices we have done traditionally, without much question, need to be revisited and modified. Jackson Doughard, a member of the Canadian Secular Alliance, has this to say on the subject of infant male circumcision and I completely agree.
Mutilating children’s genitalia is barbaric and unnecessary, whether it is done to males or females, and it is an affront to the Charter right to life, liberty, and security of the person.
Men who are concerned about contracting HIV through unprotected sex should have the opportunity to undergo this procedure if it suits their interests, but doing this to children, especially in Canada where safe-sex is much easier to come by, is simply child abuse.
I don’t blame parents entirely for this, since traditions to some degree have a life of their own. But I think this is one tradition whose time is long past. We need to stop thinking of this as normal, and stop the hypocrisy. Scaring someone for life is not medicine.
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