Persecution Part II

Recently I was able to go to a spa for a day of pampering. It was lovely. I had a massage, a facial, and a pedicure. It was one of those spas where you could just lounge around a whirlpool or sweat in a sauna. Very relaxing.

I had been to this spa before and had a great conversation with the woman who gave me a pedi the first time. She happened to also be an atheist. When I returned over the weekend she was there and remembered me. I was happy to see her but she was, unfortunately, not going to be giving me my pedi this time. But, she insisted that the woman who would be providing the service was a wonderful woman. And she was. Until she started asking awkward questions....

I had previously told her that my boyfriend and I had met at an atheist convention. She then launched into a Q&A session with me about what atheists actually 'believe'. That's fine with me. Religious people tend to not really get atheism and the more questions they ask the more opportunity I have of changing their minds about atheists.

She asked if I believed in reincarnation. She asked if I believed in anything. Then she launched into a speech about how all of our unbalanced pH levels are the things that make us sick. (Did you know that drinking a glass of lemon water a day can keep cancer away??)  This woman turned out to be kinda 'woo'. (Is that how we are going to be writing that?) She said things like "It's all about energy" and "when something tragic happens, it makes you rethink life."

Then she started talking about how her niece had just died unexpectedly. And this is the part where the persecution comes in. Had I been a Christian and she an atheist I could have told her that this was all a part of God's plan and that I would be praying for her. No one would have batted an eye. She may have thanked me for her kind words. After all, I was just trying to say something to comfort her.

As the atheist in this situation, what could I have said other than 'I'm sorry' and sympathized and made 'sad noises' at all the things this young woman was now going to miss? I just had to listen to her go on about how her niece should have been the miracle child. Her niece's children will one day see their mom again. Her family needed many blessings now.

And I just sat there. Doing nothing. Getting more and more annoyed but awkward. Of course I feel awful that her young niece died. I'm not a heartless monster. I empathize with people when something bad happens. Can I tell them that I'm sorry this happened but I don't believe in that after-life nonsense? Of course not. I'd be a horrible person.

When something tragic happens to an atheist and religious people try to comfort them with that God bullshit and we fire back... we are now the hurtful, bitter and angry ones. We're not bitter. We're grieving. Telling ourselves that we will one day see our loved ones again is not 'moving on'. It's dwelling. It's tricking our mind into not accepting the pain but masking it.

Telling someone that 'god has a plan' when something bad happens is not helpful to an atheist. But Christians are allowed, by society, to say these things. An atheist is not allowed to tell someone that 'bad things happen because bad things happen'. We understand that the world is neither fair nor just. Things. Just. Happen. But, we're not allowed to express that.

All we can do is smile, nod a bit, and hope that the person with sharp tools around our feet dosn't 'accidentally' slip....

Social Court

Many of us have seen the work of  'social court' play out many times. In today's astronomical access to information at a moment's notice via social media it's difficult to say ANYTHING that won't offend someone. Our world has become so PC that we are all afraid to voice our unpopular opinions.

Here is what I consider a good guideline for becoming offended:
-- If I have a problem with someone's opinion that's my problem and I need to deal with it internally.
-- When a person's opinion becomes law/standard/physically harmful and directly affects my life then you have a problem and it needs to be addressed.

When the founder of Chick-fil-A made some statements about his opinions on marriage- I was pissed. I haven't eaten at one of the locations since. Do I think What's-his-face cares? Of course not. He has his personal opinions and I have mine. He chooses to think a certain group of people in our country don't deserve equal rights and I choose to think he is an ass.

When that Duck Dynasty character made some awful remarks about gay and black people I was outraged. I have NEVER seen one of their shows and I have NEVER had an interest to. I can't name the person who was in the interview nor can I pick him out of a line-up. It really just annoys me that someone in such a powerful spotlight would use that arena to say something so ignorant.

Recently, with this CEO person from Mozilla, we have seen the social court work it's charms. The CEO donated money to Prop 8.  HE believes marriage should be between a man and woman. He is like everyone else with an opinion. We all have them. He is allowed to his personal opinion. I don't care for his opinion. Big Fucking Deal. If he had been speaking on behalf of the company, sure, let's justifiably burn him at the stake. But he has donated his own money to a cause that he believes in. And, because of this, he has been charged and tried in the court of social law-- and he lost. The CEO of Mozilla stepped down because of all the media attention he has brought to the company over his opinions.

If I were to be run out of my work, town, community because of my beliefs or opinions I would cry foul and sue SOMEONE. (Because I'm a good American and we sue just because we can)

Why are we forcing people to change their personal opinions? And, if they don't, why do we persecute them? Is this really productive?

Here's an idea: how about we just be good to one another, try to persuade people instead of forcing and hopefully we can teach the next generation to be kinder to one another.

"I disagree strongly with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."- Voltaire