Atheist extremism is bad... mkay?

[Cerrone]

Hate speech is hate speech, no matter who is saying it about or to whom.

Hate speech is an orwellian concept many people use frequently to condemn those who challenge the controversial aspects of society or instituations. It's unjust and cowardly and ineffective to dismiss a passionate speakers arguement as being hate speech, because it doesnt achieve anything and the arguement isn't resolved. Isn't it better to engage than to instantly condemn when you hear a trigger word?

You can't escape this, even though we are a society that highly values the individual, we still are quick to classify, label, and sort people into groups and we get troubled if we can't. Why do you think the cliques in high school are so pervasive, and how many people have a general bad opinion about, say, the jocks because of a few assholes, even if you know a few good ones personally?

We are a society that values socially damaging and destructive individualism, not the individual. It's a trick of media plain and simple, and if you doubt that, try and assert your individualism in a way that isn't identifiable with a clique.

There are ways to get points across that show your passion for your cause or display your wish to provide more information without resorting to the same tactics as those we label extremists. No one respects Martin Luther King because he went around displaying his hate - he's respected for his eloquence and peaceful demonstrations. I've never heard of anyone from, say, the ALF become respected...just infamous.

Martin Luther King wouldn't have acheived anything if he wasn't the alternative to the extremism displayed by the likes of Malcolm X. White america ignored the peaceful protest displays by the moderate black civil rights activists, but it wasn't until the black extremists began defending themselves that white america was forced into chosing between extremist revolution and moderate toleration and a semblance of coexistance. But the choice would never have been made at all unless the radical extremists had been there; look back through history, no group or people have ever had a victory against an oppressor without first being able to prove their independence.

You used an Orwellian term to condemn these people, but the insistance for moderation displayed in the media and echoed by a fraction of the public says to me that it's not 1984 we're living in, and its not extremists we should consider the enemy. We're living in Aldous Huxleys Brave New World, and its moderates who're doing the real damage by discouraging the few people passionate enough to speak out.

And to quote Malcolm X yet again;
[align=center] I have more respect for a man who lets me know where he stands, even if he's wrong. Than the one who comes up like an angel and is nothing but a devil.[/align]

And if atheists actually have a goal, which I would say is impossible if we're not a group, but if they did and it was to have everyone realize that religion is shite and we're better off without it, you can be sure we're never going to convince anyone by being hateful about it. To paraphrase Phil, did you ever stop believing something because someone called you an idiot?

That's exactly why atheist activism should be encouraged.