My Atheist Community

Last night I went to the Secular Hub here in Denver. I've been many times before but, for whatever reason, last night was particularly special to me. The Hub is a center for the secular community. My group, The Denver Atheists, and any and all secular groups in the Denver Metro area use the space for meetings, events and other gatherings. It's a place for us to go to meet and hang with our fellow heathens. I love it.

Last night one of the board members was speaking to a couple that was visiting for the first time. The way he explained the Hub put the place into great perspective for me. He said that when people go to church there is a person who stands in the front of the congregation and the main point of going there is to listen. The Hub is a place to participate.  There is not usually a main reason to gather other than we can.

This is what I love about the Hub and the people in it. We come together to speak our minds and everyone is encouraged to do so. I am never the smartest person in the room. I enjoy listening to the science and ideas floating around the room. It's fascinating to be in the presence of such intellectual, physical and musical talent.

Last night was no different. We had a Flying Spaghetti Monster dinner. Pasta was on the menu, of course. The Hub house band, Pale Blue, played.  (Named after Carl Sagan's Pale Blue Dot) I did not do a head count but I assume we had over 40 people. For such a small building and a small secular community this was a great turn out. There were people of all ages and backgrounds. Children as young as 5 and seniors into their 70's. Singles, old married couples, widows, gf/bf's and hopefuls.

I looked around and realized that, even when I was a church member, I had never been a part of such an open community. I was never able to walk into church and know everyone in the room. I was given work assignments based on my gender and not my ability. I was taught to keep quiet and agree with my elders.

The Hub gives me a place to go and meet friends. Real friends. Ones who celebrate in accomplishments and grieve together at loss. Ones with whom I can laugh, joke, cry and complain. Ones who genuinely care about my health. Ones who do not blame bad things on  the devil or tell me that I am being punished by a god for my sins. Friends that give advise, tell me when I have a stupid idea, or just listen.  

I'm proud to be a member of this community. I am 2,000 miles from any family and I miss them terribly. But the secular community that I have become a part of has become as close to a family that I could have asked for.

http://www.secularhub.org/

Jesus is my Navigator

When it looked like Barack Obama was close to winning the presidency in 2008 I had many southern friends and family holler that they were going to get on a boat and sail off into the sunset for better lands if he won... When he won I was hoping to be able to wave a few people off into the ocean. To my disappointment they stuck around.

This family, however, actually kept their word.

In this news story reported by NBC News the Gastonguay family from Arizona did just that. They came to the conclusion that their tax dollars were being spent to fund abortions and they felt their ability to practice their religion was being infringed upon. So they stocked up their boat, grabbed their children and elderly father and sailed off for the tiny island nation of Kiribati.

After they got lost, drifted for weeks, encountered difficult storms and ran out of food they were picked up by a Venezuelan shipping vessel, transferred to a Japanese cargo ship, dropped off at a Chilean port and, finally, brought home by the United States. They are currently back in Arizona.

I can only hope that they try this nonsense again. And this time maybe they will actually reach their goal and we can be rid of a tiny bit of crazy.

What made this funny:
They sailed off and let God be their guide. Then they got lost. I'm sure that many religious people will assume that this was God's plan. He wanted them to be taken back to the U.S. for some random reason that will reveal itself in due time. But not before almost getting them killed in the process... The family is most likely still trying to figure out how they can follow God's unwavering guidance in the future.

What made this scary:
The family included children. Very young children. And there was little to no navigational or sailing experience between all the adults. How could someone do this to their children? They had a three year old and an infant. AN INFANT. They sailed off in the ocean in the middle of storm season with only two months worth of food. They drifted for 91 days total.

 Did we learn nothing from the Swiss Family Robinson and Tom Hanks??

I will never understand why so many people complain about their taxes. Do they forget that they pay for things like emergency crews, like the coast guard and emergency funds to get citizens home...? Although, I'm sure that the family will have to pay the government back for their airfare home. Taxes give us roads, community funding, schools and so much more.

Personally, I'm annoyed that churches don't have to pay taxes. With as much money as some of the mega-churches bring in we are missing out in millions of dollars worth of funding from churches annually.

And the idea that the government is infringing on their faith? I would like to hear more of what they mean about that. As far as I can see it's the christian religion that is the one that is guiding many of the laws that people like me have been fighting against for years. It seems to me that there are many more people who are being dominated by religion than religion being stomped on by government.

But, again, before I completely ridicule these people for their reasoning I really want to hear what they have to say for themselves. I will, however completely ridicule them for actually carrying out this hair-brained idea with children. I would love to see social services take a look into the family.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/11/19969556-religious-family-fleeing-us-by-sailboat-goes-adrift-winds-up-in-chile?lite

Unbelievable

http://news.yahoo.com/3-killed-pa-shooting-linked-feud-town-072434799.html

This is an article put out from Yahoo.com about a man in PA who shot and killed three people over a property dispute. He shot and killed THREE people and injured more at a municipal meeting in the county. He was upset that he lives in a dilapidated and trash infested piece of property and he was in arguments with the county over the clean-up. He said he was on social security and couldn't afford the clean-up.

SO HE SHOT AND KILLED THREE PEOPLE!

But this isn't what is upsetting and unbelievable to me. What's unbelievable is the comments after the story. People are defending the man. They start off by saying that they 'do not condone what he has done' but then they go off on how this is the government's fault.  They claim that if the neighbors or government would have helped him more then this would not have happened. "This man just needed a kind gesture." "He is on social security and he has worked hard for it and to treat him like this is a crime."

If this man were ANY other color than white he would be classed as a lazy bum who just wants to have a free ticket in jail on the taxpayers dime. I'm furious.

Anyone who says that this.....animal went too far or deserves jail is quickly labeled as a 'libitard'. I don't even understand this.

HE KILLED THREE PEOPLE OVER HIS GARBAGE!!

The government is blamed, immigrants are blamed, minorities are blamed, the wealthy are blamed. EVERYONE is blamed....except the man who chose to murder innocent people over permits, money and trash.

This is classic 'blaming the victim'. If you didn't want your car getting stolen you shouldn't have left it unlocked. If she didn't want to get raped she should have dressed more conservatively. If they didn't want to be shot dead they shouldn't have enforced these codes on this man.

One commenter actually stated that "I don't condone what the man did about shooting everyone but I DO UNDERSTAND his frustration."

I'm sorry. You understand murderous frustration??  I cannot understand frustration to such an extreme. Maybe it's because I'm young and haven't experienced enough in life that I do not fully understand this type of frustration. And I hope I never do.