Happy April Fools » « Dublin, here I come!

Goodbye, Greta!

EDIT: Happy April Fools.

It’s official: Greta Christina will be leaving Freethought Blogs.

I know, it really surprised me too. Greta is one of the first atheist bloggers I read and was major motivation for me to start my own blog. Over my three years of blogging, we’ve become close friends. I wasn’t surprised when she texted me yesterday, but I was surprised with what it said:

“I’m done with blogging.”

At first I thought she was just mad about another dumb internet kerfuffle about sexism, or #mencallmethings. But when I asked her what was going on, I realized she was serious. This wasn’t a temporary desire – this was for real. I tried to talk her out of it because I love her writing so much, but her mind was made up. Because we’re such good friends, Greta let me interview her about her decision.

She wanted me to stress that she had no ill will toward Freethought Blogs – she’s loved the community it has provided, and it’s been a fun experience. But atheist blogging just isn’t in her future. “When I wrote Why Are You Atheists So Angry, I thought it would motivate people to join the movement and become just as enraged about religious atrocities as I was,” Greta said. “But I was surprised when it did the opposite. Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I feel so much better. I’m just not that angry about religion anymore. Other people should definitely keep up the fight, but I’ve reached some sort of zen level. Well, except that zen is bullshit. You know what I mean.”

I asked her if this meant she was done with blogging for good. “That’s actually another exciting announcement!” she said. “A reader of mine has a connection with Vogue, and apparently they loved my Fashion Friday posts. I’m going to be contributing to their blog occasionally!”

How about her other atheist activism, like her talks? “It’s the same as the blog. I just don’t have the passion there now that I’ve been able to vent. I hope the atheist movement keeps going strong, but I’m just not interested in being a part of it anymore. I have better things I can be doing to make myself happy.”

How exactly does Greta plan to spend her newly acquired free time? “Spending more time with Ingrid. Snuggling with kittens. Project Runway marathons. There’s a tub of cardamom ice cream that has my name on it.”

…I awkwardly asked if that was it.

“I’ll probably squeeze in some Buffy or Harry Potter fanfiction if my schedule allows. The sky’s the limit.”

Well, as a friend I’m glad Greta’s doing what makes her happy. But I know we’ll all miss her wonderful writing. Maybe I’ll suck it up and read her posts at Vogue, even though I know nothing about fashion.

Goodbye, Greta!

Happy April Fools » « Dublin, here I come!

Comments

  2. Esther says

    Damn you. I even came here thinking “I wonder what they came up with for the 1st of April” and I *still* fell for it.

  10. Utakata says

    Somehow, after this and reading Skepchic planning to become more MRA friendly…I thought I should take a good look at today’s date. >.>

  11. Grant Gordon says

    Doh! It only occured to me half way through reading the post. I was starting to get very sad indeed.

  18. Chad says

    I would have fallen for this had I not also heard how YOU were leaving too. You all Suck. And by that I mean I love you all ( in a totally non stalkerish way )

  19. Drakk says

    So does this chain of farewells extend around in a circle (or maybe just a straight line) across the entirety of FtB? I get as far as Daniel Fincke before it seems to stop…

  21. paul says

    After seeing this, I had to check to make sure that the Dublin announcement was posted on 3/31, not 4/1. Congratulations on that.

  22. merryoldlandofoz says

    You guys have waaay too much fun!

    Well done btw, I fell for it until I’d clicked over to GC- then it clicked!

  25. Diceros bicornis says

    You got me too.

    Last year, I actually got all sad over the news that PZ was off to write Cuttlefish verse. For a tiny little while, until I remembered the date.

    This year, even though I got got last year, I still got all sad over the news that Greta was moving on. For a tiny little while. Even though I was already aware of the date.

    You made Greta’s departure sound…well…believable. And since your post was the first one I landed on…I got got, again.

    Nicely played, there.

  26. embertine says

    I’m embarrassed to say that I drew a diagram to keep track of it all. Conclusion: 21 of the bloggers are involved in a circular prankage. Well played, good sirs and madames!

  27. Gus Snarp says

    Damn it, you know this stuff is showing up in my RSS feed on April 2nd! Seriously, this is the problem with April Fools jokes on the internet – nothing on the internet ever goes away, so it’s still sitting there April 2nd, April 25th, December 14th, whenever. So basically I have to keep up my April Fool’s Day awareness every fracking day. Argh! So look, this being the internet, April Fool’s Day pranks will always happen, they’re part of the culture. But can we all agree to make them expire the next day and at least disappear from the top level of the internet? Or maybe have a banner appear at the top of them with the words “April Fools!” or put the date in big red highlighted text? Sadly, none of this will fix the RSS feed problem so……

  29. npyundt says

    WOW you are evil… I can’t believe I actually believed you, clearly my skepticism needs work.

  31. says

    Speaking of citing this info plenty will agree with this because it’s what we actually feel and its nice to see an author that’s blogging it publically to read

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