Atheist, know thyself.

[Baruch]

its true, I don't hate people for what they wear (unless its a t-shirt with a swastika on it), but seeing women here in the uk wandering around with full headscarfs overing themselves up, it makes me angry at the thought of these women being manipulated and pressured since they were children to dress that way, and in my country, men and women are considered equals, not lesser beings like in the middle east.

You imported the wrong guest workers (low wage slaves).  You needed to import more Jamaicans, man!  Well maybe not, this week they have an outbreak of public violence there ... too much ganja, or not enough?

[pr126]

Baruch wrote:

Potentially, Islamism is just as dangerous as the Marxist inspired shit we all came to love from 1917 - 1991.

Why the "ism"?
It is Islam. No "ism" or "ist" is necessary.

Like when people saying "radical" Islam. Islam is radical. There is no moderate Islam. One Book. One Islam.

[Baruch]

Baruch wrote:Why the "ism"?
It is Islam. No "ism" or "ist" is necessary.

Like when people saying "radical" Islam. Islam is radical. There is no moderate Islam. One Book. One Islam.

Yes, but don't group people all the time, sometimes treat them as responsible individuals (snicker).

There has never yet been separation of Islam and State ... though I am hopeful, it can happen in the West.  But even for Christians, it took a few centuries.

Even with the Cold War, and Russia trying to control all Leftism everywhere, they failed a lot, particularly in China. Mao knew, even in the 1930s, that Stalin would throw the Chinese Communist Party under the bus, if it suited them.  Remember Lin Biao and Liu Shaoqi?

[Blackleaf]

There's no such thing as 'looking' islamic if we're talking about just people, separate from garments and adornments. And nobody hates muslims because of what they wear.

If one is prejudiced against middle-eastern people on the basis that they are of a middle-eastern ethnicity; that's racism - not islamophobia.

What islamophobia actually is is prejudice against muslims on the basis that they are muslims. But I get it - you're trying to shoehorn race into it because you're a regressive.

You know full well that when a brown skinned man with short black curly hair shows up, everybody assumes he is Islamic. It may be a fallacious assumption, given that Muslims come in all colors, and that just being brown doesn't make one automatically Muslim, but it's an assumption nonetheless. When it comes to Islam, people have a clear picture in their mind when they think of its believers.

[Blackleaf]

Baruch wrote:Why the "ism"?
It is Islam. No "ism" or "ist" is necessary.

Like when people saying "radical" Islam. Islam is radical. There is no moderate Islam. One Book. One Islam.

By that logic, there are no moderate Christians either. They all read the same book, right? So that means they must all be okay with mass genocide, bashing babies heads in with rocks, keeping prisoners of war as slaves and "wives" (AKA sex slaves), etc. Hell, Christians and Muslims even share the same first few books in their holy texts.

[GSOgymrat]

I like the notion.    I would like it if atheists owned up for the reason we would feel less alone.  We are definitely a minority.  How big or small, I don't know, because people don't all own up, and as per the title of the thread and in my case, I didn't even know what I was for much of my life.  I didn't take the time to consider that I was an atheist, because it has become a loaded term on par with Communist, Asshole, or Serial Axe Murderer.  Across the pond may be different.

Having said that, I've recently taken stock, and was surprised to realize that the vast majority of my atheists friends never identified themselves as atheist, nor did I even know about their lack of belief in gods for most of the time I knew them.  And who would blame them for not identifying?  Unlike me being unable to identify what I was, I suspect most of my atheist friends, simply don't want to announce it publicly.

Atheists are like gays 50 years ago.  There are consequences for identifying yourself, but atheists are much slower to take on the challenge of coming out of the closet in large numbers to demand a rightful place in society.  I don't know why.  I can't even think of a theory to explain why.  Because we are the most hated minority in society?  I dunno.  You can't get much more hated than gays 50 years ago.  But I have been told that we are the most hated minority, at least in numbers from poll questions, so yeah we are hated statistically, although probably with a less visceral response than gays.

Alex O'Connor is essentially advocating that non-believers enter the fray of identity politics, uniting under the label "atheist" to raise consciousness and social awareness of non-believers as a marginalized group. It is the same strategy used by the LGBT community. I'm an "out" atheist but I really am much more interested in promoting secularism than atheism. I don't really care to dismantle people's religious beliefs, people like David Silverman can deal with that can of worms (Tide goes in... Tide goes out). I'm more concerned about things like political donations being anonymously funneled through tax-exempt religious organizations that endorse and support candidates who will use government to promote their religious values. There are many religious people who support living in a secular society and I think atheists should keep in mind we have that in common.

[PickelledEggs]

Never get tired of propagandizing, do you?

Relax, buddy. This was actually a decent post by pr... for once

[SGOS]

There are many religious people who support living in a secular society and I think atheists should keep in mind we have that in common.

I realize this and have gratitude for it.

[Unbeliever]

I think you are kind of missing his point.

Missing points seems to be Baruch's modus operandi. He's had enough practice to be very good at it.

[Unbeliever]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYV7KWQ-fY4

Well, at first I thought it was like the Hatfields and the McCoys, but then it was like

[Unbeliever]

And nobody hates muslims because of what they wear.

well, some people really hate their swimwear:





France’s burkini ban exposes the hypocrisy of its secularist state

[Baruch]

You know full well that when a brown skinned man with short black curly hair shows up, everybody assumes he is Islamic. It may be a fallacious assumption, given that Muslims come in all colors, and that just being brown doesn't make one automatically Muslim, but it's an assumption nonetheless. When it comes to Islam, people have a clear picture in their mind when they think of its believers.

Maybe in some neighborhoods.  In my neighborhood I would assume they are Baptist.  Also judging from pictures of Arabs, they aren't very black .. swarthy perhaps.  Our Egyptian Arabic teacher ... she is from Cairo, and she has the nicest medium brown complexion and lone medium curly hair ... and she is Christian.  Not that there is anything wrong with being sub-Saharan African.  And of course, to those Aryan types ... if you aren't blond and blue eyed, then you are African ;-(  Also the majority of Muslims are in Indonesia and India ... they are Asian, not ME nor African.

[Baruch]

Missing points seems to be Baruch's modus operandi. He's had enough practice to be very good at it.

Nihilism - there is no point.  Now what was your point?  Oh, ad hominem.

On France vs Burkini ... they want you to be French, as understood by sophisticated Parisiennes.  So laicity is defined in those terms also.  But you only need to know two French words ... Merde non!

[Unbeliever]

[Baruch]

Old men are all washed up ... by the undertaker.  Got funeral?