General perception of atheists?

[RationalAtheist]

I only became an atheist a few month's ago, but whenever I'd hear someone was an "atheist" I took that to mean either they were those crazy in-your-face atheists, (I'll have to go re watch tosh.0 when he had that atheist lady on, because I think my perceptions may be different now, that will be weird for me), or they were just confused people I cared about, but they weren't truly an atheist, because....how could they be? they're more likely than not a confused agnostic.

This might have just been my own intolerance, but I don't think these are uncommon views. When I first discovered there were people like Dan barker & Richard Dawkins (I didn't find out about them until after I became an atheist). and I watched a few of their video's, I heard them say quite a few things that i know would have upset me to the point where I would have written both of them off as crazy lunatics. (I also found a video of when Oprah had atheists on her show way back in like the 80's or something & it's really weird to watch those now, because i know 6 months ago I would have thought the atheists were loony. I would have agreed with nearly everything said & questioned in the audience, but watching it now, nearly everyone in the audience sounds like they've had a 3rd grade education, and the atheists are the one's speaking reasonably.)

Anyways, my point being, I think there is a general perception of us, that we are just "looking for a fight" and we talk down to those who haven't had the realization's we've had. (Ricky Gervais is another example for me, when I first heard him commenting on his atheist view's, he seemed to be doing so with a grin/smirk on his face, I'm sure this is mostly because he is a performer and that's his nature. I was likely extra sensitive to it because he was saying things that are contrary to my belief's, but I decided I no longer wanted to be exposed to his view's because of this. )

If this assessment is accurate, then what do you guys think about the potential need for us to be especially sensitive of these misconceptions of us, and even potentially modify how we interact with non-atheists? Please don't get me wrong, I 100% see the NEED to decrease the influence of religion on our society today, but I think that we can be more effective than we are now? (but what do i know, I'm only contemplating these things for the first time)

Here are a few examples of what I mean,
1.Spaghetti monster, it's already been created(the idea), & yes it's fun for us because WE understand it, but to a person who believes wholeheartedly in a personal creator, it's incredibly offensive, are there better ways to achieve the same result when we refer to the spaghetti monster? Or is it a necessity?
2.Pretty much anytime we respond to what we know to be a ridiculous/ignorant question about atheism, or a reference to religion, it seems atheists are always coming back with some smart-alek response rather than trying to rationally and reasonably speak with the other individual, and yes, I'm guessing that typically it's the religious person who's being irrational & unreasonable (I haven't had these discussions yet personally, but I've heard religious counterpoints on some videos that make absolute no sense). But isn't the onus on us to try to reach out to them and bridge that gap in our discussions with them, since we're the one's who have rationally thought this out? (at the moment, the best analogy i can think of is teaching a child. If we're joking around with them, or being sarcastic or joking to try to make our point, the point that's being made is going over their head, and the point will only be for our benefit. (there is value in that, but is that what we are trying to accomplish?)
3. there's a guy in Florida I recently read about who doesn't like how the city council opens their sessions with a prayer....(of course, I also have issue with this, this practice needs to stop, but...), his method of correcting this is to demand the right to be able to say a satanist prayer before the meeting as well. (I read about this just a few days ago actually), When I first read about it I thought "OK, some crazy satanist" (just like the crazy christians), but as i read further, buried into the story is the fact this was actually an atheist trying to make a point with the satanist prayer. It just seems like the point he was trying to make could have been made in a better way.....yes, the ultimate result of what he's trying to accomplish will likely be achieved, but couldn't/shouldn't the separation of church/state be enough?, why does satan have to be dragged into it, why couldn't he have chosen a less controversial religious prayer to have made his point, or even use the opportunity to explain why it is offensive to atheists?

What do you guys think?
Is the general image of atheists one similar to what I've described here? (regardless if weather it's the fault of the atheist or just an intolerant view)
Is it an image that can be/should be adjusted just in how we interact with non-atheists?
(if not, can you please explain how it benefits us for people to have these views? i don't understand)

[Excited Penguin]

I wholeheartedly agree with you that it's on us to get through to the religious people, not follow our instincts and bash them regardless if it works or not, but see, the thing is, atheists are not necessarily an organized group. We don't have any creed to unite us. It's better to think about it in other terms. More reasonable people will comunicate better and others less reasonable will fail on that point. Both of those kinds of people may call themselves atheists, but that doesn't really mean anything as far as actions go.

Some of us wish for a completely secular society, where religion doesn't intrude on politics or any other relevant decision making. Other than that, what could we wish for? So I personally think there should be a movement at the political level made up of advocates of reason and science. And too, I agree with Sam Harris who made the point that we shouldn't even label ourselves as anything, especially not atheists, since there's such a strong stigma about that word and so much confusion as a result too.

Some of us can't see past the smaller picture, when they spot an idiot believing in totally unreasonable things and just can't help but point it out and ridicule it. It's a natural thing to do and it's certainly understandable. We can't really blame anyone for behaving like this, even though we don't think it's necessarily the best course of action. That's because we don't have authority over other people's actions. We live in free, democratic societies and that comes with the small price of acceptance. We can only hope to educate more and more people, both of present and future generations and make some general progress before we irrevocably set the world on fire and thus grant the wishes of some of the lunatics on the religious side.

[Mudhammam]

Personally, I don't give a shit what others' "perceptions of atheists" amount to. It's a totally ridiculous notion to begin with. If you're a religious dogmatist, you likely see the world through a prism that finds the ideals I'd advocate repugnant anyway... And besides, the most obnoxious nonbeliever is only mimicking the fervor that seems to be in high repute with the devout.

[Homeless Nutter]

Believers will see us however the f*** they please. When your worldview is motivated by the perspective of eternal life and catered to by powerful organizations, that profit from it - anyone that dares to imply that you may very well be wrong is going to be perceived as evil, in one way or another. It's not like religious media don't make up xenophobia-inducing sh*t about non-believers, as well as believers of different creeds, anyway.

Might as well just speak our minds. And have some fun, while we're at it.

[I_am_not_mafia]

People have been pussy footing around theists for hundreds of years. People stop believing when they choose to critically examine what they are conditioned to believe. What we can do though is to help stop the infection from spreading to the younger generation. So while Satanists do not stop people from believing, stopping prayer at the start of city council sessions will help make religion less in your face. This means that people can be more confident about coming out as not being religious and this means that others will be more willing to question what they are being taught.

Also be aware that the OP is specifically referring to America here. In Europe I go round assuming that everyone is either an atheist or doesn't particularly care about religion. Less than 10% of the population are regular church going Christians here in the UK. About the same percentage that are gay or left handed. That may help you understand people like Ricky Gervais and Richard Dawkins. They have that confidence to be out as an atheist because they were born in a country that allowed that confidence.

Compare this to being gay just 20 years ago. Things have changed dramatically because we reached a tipping point where people could be out and proud of who they were and suddenly homosexuality stopped being seen as something you had to be ashamed of. This meant that more people came out rather than hid in the closet. Then it became normal. It will be exactly the same for atheism in somewhere like the US.

But it didn't happen without people preparing to fight for it and be completely outspoken.

[robvalue]

The biggest problem I think is when a religious person is surrounded almost entirely by other religious people, and doesn't have much contact with atheists. Their perspective is then likely to be based on what all those people say atheists are like. And since they probably don't have much contact with them either... they can say whatever crap they like and it doesn't get challenged.

My advice is to just be a nice, reasonable person. Getting in someone's face who is minding their own business is no better for an atheist to do than a theist. But if harm is going on, then it's time to speak up.

The fact that atheists aren't just staying silent anymore is seen by some as "aggressive". But as Mathilda says, unless they speak out, nothing changes. And they can do so without being dicks about it. And again, in my country (England) it's no big deal anyway. People are generally unconcerned with it all whether they're religious or not. I see this as the mid-future of the US.

The biggest thing such theists need to learn is that atheists are just people, who happen to share a lack of belief on one single issue. Any further preconceptions they have, good or bad, are not justified.

[Whateverist]

(I also found a video of when Oprah had atheists on her show way back in like the 80's or something & it's really weird to watch those now, because i know 6 months ago I would have thought the atheists were loony. I would have agreed with nearly everything said & questioned in the audience, but watching it now, nearly everyone in the audience sounds like they've had a 3rd grade education, and the atheists are the one's speaking reasonably.)

Never underestimate the power of confirmation bias.

Anyways, my point being, I think there is a general perception of us, that we are just "looking for a fight" and we talk down to those who haven't had the realization's we've had.

People brought up in religious households that are church going often have had the experience of not being heard. When that happens it can make one a little over eager to make a point. It is understandable.

(Ricky Gervais is another example for me, when I first heard him commenting on his atheist view's, he seemed to be doing so with a grin/smirk on his face, I'm sure this is mostly because he is a performer and that's his nature.

The man is a comedian. Everything he says and the manner in which he says it has been fine tuned by him for comedic effect.

If this assessment is accurate, then what do you guys think about the potential need for us to be especially sensitive of these misconceptions of us, and even potentially modify how we interact with non-atheists?

I think when we interact with theists for their benefit, it matters. When we do so for ours, it doesn't.

What do you guys think?
Is the general image of atheists one similar to what I've described here?
...
Is it an image that can be/should be adjusted just in how we interact with non-atheists?

Part of the beauty of atheism is its potential for the end of group think. We don't need a common approach. We aren't all on the same mission. Religion matters for some but not for others. Many here do want to save people from the mistake of their religion. I've always felt that was presumptuous in a way I find contemptuous in theists. I prefer to grant everyone the status of "peer". Believe in gods? More power to you. Don't believe in gods? No problem, me neither.

[robvalue]

Sure. I just want people to think! If they become atheists, great. If they don't, that's fine too. If they realize just one mistake in their thinking, then cool beans!

People are slaves to their preconceptions and assumptions, and I like to get people to dig them up and have a good root around. Not everyone is game for that though, which is fine. Conversations about religion tend to get tedious pretty quickly with such people though. That's why I try and encourage the theists to join in other topics too, but precious few are interested. That's a shame.

[Excited Penguin]

That's a little naive to take that mindset. Insofar as people are religious they are wrong about a whole lot and kind of evil too, though not through any fault of their own. We can surely appreciate people as people, but we shouldn't pretend to respect their religion or even put up with it when it has the potential to intrude on our lives in a meaningful way. I would think certain organized religions should surely be illegalized. Surely any that promotes any sort of violent behaviour and potentially disastruous choices in our everyday lives. No one would bat an eyelid if I said the same thing about a Nazi Party or a KKK group, but they're pretty much the same thing in some ways, at least historically and potentially speaking.

[Faith No More]

3. there's a guy in Florida I recently read about who doesn't like how the city council opens their sessions with a prayer....(of course, I also have issue with this, this practice needs to stop, but...), his method of correcting this is to demand the right to be able to say a satanist prayer before the meeting as well. (I read about this just a few days ago actually), When I first read about it I thought "OK, some crazy satanist" (just like the crazy christians), but as i read further, buried into the story is the fact this was actually an atheist trying to make a point with the satanist prayer. It just seems like the point he was trying to make could have been made in a better way.....yes, the ultimate result of what he's trying to accomplish will likely be achieved, but couldn't/shouldn't the separation of church/state be enough?, why does satan have to be dragged into it, why couldn't he have chosen a less controversial religious prayer to have made his point, or even use the opportunity to explain why it is offensive to atheists?

If there are prayers at the beginning of meetings, clearly separation of church and state wasn't adequate. It's a messy world, and sometimes you have to use messy means to achieve a goal. If it stops the intrusion of religion, I say we try to put Satan everywhere.