In case you haven’t heard, the end of the world is nigh. The Rapture is supposedly coming on May 21 of this year, and if you haven’t made things right with the Lord by then, it’ll be too late. (Look, he’s been very patient with us, but he has things to do, and a deadline is a deadline…)
To mark this momentous occasion, American Atheists is holding a party/ RAM (Regional Atheists Meeting) in Oakland on Rapture Weekend, May 21 – 22. And I’m going to be speaking!
If you’re in the Bay Area, you may have seen this billboard on the approach to the Bay Bridge. “The Rapture: You KNOW it’s nonsense. 2000 Years of ‘Any Day Now.’ Learn the truth at our Rapture Party, May 21-22. atheists.org/oakland .” You may have even seen/ heard/ read the news coverage about the billboard. This is the thing the billboard is advertising! I’ll be speaking there, on the entertaining and enlivening topic, “Why Are Atheists So Angry?” Summary:
The atheist movement is often accused of being driven by anger. What are so many atheists so angry about? Is this anger legitimate? And can anger be an effective force behind a movement for social change?
Other awesome speakers will include Mr. Deity, Jen McCreight (Blag Hag), Matt Dillahunty (The Atheist Experience), Rebecca Watson (Skepchick), and many more. There’ll be stand-up comedy from Troy Conrad and Keith Lowell Jensen, as well as the fun, inspiring talks and an after- conference party. It should be a hootenanny! And it’s pretty cheap — just $49 for the entire weekend, $39 for American Atheists members (you can join when you register), and $20 for students (for advance purchases).
The party/ conference will be held at the Oakland Masonic Center at 3903 Broadway: it’s near MacArthur BART, and is wheelchair accessible. It goes from 9am to 9pm on Saturday, May 21, including lunch, dinner, and the party, and — assuming we’re all still alive by then — from 9m to 1pm on Sunday, May 22. (Lunch and dinner cost extra, but not much — just $25 for both. It’s strongly recommended that you get the meal package, since dining options in the area are limited.) It’ll be a great opportunity for community building, activism, networking and just plain fun. There’ll be planning being done for the Reason Rally, the godless march on Washington, D.C. in 2012… and more immediately, for the godless contingent at the San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade this year. There’ll also be a special breakfast on Sunday morning (again, assuming Armageddon hasn’t begun), fundraising for Camp Quest West, and you’ll get to eat and schmooze with the speakers — including me! Not that I promise to be very coherent at 7:30 in the morning on a Sunday, but you’ll have the privilege of watching me fall asleep into my French toast. (Tickets for the breakfast are limited, so if you want to attend, register now.)
Sounds like a good time? It will be! So register for the conference. party now! Hope to see you there!
Does anyone know anything about the new billboard up on the Skyway near the Bay Bridge? It seems to be from a different group. I wrote down their website:
http://www.merkaba.org
They are saying that some athiests will be more prepared than conservative Christians on Judgement day.
Has anyone figured out where they got the $59 figure for the Washington Inn? Their website lists rooms starting at least $20 higher and the $59 figure would be…convenient.
I can’t help giggling at the idea of a bunch of atheists meeting in a Masonic Temple at the end of the world. Does this mean that we get to run things at last?
Hi Greta – I thoroughly enjoyed the Rapture RAM last weekend and I found your speech particularly moving and inspiring. I used to think of myself as a somewhat closeted apathetic atheist, but I now I really want to be more involved. I would like to know more about the godless contingent in the LGBT parade, but I’m having a hard time finding information about it. Could/would you please point me in the right direction? Thanks for any help! 🙂
Ya know what makes me angry? It is that atheists won’t just shut the hell up and do what they want to do and leave everyone else alone! I am not a Christian but I see no harm in having a holiday named Christmas or kids in school having candy canes or people being able to pray when and wherever they want to. Sumerians call it Uster, Christians call it Easter and atheists can call it the celebration of hypereutectic alloy pistons for all I care just leave everyone to call it what they wish and butt out! If a community or town has an old courthouse in which are the ten commandments and the majority of people in said town are ok with it what right do these pompous self-aggrandizing fools have that somehow allows them to force those words to be removed? These are a bunch of angry, worthless pieces of crap who so desperately need to feel important that they will do anything to hurt others just so they can claim a victory. It is not just atheists either… There are so many other groups of angry idiots such as code pink (whose membership should be shot on sight IMHO), greatly outdated labor unions, NOW (who still insists that women get the shaft all the time yet when a woman such as Sarah Palin is on the verge of holding the second highest office in the world refused to come to her defense when she was being made fun of by those pesky men), the ACLU (who constantly works against the civil liberties of most folks to please a very small minority) etc… To them they are all that matter and screw you if you disagree with them or are not one of them. They bitch about intolerance while being far more intolerant than those they are bitching about! It is both ridiculous and sad that these people have nothing in their lives to make them feel and self worth thus only feeling alive if they are angry. COME ON PEOPLE!!! BE NICE TO EVERYBODY AND JUST CHILL OUT! Do whatever it is that makes you happy and leave others to do the same…