All Hail the Queen

On the outskirts of Kansas City, MO at Park Hill South High School, a homecoming queen was crowned last Friday night. The new queen, nineteen year old Allyssa Brubeck, is a popular teenager who is on the Panthers Cheerleading Squad. Allyssa also has Downs Syndrome. Read the full story in the Kansas City Star here.

"And perhaps the best part of the whole experience, say some of the adults who watched it unfold, is that all those high school teenagers behind the Allyssa-for-Homecoming-Queen phenomenon don't seem to understand what all the outside attention is about."

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

<3 M

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/09/19/3823947/new-homecoming-queen-prompts-cheers.html#storylink=cpy

Arkansas isn't Missouri

I came across this article on Fox News' website today: Breaking: University of Texas in Austin Orders Evacuation Due to Threats on Campus.
While the bomb threats are unfortunate, what struck me was the map that Fox News used:

Well, at least they got Texas right.

<3 M

My First Skeptical Thought

Prior to the age of 6, I had never heard of god or church. Then I went to 1st grade where I found that all of my classmates went to church. I started going to Sunday school at the local Methodist church. I was thrilled because a few of my friends went there AND we got to color. It's kind of ironic that the first time I questioned god was at this very same place.

We were learning about the creation story - Adam & Eve & that damn talking snake. Of course, we were coloring pictures of them & the Garden of Eden while we learned about them. I was puzzled because I thought that cave men were the first humans, and Adam & Eve in the picture did not look like cave men. They looked like modern humans, only naked. So I asked the teacher why, if Adam & Eve were the first people, then why weren't they cave people, because they were the first people. The teacher looked flustered and told me that Adam & Eve were NOT cave people, and that they were definitely the first humans; cave people came later. Although my 6 or 7 year old brain did not fully understand evolution at the time, I remembered from looking through the encyclopedias at my grandma's house the picture of primates gradually becoming more human like until they became modern man. I was thoroughly confused and flustered, but being the shy kid that I was (and wanting desperately to fit in) I kept this thought to myself. 

The thought that Adam & Eve must have been neanderthals haunted me for quite some time. Eventually that turned into the thought that the creation story was a bunch of BS, but that's a story for another time.

When/what was your first skeptical thought? When was the first time you questioned religion?

<3 M 

5 Must Haves for the Fashionable Atheist Gal

Today I'm going to share my 5 fashion must haves for all you awesome atheist/skeptic gals out there. This also serves as a wish list for yours truly (hint, hint). :) These are in no particular order.

1. Atheist hair clips from Surlyramics created by Surly Amy of Skepchick. These hair clips kick some serious ass! And while you're at it, you can check out all the other wearable art in Surlyramic's Etsy store.

2. Stronger T-Shirt from Skeptical Robot. Wear this and be like Rebecca and show those haters what you're made of! 

3. God hates Bags tote to carry around all of your Carl Sagan and Christopher Hitchens books. This tote can be purchased at Revel & Riot.

4. Flying Spaghetti Monster necklace from MirielDesign on Etsy. Get touched by his noodly appendages on a daily basis!

5. Now atheists can have a sole too with Atheist shoes! The soles of these shoes have phrases (either "Darwin loves" or "Ich Bin Atheist") imprinted in them so that wherever you go, you'll leave a trail of atheist pride! These shoes can be found at www.atheistberlin.com.

So there you have it - 5 must haves for the fashionable atheist girl (all of which will look wonderful paired up with your favorite plastic framed nerd glasses and a kick ass cardigan). 

<3 M

9/11

Today is 9/11, no doubt a day that will not, and should not, be forgotten. 

When I logged onto my Facebook this morning, I was appalled. My entire newsfeed was littered with the following kinds of posts:

• Pictures of flags, the twin towers, and "god bless America" slogans
• Religious quotes
• Stories regarding the cross beam being exhibited at the museum
• Atheist memes regarding 9/11
• People making flat out offensive statements about 9/11 (ex. how we deserved it)
• Truthers making posts about the alleged conspiracy theories surrounding the events

This morning on my way to work, the local radio station was playing sound clips from that day: clips of news stories, people crying, people screaming.

Here's the deal: 9/11 was tragic. It was awful. It divided us as members of the human race.  People lost their husbands, wives, parents, children, and friends in the days events.

So why can't we all just show a little respect? Why does every politician or interest group have to use today to promote their agenda? Why does everyone with a Facebook account have to post something to promote their beliefs on the event? Why do I have to hear the sounds of people dying on my way to work? Why can't everyone take a break for one day from all of the arguing, theories, agendas, and lawsuits and just respectfully remember. Fly your flag at half mast, attend a memorial, watch a documentary about it, do what you need to do personally - just stop being insensitive, disrespectful, and self-promoting.

<3 M

Slacktivism in the Atheist Community

You know those people - they post 15 different pictures a day that they've stolen from Working Class Atheists or Sexy Atheists, they upvote everything they see on Reddit r/Atheism, they are constantly posting articles about atheism in their (private) Atheist group, and they "like" every every apathetic post about Atheism that they see. 

They do not, however, volunteer to stand along side you while you're having an open display of Atheism. They don't volunteer for philanthropic events where your freethinker group is proudly wearing their group shirts. They don't write letters to the editor. They don't volunteer to organize or help out with any group activity that isn't firmly wedged into a closet. 

My friends, these people are slacktivists. Their whole existence in the Atheist community exists on the internet. If they're a really brave slacktivist, they might go out and join you for a beer (if and only if it is a closeted event where no one is wearing their bright red A pin). 

Wikipedia describes slacktivism like this:

Slacktivism (sometimes slactivism or slackervism) is a portmanteau of the words slacker and activism. The word is usually considered a pejorative term that describes "feel-good" measures, in support of an issue or social cause, that have little or no practical effect other than to make the person doing it feel some amount of satisfaction. The acts tend to require minimal personal effort from the slacktivist. The underlying assumption being promoted by the term is that these low cost efforts substitute for more substantive actions rather than supplementing them, although this assumption has not been borne out by research.

Here's my message to all you slacktivists out there: think about all the time you spend on the internet and on your phone doing your "work" for the atheist movement. Now take that time and cut it in half and devote half of it to getting out there and doing something. You can start small - write a letter to the editor, volunteer for some activities your Atheist group is putting on, go volunteer for a philanthropic event while flying your Atheist colors high. Get off your computer, go outside, and get involved. It's important, and it's bigger than you think. 

<3 M

An A+ for Atheism Plus

I realize that I am a little behind on blogging about Atheism+. I blame this on my recent switch to Blogger - while I was in the process of switching blogs, Atheism+ was being created. 

What is Atheism+? According to the Atheism Plus website:

"Atheism+ is a safe space for people to discuss how religion affects everyone and to apply skepticism and critical thinking to everything, including social issues like sexism, racism, GLBT issues, politics, poverty, and crime."

Jen McCreight, of Blag Hag describes it as: 

"We are…Atheists plus we care about social justice,Atheists plus we support women’s rights,Atheists plus we protest racism,Atheists plus we fight homophobia and transphobia,Atheists plus we use critical thinking and skepticism.It speaks to those of us who see atheism as more than just a lack of belief in god. "

Atheism+ is something that I can really get behind. For me, my Atheism is important, but I feel that as Atheists, we also have a responsibility to our Earth and our fellow humans. We have a responsibility to fight against the censorship and hatred towards other groups of people as well, since we know what it feels like and we know that it's not okay. I've never understood how someone can use reason and logic to get to the point where they can say that there isn't a god, but then turn around and express homophobic, sexist, bigoted views. 
Now of course, there's the argument that this is no different that Secular Humanism. I disagree, although there are similarities between these two schools of thought. According to Wikipedia:

"The philosophy or life stance secular humanism (alternatively known by adherents as Humanism, specifically with a capital H to distinguish it from other forms of humanism) embraces human reason, ethics, social justice, philosophical naturalism, while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, pseudoscience or superstition as the basis of morality and decision-making."

Ok, so far so good. However, Atheism+ takes all of that and pairs it with the "A-word" that so many secular humanists avoid. We are Atheists PLUS we care about (insert humanistic causes here). Atheism+ is a more amped up, in your face, not afraid to confront the religious, version of secular humanism. 

For me, this new wave of Atheism, Atheism+ is the way to go. I think that my friend Josh sums it up best:

"Call it what you will, but if you're a racist, misogynistic a-hole, or in general a terrible person, you're probably getting kicked out or dis-invited from whatever I'm a part of organizing. Maybe Atheism+ is just recognizing that there are jerks within our own ranks and just because we agree there is no god doesn't mean we want assholes to be associated with our movement." 

And with that, I bid you adieu.
<3 M