I recently had a Twitter exchange while following the #iq2atheism hashtag during this debate (I know, I know, I still have to write my follow-up post). It went as follows:
My tweets will be in Red, and @ohfuckitsdonnie’s will be in Green…festive!:
#iq2atheism You fuckers are just as bad as the religious. You claim to know the truth when in reality you are just as clueless as they are.
@ohfuckitsdonnie #iq2atheism atheists don’t claim to have the truth… They say “I don’t know, let’s look at the evidence”
@EnlightningLinZ That’s ridiculous, you claim you know there is NO God. The concept of God is something that cannot be proved or disproved.
@EnlightningLinZ …to clarify, I do not believe in God and am more or less an Atheist.
Oh and by the way, an Atheist claims they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is no god. Which means they are stating they KNOW.
@ohfuckitsdonnie no I don’t claim there’s no God, but I see no reason to think there is one. There’s no evidence.
@ohfuckitsdonnie I can’t know that there’s no god like I can’t know that there’s no Santa or fairies or leprechauns
@EnlightningLinZ Fair enough. I do not believe in any deity, but I believe bleeding heart atheist are just as obnoxious as the religious.
@ohfuckitsdonnie did u see the #iq2atheism debate? I don’t c how u could think the atheists were obnoxious at all compared to the believers
@EnlightningLinZ Because you guys are so quick to disrespect the religious, you go out of your way to tell people their beliefs are stupid.
@ohfuckitsdonnie some beliefs don’t deserve respect, where did this idea that religious beliefs shouldn’t be criticized come from?
@EnlightningLinZ Some beliefs don’t deserve respect? You are a typical, full of your own bullshit breed atheist that…
…give the rest of us a bad name. 1 yaself.
My response to that last tweet was this:
@ohfuckitsdonnie what, you think that all beliefs deserve respect? How about racist or sexist or homophobic beliefs? They have your respect?
@ohfuckitsdonnie many beliefs don’t deserve respect. People should be respected, but not their bogus ideas.
But I think this video (posted @ Skepchick) would have been a better response:
AD: You can’t just describe things as rubbish, you have to treat everybody’s views, whatever they believe, with equal respect.
GIRL: Even idiots?
DAD: Well . . .
Girl: Even people who want to stab you in the eye with a pencil?
DAD: Wuh . . .
GIRL: Even people who want to blow up . . .
MOM: Come on now, you should be in bed.
[Follow me on Twitter! @EnlightningLinZ]
It is a curious thing that people seem to think some sets of beliefs can’t be discussed but that others are ok. And when people break those taboos the results are extreme.
I had a similar talk about respect with a friend. This person was arguing that peoples beliefs and opinions should be respected and I was on the boat of that people should be respected if they have earned it. I do not respect the opinions or the beliefs of racists, homophobic or any other idiotic beliefs. This person did not have anything to say after that.
I do not always agree with what people think or do but they should not automatically earn respect. One thing I really do hate is when elder people just throw up Respect your elders when they do not have a leg to stand on. What does that have to do with anything?
Good luck on your blog.
“many beliefs don’t deserve respect. People should be respected, but not their bogus ideas”
I am not even sure I would go that far. Respect is earned and those that I respect are in that category because of their actions and behaviour.
I think that we should respect the idea that everyone gets a chance to be judged on their merit and not their appearance etc.
The fact that we believe our opinions and beliefs should always be respected is part and parcel of the significant human ego that tells us that we are special!
Man oh man am I ever a pessimist and a killjoy. Happy Holidays everyone!