Why it is okay only for Christians to go around saying “praise the lord!” and “I’m so thankful to god” and all of that superstitious horse shit but it’s not okay for us Atheists to oppose them or anyone for that matter?
Why do we have to censor ourselves for their benefit? Why the hypocrisy? Why aren’t we allowed to tell them to shut up? If they’re allowed to run their mouth about god claims in the open public, aren’t we equally allowed to express our non beliefs and tell them where to put it?
They harass anyone and everyone who doesn’t believe as they do.
I think we should start speaking out against Christians more often. Tell them to keep it in the closet. When we keep our mouths shut, we start losing things. They make that decision for us. Why not speak out against them?
Here’s the problem, it’s worse then talking to yourself. They cannot be persuaded by logic or evidence. You will simply fail; but I wish you well, and promise to piss off the next two Christian’s I discuss this with in your honor.
I just feel like the number 1 reason why they do it so much is because of support and that it’s a widely supported religion. Of course if I tell someone to knock it off in the store, I’m sure they’re going to have yet another Christian there to back them up for those beliefs. It’s not fair that they’re allowed to infringe on my first amendment rights and the next atheist or someone else of another religion. But it’s perfectly okay for them. Anyone who doesn’t believe is an evil doer. It just gets old. I’m sick of them “spreading the word”. It’s frustrating.
Ummm. We don’t have an expression like that. Have a nice godless day?
We have to go out of our way to invent anti God expressions. It’s okay for them because America is majority theist and these expressions are common.
I don’t think you have to feel harrassed by an expression unless the harrassment is intentional.
As far as speaking out against them goes. I agree; however, it does not have to be in a negative way. If someone says "God bless you.’ It may be enough to simply say, I’m an atheist. We don’t have to go to “I don’t believe in stupid fucking sky daddies so keep your fucking comments to yourself.”
Hey, I just thought about this after getting home from work. We do have some good expressions.
‘Jesus fucking Christ!’
‘Crist on a fucking Crutch!’
‘God fucking dammit!’
‘Fucking Christ in Heaven!’
‘Oh God!’
Now, I’m sorry to say it, but I am so capable of adding such a sarcastic tone to the phrase, “Well, bless your heart.” that the stupidest Christian in the pew would take a double-take. "Well, bless your tiny little soul would be a good second.’
How about, 'Well, thank you and bless you too. Hey, by the way, can you loan me ten dollars?"
Just do what I did, get covered in occult/satanic/Halloween tattoos, wear a black metal band concert shirt everyday, and cover the back window and the bed of your truck with anti-christian/satanic logos and images.
Nobody ever bothers myself or my wife.
I prefer to blend in amongst the locals. Occasionally a hail Satan shirt. I’m not into advertising for the most part. I’m unassuming, and can talk to anyone. It’s an upper hand not broadcasting who you are. Plenty of people assume to know who I am and what I am about. Always fun when someone throws out a racist, sexist, or homophobic point of view with a little smugness like they’re a naughty child who just stole a piece of candy.
Is it a bit exploitive, maybe, it’s just comforting to know who I am dealing with first by playing my cards tight to my chest. It’s usually more awkward when I politely disagree and ask them if that’s how they actually feel or if they just believe anything they are told?
I try to be an example to working class people, you can be more than just what people see you as or tell you what you are.
This is a great line. I actually got nailed on this one time. I was at a poker game and for some reason they started playing gangster rap. I just started singing along to be funny, “Fuck the bitch, suck my dick, Yo Yo fucking piece of shit.’ Well, someone apparently got real upset with my antics and politely inquired, in front of everyone, 'Do you really think that is all their saying,” Awwwww Fuuuuck… Little monkey’s tail just got squished. And since I’m an Ape, that means the guy just shoved his boot up my ass. 'No, sorry! I’m just being an ass."
This is called ‘Negative Inquiry’ when you take an assertion training class. It’s really good to know. You do not have to agree with the person. In fact, you obviously don’t. You are not arguing with them. You just let them express how they really feel and then say something like, ‘Thank you for sharing.’ It’s their shit, not yours.
I figured there was some name for it. It is certainly my favorite, people really are way too trusting. My christian naivety led to my getting burned by quite a fewer user “friends”. I gradually learned to turn my approachability and agreeable demeanor into a useful tool. Thanks religious upbringing.
It comes with plenty of its own gross baggage though. I still can’t get over some of the fucked up stuff people willingly divulge once they think you will agree with their plight. The more I find through this method, the less I think humanity has any fucking chance of survival.
Exactly. I definitely prefer to blend with the crowd most of the time. I might wear some type of “Pagan” or Norse god shirt now and then just to keep people off balance, depending on my mood and where I’m going. Otherwise, when in public, the less people know about me the better, as far as I’m concerned. Plus, I have the ability to look “friendly” and approachable, or I can flip a switch and instantly transform into a demeanor and subtle look that says, “STAY AWAY. APPROACH AT OWN RISK.” Hmmm… On second thought, let me correct that. The “Stay Away” look is my constant default mode. I actually have to consciously put myself into “Friendly Mode.”
The trick is to not agree but listen anyway. A, ‘that’s interesting tell me more,’ approach.
I personally find almost everything anyone says to be full of shit; ‘INCLUDING MYSELF.’ I am one of the fullest of shit people I know. Can anyone even imagine how many times I have explained shit, scientific shit, psychological shit, opinions, and totally convinced people I know what the fuck I am talking about? My field of study, Psychology, is a soft science. All I must go on, are generalities. In the hard sciences, all I must go on are what my favorite scientists have said, but Einstein, Tyson, Hawking, Cox, Krauss, et. al. have all been demonstrated to be wrong about something. Ever walked away from a conversation knowing that you were just blowing shit out of your ass? I don’t know all this shit. I am not at the top of my field. I don’t know what is happening at the forefront or what the latest experiments have revealed. Who can keep track of all this shit? Not me. Still, I have an opinion. Why in the fuck would anyone agree with my opinion?
I learned a long time ago, not to listen to what people say, but rather, ‘How They Say It.’ That does not mean focusing on the words they use, but rather on the emotional content and the social context (meaning) of what is being said. I can probably say something as simple as, “Pass me the beans.” in a thousand different ways and in a million different contexts. Each of them means something different ‘contextually.’ They say communication is (" Dr. Mehrabian to devise a formula to describe how the mind determines meaning. He concluded that the interpretation of a message is 7 percent verbal , 38 percent vocal and 55 percent visual.') When I remember to do it, I intentionally pay attention to the 38% and the 55%.) The 7% really doesn’t matter much at all. J. Haley was fond of saying, ‘All communication is relationship defining. One cannot, not, communicate.’ We made a joke out of this in Graduate school. “Dying is just a communication that one no longer wishes to communicate.”
I guess my point is, ‘There are many ways to listen. It’s not all words.’
Exactly. A trick I learned during my years on patrol. Most folks might find this difficult to believe, but people will actually LIE to the police! Totally mind-blowing, right? And they don’t even have to be a criminal, and many of the non-criminals don’t even realize they are doing it. Anyway, point being, it got to where I rarely looked at the person I was questioning/interviewing. I would stand at an angle to them with my head down and eyes focused on nothing. I simply focused my ears on their voice and tone and rhythm. Asked simple “innocent” questions to get a “baseline”, then moved on to more intensive questions. (Depending on circumstances, of course.) Rarely does anybody actually come right out and tell you the real problem. But more often than not, HOW they tell you, and even what they DON’T tell you, actually tells you everything you need to know.
What? Give up all those good nonverbal cues? Actually, you don’t have to look at the person to pick up most of them. Humans are actually hard-wired to pick up non-verbal impressions. A slightly higher pitch in the voice, speaking a bit more rapidly, an increase in gestures, self-soothing behaviors like scratching or rubbing, weight shifting, a sense of being ill at ease. We can pick up on so much stuff by simply being in the same room as another person. The thing is, everyone does it. It’s nothing special. Some people just studied it a little bit and learned to play with it.
Yes. I am often amazed at how unaware people are of the information they are communicating through their body language, mannerisms, facial expressions, tones and frequency in voice, etc… My awareness of some of these things has come mostly from life experiences afforded me by living this long, (No, wrinkles are not wisdom) although I have pursued a layman’s understanding of some of the psychological perspectives of behavior.
Most people I have interacted with in my adult life have been completely unaware of the possibility that they may, in fact, be under observation above and beyond what would be considered “usual” in regular conversational interaction(s). This provides an opportunity for a somewhat unfettered analysis or examination of underlying motivations, agendas, biases, deceptions, fears, apprehensions, indoctrinated beliefs, and the list goes on. The trick, of course, is to not be distracted by our own bullshit or react to the more extreme examples observed, and participate in the conversation in a natural manner. Being seen as condescending is a risk with some people.
I have had a few instances when I thought that I was being observed beyond “normal” degrees. It becomes a fun exercise when I am being observed more closely if I am aware of it. To deliberately overreact or downplay issues presented can become a game of “foxes and rabbits”….wait, where have I heard that before?
Exactly, like I said earlier. Most people get so excited or paranoid to tell you their thoughts. Most act like that mischievous little 4 year old that thinks no one knows what they are doing, even though they have that shit eating grin on their face the whole time. It seems enjoyable for people to say things with what I would call “shock value” or fringe appeal.
I always look for as many cues as possible, I maintain probably unbearable eye contact with most people. It’s really a game of chicken with eye contact for me, I’m always looking for them to break away first. Of course being that I mostly deal with men, they always seem to be trying to impress me with some grandiose tale of conquest. Maybe it’s because I’m aloof and really don’t show much engagement in conversations, I’m not sure why people are pining for my approval or attention.
I always answer with “oh ok”, “really”, or “interesting” not so much agree as much as confirming I’m paying attention.
It’s interesting analyzing physical cues, when people start rocking back and forth, shifting, constantly touching their face, or manipulating things with their hands. I’m always looking for signs of how uncomfortable someone is. Usually a good tell if they’re just full of bullshit or embellishing something to appeal to me.
Of course I’m full of plenty of bullshit too. Have to apply a little social grease to get the wheels turning once in a while. I’m not above a good bluff to get information.
Yeah, I know what you are saying. And, yes, those non-verbal cues/signs did come in handy quite often. Again, though, depending on the situation, I found I often gained more info just listening for inconsistencies and such. Plus, there was the psychological factor in the way I would position myself and not look at them. Also used the tone of my own voice to “probe” for reactions. Basically, it was just a subtle way to mind-fuck somebody who was trying to be evasive or difficult. There were many little tricks like that I used to keep people off-balance and maintain control of the situation.
Hmmm. Control…interesting concept this whole control thing. Are you sure you were not just embracing an illusion? As long as things go the direction you hope for, with your deliberate and manipulative methods, the illusion is maintained. If, on the other hand, things do not go as you hopefully predict they will go, then the illusion vanishes with the wind…I am glad you found coercive and probative methods as alternatives to more aggressive techniques. It is admirable that you recognized the value of an analytical approach as opposed to a purely aggressive tactic.
I have largely given up on the idea that I have any real demonstrative degree of control over many of the things I would have previously claimed that I did. I do believe I am able to coerce people to behave in a specific manner. But although I view coercion as a form of control, overall I do not conclude that that my manipulative successes qualify for the label of being in control. I state this as a recognition of the majority of factors at play are often mostly, if not completely, beyond my powers to affect their influence on a given situation.
Essentially, for me, it is an illusion which presents a precarious mental state when the illusion is taken away or destroyed by reality. Therefore, even when I believe I have majority influence, I accept the fact that ultimately I have only created a predisposition and assuming any significant degree of control is indeed an illusion. Of course this is related to human interactions and not to be construed to apply to any techno-mechanical-inanimate-rolling pins…
