ASH vs. Them
This quote is from a Tweeter
that I respect and I thought of the future and our (ASH) place in it:
"When bad men combine, the good must
associate else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a
contemptible struggle."
When you read the above
quote, what do you think of? We've seen
this happen over and over throughout human history. Some one comes to power and influences people to commit heinous
acts in the name of country, religion or money.
All it takes is for good
people to not step up to stop these evil doers for evil to triumph. As the quote above says, "...they will
fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice..."
ASH needs to stick together
to fight the good fight against religion or each of us will end up on the pile
just like everyone else. With a
cohesive group, we can make a difference.
BUT, we must stop the petty
bickering and infighting to do it. Is it worth losing the war over making a
small point that, in the long run, means absolutely nothing?
So, I ask you.....NO, I beg
you to keep your disagreements civil.
Of course, you should make your points and, of course, you should defend
them. That can all be done in a civil
and polite manner.
If you want to see ASH fail
and each of us become the "unpitied sacrifice", then keep doing what
you're doing. If you want to see ASH
succeed, the keep the tone of your discussions civil and polite.
Here's the real
problem: The Christians aren't our REAL
enemy. Yes, they disagree and, yes,
they hold a great deal of power in America, Australia and the UK; but they are
mostly impotent.
I'll leave it to you to
determine who the REAL opponent is.
this is the problem. the entire notion of "atheist superheroes" is ridiculous beyond words.
ReplyDeletereligious people aren't "bad men"... they're people. atheists aren't falling one by one. we're growing in numbers every day.
ASH is childish and petty. there is no "good fight" and ASH is no better than any other twitter atheist. you're trolls. by pretending to be moreso, you make a mockery of atheism. you know damn well you're not changing anything. so knock off the melodrama.
but hey, it seems you lot have finally figured out that a lot of people don't like what you stand for. and it's atheists that are far more criticial of you than theists. why do you think that is?
it's because you introduce the petty politics and bickering you claim you're trying to stop. you're building arbitrary divisions. your leadership refuses to acknowledge criticism, and instead encourages a dangerous groupthink.
as long as you continue to pretend to be superheroes and piss off your fellow atheists, you will not "make a difference" - at least in any positive way.
It may be childish, but it works. Uniting atheists is almost impossible. Why not give it a chance? If you disagree with ASH, that's perfectly fine; but why try to destroy it?
ReplyDeleteit doesn't "work" - it has accomplished nothing except division.
ReplyDeleteuniting atheists SHOULD be impossible. we have ONE thing in common. that's it. I have yet to meet another atheist that I agree with everything on. the only think we agree on is our opinion on religions and gods.
try building a team of people with size 9 feet. you'll have the same issues. you're trying to build a "family" around an arbitrary trait, it's destined to fail.
I gave it a chance. and I was shat all over. because ASH is nothing more than a high school clique. I wasn't the "right kind" of atheist with the "right followers" so I was told to go away. fuck that.
the only thing that will destroy ASH is the egos of those involved. it's already falling apart. dissidence is quashed, and speaking out against the groupthink causes people a lot of trouble.
why do it to begin with? why cause these problems? your little group doesn't add anything to the equation, and it ends up hurting people and their relationships. I know a few people that have lost friends because of ASH. it's a stupid line in the sand. that alone is reason to stop.
It sounds as though you've been hurt and are reacting instead of thinking about it logically. I wasn't involved in any of your dealings with ASH, but if you continue to attack the group, it will only make you look bad. I have nothing against you and would hope you have nothing against me. Losing friends that you only know on the internet is somewhat unusual. What exactly is a friend on the net? How close can one get to that person?
ReplyDeleteIf you were asked to leave, be a gentleman and do so. It's what I would do. I've been on this Earth for 64 years and I've had my share of lumps like this because I'm an atheist.
I've always walked the edge of society and I know what loneliness feels like. This group does work because it creates a sense of family, a sense of belonging. Do you understand?
there's a lot of projecting going on there.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been hurt by that group. how could they hurt me? I don't know anyone in it. I've certainly been attacked by a bunch of uptight, self-important ponces.
I was not asked to leave, because I was never allowed to join. and therein lies the problem. this isn't an open society for anyone to participate in. it's an exclusive club set up by a egomaniac to recruit sycophants to stroke his ego.
you say the group creates family. funny, from the outside all I see is dysfunction. infighting between members. fighting with outsiders on the same side. what kind of messed up homelife do you have?
the very fact that there is strife directly caused by that group is more than enough reason to shut it down. the only positive you can claim also causes a lot of negative. how are you better off now than you were a year ago? I've never had a problem connecting with other atheists, either online or in person. we aren't hard to find.
ASH is just petty and insecure people trying to pretend they're anything but.
There's been a lot of strife over A+ and they divided into two groups (I don't know if you were aware of that). Every group goes through growing pains. There are lessons learned every day.
ReplyDeleteIf you have lots of atheists to chat with online, why all the fuss with this group. Why not move on?
because ASH makes *ALL* atheists look stupid. how do you not comprehend this? just like A+ makes us all look bad.
ReplyDeletewe don't need a damn movement. we don't have a cause. anyone who tries to apply any sort of morality to atheism is a moron. atheism is "without god(s)" and nothing more.
and personally, after banging my head into a wall for two hours yesterday trying to reason with you, only to have you declare victory when I gave up? yeah, I CERTAINLY don't want people like you representing me or my beliefs. I have my doubts you could reason yourself out of a wet paper sack.
"but they are mostly impotent" Well written, my friend.
ReplyDeleteAnd I do hope that the ASH help us Atheists to bring justice and peace to our world.
Hail Atheos!
I will give you credit, at least you have the bravery to respond to criticism.
ReplyDeleteyour fearful leader keeps deleting my criticisms on his blog, rather than respond to them. hallmark of a petty tyrant.
I stand behind my words and will defend them until proven wrong, then I will admit my mistake. Here's why I think atheism can be 'controlled' (to a point). When the religions fail, there must be a something to fill the gap to prevent anarchy. Yes, it will happen. If we can offer a rational replacement we can do two things. We can stabilize society and we can show mankind a way to make progress.
ReplyDeleteIf we don't find a way to overcome the coming Muslim onslaught, we will all be driven back to caves. We must not allow Shariah Law to become commonplace in the Western World. It is the most dangerous threat in the world today.
it's quaint that you think religion as a whole will fall anytime soon.
ReplyDeletethe churches will exist long after the last parishioner has attended any church service. they have massive reserves of wealth. and people are inherently stupid.
religion has been indoctrinating people for thousands of years. even if every generation loses 20% of its numbers, it will be centuries before the churches die out for good.
and why would there be anarchy? there is no anarchy currently with non-believers making up 20% of the world population. why would that change?
the only way you would have anarchy is if you forcibly banned religion, and gave people a reason to revolt. and last I checked, YOU were the only atheist I've ever met who proposed such a strategy. the rest of us respect the autonomy of others to believe what they wish, as long as they don't harm anyone else.