Bob Seidensticker will be speaking at the Seattle Atheists meeting tomorrow about common Christian apologetics. He’ll be examining common arguments so we can learn their strengths and weaknesses, and be better prepared to respond in the future. It starts at 1pm and is at 2100 24th Ave. S. in Seattle, WA.
I’ve met Bob a couple times now, and he’s wonderfully eloquent – I highly recommend his talk to anyone who has the time to go. I’ll be there for sure!
Duh, right? You’d think that would be obvious because I had it listed on my speaking schedule, blogged about it four different times, and even turned down other speaking events that conflicted with it.
But Fort Bragg doesn’t believe me, or any of the speakers. They’re telling reporters it’s okay that they refused to fund the event, because no one really intended to come. No one filed a “Statement of Intent” – a document that wasn’t required of the evangelical Christian Rock the Fort event, nor was it ever mentioned to organizer Justin Griffith until after the fact.
Richard Dawkins and other speakers have now openly given their “Statement of Intent,” so consider this mine. I was one of the first speakers approached to participate in Rock Beyond Belief, along with Hemant Mehta. I agreed wholeheartedly, because the separation of church and state is supremely important to me, and I wanted to help respond to that evangelical festival in any way I could. As I saw more and more speakers and performers added to the schedule, my excitement grew. I couldn’t wait for April 2nd! I was doing this without honorarium even though grad students aren’t exactly made of money, and I would miss at least a day of work for travel.
I fully intended to speak. But now I can’t, because Fort Bragg is apparently run by a bunch of hypocrites.
If you want to respond to the shameful action Fort Bragg is taking, at least sign the petition here. That link also lists contact information if you want to express your outrage, and specific instructions for what you can do if you’re part of the military and don’t want to face potential consequences.
In case you missed it, you can listen to my interview here. It’s mostly about women and atheism, and I think it went really well! Well, except for the moments where my phone would cut out and I wouldn’t hear part of the question. You can tell when that happened by the occasional nonsensical replies I give.
I’ll be on Atheists Talk, a radio show produced by the Minnesota Atheists, tomorrow morning. I’ll be discussing my upcoming speaking tour in MN, and give a preview of my talk about feminism and atheism. Here’s the information for listening:
Listen to AM 950 KTNF on Sunday at 9 a.m. Central to hear Atheists Talk, produced by Minnesota Atheists. Stream live online. Call in to the studio 952-946-6205 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 952-946-6205 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, or send an e-mail to radio@mnatheists.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it during the live show.
Remember it’s daylights savings tonight! …Because I totally forgot. Good thing I was reminded before the show’s calling me when I’m still asleep.
…Though I’m not going to lie, I’m probably going back to sleep after the interview.
Well, fuck. I’d like to say this is unbelievable, but unfortunately it’s not. Let me lay this one out for you:
1. Fort Bragg hosts Rock the Fort, an Evangelical Christian event meant to convert people. This includes spending $54,490 of government controlled funds on the event.
2. People point out this is a violation of the separation of church and state. Fort Bragg responds that if any other group wants to host a similar event, they’d support it too.
3. Sgt. Justin Griffith and other volunteers decide to put that statement to the test. They organize Rock Beyond Belief, a secular event open to everyone featuring great music and big name speakers (Richard Dawkins, anyone)?
4. Fort Bragg’s Legal Department okays the event and encourages the Garrison Commander to sign off on the event.
5. The Garrison Commander approves the event…but refuses to give it any money, and says all advertisements much include disclaimers that Fort Bragg is not associated with the event. Aka, he’s a lying hypocrite who has no intention of supporting anyone other than Evangelical Christians.
6. Rock Beyond Belief is forced to cancel due to a lack of funds.
I’m obviously disappointed. On a personal note, I was looking forward to speaking, rocking out to the music, and being able to say I was on the same speaking lineup as Richard Dawkins. But I’m mostly disappointed in how dishonest, and not to mention fucking stupid, US military officials are. Don’t they know the shitstorm this is going to cause?
Justin, even though the event is no more, you’ve done so much for this movement. Exposing the hypocrisy and favoritism of US military officials toward Christianity will have a long lasting, significant effect – more so than enjoying some godless talks and music. Though that would have been pretty fabulous, too.
EDIT: The Freedom From Religion Foundation has contact information for various military officials and local newspapers. If you want to help out, voice your disapproval.
…but you can still get your fix of godlessness if you’re near Seattle!
The Secular Student Union at the University of Washington will be hosting Dr. Valerie Tarico this coming Monday, March 7th in Smith 115 at 5:30pm. Dr. Tarico writes about atheism and religion for the Washington Post and is the author of Trusting Doubt: A Former Evangelical Looks at Old Beliefs in a New Light. She’ll talk for approximately a half hour on Recovering from Religion (getting rid of old embedded messages; dealing with family and friends who believe) and then guide a group discussion.
Everyone is welcome! If I’m going while still losing my mind preparing for my research reports and studying for two exams, you better be there too!
And if you know any UW students who may be interested…especially tell them. We’re trying to get our membership up, and I think this would be a great first meeting.
And she’s a 14 year old girl!
“There’s so much violence that comes with religion. So you know what? Stop giving these things to children. Let them form their own decisions when they’re older and actually have the intelligence and mental capacity to make up their own minds.” This.
I’d say someone needs to tell her to start a Secular Student Alliance at her high school…but she may not even be in high school yet. I freaking love young activists. We are the future of secularism!
And she’s a 14 year old girl!
“There’s so much violence that comes with religion. So you know what? Stop giving these things to children. Let them form their own decisions when they’re older and actually have the intelligence and mental capacity to make up their own minds.” This.
I’d say someone needs to tell her to start a Secular Student Alliance at her high school…but she may not even be in high school yet. I freaking love young activists. We are the future of secularism!
That’s when Rock Beyond Belief will be rocking Fort Bragg, North Carolina! It’s a completely free day of skeptical entertainment in response to the offensive and religious Rock The Fort.
It’ll be featuring speakers like Dan Barker, Richard Dawkins, Margaret Downey, Dale McGowan, Hemant Mehta, Eugenie Scott, and meeeeeeee! And a bunch of great musicians, too (which does not include me, thankfully for ears of the audience). There are still cool events and information being added (you know there’ll so be a hotel after party), so make sure to keep an eye on their official website.
If you’re near NC, I hope you check out this event! Not only should it be a ton of fun, but it’s a great response to the evangelistic event held last year. And who knows when’s the next time I’ll be anywhere near NC, haha.
And major props to Justin Griffith for being the major force in organizing this – and he just became a daddy a couple of days ago! Congrats, Justin! Best of luck controlling your atheist nature and not eating your baby.
I’m doing a speaking tour in Minnesota in March, and if I don’t come up with a title for my talk soon, my host groups are going to greet me with torches and pitchforks. Okay, it’s not quite that bad yet – but I certainly am being a stereotypically difficult speaker at the moment. There are flyers to be made! It’s odd being on the other side for once.
Anyway, I need your help. I’m absolutely horrible at coming up with creative, witty titles. My talk is basically about:
I am so excited to give this talk in rural Minnesota.
But right now my working title is “Atheism & Feminism,” which is embarrassingly awful. Some fun titles my friends have suggested so far include:
…Okay, maybe not that last one, though it would probably be effective.
Any suggestions, my lovely readers?