Understanding 'angry' atheists - The Atheist Experience #506

From the archive: "angry" atheists — Russell Glasser and Matt Dillahunty talk about why atheists (in particular Richard Dawkins) are often falsely perceived as being angry. Russel does a dramatic reading of an artcle by rabbi Marc Gellman, and Matt swiftly ends one of the shortest prank calls in the show's history.

This is a long excerpt from The Atheist Experience #506 of June 24, 2007 (topic: "angry" atheists) with a slightly improved audio track. The very noisy and small (320 x 240 pixels) video of the complete episode is archived on Google Video:
► http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9222233109878703725#

Rabbi Marc Gellman's Newsweek article ("Trying to Understand Angry Atheists") from April 26, 2006 can be found here:
► http://www.newsweek.com/2006/04/25/trying-to-understand-angry-atheists.html


WHAT IS THE ATHEIST EXPERIENCE?

The Atheist Experience is a weekly cable access television show in Austin, Texas geared at a non-atheist audience. The Atheist Experience is produced by the Atheist Community of Austin. The Atheist Community of Austin is organized as a nonprofit educational corporation to develop and support the atheist community, to provide opportunities for socializing and friendship, to promote secular viewpoints, to encourage positive atheist culture, to defend the first amendment principle of state-church separation, to oppose discrimination against atheists and to work with other organizations in pursuit of common goals.


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MUSIC CREDITS

Intro song: "Angry Again" by Megadeth (snippet).
► http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFvB_ZmZq7s


NOTES

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"The Atheist Experience" is a registered trademark of the ACA.

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► http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

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[mooniekate]

I get angry when some random blue-haired old lady walks up to me on the street and tells me I'm going to hell before handing me a pamphlet. How fucking dare they threaten me and expect me to 'fall in line'. No bloody thank you! Where can I get some Atheism pamphlets to keep in my purse? "I'll read yours, if you read mine..."

[TheAtheistExperience]

@mooniekate

- "Where can I get some Atheism pamphlets to keep in my purse?"

Just pull a blank sheet out of a copier or printer.

[drpeppa2357]

Every theist sees an attempt to rationally debate the basis of religion as an attack, and they believe it to be on such a high social pedestal that any meaningful conversation questioning it becomes aggressive.

So i say be aggressive, if they're so insecure they can't even defend their own story on rational grounds, then there is no polite way to say that they're completely wrong.

[alconaftika]

Im an atheist, living in Moscow, Russia, and the government recently decided to renovate a local cathedral, which makes me so fucking angry, cos that money could have gone to saving cancer patients or to financial aid for students or anything. That is not the point, the point is - it is sickening to see this shit go on, while there is factual shit to clean up within the country. Most of the people who i speak to about this, do not side with me. It really is the opium of the masses.

[theblind1s]

@TheAtheistExperience I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE LOL

[fireblazer6661]

@TheCraich I'd like that the Library of Alexandria not have been destroyed. So much progress destroyed by the flames of ignorance and arrogance. It set us back centuries at least. If not for religion we would have had technology ages ago. The ancient Egyptians has Arc Lamps for instance. It has always been the goal of religion to stall scientific progress, because with progress we lose our ignorance and they, the religious ring leaders, lose their power hold.

[fireblazer6661]

I am what I call an "Angry Atheist", in the sense that, I get angry over how stupid religion is, how ignorant blind faith is, and how ridiculous people sound when preaching their religion. My Atheism itself doesn't MAKE me angry, but I am angered by religion when it's shoved in my face, like it so often is. In this day with science and technology, how can a person believe in the invisible man in the sky. They pray to him to solve their woes, yet not once has "he".

[ScarsFTW]

@TheAtheistExperience

I kinda like "The guy handing you this pamphlet is going to hell"

[mooniekate]

@TheAtheistExperience Bahaha! Good point! My friend says to carry STD pamphlets to hand back and ask, "If I repent, will my herpes go away?"

[TheMetalhead28]

angry again megadeth fuck yeah!

[reanimated6]

He gave us another reason to be ANGRY.