tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post8399288758867030425..comments2023-10-26T22:06:11.166+11:00Comments on Metamagician3000: The atheist busRussell Blackfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12431324430596809958noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-471730860652775922009-01-20T05:47:00.000+11:002009-01-20T05:47:00.000+11:00It's not because a lot of people agree with you th...It's not because a lot of people agree with you that you're wrong. You're only hearing the voices from one particular site.<BR/>I, for one, agree with you, that it's better to handle it quietly. Had they fired him, there would have been backlash at the message that was on the bus. <BR/>But then again, I consider myself an inactive atheist anyway. God, religion, etc. simply isn't a part of my life, it's not something I think about, it's just not there. In a lot of discussions with religious people, you hear the argument that atheism is just like other religions: people feel certain about their own belief, believe only they know the truth, etc. I don't believe in anything. To me, atheism is a lack of belief, not a belief that there's no god. There's no doctrine, no rules to follow, no lifestyle to match and more importantly...nothing to get offended about. I'm of the live and let live principle. Others are religious, fine, as long as it doesn't affect me, who am I to say that they shouldn't believe what they believe in? I don't feel the need to spread the atheist message or to try and convince others that there's no god. In a way, the atheists who feel the guy should have been fired, are almost showing the same kind of sensitivity religious people have about their religion. It seems that to some, atheism is a certain belief system. Not to me. I'm not offended that the word god is in the pledge of allegiance. I don't think the word has to be taken out, as long as people are free not to say it. I do think it's creepy that kids have to do this pledge. Even without the word god in it, I'd still consider it creepy. Any text that has to be learned by heart and read aloud without thinking of what the words actually mean is brainwashing.<BR/>But I digress. <BR/>Perhaps, the fact that I live in a country where the majority of people aren't religious, makes it easy for me to be so passive. Maybe, I'd be more active had I lived in the US. The bus incident does show some kind of double standard. Imagine if the bus driver had refused because of a muslim message, he probably would have been branded a racist. So in a way, I do understand atheists feeling the need to be more vocal, to break some taboos. But as it is, I'm not going to get worked up over it. Call me lazy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-81775011812490413852009-01-19T10:51:00.000+11:002009-01-19T10:51:00.000+11:00I think we already have a hint of the answer to th...I think we already have a hint of the answer to that question in the response to the AHA's bus campaign.J. J. Ramseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00763792476799485687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-50088225960603184122009-01-19T08:48:00.000+11:002009-01-19T08:48:00.000+11:00Yeah, I think it's important to take the high road...Yeah, I think it's important to take the high road here. No need to be in people's faces.<BR/><BR/>I boggle at what the reaction might have been in the US.Russell Blackfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12431324430596809958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-21586977984424298872009-01-19T02:14:00.000+11:002009-01-19T02:14:00.000+11:00When I first heard of the atheist bus ads in the U...When I first heard of the atheist bus ads in the UK, I thought that it was kind of pointless, since Britain was already so irreligious. After seeing the bus driver's reaction, it doesn't seem so pointless.<BR/><BR/>I do agree, though, that the manager handled the problem reasonably well. The taboo has been broken and the point made. No need for martyrs here.<BR/><BR/>Also, what's interesting is that the message on the bus was simply a statement in favor of atheism, and not something suggesting that the religious were stupid or crazy. The high road was taken and the point was still made.J. J. Ramseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00763792476799485687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-40699544412366041592009-01-19T02:00:00.000+11:002009-01-19T02:00:00.000+11:00Imagine if they had dropped out the word "probably...<I>Imagine if they had dropped out the word "probably"! This was actually imposed on them in the approval process, but it improves the message, I think, by giving it a kind of laid-back, matter-of-fact tone.</I><BR/><BR/>Agreed. We were talking about this at dinner last night, and we figured that having the word "probably" in there makes people at least a little more likely to think, "Hmmm, why? Or why not?"<BR/><BR/>I agree with you about the bus driver business, too. (Loud people on the Internet are loud. Film at 11.)Blake Staceyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13977394981287067289noreply@blogger.com