If you found out something you never knew about a person, would you think less of them? That is not to say, would you think less of that person if they were a murderer or a child molester. I'm talking about something that would normally never come up in the context of your friendship or relationship, whether it be casual or business. If you found out a co-worker was gay would you think less of them as an individual? Do you think that they would less capable of doing their job after you found out they were gay, or do you think that would change anything other than your perception of that person. What if the person wasn't gay, but devoutly religious. Would that change the person's capabilities? What if that person was an atheist? Would that change them in your eyes? Would you think differently about those people in said circumstances?
I am an atheist. I get tired of people declaring what they 'know' about atheists without actually taking the time to talk to those they are judging. So what if I don't subscribe to any belief system. Does that make me less of a person? Does that make me a less caring or empathetic individual? Does that make me a person without morals or a person that cares for nothing but myself?
I like to think of myself as a reasonable individual. I like to think of myself as rational. One is not always rational, especially in moments of emotion. One of the problems I have the hardest time understanding is that when some individuals feel it necessary to put labels upon people when they have no understanding of the person they are labeling. I've heard too often that atheists cannot understand love. They only lust. If you don't follow (flavor of religion), you will never understand what love is. That's what bothers me. How dare you tell me what I'm feeling unless you can be inside my skin.
I find it creepy that they project their own insecurities onto others. I don't know what love is because I'm not following your creepy death cult? I'm the one with problem? Are you feeling so insecure about your own relationships that you have to obsess about others relationships and accuse them of what you're feeling? If you spend your life living that way, I find it rather sad. It must be a terribly unsatisfying way to live, unless you get off of misery.
Personally, I don't see how my being an atheist has any bearing on anyone else's life but my own. I don't have to worry about a giant universal parent scolding me for what arbitrary conditions have been put down in some ancient book that was made hundreds of years ago by a bunch of goat herders in the middle of nowhere. I could care less about things like that. I have a set of parents. I lived according to their wishes for 18 years. I'm an adult now and I don't need parental supervision, especially of the celestial type.
I don't feel the need to go tell everyone about my good deeds or whatnot. I work with senior citizens. So what. They love me to death. They don't love me to death because I subscribe to one religion or another. I don't do favors for them and give them aid because I subscribe to a religion. I do these things not because I want to feel better than others. I do these things because it's my job. I'm paid to give these people attention and assist them when needed. That doesn't make me a good person. That makes me human. I give them understanding and aid. That's not because I have some eternal threat of punishment over my head either. It's not for some goal that will make me feel smug and superior. I don't feel smug or superior because I did my job. Why the hell should I?
The reason I ended up in this job isn't a big mystery either. I needed work. Plain and simple. I like to think I'm capable of doing my job, and the fact that I've managed to stay employed in the same place for over 11 years goes to show that I'm doing something right. I do my job. I respect those I am here to help. Respect and understanding have nothing to do with religion. Love has nothing to do with religion. Love is what I feel for my spouse. Love is what I feel for my family and friends. Honestly those who argue that atheists know nothing but lust frankly disgust me. I don't lust after my family and friends. That's just fucking wrong. I'm not going to say that there aren't times I've lusted after my husband, but hey, I'm not in a marriage to be celibate. If I wanted that, I'd have you know, joined a religion that makes one feel bad for natural urges.
And I'm sorry that you have to spend your days trying to make others feel bad. It must be nice to feel so... smug and superior about your zombie cult. It must be nice to spend your days putting down others to make yourself feel better about your own failings in life. Atheists don't know what they're missing. They'll never know how much (flavor of deity) loves them because they cannot love or care. They just know how to destroy. You know what? Fuck you. FUCK. YOU. You don't know me. You don't want to know me. You just want to sit up there on your high horse and try to make everyone feel bad. Troll harder, cuz I don't believe in your god. Hell, I don't believe in any god. I don't care to. Nothing you do or say will change that for me. Please stop wasting your breath on me. You have emotional issues? Deal with them and quit projecting them on others. I don't care if you don't think I'm a moral person. I don't care if you think anything about me. I honestly don't. I have thick skin. But so what if I don't believe in any god. What difference does that make? How has that changed any of my relationships? It hasn't. It never has had an impact on anything. Those who have a problem with my lack of faith are the ones with an issue. I'm the same person I always was. If you don't like it, you don't need to come around.
