I don't disagree with anything - I am nicer than the average person you meet in real life because I come from a family where politeness is valued highly (maybe only below honor and loyalty) so even if I tried to be aggressive I'll still sound mildly nice - I don't go out with a headline saying "GOD DOESN'T EXIST FOOLS" or looking for people talking about god just to tell them they're wrong, but yeah if someone says bullshit I'll call it bullshit - I think there's many ways to call bullshit when it's bullshit - I don't need to tell people they're retarded to explain why their view is wrong, I'll only insult someone if the person is really being stupid.
I agree that nothing or no one should be immune to criticism (that includes obviously popular new atheists and I've criticized things said by Dawkins, Hitchens and Harris) - The idea that religion is special and needs protection is irrational and incompatible with free speech - There's nothing in free speech, that I can say or write, that'll stop you from practicing and worshiping your god, and it's not my intention to control what you believe in.
I have a easy time insulting theists when they behave like real morons. If not, I'm ok with them. My girlfriend is a deist, we get along fine. I don't think she's retarded for being a deist.
I think the right word you might be looking for is "tolerance" - You have to tolerate other opinions (it's the law), you needn't respect them - That's a bullshit idea as well. There's many things that I feel bad about, things that disgust me and offend me, but I'm not going to tell people they can't support those things I detest if they want to.
Obviously it would be unproductive for me to tell most of my peers that they're morons because I might risk getting into some heavy fights, but I understand what you're saying.
I agree that nothing or no one should be immune to criticism (that includes obviously popular new atheists and I've criticized things said by Dawkins, Hitchens and Harris) - The idea that religion is special and needs protection is irrational and incompatible with free speech - There's nothing in free speech, that I can say or write, that'll stop you from practicing and worshiping your god, and it's not my intention to control what you believe in.
I have a easy time insulting theists when they behave like real morons. If not, I'm ok with them. My girlfriend is a deist, we get along fine. I don't think she's retarded for being a deist.
I think the right word you might be looking for is "tolerance" - You have to tolerate other opinions (it's the law), you needn't respect them - That's a bullshit idea as well. There's many things that I feel bad about, things that disgust me and offend me, but I'm not going to tell people they can't support those things I detest if they want to.
Obviously it would be unproductive for me to tell most of my peers that they're morons because I might risk getting into some heavy fights, but I understand what you're saying.
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you
