Sunday, April 18, 2010

42

Life is a case study in people.

This blog is here to report observations.

You know, I really love my work. It's fun to see the reactions people have to what I say. Honestly, you learn more about a person from their reaction to a stimulus than by simply sitting and talking to them. Sitting down and talking with a person allows them time to craft their answers and portray themselves in a controlled manner. But, when provoked, I find that most people have a knee-jerk reaction to things, and without that calm filter, their true colors come out. Something clicks in their brain, and the worst in them charges to the forefront like a roid-raging bull.

So I say I don't particularly care for someone, and in my opinion, that person fails as a human being in some of the most basic respects. The reaction? Two Facebook pages intended to demean me, and a slew of people making comments and thumping their chests in this sorry sack's defense.

The only problem is, they don't know ME very well. Instead of being offended, I've used them as a sounding board to reach a broader audience (people who have fanned these two pages, but are otherwise not connected to me), injecting what some people consider provocative material into the mix. In this case, I've been told that "I'm Christian, and this offends me because I'm Christian."

Yeah, because I give a fuck.

So, what makes a Christian uneasy? Why, the mocking of their establishment, of course. Feed a Christian a line of dialogue from someone like PZ Myers which states the exact opposite of their belief structure, and they grab their torch and pitchforks, marching as to war.

Yes, they consider this a mature and rational reaction. Amazing, isn't it?

They'll defend someone who's not all that great a person to begin with, and then to make matters worse, they'll take up the cause and defend their own imaginations on two fronts: They imagine this person is something way more than he really is, and they imagine a magic man in the sky who loves and watches over them. Two fictional ideas, vehemently defended by people who are supposedly grounded, respected community members.

Conclusions? For one, people are walking contradictions. There really isn't any other way to describe it; Do as I say, not as I do. Secondly, even people who think themselves good and above contempt are capable of the worst that humanity has to offer. Third, small minds tend to work in numbers. It makes them feel better, I guess.

Me? I work alone, because I lack something they have in spades: Fear. I'm not afraid of how other people perceive me; some idiots have taken that out of my hands anyway, so fuck it. I'm also not afraid of some divine punishment, giving my own free will complete license to soar. I don't need mob mentality. It's becoming quite clear that my own mentality is holding up just fine, and even the mob can't bring me down.

So, what's next? Showing them what the rational mind can do. By week's end, these two Facebook pages will be taken down, through normal channels (and some abnormal, I will be putting in a call to Facebook Corporate). Their creator will likely receive a reprimand at least, and at worst have his account suspended. And me?

I'll be sitting here enjoying some fresh popcorn and a whole mess of test subjects to further my personal research. Even when you're broke, you can find the resources you need.

And yes, for those of you who get the title, I do have my towel handy...

1 comment:

Janelle said...

Thank you very much for posting this.

I've actually been viewing your blog for some time now and even though I'm thousands of miles away, thanks to the great old internet your thoughts and opinions have reached far and wide.

I read your blog because I highly value your opinions on all these matters. Just by reading what you have to say, I can tell you are very wise indeed and I harbour a lot of respect for you for sharing your thoughts with the world without fear of reprisal. There really should be more people in the world like you, I mean that in all seriousness.

This may seem like the weirdest thing in the world to say, but it's the truth: I truly admire and respect you for being such an outspoken Atheist, even though I myself am Christian.

I truly, and sincerely, apologise that many Christians have given you (and countless others) a cruel time for simply having different views to them. Not enough Christians have it in their heads that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and opinions, and many are just blind hypocrites. I may believe in God myself but I assure you, I completely acknowledge that there is JUST as much reason to believe otherwise, and that it cannot be proven outright either way. Nobody has the right to force their beliefs down other people's throats, and again I apologise that this has been done many a time by fundamentalist Christians, to you and so many others.

I very much admire someone like you who can stand up and say, "THIS is what I think and THIS is why". I, for one, have never had the courage to do so but reading your blog has shown that it really makes a difference.

Thank you very much again for all your thoughts, and by the way your son is very beautiful and I'm very happy for you.

Kudos from Australia!

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