Don’t Hide the Children or Hug Some Kittens
We all know the false dichotomy between being an intentionally offensive anti-theist and a pushover accommodationalist is as cliche as the skeptic who asks “Do you know what they call alternative medicine that works?” and I won’t rehash that tired story here. However a few recent discussions about tone from skeptics and believers alike have me thinking that again we are going about this in the wrong way. I couldn’t agree more with Phil Plait’s classic assessment of not being unnecessarily cruel when applying skepticism but this does not mean never getting angry.
Now I’ve been seen as everything from a heartless goon slaughtering the hopes of believers (alleged footage of me at a church gathering) to a very timid skeptic afraid to stand up for who I am. The reason is obvious: people and their circumstances aren’t always consistent. There will be times when I’m more angry with the religion and pseudoscience than others and occasions when a prolonged philosophical discussion may not be appropriate. There are in fact different approaches for different occasions and times when it’s not appropriate to challenge people at all.
However if there is one thing that I am usually fairly consistent with no matter the circumstances it is that skeptics and nonbelievers could use a major jolt in public relations. This is not because we really fit the absurd stereotypes attributed to us but because people believe them. Still despite the claims of some believers I find it hard to accept that the way to combat stereotypes is to spend large amounts of time constantly reminding bigots that we are not the shallow baby-eaters they think we are. Black people didn’t diminish the stereotype that they are all criminals by all signing up to become police officers or joining neighborhood watch groups.
So what can we do? Well if I had a great answer to that I wouldn’t be asking. Given the state of dialogue between believers and skeptics here on tumblr we could either individually or collaboratively create a “just the facts” resource to which we could direct believers which would simply be educational and devoid of rants and raves. Also, as it’s been suggested to me, we could create a humanist campaign here or essentially create a virtual version of “Ask an Atheist” for general skepticism and/or atheism directed specifically at believers. I’m very open to suggestion but even if we do none of this we should at least remember that we are, or at least I am, in this for informing people and actually changing hearts and minds. This does not mean that you shouldn’t express anger when it’s called for or that you have to dance around the truth, most should have long ago realized this is the height of false dichotomies, but that we should at least consider whether or not what we are doing is having a positive effect. Yes I know venting feels good but helping people escape superstitious beliefs feels better.
