It's always interesting whenever there's the odd article about the "hostility" of the AF staff in regards to bannings and the like from a certain other site.
The same article [some of you probably know what I am referring to, it was a few years back] went on to talk about how 'rude' the forum members were and how 'close-minded' we were towards religious discussion. I remember going to that site, and I remember how much I realized how much of a namby-pamby group of people the forum-goers there were. They practically allowed themselves to get dumped on with hardly a word in defense, and more often than not they would concede to an argument without a fight in a way that outright enabled the continuation of the spewing of bullshit and contempt towards them.
I remember thinking to myself "if this is what all atheists and atheist groups were like, we'd never be taken seriously." Sometimes you have to be confrontational. Sure, the internet nowadays is rife with delusionists bitching about how aggressive and hostile and rude atheists on the internet tend to be. None of them ever stop to wonder why. Oftentimes, the vitriol that gets spewed in their direction is a direct result of their own statements being ignorant and intolerant towards anyone who doesn't believe like they do.
Christopher Hitchens called religious belief and its influence on peoples' actions and perceptions as solipsism, and he said that that solipsism becomes a part of those peoples' very personalities. I could not agree more.
As far as Drich goes, I'm apathetic to whether or not he is here. His points and stances are on things that I have long since examined and come to understand are completely incompatible with the natural world, the concepts of morality, and the ways in which human societies work. It can get tiring, but at the same time it also provides an opportunity for me to look at the common arguments of your average delusionist and determine how to rend them asunder in case I am confronted by them in person.
The same article [some of you probably know what I am referring to, it was a few years back] went on to talk about how 'rude' the forum members were and how 'close-minded' we were towards religious discussion. I remember going to that site, and I remember how much I realized how much of a namby-pamby group of people the forum-goers there were. They practically allowed themselves to get dumped on with hardly a word in defense, and more often than not they would concede to an argument without a fight in a way that outright enabled the continuation of the spewing of bullshit and contempt towards them.
I remember thinking to myself "if this is what all atheists and atheist groups were like, we'd never be taken seriously." Sometimes you have to be confrontational. Sure, the internet nowadays is rife with delusionists bitching about how aggressive and hostile and rude atheists on the internet tend to be. None of them ever stop to wonder why. Oftentimes, the vitriol that gets spewed in their direction is a direct result of their own statements being ignorant and intolerant towards anyone who doesn't believe like they do.
Christopher Hitchens called religious belief and its influence on peoples' actions and perceptions as solipsism, and he said that that solipsism becomes a part of those peoples' very personalities. I could not agree more.
As far as Drich goes, I'm apathetic to whether or not he is here. His points and stances are on things that I have long since examined and come to understand are completely incompatible with the natural world, the concepts of morality, and the ways in which human societies work. It can get tiring, but at the same time it also provides an opportunity for me to look at the common arguments of your average delusionist and determine how to rend them asunder in case I am confronted by them in person.
