tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post8373969443012621997..comments2023-09-24T07:53:50.826-05:00Comments on The Atheist Experience™: Don't Be a Dick redux — now with Real Life Adventure!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-64017626034371163162011-08-12T14:05:07.498-05:002011-08-12T14:05:07.498-05:00After reading your description of this man's b...After reading your description of this man's behavior, I can't stop picturing him wearing a fanny pack. He just seems like that kind of guy.Savihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15283382255891952732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-53286054668800761242011-07-13T09:44:52.918-05:002011-07-13T09:44:52.918-05:00"What is it that turns a person into somethin..."What is it that turns a person into something like this?"<br /><br />Alex Jones?ABhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536547131562840293noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-61649067302519567382011-07-11T18:13:47.356-05:002011-07-11T18:13:47.356-05:00oh no, Martin and Russell disagree on something. T...oh no, Martin and Russell disagree on something. To be a dick or not to be a dick, that's the question.<br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8wVmYMjR74<br />Now if I were a fundementalist atheist I would have to ´interpret´ Martins post in such a way that I could still be a dick. Luckily I am capable of making my own decisions by judging situations and acting accordingly.<br />I still wanna see a deathbattle in which you and Russell duke it out (verbally) to find out who will reign supreme.sharkjackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08493608936772950248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-58256063275530576692011-07-08T21:05:23.629-05:002011-07-08T21:05:23.629-05:00Sigh... Why do I detect another victim of fucking ...Sigh... Why do I detect another victim of fucking Zeitgeist?Mark Sieferthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14409314388156575545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-63366955759950987162011-07-06T14:54:09.356-05:002011-07-06T14:54:09.356-05:00Yikes.
Let the record show, I guessed Ashley simp...Yikes.<br /><br />Let the record show, I guessed Ashley simply because I tried to think of people who used to be A.E. staples who were no longer on the air.<br /><br />And seeing that I only know you all from the YouTube clips and from postings, who knows what you are like off screen?<br /><br />So I thought, Hmmm... Ashley could have snapped.<br /><br />If Ashley is reading this, it was just a guess.<br /><br />(I am sure this is a HUGE weight off of Ashley's shoulders)Sullyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10272557466790129869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-45655524656234383762011-07-06T13:45:26.537-05:002011-07-06T13:45:26.537-05:00Sorry that happened, Martin. Sounds quite unpleas...Sorry that happened, Martin. Sounds quite unpleasant for you.<br /><br />I agree, don't be a dick. A way to avoid that is to examine your beliefs and be sure that they're founded on reason, and not some emotionally-comforting delusion.<br /><br />As an illustration, why was that guy so emotionally invested in this belief? Why was it so important to spout about it, and to make every casual acquaintance agree with him, and become extremely emotional when you didn't?<br /><br />He's obviously got some really deep emotional reason for holding this, such extreme actions would otherwise not be necessary. Everyone, keep away from that kind of thing in yourself.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-87747770286292051482011-07-06T12:03:54.899-05:002011-07-06T12:03:54.899-05:00Yes, my next post will be about that.Yes, my next post will be about that.Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17933545393470431585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-87931603477496674682011-07-06T10:56:00.538-05:002011-07-06T10:56:00.538-05:00It wouldn't mean anything to me to know the na...It wouldn't mean anything to me to know the name of this chap. I was just over checking out the latest internet brouhaha at Pharyngula and thought it was a funny coincidence. Never have I seen more of a flap about so little. Somehow there's even a Dawkins boycott. Wow. I'm actually glad that I will be at the shore rather than TAM this year.rrpostalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03336728549010108830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-89536483262140826522011-07-06T08:54:00.624-05:002011-07-06T08:54:00.624-05:00I must tell the Narnians of this, they will be fur...I must tell the Narnians of this, they will be furious!Traviehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15334398210024917844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-42638487313378952492011-07-06T08:45:36.243-05:002011-07-06T08:45:36.243-05:00@John K.:
Telling someone that he is wrong isn'...@John K.:<br />Telling someone that he is wrong isn't "being a dick". It depends on how you tell them.<br /><br />And people can be offended by what you say, even when what you say isn't actually offensive in itself. There are irrational reasons to be offended too.<br /><br />Every voiced disagreement with another person holds the potential to offend that person. Slightly offending someone's feelings to prevent him from ruining his life? I see no evil in that, not even a small evil.Zeckenschwarmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04517906451376657177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-1697072370180554442011-07-06T08:28:10.666-05:002011-07-06T08:28:10.666-05:00Violating personal space and shouting is just bein...Violating personal space and shouting is just being a bully, trying to intimidate someone into giving in to your position. This is often a tactic of people who cannot justify their position in a rational way anymore, so they just react to the humiliation they feel and lash out. I have yet to meet anyone that endorses this kind of behavior in any reasonable way. It sounds to me like this guy is into his 911 beliefs so deeply that any challenge to them is regarded as a personal attack.<br /><br />My only real problem with the whole “Don’t Be a Dick” thing is that ransoming feelings against having a particular idea challenged is BS maneuver also. There is an intrinsic, though small, confrontation inherent in an atheist position. Belief in god is so main stream in the U.S. If we are to avoid challenging anyone who might be offended in the slightest we won’t be able to talk to anyone who still believes in no time at all. Telling someone who plans to give all their money away because the rapture is coming that they are wrong is almost certainly going to hurt their feelings, but just not mentioning they are following a crazy belief, allowing them to keep making bad decisions, seems a much worse evil.John K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11579041716600940838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-35206660545251122852011-07-06T07:27:02.743-05:002011-07-06T07:27:02.743-05:00One of the enjoyable things for me since becoming ...One of the enjoyable things for me since becoming an atheist is the freedom to admit being wrong from time to time. With this being my experience, I find it hard to imagine people exhibiting this kind of behaviour on any position that was arrived at via rational thought. <br /><br />However, even though the behaviour described in this post is extreme, the potential to hold on to a position for the wrong reasons (such as ego or fear) exists in all of us.Excreduloushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02910201049922531627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-11024603366086434352011-07-06T06:09:31.814-05:002011-07-06T06:09:31.814-05:00We have a guy like this in our local Freethinker&#...We have a guy like this in our local Freethinker's group. He's an atheist simply to be an iconoclast, not because he'd know critical thinking if it clocked him upside the head with a ClueByFour. His bugbears are UFO, Bigfoot and Ghost investigations. Although I haven't heard him spout off ever since we sat down with a PhD. physicist during our Fermilab tour and the good doctor told him six ways all his E.T. theories were impossible bullshit.<br /><br />I think it's part and parcel of a larger syndrome, though. We sat down to watch The God Who Wasn't There, and this guy opened the discussion with, "so--we all agree that there was a historical Jesus, right?" Um, no, I want to watch the movie and see where the evidence leads. I'm not in the business of starting with the conclusion and then accepting or rejecting facts based on that.MethodSkeptichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05844566230083531269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-64306454147932925702011-07-06T03:12:42.812-05:002011-07-06T03:12:42.812-05:00@Martin
Even if the man in question was a hermit f...@Martin<br />Even if the man in question was a hermit from the mountains of Kazhakstan I would ask his name out of basic human curiosity :)hannanibalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15815450273674807034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-59935912162782235452011-07-06T02:37:51.001-05:002011-07-06T02:37:51.001-05:00Well, I didn't write the post just out of pers...Well, I didn't write the post just out of personal revenge or anything. The involved individual is not a public figure, and so naming him would mean nothing to those who don't know him. (And as bigfatatheist has shown, my description of him alone was enough to identify him to those who do.) In a general sense, I just wanted to take today's event and use it as a springboard for a discussion of those behaviors that we should all take care not to fall into. Another friend of mine told me this guy sounds like he may just be plain crazy and not merely guilty of dick behavior. Still, a person can graduate from unchecked dick behavior to true crazy quicker than you might think. It's a good thing to be aware of, and watch out for, so we don't slip down that same slope.Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17933545393470431585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-52889508468588862832011-07-06T00:22:48.244-05:002011-07-06T00:22:48.244-05:00PZ says always name names!PZ says always name names!rrpostalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03336728549010108830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-7962727360718875922011-07-06T00:22:08.863-05:002011-07-06T00:22:08.863-05:00I work for "the big bad government" in a...I work for "the big bad government" in a not very important way. But I deal with many, er... "governed" people every day. When all the hours and days bleed into one, it's the social oddballs that stand out. Just today I had someone tell me that Obama was personally out get rid of all "people like him" (never really figured what that meant) and someone else who used the old stand by that Republicans want to kill old people. Which is ironic, since it seems to be their voting base. There is something very hypnotic and empowering about the belief that your government is out to get you. It's also a built excuse for any bad situation. When you add this common paranoia with a really unhinged or socially uninhibited person and you can get something quite interesting.<br /><br />Off topic- I had one lady who wanted to know if medicare would pay for her friends who prayed for her while sick. She said she was a christian scientist who had years of documentation that it works and she was always healthy... except this time. But the prayers were what made the medical treatment successful. No kidding.rrpostalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03336728549010108830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-44612154380599249912011-07-06T00:03:49.850-05:002011-07-06T00:03:49.850-05:00Atheism-------9/11 conspiracy theory.
AND NEVER T...Atheism-------9/11 conspiracy theory.<br /><br />AND NEVER THE TWAIN SHALL MEET!<br /><br />Last time I looked the two were not mutually exclusive, hell some atheists believe in visiting aliens and some believe in illuminati mind-control so why is he being a dick to atheists in general? <br />What a massive arse to do that in public, I expect you will see him waving at traffic soon with a hand-painted cardboard sign araound his neck proclaiming "Pepsi and Coca-Cola are the same! Wake up people!".<br />BTW Martin,why keep this king of knobs anonymous? He was being a dick so why not mention his name?hannanibalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15815450273674807034noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-12709545065388486172011-07-05T23:30:35.293-05:002011-07-05T23:30:35.293-05:00I am very sorry for the rude, crude, and socially ...I am very sorry for the rude, crude, and socially unacceptable behavior from this fellow atheist. I'm not sure he was a theist before becoming an atheist, but some people who give up deep, deep, religious experiences require something to replace it with. It's almost like what the theists tell us about everyone having a god sized hole that can only be filled up with god. <br /><br />Also, I have seen more and more rational people going full tilt and I'm not sure why. Radiation? Poor economy? I would say that there is a little bit of mental or emotional illness going on and he is clearly not on his meds. I'm serious. I have no time for arogant, crazy people and I assume you don't either.<br /><br />Traitor to Religion<br />http://traitortoreligion.blogspot.com/TraitorCreatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15759579733312831141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-6054628438760858232011-07-05T22:16:47.361-05:002011-07-05T22:16:47.361-05:00I know exactly who Martin is talking about. It...I know exactly who Martin is talking about. It's a shame because RF was a founding member who designed the group's official logo 13-14 years ago. I used to consider him a friend, but I can no longer be around him.bigfatatheisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05756044183000821396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-79238667120840345982011-07-05T22:06:37.321-05:002011-07-05T22:06:37.321-05:00"as Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann getting ..."as Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann getting gay-married."<br /><br />That is beyond hot.<br /><br />Ahem.<br /><br />Sorry you had to endure such a thing, Martin, although as a longtime tourist of High Weirdness media and politics I find such people wonderfully entertaining.<br /><br />(Come to think of it, I wonder how much of an FBI file I have, given all the crazy mail I've received over the years. On second thought... I don't want to know.)<br /><br />In the future, a good trick is to tell them you were just reading something that agrees with them and it's in the car (or wherever) and you'll be RIGHT BACK with it. Then don't come back.George From NYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06158111795024631345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-52963876611361208022011-07-05T22:05:36.892-05:002011-07-05T22:05:36.892-05:00As it has been said 100,000 times, the one unifyin...As it has been said 100,000 times, the one unifying characteristic of atheists is that we do not believe in God. Outside of that, we are as diverse as the tree of life. So...you can be insane and irrational and delusional while being skeptical of religious claims. <br /><br />I don't think anything drove him to this point, but he has just been handed some very bad misinformation that he found compelling. My father is a scientist. My brother is a biomedical engineer and a Marine. Both are atheists, yet both are on the fence also about 9/11 being an inside job, and yes Spare Change and Zeitgeist did the thinking for them. So I try to present counter arguments, based in logic, not science, and still it goes nowhere.<br /><br />Other than that, they are rational and clear thinking.Jonahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14163213494675664754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-45018939063811117252011-07-05T20:46:02.673-05:002011-07-05T20:46:02.673-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.GhostPilothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16545457198467561928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-78027492326417481682011-07-05T20:38:00.036-05:002011-07-05T20:38:00.036-05:00Sorry to hear you had a bit of bother Martin.
It i...Sorry to hear you had a bit of bother Martin.<br />It is another small example witch proves we really are all jumped up Apes.<br />It sounds like you kept your cool and acted in the best way under the circumstances.<br />Sadly as a member of a species that evolved with a fight or flight reflex to adrenalin fueled situations like this. Doing the right thing is not gonna stop you feeling pissed off about the whole incident.tonyDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11473370383814794320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-37027542910427691522011-07-05T20:28:39.474-05:002011-07-05T20:28:39.474-05:00I have encountered a similar combination of conspr...I have encountered a similar combination of conspracy theorist(CT) and personal space invader / unwarranted discussion starter before.<br /><br />I think at some point everyone who ever asked a CT for his opinion on his favourite topic has enough of his rants, so no one asks for his opinion anymore. Since he still has a strong desire to open the people's minds to the "truth", he starts discussions himself, even on the risk of being off-topic (since his topic of interest is more important than other topics anyway). <br /><br />The aggressive and patronizing attitude that can emerge in this kind of discussion with a CT stems, imho, from the CT's inherent sense of superiority and the percieved willful ignorance of others. After all, the CT has, contrary to most other humans, figured out (at least in part) how the world REALLY works... and nobody believes him! I can believe that this is really frustrating, and to an even more fervent protection of one's views from outside attacks. Being a CT is kind of like being in a religious minority that gets constantly told by the religious majority (non-CTs) that it's beliefs are stupid.<br /><br />Long argument short: I can understand that CTs get more aggressive and defensive in the protection of their beliefs over time.<br /><br />Of course, that does in no way excuse this guy's behavior. The way he acted wasn't socially acceptable. Screaming is not the right method to channel the vigor that a discussion creates in you.<br /><br />Then again, given your previous experiences with him, it doesn't come as much of a surprise. With the "art director"-campaign and his reaction to your criticism thereof he allready showed his inability to grasp the effect his actions have on others and to accept criticism (due to sky-rocketing arrogance, and because he knows much better how the world works than you do anyways).<br /><br />I think a bunch of factors came together to bring you the "discussion" you had to endure:<br />1) his belief that his view of the world is more correct than that of most other people.<br />2) his desire to "fix" the world by opening people's eyes to the "truth".<br />3) his anger that others are "willfully ignorant" by not considering/accepting his views.<br />4) his lack of understanding of (if we give him the benefit of the doubt) or disregard of, the rules of basic civility. (Maybe caused by anger)<br /><br />Without point 4, he would be rather harmless. He would still be a CT, but he wouldn't be an ass. Point 4 makes him an ass, and he allready was one before he became a CT (or before he showed himself to be one).<br /><br />So, yeah. Basically this guy acted like an ass because he is an ass. (Of course, there may be tons of context that excuses his behaviour, but given his track record...) Maybe he's just clueless, but he should be old enough to have learned how to behave in society. That he chose conspracies as his tool to be an ass was more incidental I think, because that's what he currently cares about.<br /><br />You're right. Being an atheist doesn't prevent you from being an ass, just as it doesn't prevent you from being a CT.<br /><br />You said it better and shorter than I could: <br />"with a little too much ego and self-absorption, and too little sense and rational thought, anyone can be a dick if they don't watch out".<br /><br />PS: If my rambling gets too incoherent, I am sleep deprived right now and I am from europe.Zeckenschwarmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04517906451376657177noreply@blogger.com