Bigotry and Worldview

[kenandkids]

It is easy to think that atheists and freethinkers are synonymous. I generally don't, but it it is still upsetting to find people that have a similar worldview and end up revealing themselves as bigots. I have, in the past, supported the Black Atheists of Atlanta. Sadly, they reveal themselves to be racist and homophobic.

Start watching at the 14:00 minute mark for what upset Matt Dillahunty and I.







From Matt Dillahunty regarding the video:

"There is no "law of reproduction". Homosexuality occurs in many species. Freedom means you don't have to hide who you are just because someone else might not like it. Homosexuals aren't hiding behind atheism. Homosexuality isn't a social custom - European or otherwise. An atheist is an atheist, irrespective of lineage or skin tone....

And while those who do science make mistakes, dismissing real evidence on the basis of someone's skin color and your assumption that there's some hidden agenda just makes you look like an ignorant, paranoid conspiracy theorist.

These racist, homophobic, ignorant bigots...they're the ones trying to hide behind atheism - and I really wish they'd stop."
http://www.facebook.com/notes/matt-dillahunty/you-racist-homophobic-little-bigots/10150326765363902

 

[borrofburi]

It might be worth noting that Matt is not the racist... I was confused until I got to the last line. I read what Matt said very carefully to figure out what was racist in it.

 

[kenandkids]

It might be worth noting that Matt is not the racist... I was confused until I got to the last line. I read what Matt said very carefully to figure out what was racist in it.

Is that better now?

 

[borrofburi]

It might be worth noting that Matt is not the racist... I was confused until I got to the last line. I read what Matt said very carefully to figure out what was racist in it.

Is that better now?

Yeah that seems to have fixed it.

 

[Master_Ghost_Knight]

Th fact that they are the "black atheists of what not..." already transcribes a racial undertone to it, the panelists were just stupid. "Your argument is invalid because you are white". :facepalm:
As mentioned before, the only unifying property of atheism is the lack of belief in a god, anything else is up for grabs. They can be as racist, homophobic, supersticious and generically intolerant and a wacko as everyone else.

 

[Noth]

I think it's sometimes just a bit of wishful thinking on our (my) part that people who advocate to be outspoken atheists with a knack for freethinking etc. (as you might expect from such panellists I would argue) have given every issue an equal amount of thought. Clearly, as is evidenced in the above clip, this is not the case.

Somewhere along the lines the rule that says "if you don't know much about what you're talking about, don't say too much about it either" is forgotten. Instead they seem to be labouring under the impression that because they know a fair share about religion they are automatically equally equipped for being a voice of reason for something entirely apart from that.

 

[Aught3]

That's one way to dismiss all scientific research you disagree with while inventing your own 'scientific' law of reproduction.

Interesting how they have left religion but the bigotry we usually associate with religious conservatives is still there. It would be interesting to know if they still subscribe to a more authoritarian worldview.

 

[kenandkids]

Interesting how they have left religion but the bigotry we usually associate with religious conservatives is still there. It would be interesting to know if they still subscribe to a more authoritarian worldview.

I wouldn't take that bet. One thing I've noticed is that it is relatively easy, despite our newest conservatives view, for political views to be much more entrenched than a simple reasoning for the utter lack of religious evidence. Being that one of the most conservative groups in regards to homosexuality is the black community, I can't say I'm all that surprised. Disappointed surely, but not too surprised.

 

[Aught3]

I wouldn't take that bet. One thing I've noticed is that it is relatively easy, despite our newest conservatives view, for political views to be much more entrenched than a simple reasoning for the utter lack of religious evidence.

Exactly right. I've been doing a little bit of reading around the area of political psychology and linguistics recently. Essentially, the left/right divide can be seen as the difference between two frameworks: the authoritarian and the nurturant. From this perspective it's easy to see why there might be two distinct sides to religion namely the liberal and the fundamental (at least in Christianity). When people leave religion they don't tend to re-examine every aspect of their worldview instead they stick with their old framework and interpret their new worldview around it. Hence why amongst atheists we get those that side with progressive politics and those that side with libertarian ideals.

If these guys in the video are coming from a authoritarian framework into atheism then it makes sense that they would be anti-homosexual. Nothing is more upsetting to the idea of an authoritarian patriarchy than two butch lesbians or effeminate guys creating a new type of successful family. These frames also may account for the perceived relationship between atheism and liberalism. Since it's easier to move from a more liberal religious tradition to atheism we would expect to see more deconverts who side with progressive politics.

 

[LilAtheos]

In the early part of the 19th century black Atheist Afrocentric scholars (i.e. Dr. Yosef B. Jochannan, John G. Jackson, Dr. Bobby E. Wright, Joel A. Rogers, e.t.c.), traced Black Atheism (i.e. primitive skepticism, non-theistic spirituality, e.t.c.) through the allegorical metaphors of the ancient Egyptians in their wisdom literature (i.e. Book of Coming Forth By Day and by Night, Metu Neter: Vol 1-3, e.t.c.), poems (i.e. The Song of the Harper, e.t.c.) and many different African tribes (i.e. certain Zulus, Pygmies, Camroons, e.t.c.). Moreover, when Black Atheist of this school of thought discuss their Black Atheism they often use appellations such as "Anti Theos", "Against Theos", "Against Greek Gods", "Anti White Supremacy", "Anti Greek Culture", "Anti Tethys", e.t.c. The reason for these appellations is due to the fact that Atheism as taught by the Eurocentric Greeks wasn't accepted by the overall Greek government. To be an Atheist in ancient Greece meant social suicide (i.e. imprisonment, exiled, and/or put to death). Now! The question is raised where did the Greeks obtain their Atheistic stance? Well, we know from the Father of Greek History (i.e. Herodotus) that the Greeks traveled up-n-down Africa learning all sorts of ideas in order to take back to their homeland and repackaged them into a workable Eurocentric framework. Nevertheless, this form of Black Atheism (i.e. school of thought) can be observed and/or learned through Afrocentric, Black Atheist organizations (i.e. Black Atheists of Atlanta, Atheos Records, e.t.c.). I often refer to this type of Atheism as the purest form of Atheism I've ever came across throughout my 27 years as an Atheist. In 2007 Eurocentric scholar Michael Lackey, University of Florida English professor, generally described Black Atheist conceptions of the death of God as a cause for personal and political hope; so, Black Atheist in their secular vision of social and political justice argue that only when the culture adopts and internalizes a truly Atheist politics one based on pluralism, tolerance, and freedom will radical democracy be achieved. This type of Black Atheism (i.e. school of thought, e.t.c.) I describe as more of a milder watered down version of Black Atheism because it encompasses Multiculturalism and/or other so-called liberal progressive ideas which are, more receptive of Eurocentric culture and can be observed or learned through Black Atheist organizations (i.e. Black Atheists of America, Black Nonbelievers of Atlanta, Black Skeptics Group, Black Freethinkers, e.t.c.).