sethosayher Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 I am an atheist. I have been since the age of 18, when I realized I just didn't believe in God anymore. Since then I've visited internet communities frequented by other atheists for support and solidarity and news about religious attempts to dominate culture, law and society. Lately I find myself really annoyed at the smug attitude of other atheists regarding religious people. Don't get me wrong; I hate Christianity and think it is utterly backwards. I've encounter the most abominable opinions and attitudes from religious people. But I've also met kind, compassionate, intelligent believers. I just find myself repulsed by the belief some atheist seem to hold that atheists are, by virtue of their lack of belief, superior to religious people. Superior intellectually, morally, etc. This might be true as a whole - after all, atheistic societies like Sweden regularly trounce countries like the U.S. in areas like learning and contentment. But that does not logically entail that the individual atheist is automatically happier, smarter, and morally better than his or her religious counterpart. Does anyone get where I'm coming from? A part of me feels this arrogance comes from being an oppressed minority in society, which we are. I just think it will end up causing a lot of trouble within our community. EDIT: I would also like to stress that obviously not all internet atheists are like this, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Babylonian Dream Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 I think that some just use the internet to vent and say things they otherwise wouldnt in real life. It can be annoying when theyre overconfrontational. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaToOmega Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Its hard to remain humble when you alone can see the truth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted September 7, 2011 Super Moderator Share Posted September 7, 2011 The most annoying anything is to be found in the Internet. The fairly anonymous medium is a magnet for fringe beliefs, conspiracy buffs, self educated fools, and general social misfits. All that aside, it seems to be human nature to adopt some arrogance when we believe we have found the Truth, regardless of what that particular truth may be. The most obnoxious of us seem to gravitate to the Internet 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiser01 Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 i think that we should do our best to treat them as equals becuase they are. but this can somtimes be hard when we are opresed and judged by them and this seems to give the idea we are varified to judge in response. personaly i think we should strive to be beter people than them by not treating them as inferiors but of course this is much easier said than done and we are all giulty of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hereticzero Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 The dumbest atheist on this planet IS superior morally and intellectually to Christians. Christians are not intellectuals who base their IQ on faith in god. A belief in a god is not a sign of an intellectual. Based on news reports and personal experience, atheists I've known are also morally superior to modern Christians. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryper Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 A good example of this is the head of American Atheists. The guy is a complete sterotype of what everyone "thinks" atheists are like. It's kinda distrubing to me when people actually are the sterotypes. Personally, the unlimited freedom of the internet allows for everyone to have a voice. Sometimes those who normally wouldn't speak then speak the loudest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 The dumbest atheist on this planet IS superior morally and intellectually to Christians. c'mon HZ. You don't really believe that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galien Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 I find annoying anyone whose religion is being right. Doesn't matter what topic they use to declare their "rightness", its the pride and ego behind it that I find offensive, not as much as the belief or hobby horse itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrotherJosh Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 People can be annoying and obnoxious in any creed, race, belief, profession, religion, political party, or any other group you can think of. People are people which means many will suck. The internet provides an anonymous forum for some people to vent their vitriol without a filter or censor. However, I will play devil's advocate and point out that sometimes many atheists (or non-religious in general) are unable to voice their opinions in public due to family, friends, work, culture etc... and so are forced to flee to that anonymity found on the internet. That being said most atheists, agnostics, non-theists, Buddhists and even a Taoist I know are pretty awesome. I suspect it's because it takes a certain type of personality and intellectual honesty to not be in the major cultural belief system they are surrounded with so they inherently have some character. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Finding internet atheist annoying? I find all people, of all categories, equally annoying, internet or not... Maybe it's because I'm an atheist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadedAtheist Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 I've been on atheist forums where if you do not espouse views that are in complete agreement with the status quo, you are violently flamed and/or banned. This us vs them mentality is dangerous and I see a future where atheists are the ones discriminating just like theists did before them and that disheartens me. I'm very confident that "I'm right and everyone else is wrong" but I don't feel that I am being unfair with my demands and I think religions' inability to step up to the plate speaks volumes. In saying that though, I don't feel it necessary to go hunt down and eliminate all traces of religion from the planet because whenever we start swaying one way or the other, instead of keeping balance, there's usually a lot of tragedy ahead. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertBob Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 ... the unlimited freedom of the internet allows for everyone to have a voice. Sometimes those who normally wouldn't speak then speak the loudest. What you and florduh said :-) The technical term is TIFS -- Total Internet Fuckwad Syndrome: Normal person plus audience plus anonymity = Total Internet Fuckwad. I suspect it works equally well for theists and atheists. As for the original poster, yes, I get this too. It was my main malfunction with atheism, and not just on the Internet, for a long time. However I've come to understand that a lot of it is reactionary anger -- it's a little like blaming an impoverished black person for having a chip on their shoulder about racism, or blaming a gay for anger at homophobia. Many atheists either came out of belief systems that abused them or merely wasted their time, and/or, have been discriminated against since. Also, we have to bear with being a minority in a society that caters to faith-based belief systems. Some of us have a harder time with that than others, both in reality, and in between our ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybaris Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 My SIL is an atheist and she's dumber than cat dicks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midniterider Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 I am an atheist. I have been since the age of 18, when I realized I just didn't believe in God anymore. Since then I've visited internet communities frequented by other atheists for support and solidarity and news about religious attempts to dominate culture, law and society. Lately I find myself really annoyed at the smug attitude of other atheists regarding religious people. Don't get me wrong; I hate Christianity and think it is utterly backwards. I've encounter the most abominable opinions and attitudes from religious people. But I've also met kind, compassionate, intelligent believers. I just find myself repulsed by the belief some atheist seem to hold that atheists are, by virtue of their lack of belief, superior to religious people. Superior intellectually, morally, etc. This might be true as a whole - after all, atheistic societies like Sweden regularly trounce countries like the U.S. in areas like learning and contentment. But that does not logically entail that the individual atheist is automatically happier, smarter, and morally better than his or her religious counterpart. Does anyone get where I'm coming from? A part of me feels this arrogance comes from being an oppressed minority in society, which we are. I just think it will end up causing a lot of trouble within our community. EDIT: I would also like to stress that obviously not all internet atheists are like this, of course. What bothers me is the fanatical atheist who would rather not allow me to have my opinion because it contains some elements of theism. But it depends on the venue. This site is not an atheist site however it does have visitors who are atheists. I would expect less criticism from an atheist here than in an atheist forum should I post something about god(s). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 What bothers me is the fanatical atheist who would rather not allow me to have my opinion because it contains some elements of theism. But it depends on the venue. This site is not an atheist site however it does have visitors who are atheists. I would expect less criticism from an atheist here than in an atheist forum should I post something about god(s). The majority (there have been polls on this) on this site are atheists/agnostics. I agree with your last sentence, and that is also what I would expect too. However, it would be best if you posted such ideas about god in the spirituality forum. I am just speaking from experience. And yes, I do find internet atheists annoying, but I must say I have seen my share of internet Christians and people of other religions who are also annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spectrox Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 Yes I know what you mean. Although I would be hypocritical if I said I have never behaved in this way. It depends on my mood and what Christians are saying to me. Richard Dawkins occasionally comes across as pompous and indignant. But maybe atheism needs someone like that? I agree with virtually everything he says (if not always the way he says it). I would probably behave worse than Richard Dawkins if I lived in the US and had to put up with all the religious nonsense that gets bandied about. Mitt Romney running for president, I ask you! To be completely honest, I really do think that most atheist opinions are infinitely better than Christian ones I've heard and we shouldn't lose sight of that. I mean who finds genocide, slavery, mysogany, homophobia and Hellfire and damnation acceptable? I've heard Christians casually defending this cobblers. I really think that dreadful beliefs should be challenged if they are being advertised as the truth and foisted on an unsuspecting public. I am an ex-born again christian (the worst kind of atheist because I have insider information and therefore a know-it-all). But I am far happier now as an atheist. I think I'm a better, stronger, more giving, more genuine person than I was as a Xian. So for me, it depends what Christians are doing with their beliefs. If it is deeply personal and doesn't harm anyone else then fair enough. However, beliefs do inform actions. It's when those actions become insidious and political that there's a worry. It's not a problem (yet) in the UK but we need to keep our eye on the situation. The UK has an unsettling way of copying the US in everything. I just hope that we in the UK don't accept the Wholly Bable like the US has done. It's really not a Good Book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I'm... I guess in the process of deconverting. I've always found a lot of annoying atheists online, though not just because I was a believer. It's mostly the fact that on the internet a good chunk of atheists seem to assume everyone has the same view as them. Or, actually, no. It's the fact that it seems like they're always trying to pick a fight. It's like, do you seriously know what you sound like? Fuck you, anteater. I was just trying to enjoy my coffee. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Where are these obnoxious atheists and where do they congregate? Every time I log into facebook I'm bombarded with obnoxious xian quotes and prayer requests not praises to Charles Darwin and at least half of my FB friends are atheist. I forget the name at the moment, but there is a psychological principle that causes you to focus and identify that which you are familiar with. E.g., you buy a new car and suddenly you notice many more of those cars on the road than you had before it became your ride. I'm thinking this principle is at work here. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaToOmega Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Where are these obnoxious atheists and where do they congregate? Every time I log into facebook I'm bombarded with obnoxious xian quotes and prayer requests not praises to Charles Darwin and at least half of my FB friends are atheist. I forget the name at the moment, but there is a psychological principle that causes you to focus and identify that which you are familiar with. E.g., you buy a new car and suddenly you notice many more of those cars on the road than you had before it became your ride. I'm thinking this principle is at work here. On this site I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 On this site I think. Yeah. That's probably true. Us atheists on this website can be a bit pushy and obnoxious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaToOmega Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 On this site I think. Yeah. That's probably true. Us atheists on this website can be a bit pushy and obnoxious. Be careful about agreeing with me. You'll be accused of being a little puppy around big god LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Be careful about agreeing with me. You'll be accused of being a little puppy around big god LOL Yes, I can't allow myself be so arrogant and put our egos on pedestal like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwc Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Where are these obnoxious atheists and where do they congregate? Every time I log into facebook I'm bombarded with obnoxious xian quotes and prayer requests not praises to Charles Darwin and at least half of my FB friends are atheist. I forget the name at the moment, but there is a psychological principle that causes you to focus and identify that which you are familiar with. E.g., you buy a new car and suddenly you notice many more of those cars on the road than you had before it became your ride. I'm thinking this principle is at work here. This post makes you an obnoxious atheist, bitch. mwc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Where are these obnoxious atheists and where do they congregate? Every time I log into facebook I'm bombarded with obnoxious xian quotes and prayer requests not praises to Charles Darwin and at least half of my FB friends are atheist. I forget the name at the moment, but there is a psychological principle that causes you to focus and identify that which you are familiar with. E.g., you buy a new car and suddenly you notice many more of those cars on the road than you had before it became your ride. I'm thinking this principle is at work here. This post makes you an obnoxious atheist, bitch. mwc Nice, glad I earned the Grinch label. Speaking of which, damn I miss the Grinch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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