Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Anathema6205 on January 4, 2011 at 12:21pm

"I agree that the government promoting one faith over another is clearly ideological discrimination. However, I do not think that it is appropriate to compare it to the legalized racial discrimination of the Jim Crow south."

You don't think that the threat of lynching gay people simply because someones' holy book says they are an abomination dangerous?

You don't think religious child indoctrination through public schools wrong in every facet?

Any kind of discrimination is a bad thing, and if it's left unchecked, it can turn into something as ugly as the racial discrimination we saw in this country.

We don't want a theocracy, we have to fight for it.

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Permalink Reply by Shine on January 4, 2011 at 1:11pm

Any kind of discrimination is a bad thing, and if it's left unchecked, it can turn into something as ugly as the racial discrimination we saw in this country.

 

I'm not disagreeing with you that discrimination is a bad thing.  But there is not institutionalized ideological discrimination in the same manner that there was institutionalized racial discrimination during the Jim Crow era.  There are no laws that force atheists into social subordination. 

 

I'm not saying that discrimination against atheists does not exist.  But there is a huge difference between social discrimination and institutionalized segregation.  Also, there is a huge difference between racial discrimination and ideological discrimination.

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Permalink Reply by Velogiraptor on January 4, 2011 at 7:01pm

I'm with you here.  It's not the same thing.  It would be if, say, people were asked for their religious affiliation upon getting on a bus, and they were all honest, and the atheists were sent to the back.  Or atheists had hoses turned on them for protesting discriminatory laws.  Black people couldn't drink from the white fountain without being questioned, but you couldn't do the same for atheists.  We look like everyone else.  You can't just pick us out of a crowd.

I will however say that more than social, there is institutional discrimination.  The Texas State Constitution among several other states, bans those who don't believe in 'almighty god' from holding public office.  Of course this violates equal protection and the establishment clause, but that doesn't always seem to matter I guess. -_-

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Permalink Reply by lloydleroimiller on April 7, 2011 at 2:05am

I am of the opinion that we must be cautious on these things.  Seems like you are already feeling this but once you see that this creates more trouble than it will end, you may want to look at other options. MOVE! I would probably, if given this same set of circumstances, move, or at least learn to work around the annoyance. I know what you mean by feeling cowardly or chickenshit but be reasonable.  I am no weaker a man when I realize that the fight in front of me is not winnable.  I must find another avenue as a means to an end.  There are probably other ways of gaining peace, walk slowly at first, then strike!

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