American Atheists President David Silverman Fired For Sexual Assault

[JudoThrowFiasco]

As an atheist i think it is very odd that there would be an organization dedicated to uniting people but it is not surprising as there will always be factions forming over commonality. Also, religiosity and secularism/ atheism provide no link to connection of criminality and sexual misconduct. Yes, priests / churches have been under scrutiny and deservingly so, but so have STEM fields both in the professional world and academic realm have high rates of misconduct and abuse (see Krauss for the most recent headline)

or
https://www.marieclaire.com/career-advice/a14104684/sexual-harassment-assault-in-science-field/


Some humans going to do horrible shit regardless of ideology

Oh, and i agree with none of what that rock has to say.

 

[AnGrYcRoW]

Where is your neck of the woods?

Western Canada

 

[Quequeg]

Western Canada

Nice place, city or woods?

 

[Steve-French]

I think there is certainly something deeply wrong with *compelling* people into shows of honor and respect for their country. That kind of stuff should have been rightly abandoned after WW2.

To each their own I guess. I just don't view honoring and respecting a person's home country as a bad thing. I'm not overly patriotic myself, but I am an OEF veteran and can respect what it took and the lives that were lost to make our country as comfortable as it is today.

 

[AnGrYcRoW]

Nice place, city or woods?

Fringe really , I can be in the woods or at the water in 10 minutes

 

[cooks1]

Western Canada

Nice.

 

[Fawlty]

To each their own I guess. I just don't view honoring and respecting a person's home country as a bad thing. I'm not overly patriotic myself, but I am an OEF veteran and can respect what it took and the lives that were lost to make our country as comfortable as it is today.

Like I said, compelling is over the line. I think 90%+ of patriotism displays are just fucking absurd, but if people need it, whatever, knock yourself out. Try to make me do it, you'll have a problem.

 

[Gutter Chris]

Isn't that clearly something that doesn't need to be compelled in anyone by the state, especially children? The burden should always be on the state to justify the status quo, and we've seen the pledge of allegiance fail to justify itself as time has gone on and it has become less important. Yet still people cling to it, and even want it forced on people, especially children. It's a really sick mindset even if the pledge itself is pretty innocuous.

Wow thats rather negative

Its not indoctrination its initiation

The sense of community and belonging starts early and continues til you die . think school shootings and why people feel so lonely and depressed. Think why everyone wants to fight to keep everyone else down instead of fighting for all of us to rise with things like wages and healthcare and a safety net . People are isolated and dont believe in a bigger community and so they dont see the picture past themselves any longer or think like we are all one tribe.

So we are clear I dont think saying the pledge will cure that as it is just one thing and it takes much more than that to build a strong community but is a great foundation stone. We are americans , this is our country , these are our brothers and go from there. If church isnt going to be where americans go for sense of community and belonging any more they really are going to need to strengthen the ties of community in other ways



I really could not disagree with your assessment more

I think you are looking at it like pledging to some object and abstract idea and I am looking at it like that object symbolizes our ties to one another and our sense of belonging

 

[Gutter Chris]

Like I said, compelling is over the line. I think 90%+ of patriotism displays are just fucking absurd, but if people need it, whatever, knock yourself out. Try to make me do it, you'll have a problem.

Also Im not saying it should be compelled I am saying you should do it willingly and proudly

 

[Islam Imamate]

I'm not quite sure wear I stand when it comes to believing in God, but organized atheism is probably the most arbitrary thing I've ever heard of. It takes a special type of douche to pretend to be offended by the pledge of allegiance.

I take offense to the "Under God" part. I could accept it if it was in the original pledge but it was added in the 50s because of "C-Communism!"

The Cold War is over and so we should remove that shit. Otherwise I agree.

Isn't that clearly something that doesn't need to be compelled in anyone by the state, especially children? The burden should always be on the state to justify the status quo, and we've seen the pledge of allegiance fail to justify itself as time has gone on and it has become less important. Yet still people cling to it, and even want it forced on people, especially children. It's a really sick mindset even if the pledge itself is pretty innocuous.

Its not really forced on children. I had multiple teachers tell the class they have a right to sit during the pledge and I did so, sometimes for mundane reasons like I was in the middle of eating a bagel.

But I think its an important ritual worth preserving. I don't quite care for rootless cosmopolitanism and trying to seed a little national pride with a rather innocuous daily ritual hardly seems a step too far for me. Maybe its overdone, especially at sporting events, but in a public school classroom its perfectly appropriate.

Don't like it, really hate it? Send your kid to a private school that doesn't do it. Or else tell them to sit and if confronted defend their rights. That would be an important exercise in patriotism as well as far as I'm concerned

 

[Quequeg]

Fringe really , I can be in the woods or at the water in 10 minutes

Killer, always see stuff about surfing Vancouver Island, you catch lots of Salmon and Steelhead?

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

I love when a guy who shits on people for having morality gets fucked because of his shitty morals.

So basically the Catholic Church And the modern day gop.

 

[Judge]

This fuckin douche. Atheism is simply the lack of belief in God. Don't tell me what atheists believe in. What I believe in. Who anointed this fuckin guy to speak for atheists?

The group’s board held an emergency meeting Thursday evening and unanimously voted to fire 51-year-old Silverman, based on explosive written allegations of sexual assault and undisclosed conflicts of interest, BuzzFeed News has learned.

“Last night, the American Atheists Board of Directors voted to terminate David Silverman as President of American Atheists,” the group said in a statement released Friday. The board made its decision after reviewing “allegations raised regarding Mr. Silverman’s conduct,” the statement said. The board also said it intends to cooperate with any future investigations.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/peteraldho...l-misconduct?utm_term=.xh91bzd1rA#.gpBwZGyw47

Atheists believe God does not exist. An atheist with BLIND FAITH says it is a lack of a belief in God.

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

Anyone saying religion isn’t indoctrination is only fooling Themselves.

It 100% is indoctrination. It’s drilled into you since you’re born and most Things happen when you’re a kid so you can’t disobey your parents orders.

 

[JonesBones]

Atheists believe God does not exist. An atheist with BLIND FAITH says it is a lack of a belief in God.

No, and I dont' want this semantics. But there is a difference between not believing in God and believing there is no God. For example. I don't "believe" in communism. Or even capitalism. I don't have an active belief they are false. There is a difference. One is saying one isnt a capitalist, another is saying capitalism is wrong/false.

I don't believe in God. But I don't proclaim God is false. Because that is a claim. Same thing with communism. I am not a communist but I am not making claims against it.

 

[Quequeg]

Agnosticism is the only right answer, nobody really knows.

 

[AnGrYcRoW]

Killer, always see stuff about surfing Vancouver Island, you catch lots of Salmon and Steelhead?

Steel head have been close to wiped out due to incidental catch , poor logging practices and poor fisheries, it's a sore spot lol , I used to work in commercial fishing .

I have friends who surf , I'm more of a hiker

My favorite hike

 

[mrbaapt]

Atheists are the angriest people on earth. Much angrier than muslims are painted as.

Clearly the angriest by all the atheist shootings & bombings and such, oh wait that's Muslims and Christians 99% of the time.

 

[Quequeg]

Science flies people to the moon, Religion flies people into buildings.

 

[Fawlty]

Also Im not saying it should be compelled I am saying you should do it willingly and proudly

You're stepping out of line by telling people how they should feel about their country and how they should show it. I'm sure I have done that at times myself. It's not right.