Crommunist

Author's details

Name: Ian Cromwell
Date registered: September 26, 2011
URL: http://freethoughtblogs.com/crommunist

Biography

Crommunist is a scientist, musician, skeptic, and long-time observer of race and race issues. His interests, at least blog-wise, focus on bringing anti-racism into the fold of skeptic thought, and promoting critical thinking about even those topics that make us uncomfortable. READ THE FAQ. E-mail: crommunist at gmail dot com

Latest posts

  1. I’m not dead — May 6, 2013
  2. MP Scott Reid goes after atheists in the House of Commons #DefendDissent — April 23, 2013
  3. Go Home, Arab — April 16, 2013
  4. Possibly foreign — April 16, 2013
  5. Vanity Friday – This Love — April 12, 2013

Most commented posts

  1. Free thoughts from the hive mind — 199 comments
  2. When the rug is pulled — 196 comments
  3. “It’s my movement too”; the white whine of atheism — 175 comments

Author's posts listings

Apr 08 2013

Glimmers of secular hope

Categories:

critical thinking, freethought community, good news, news, politics, religion, secularism

by

There has been a great fracas recently within atheist/secularist circles as ‘Horseman’ Sam Harris has been subjected to repeated critique* as the avatar of a disturbing trend within atheist circles: using “reason” to mask anti-Muslim sentiment in politically pallatable language. I have noted this tendency previously: I don’t think anyone could confuse me with someone …

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50 comments

Apr 08 2013

Asking for a friend…

Categories:

critical thinking, feminism, race

by

When I was a little kid, people (including family and teachers) made a big deal about my intelligence. In strong contrast to what I understand to be the experience of many black children in white-dominated environments, I was always complimented for my intellect and encouraged to push further. It was a rare occasion, however, that …

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18 comments

Apr 04 2013

Skepchickileaks

Categories:

forces of stupid, freethought community, funny

by

In the past I have mocked a lot of the hyperbolic rage-whining that comes at near-incessant frequency from the band of devoted camp followers that have made it their life’s mission to destroy FreethoughtBlogs, Skepchick, Atheism+, feminism, the concept of equality, the colour orange, and basically anything else they consider a personal affront. I have …

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97 comments

Apr 03 2013

Mere speech

Categories:

Canada, free speech, hate, law, LGBT, news

by

There is a long predigree in liberal public discourse about the dangers of punishing hate speech. The oft-quoted aphorism goes something like “the antidote to hate speech is more speech”*. The basic idea is that in a marketplace of ideas, bad ideas will be forced out by good ones, and thus the solution to hate …

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35 comments

Apr 03 2013

Credit where it’s due

Categories:

Uncategorized

by

It’s an unfortunate reality for minority groups that they are often pressured to embody exemplary behaviour. Because of a tide of suspicion and hostility often flows against minority groups (some more than others), these groups must often model a standard of morality, fastidiousness, and earnestness that is not required of members of the majority group, …

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18 comments

Apr 03 2013

Who occupies “the middle ground”? A story of an open letter

Categories:

crommunism, feminism, freethought community, hypocrisy

by

Yesterday, I admonished you to read a Colorlines piece that details, in a step-by-step fashion, the way that majority spaces react when minority members speak up about discrimination. I put a particular emphasis on step three: Step 3: Play the ‘Middle’ Between Rational and Frothing Racist You know how mainstream news shows discuss global warming by …

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38 comments

Apr 02 2013

New required reading: How to Get a Black Woman Fired

Categories:

critical thinking, feminism

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I haven’t commented on the Adria Richards thing at all, which some people might find surprising since it lives right at the intersection of sexism and racism where I do some of my best work. There are a few reasons for this: circumstances have robbed me of quite a bit of my writing mojo, the …

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13 comments

Apr 02 2013

(un)Fairly Labeled

Categories:

critical thinking, crommunism, feminism, forces of stupid, racism

by

There is a great deal of consternation that gets kicked up over the terms “racist” and “misogynist” (I would also put “homophobic” in this category, but it is a special case). People who engage in racist or misogynistic behaviour, or who espouse racist or misogynistic attitudes, will furiously clutch their pearls and fan themselves feverishly …

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18 comments

Mar 30 2013

Happy Easter!

Categories:

funny, movie, religion

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Easter and the ‘Passion of Jesus’ is one of those things that makes way less sense the more you think about it. I remember being profoundly affected by the passion story as a child – a man making the ultimate sacrifice for the redemption of sins. It was a touching tale. Until I thought about …

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7 comments

Mar 30 2013

We did it!

Categories:

Kiva project

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Thanks to your signups, your retweets, your Facebooking, and your general awesomeness, the “Atheists, Agnostics, Skeptics, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists and the Non-Religious” Kiva group has hit 25,000 members! This means that our group will get $10,000 in loan matching from a big-money donor to Kiva, allowing us to do twice the amount of loaning to …

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9 comments

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