Michael Nugent has a draft manifesto to promote ethical atheism. I see this as a companion to atheism+ – as the same kind of thing, and compatible, and equally reasonable and unthreatening. I also see both as companions to other related campaigns and organizations and platforms and statements. I’ve seen a good deal of panic and hair-clutching about atheism+, which seems bizarre. There are no gulags.
The ideas in this draft manifesto are not new. Many atheist activists already promote many or all of them. This manifesto tries to combine the best of our existing ideas into a set of principles and aims that all ethical atheists can promote, regardless of our policy differences on how best to implement them.
See? Not new. No need to panic.
You know, the idea that sexism and racism and homophobia are really bad things and should be socially discouraged has been around for quite awhile. Atheism+ is much more of a reminder than it is a Giant Wall. Are all your friends sexist homophobic racists? Well then you’re already kind of restricted in your pool of friends, aren’t you. If you’re a frank unabashed vocal sexist or racist, the chances are very good that you’ve already alienated a lot of thoughtful clever interesting people, because people like that mostly aren’t fond of unabashed racism and sexism. If you’re a secret sexist or racist – well then what’s the problem? We don’t have magic radar to disclose your secret views.
So relax. Nobody’s coming to gitcha.
“So relax. Nobody’s coming to gitcha.” <–this statement makes me nervous.
Similar statements like, "Relax, you're quite safe here" make me want to run for the door.
If someone says, "we're stabbing it with steely knives" I think, "you just can't kill the beast."
Well, Richard Carrier’s language of the other day *is* rather reminiscent of certain notorious regimes….
Though, when you get down to analyzing what he really says, he’s threatening no more than social marginalization from a group that the targeted people probably wouldn’t want to hang with anyways.
Folks, if you don’t want to join Atheists+ then DON’T JOIN! How difficult a concept is this?
I’ve seen a good deal of panic and hair-clutching about atheism+, which seems bizarre.
Is it really so bizarre? From a rational point of view it might seem so, but the point of A+ is to distill the rational from the irrational, the sexist hate-mongers from the decent and caring, the exclusive brethren from the accepting and humane. Lots of people might like the idea of belonging to the decent side but are still weighed down by their upbringing or their natural selfishness. This is a moment to make a choice.
You know, the idea that sexism and racism and homophobia are really bad things and should be socially discouraged has been around for quite awhile.
Yes, that idea has been around for quite a while. The problem is that we have not been able to distinguish ourselves from the hate-mongers. We’ve all been “atheists”, so that’s OK. But it turns out that it isn’t. It’s clear that for some (male) people “atheist” means: there’s no god, we can enjoy life, and enjoying life means just being ourselves, and that means we can have lots of sex just for the asking; while for others, “atheist” means freedom from the domination of superstition and dogma and the possibility of finding a new life which has its own value just because it is, like trees and stars.
Atheism+ is much more of a reminder than it is a Giant Wall. Are all your friends sexist homophobic racists? Well then you’re already kind of restricted in your pool of friends, aren’t you.
I think you are right: it’s a reminder of what we care about. BUT, lots of people have joined in who do not care about the same things. So A+ is more than a mere reminder, it’s a positive assertion of the things that matter. It’s like saying “Fuck the Monument, Rebecca Watson is a person”. This has to be said. It has to be said decisively. Decent people must stand for decency and integrity, otherwise what is the point of our vaunted values?
My problem is that I think I would rather like to join. So, where? How? How to find others?
I am still testing the waters. I have dabbled a bit in Humanism, but there seemed to be rather a lot of woo around. Perhaps only my local group, or the times, or something, but it felt a lot like church. I don’t do church.
I am skeptical. Very. But TAM was a bit of a turn-off. OK, I did it once, but it felt rather like Mount Fuji. A fool if you do it once, and a greater fool if you do it twice. And, it is a fund raiser. No problem, but I have better places for my funds.
Atheist? Well, yes, no problem. There isn’t any Dog, there never was. No biggie. But I have spent all my life trying to make the world better by my own actions – little ways only, thank you. And at my age I am beginning to feel the need to codify my reasons/actions. Possibly in the hope of getting it right before I die.
Advice would be appreciated.
Dorothy – for one thing, you could talk to Jen – she’s working on making it an actual movement, so maybe you could get involved with that.
For another thing, I think to some extent we join it by talking about it. People keep telling me that reading my rants and outbursts has helped them not despair, and the like – so we help each other by talking.
For yet another we’ll be meeting in a few months (just three, fancy that), so we can plot then.