Atheists Talk: Debbie Goddard on African Americans for Humanism

An African American freethinker is still regarded as a novelty, despite approximately 10% of the U.S. African American population identifying as nonreligious. African Americans for Humanism (AAH) is one of the groups trying to raise the profile of this minority within a minority, both to help these people connect when they are further marginalized by their family and friends for questioning faith and to be a voice for change within the African American community.

Debbie Goddard is the director of AAH. On Sunday, she will join us in the studio to talk about AAH’s mission, what is has accomplished (including those wonderful billboards), and where it is going from here.

Related Links

Listen to AM 950 KTNF this Sunday at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio at 952-946-6205, or send an e-mail to [email protected] during the live show. If you miss the live show, listen to the podcast later.

Atheists Talk: Debbie Goddard on African Americans for Humanism
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The Language We Use

I met James Croft at Freethought Festival, and he kept tweeting at me that he was changing his talk in response to something I’d said. I have no idea whether he ended up doing any of that, but it is a fascinating talk either way.

Using someone else’s language to speak to them about our interests is often viewed as manipulative. I don’t doubt that it can be, but it is also what we do when our intent is nothing more nefarious than putting someone at ease. Similarly, we work to speak to their concerns when we simply want to not bore someone. Is what James is talking about any different?

The Language We Use

My SkepchickCon Schedule

I’m running around for the next several days, so blogging will be sparse here. Tweeting may be up, however, if the con doesn’t overwhelm the local cell towers. If you want to find me, here is where I’m committed to be (full con schedule here).

Thursday through Saturday evenings:

I will be in the FtB party room, which is connected to the Skepchick party room. There will be booze for a modest fee (to pay for the party space). There will be buttons. There will be FtBers and Skepchicks and friends of both. There will be balconies with excellent vantages on the Jesi boffing. There will be great room designs by our friend Mel.

Friday July 6, 2012 9:30am – 10:30am @ Atrium 7

Growing Up Online
Each new generation is more electronically connected than the last. How does this broaden or narrow our world views? What does it do to our online interactions? How do we help our kids navigate this environment? Panelists: Jason Thibeault, Scott White, Stephanie Zvan, Barbara Burke, Anne Sauer, Ashley Hamer, Heina Dadabhoy

Friday July 6, 2012 2:00pm – 3:00pm @ Atrium 4

Don’t Feed the Trolls
Sexism, misogyny & the internet. A discussion about the recent wave of internet bullying against women and what we can do about it. Panelists: Heina Dadabhoy, Greg Laden, Stephanie Zvan, Jason Thibeault, Rebecca Watson

Sunday July 8, 2012 2:00pm – 3:00pm @ Bloomington

Vive le Difference
Boys like trucks, girls like dolls. Or do they? What are the real differences between men and women (other than the obvious physical ones)? How much is cultural, how much is a consequence of real biological differences? Panelists: Stephanie Zvan, Craig A. Finseth, Greg Laden, Rebecca Watson, Heina Dadabhoy

If you’re at the con, please come say, “Hi!”

My SkepchickCon Schedule

Morality at the Beginning of Human Life

One of the advantages of local conferences with local speakers is adding good speakers and talks as resources in our movement. (Others include decreasing boredom and avoiding holding a small group of speakers up as heroes.) This talk by Chris Calvey was much talked about all weekend at Freethought Festival.

I was still in transit when he spoke, but I can see why people were talking about this. Chris will get more polished as he talks more, of course, but this is a good, thought-provoking talk on a difficult subject. If Freethought Festival had stuck to only already-known speakers, we would have missed it, and that would have been a shame.

Morality at the Beginning of Human Life

An Auspicious Beginning

There’s this idea the slimepitters are trying to promote that they’re thinking seriously about acting like civilized human beings. One example in the wild:

Actually we started having that conversation days ago. Scroll down and you see see one slimepitter annoyed with another about “cleaning up our act”. This was July 1st. and the conversation started before that.

Not surprising it started before that. I sent Seed Media a letter on June 28. Continue reading “An Auspicious Beginning”

An Auspicious Beginning

Rockets' Red Glare

I wrote this four years ago. It really shouldn’t be as applicable today as it is. *sigh* So on we fight.

As unlikely as it sounds, I’m one of those people who cries at the “Star Spangled Banner.” I can’t tell you whether I do it for the same reasons as anyone else, because I don’t know anyone else who does it. I can tell you that the reasons have changed somewhat over the last few years.

I’ve always, as long as I’ve understood the words, empathized with the soldiers who dreaded the rockets but looked to them to know the flag they fought for still survived. How desperate does their need to know have to be to make it worth looking up instead of covering their heads? How much of a relief must dawn be, and how great their fear of bad news that they have to ask instead of looking for themselves?

I can’t answer those questions, but even asking them makes me cry.

In recent years, though, my attention has been a bit distracted by the rockets–the trials and dangers that briefly illuminate our long night. I’ve been watching them fly overhead, hearing them explode all too nearby. I’ve been peering through the darkness to see what they can tell me about the state of our flag. I haven’t seen much that I can be sure of, but I’ve made myself look.

But now, with a light on the horizon, I find myself understanding the soldiers better than ever. There should be a flag there, battered though it may be. Not everyone has put their heads down. Many kept fighting despite the rockets. When the sun finally rises, we should see the flag.

Will we? And how many of us will even be able to look?

Rockets' Red Glare

But You *Must* Talk About the Letter

There’s some commenting happening on Sunday’s post (though by how many actual people is an open question) to the tune of:

You can pretend this isn’t about bin Laden but it is quite strange that someone so finely attuned to “harassment” doesn’t have a Goddamn thing to say against her BFF who is threatening to “kick [someone’s] fucking ass”.

This is kind of funny after the reaction to my comments on D.J. apology.

The “leaders” in this skeptical movement, the Rebecca’s and the DJs, would then do us all a favour if they counted to ten before firing off a blog post and picked up the phone to talk to each other.

I have hardly ever seen people work differences out through email, because it is so hard to do in writing. Get two people in a room or let them speak on a phone and usually they work out that either it was a misunderstanding or how they can resolve their differences.

Why don’t you people just talk to each other and leave us out of it?! Why don’t you people tell us your reactions to everything so we can pick them apart?! Continue reading “But You *Must* Talk About the Letter”

But You *Must* Talk About the Letter

Dealing with Trolls

This weekend will be SkepchickCon/CONvergence, where I will be on a panel talking about dealing with trolls online. Previously, we managed to come to a general consensus on what defines a troll. I’ve also posted some resources on comment moderation, to which others have added. Now we come to the big question.

Aside from moderating them out of existence, how do we deal with trolls?

Ignoring them isn’t necessarily an option, particularly when dealing with social justice issues. I’ve talked previously about why “Don’t feed the trolls” is based on oversimplified notions of psychology. Beyond that, however, is the fact that “trolling” is often an accurate representation of the worlds that many of us deal with. We don’t want to make it disappear because it’s exactly the thing we want to address. Jay Smooth recently put it better than I could. Continue reading “Dealing with Trolls”

Dealing with Trolls