"Atheism Is a Religion" or "See, you are no better then me!"

Over at Reason Magazine, I came across this article "Atheism Is A Religion" and I wanted to make a comment about it.

Here is the final paragraph of the article:

Atheists should embrace their religiosity, recognize the biological component that drives them to make sense of the world like the rest of us, and church it up. As the Man from Galilee once put it, render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s. If you don’t believe in God, then you don’t owe him anything. And if my Facebook friends are any indication, you lost your sense of humor ages ago. Which means you atheists may have nothing left to lose but your taxable status.

 This paragraph betrays a way of thinking a lot of religious people share. She wants to believe that Atheism is just like Christianity or Islam. She needs to believe that Atheism is no better or worse then the religion she picked. It's like a thief believing that everyone else steals something so his crimes are no worse then anyone else.

The religions need to feel the same way about atheism. Atheism isn't a rejection of everything you hold deer by a reasoned argument, no, its's just a different belief system which is morally equivalent to any other religion.

Once a religious person realizes that an atheist is not a believer like you, it can be hard to get over the cognitive dissonance of the situation.

When a Christian is confronted by a Muslim, but can discount the other's arguments because both arguments are based on blind faith and with nothing tying the belief to reality, neither belief can be said to be better or worse then the other

But with atheism, things get tricky. Atheism is tied to reality, Atheism can be dis-proven, Atheism is not equal to other beliefs, atheism is the rejection of all other beliefs because they are simply not good enough. 

It's much easier to believe someone's beliefs are no better then yours then to know that everything you hold as Truth can be rejected so easily and you have no argument with which to fight that rejection. 

Is anti-WIFI the new anti-vax?

It appears that in my neck of the woods, a new kind of woo is rearing it's ugly head, and this new woo is Anti-WIFI

Anyone familiar with anti-vaxers will recolonize all the same signs in the anti-WIFIers

This anti-WIFI group goes by the same of "Safe School Committee" (nice Orwellian name) and you can find there website at http://www.safeschool.ca It's good for a laugh when you can stop from crying.

The "Safe School Committee" compiled a list of "symptoms" related to WIFI exposer

Let's have a look at some of these symptoms

* Headaches
* Dizziness - Nausea - Vertigo (subsides when student leaves the school)
* Visual and Auditory Distortion (unsure of where they are, voices change volume)
* Racing Heart Rate (Tachycardia)
* Memory Loss (trouble remembering school material)* Attention Deficit (trouble concentrating while in class)
* Skin Rash (goes away on school breaks)
* Hyperactivity/Anxiety (behaviour not previously seen in the child)
* Night Sweats (unexplainable, unrelated to fever)
* Insomnia (microwaves affect melatonin levels)

 

 Wow, pretty scary list eh? I'm surprised they did add Cancer or Autism to this list

Starting to see the pattern with anti-WIFIers and anti-vaxers now?

It gets worse...

  

Some parents note that in the past year their kids "aren't quite the same". Their children have dropped a grade, are despondent or "out of sorts." In some cases teachers are noting these changes in the student.

Wow, really? a child's attitude and school marks have changed, it can't be bullying, it can't be issues at home, it can't be that he needs glasses, it can't be that he is bored.. oh no, its WIFI or nothing for these people.

Symptoms of Microwave exposure can vary from child to child. All of these symptoms have been reported by parents of children attending schools in Simcoe County. The symptoms tend to subside when the children come home, or on weekends and holidays.

I must take it that NONE of the parents must have WIFI at home, and at the same time they must never use bluetooth or use cordless phones at home either (They use the same frequencies)

and, after all, we all know how reliable self reporting is in the medical community

here is one last tidbit that caught my eye as well

 The Microwave intensity inside one Simcoe kindergarten classroom was measured at 4X Stronger than when standing near a cell phone tower, although there were no computers in that classroom. The WiFi could be turned off without impact.

I take it these people have never heard of the inverse square law. How NEAR to a cell phone tower are they measuring?  Where in the classroom did they measure a signal 4X stronger? Was it right next to the router or the other side of the classroom? These are huge holes anyone familiar with science would ask about.

And telling me the signal is 4X stronger doesn't tell me if its good or bad. Sunlight is 4X stronger during the day then at night, should we all fear sunlight?

I feel so embarrassed that my fellow Canadians can be the birth place of yet another anti-science woo crusade

and, of course, IT'S ALL FOR THE KIDS.....

Feminism and Women and Children First

With the recent cruise ship incident in Italy, I have heard many people talk about the navel tradition of women and children first in life boats.

I'm not sure how much this tradition was followed back in the day, it might be more of a nostalgic belief in the good old days then actual fact.

However, what we do know is that when the cruise ship started to sink, women and children were not first on the life boats, it was more of a first come, first serve basis.

Leaving aside the issue of children, is a woman's life more valuable then a man's?

The very idea of women and children first illustrates that a woman's life and a man's life are seen as having different value.

Either its a case of believing that women are precious and must be saved as all cost, or believing that a disaster is no place for a woman and better to get the women to safety so that the men can get to work saving the day.

It is probably a mixture of believing that women are the weaker sex and must be saved combined with a gentlemen's honour to never allow a woman to come to harm.

Either way, it is a bit condescending to the women involved.

Are women so helpless that they need special treatment during times of crisis?

From what I understand about feminism, its that men and women should be treated equally at all times and in all occasions.

That would also include being treated equally during a time of crisis.

So my final thought is, is the policy of women and children first a sexist policy that all people should oppose in the name of equality, or is the life of a woman more valuable then a mans?


Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

Of Charles McVety and Homosexuals

I just heard Charles McVety on the Oakley show this morning talking about the teaching of gay issues to school children.

He had lots of fancy talking points about how this will corrupt the children and cause confusion.

But that is just smoke and mirrors, the real issue McVety has is that he doesn't want to normalize homosexuals.

Sure he wants them to be loved and respected, but he never wants them to be seen as normal.
Its the very fact that children will be taught that being gay is ok that McVety has the issue with. He wants gays to feel remorse and want to change their ways, and that won't happen if they don't know they should be ashamed.

The part that drives me nuts is that we won't admit this. He cloaks himself in parental rights, but that is easily seen as smoke and mirrors

He has no issue with schools teaching religious values to kids, no issues of parental rights there.

He has no issue with kids being taught that being black is normal and being disabled is normal, but he can't stand the fact kids will be taught being gay is normal.

I have no respect for McVety or his cause, but what saddens me the most were the callers I heard on the air.

"My friend in school was a tomboy and if she was taught being gay was ok, then she would be in therapy forever"

Arg.... The ignorance is scary in this world some days.

- Sent From My Blackberry

Of "Dr." Oz and Apple Juice

When I heard Oz was reporting that apple juice contained arsenic, my red flags went off.

It reminded me of the BPA scare a few years back, which turned into so much nothing.

Both issues are related in that the facts are true, but hugely distorted to spread FUD

With BPA, it is true that exposer to it can cause help issues. What was left out of the news reports is that if you microwave a plastic disk with BPA, the BPA will go away after a minute ot two.

So instead of throwing tupperware away and freaking out, spending a minute to sterilize it would have been effective, but that story doesn't get worried parent's butts in seats.

So much of the BPA story and this apple juice story is simply selling fear.

I'm not afraid, and you shouldn't be either
- Sent From My Blackberry

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I find you very interesting, and I would like to talk more. Would you like to come to my hotel room for coffee?“= "makes me uncomfortable when men sexualize me in that manner"?

Quote 1

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I find you very interesting, and I would like to talk more. Would you like to come to my hotel room for coffee?“

Quote 2

“I was a single women in a foreign country in a hotel elevator with you, just you, and I—don’t invite me back to your hotel room right after I finish talking about how it creeps me out and makes me uncomfortable when men sexualize me in that manner.“

I have a hard time putting these 2 facts together and having it make sense. Is the mere act of asking a woman for coffee sexualizing her or does it need to be asked in a confined space?

This reminds me of a scene I saw in The Big Bang Theory

Penny and Stuart are home from the gallery, mainly because Captain Sweatpants showed up and touched all the cheese. Penny invites him in for coffee, but Stuart thinks it's a little late for coffee. ("Oh, you think "coffee" means coffee. That's so sweet.") She covers by saying she has decaf.

 I honestly believe that many guys would think coffee means coffee, I would think coffee is coffee, but maybe I'm just a creep.

Of elevators and coffee

By now, elevatorgate is old news, but its effects will ripple thru the skeptic and atheist community for months to come.

And I believe it all boils down to, who is responsible to make you feel safe?

It is your responsibility or is it societies responsibility?

Let's look at it from both sides

If its my responsibility, then no one is to blame for my feelings but myself. I would be required to take ownership of my fears and take steps to ensure I feel safe in my environment.

If it is the job of society to make me feel safe, I then have the right to blame everyone else for my feelings of fear. If the man on an elevator scares me, its his fault. If some black guys are standing in front of a store and I'm scared to walk in, it would be the black guys fault and the stores fault for failing to make me feel safe.

I can't accept that my feelings are not my own. We can't blame society for our fears.

If someone makes you feel uncomfortable, it is not their job to change their behaviour to make you feel better. They can change if they choose to, but that is their personal choice and they cannot and should not be forced to change for your sake.

I feel uncomfortable around women in many circumstances, should those women be compelled to act in a way that makes me more comfortable?

If they choose to act in a way that enhances my comfort, that is perfectly fine, but they should never be compelled to do it against their will.

We are not snowflakes that need to be protected at every turn, we are not going to nerf the world so no one gets hurt.

Life can be rough, and being scared doesn't help that, but if you believe your fear is societies responsibility, be prepared to be scared your entire life.

But if, like me, you believe your fear is your own, you can change it.

You can make yourself strong, you can carry a weapon, you can learn how to fight.

So don't waste your time saying "guys, don't do that it makes me uncomfortable". Just get up and do something about it!
- Sent From My Blackberry