heya from Alabama
Offline hi everybody! i'm so glad to have found this site! i live in Birmingham, Alabama, where the vast majority of people think that being atheist means i worship the devil! 
(why they would think i believe in a devil when i don't believe in a god is beyond me.) my boyfriend and i are RABID atheists and i've found that discussing this with anyone in this city tends to set me up for actual violence. apparently folks here take their religion more seriously than they take mutual respect and sheer common decency to others. (not a surprise.)
i've been hurt by christians in ways you wouldn't believe. i actually had to take a leave of absence from a job once because i would come to work and find open bibles on my desk, was told at EVERY yearly review that i need "christ in my life", was put on the prayer list (from the non-obligatory prayer meeting before work), and collected a pile of religious pamphlets from my boss. i actually had a nervous breakdown.
nowdays i get so angry at people constantly trying to push their various religious beliefs down my throat that i will not hesitate to tell them i'm an atheist. i don't believe in any religion buy christianity in particular is threatening my rights as a person and my welfare. and that's a very serious threat.
but anyway, i'm very glad to be here! hope to have some good conversations with you guys.
"Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand."
Bertrand Russell
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1572636949
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Welcome to the inner circle of gehenna. The way things are around here is (sotto voce) almost exactly like that book From Witchcraft to Christ!
You know how it goes. You sleep with one person, have one toke on a reefer and all of a sudden satan himself is chatting away like he's your new best friend!
Man, if it's so easy to reach the dark side in London, no less, you'd think some greasy lab rats over here could manage it...
P.S. If you could PM me a high res image of your avatar it'd be much appreciated...
"Experiments are the only means of knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination." Max Planck
Yea, but you have Lenard Skynard(sp)
Sweet home Alabama
Where the fundies are so deluded
Sweet home Alabama
Lard they're commen after you
Alabama, where the fundies are fundies and the sheep are nervous.
Welcome. I too live out in the middle of nowhere. But we do have a lot of retired people since it is a coastal beach and golf community, transplanted from the north. I am lucky enough to work in a very diverse workplace. We have a Porto Rico, a Mexican, a French woman, token black guy and me, token atheist. But there still are a ton of thumpers down here.
I think what is great is the internet is increasingly making maps and distance between different labels smaller and allowing more and more people to get beyond labels. They have even, in your area had atheists speak at colleges and newspapers around that state printing stories about atheists.
I am quite sure if you google "Alabama atheists" you can find local groups to talk to.
In any case, don't feel the slightest bit alone. You have lots of company.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
HAHAHA! yes, no farm animal is safe here.
thank the Son of Perdition for the internet!
i will definitely google "alabama atheists". maybe there's hope for the bible belt yet. and Silver, i'll send you my avatar in a bit.
once again, i'm VERY glad to have found you guys and i'll talk at you later!
"Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand."
Bertrand Russell
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1572636949
Ha! I was born there and I have family there still. Helluva place to be right? I used to live in Cullman, you know the dry, heavily religous place about 30-45 minutes north. Ugh! I'm so glad I don't live there anymore lol. Anyway, welcome to the forums and hopefully you will enjoy having an out from all the chaotic christianity around you.
If all the Christians who have called other Christians " not really a Christian " were to vanish, there'd be no Christians left.
oh, wow, i also used to live in Cullman!
now THAT'S the wrong place for an atheist for sure! i never thought i'd find another atheist within 100 miles of that place. EXCELLENT! you made my whole day.
thanks again for all the warm welcomes! i'm spreading the word to my atheist friends. it's so nice to be able to speak freely about it and not have to worry about sugar in my gas tank. (seriously.)
"Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand."
Bertrand Russell
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1572636949
I'm beginning to feel sorry for deep south atheists. We have fundies here in southern Ontario but no where near the batshit crazys of the bible belt. These religios seam to need belts just to keep their brains from falling out.
"Very funny Scotty; now beam down our clothes."
VEGETARIAN: Ancient Hindu word for "lousy hunter"
If man was formed from dirt, why is there still dirt?
Hi! (Most I'm testing something, but also, Alabama? So sorry.)
alas, it's true that the south is full of batshit crazy jesus freaks! and hell it's actually DANGEROUS here to state your lack of faith. the tales i could tell you JUST ABOUT THE WORKPLACES i've had the misfortune of beeing in would leave you with your mouth hanging open in shock. even down here you'd think that the office would be (legally) a respite from religious bullshit but not in my experience. and just in my private life i've been threatened and taunted by so-called christians too many times to count.
but i tell ya, i'm so damned tired of NOT saying what i think that now i shout it loud and proud. i know a few atheists who are afraid to proclaim their lack of faith and i think it's past time for every atheist to start speaking their mind. i know America is going right down the toilet in part because we have crazy, superstitious people telling us what we should do and not do. it terrifies me really. religious people are just INSANE.
"Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand."
Bertrand Russell
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1572636949
Small world right? I could tell you some stories that's for sure. You just made my day. I'm so glad to see someone join here that knows exactly what I'm talking about. I have been accused of labeling the south on here before. I had to explain that I'm from there so I know how it is.
The funny part is that when I first joined, my husband felt a little left out. I spent a good bit of time on here reading and occasionally throwing in my smart ass Alabama attitude towards theists. I've learned to calm down somewhat. It's just kind of addictive at first for us because we are so used to being related the that devil!!! Lol
If all the Christians who have called other Christians " not really a Christian " were to vanish, there'd be no Christians left.
i actually really hate to talk about the south like this because it does perpetuate the bad stereotypes but IT'S JUST TRUE. when it comes to religion the deep south is a madhouse. and i've lived here most of my life and it's just getting worse. it's pretty scary to see the terrible effects that religion can have on society up close and personal every damned day. i may sound melodramatic but trust me when i say i'm not exaggerating at all.
"Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand."
Bertrand Russell
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1572636949
Funny, I thought that was Montana.
Hi, Devils, I'm currently in Portland, OR. Like my avatar, I really am an old lady fart. I have lived all of my life out west. My ex was from Mississippi, and I swore after the first visit back, I would never live in the south. But I have traveled on business a time or two - it isn't bad if you work for one of the big corporations and stick with the big cities. At least large corps have HR policies against proselytizing at work. I wouldn't live in a small town in the bible belt if I were paid to do so and didn't have to work to earn it.
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
i would love to travel. i enjoy being around different cultures and environments. unfortunately i'm poor so that probably won't happen. all i have is the internet, which is not a great substitute but i love to talk to people in other parts of the world.
"Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand."
Bertrand Russell
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1572636949
While I do think everyone should travel, because they get out of their sheltered environments, traveling is over rated.
It is expensive as hell, time consuming, a royal pain in the ass. I will never fly again because no matter how safe it is compared to driving a car, I do not like the feeling of bouncing around like a ping pong ball in a jar 30 thousand feet in the air.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
yeah, airplane travel (not first class) is a very uncomfortable experience. i was crammed next to some very large guy and i felt like i was in a tin can on one trip. you're right about the cash part! if you don't have money traveling would be a crappy time.
"Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand."
Bertrand Russell
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1572636949
Travel has been a significant part of my life experience (shut up, Brain37 - in-joke)....
There are still some places I wouldn't mind seeing and experiencing, but if I get to travel again, my priority will be to get to meet in the flesh some very good friends I have come to know via the Internet.
Trying to get a feel for different cultures is so fascinating, as is realizing how much we all have in common as human beings.
That and having memories of being at some 'iconic' places, Angkor Wat, the Pyramids, picnic lunch on the Great Wall of China, boat trips on the Nile and the Mekong, seeing in the New Year in Red Square, Moscow, at 40 below, icebergs in Antarctica, Registan Mosque in Samarkand, lions and leopards, and people, in Africa...
Been to the US 7 times, basically to attend Apple's Developer Conferences, but most times got to travel around after the conference.
Never got to Alabama.
Took a lot of photos, have a nice shot of a big city from the top of a tall building, one of a pair, taken in '99, which I looked at again for a while back in early September...
Like the Bertrand Russell quote in your sig. One of the few philosophers I really dig - the other two are Hume and Dennett.
Favorite oxymorons: Gospel Truth, Rational Supernaturalist, Business Ethics, Christian Morality
"Theology is now little more than a branch of human ignorance. Indeed, it is ignorance with wings." - Sam Harris
The path to Truth lies via careful study of reality, not the dreams of our fallible minds - me
From the sublime to the ridiculous: Science -> Philosophy -> Theology
yes, it is fascinating! i think everyone should get the chance to experience different cultures. i think it would really make a difference in how people act and get along with each other.
i checked out Hume and Dennett, glad you mentioned them! Hume is great! yes.
and your travel experiences are just awesome! that would be amazing to do that! sigh.
"Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand."
Bertrand Russell
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1572636949
I could throw in Florence, Pisa, Venice, Vinci (Leonardo's home town), Prague, London, Oxford, and Cambridge, Siberia (in mid-winter during a cold snap)...
But the memory of the strain on the face of a guy pulling a cart load of stuff up a street in a middling size town in southern China is the kind that stays with me as much as the amazing places...
Favorite oxymorons: Gospel Truth, Rational Supernaturalist, Business Ethics, Christian Morality
"Theology is now little more than a branch of human ignorance. Indeed, it is ignorance with wings." - Sam Harris
The path to Truth lies via careful study of reality, not the dreams of our fallible minds - me
From the sublime to the ridiculous: Science -> Philosophy -> Theology
that's just amazing! i want to go to Scotland, Prague, Romania (? shrug, i just do. ha), Germany, London....sigh. hell i'm running out of time! i should have just figured out a way to go when i was younger. i've always wanted to GO, you know? i can't even imagine all the places you've seen. you're very, very lucky to be able to do it.
"Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand."
Bertrand Russell
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1572636949
Welcome to the party, devils.
YEAH!
I so understand what you mean. It's bad enough to be an Atheist in the south, but to be an Atheist Yankee from New Jersey here in this place is considered a crime against humanity. I've had experiences almost identical to what you described and can so relate. Which is what makes sites like this so great for people who live under the regime of the American Taliban.
“It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.”
― Giordano Bruno
I wouldn't give a shit if you gave me first class tickets or if I had the money to buy first class tickets. Every damned flight I have been on I have felt like a ping pong ball in a jar. I had one flight that flew through a fucking thunderstorm. Every part of the plane feels the turbulence.
I really hate how the airlines sell "Most on time flights", how about FUCK being on time, just get me there in one piece. It isn't like getting a flat tire and pulling off to the side of the road. If something goes wrong that high up you are screwed.
I hate it when passengers bitch about delays from thunderstorms or snow storms. It's like "SCREW SAFETY, just get the damned plane in the air"
"But, there is a hurricane"
"Fly through it GOD DAMN IT!"
Have you ever been at an airport and watched all the impatient passengers why the poor desk clerk tries to explain that the airline is conducting safety delays? They don't give a fuck.
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog