Stuff you hate

[KebreI]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-20-best-signs-at-the-national-equality-march/

As much as I agree with the march, I hate all the little kids holding signs because their parent/parents forced them to. Such exploitation, even when its not harmful, pisses me for.

[ZeaLitY]

Yeah? We should hate parents who bring their children to church and indoctrinate them, too. Babies and children are born atheists. But they're shoehorned into religious institutions at infancy by their parents.

[Truthordeal]

Hahahahaha! I love that. If more gay pride parades were about this rather than ass-less chaps and other flamboyant clothing, I think more would get done.

On some level, I actually agree with Z. Not about going to church being comparable to dragging your child to a gay right's parade, mind you, but more about a certain type of indoctrination involved in both. Of course, I don't think the church thing is on the same level, unless its a hellfire and brimstone, gay's, black's and Jews all go to hell type of situation.

And I'd say that babies are born agnostic rather than atheist. They don't come out of the womb thinking, "Oh boy! God doesn't exist and Richard Dawkins is the best!" Its probably "WTF? Where am I?" Remember, atheism is the outward denial of religious thought, not the absence of it.

[KebreI]

Yeah? We should hate parents who bring their children to church and indoctrinate them, too. Babies and children are born atheists. But they're shoehorned into religious institutions at infancy by their parents.

Is that an accusatory tone? Because you know what, I do hate that as well. There 8 years old, don't feed them your bullshit faith and don't use them to get attention at your rallies.

[ZeaLitY]

Nah, it's not accusatory; just impassioned.

[Mr Bekkler]

While we're on the subject, I hate the American so-called "pledge of allegiance". It's one of the first "speeches" children are coerced into memorizing, before they can understand the meaning of the words they're saying. In fact, I very clearly remember when I first learned it that I thought it was something like

"Iplejaleejentoodaflag Ofthunitedstatesofmerica. Andtoothreepublic Fourwichisands. Wonationundergod Indibisible for liberteenjustice for all."

I had no idea there were way more words than that. Let alone that I was basically saying "I am ready and willing to die for the U.S. flag." Every day for several years.

[Sajainta]

As much as I agree with the march, I hate all the little kids holding signs because their parent/parents forced them to. Such exploitation, even when its not harmful, pisses me for.

Is that an accusatory tone? Because you know what, I do hate that as well. There 8 years old, don't feed them your bullshit faith and don't use them to get attention at your rallies.

The little, little kids might not be able to understand why they're carrying the signs, but I wouldn't doubt that the 8-year-olds do.  8-year-olds are a lot smarter than most people make them out to be, I think.  I had enough wherewithall to turn away from the Christian faith at 9, knowing full well what I was doing.  I don't think it's beyond an 8-year-old or even a 7 or 6-year-old to think that their gay parents should have the right to marry each other.

Yeah? We should hate parents who bring their children to church and indoctrinate them, too. Babies and children are born atheists. But they're shoehorned into religious institutions at infancy by their parents.

I "became" a Christian ("Dear Jesus, please forgive me of my sins") when I was 3 because I was so terrified of going to Hell.  3.

[Schala Zeal]

- Female circumcision
- Religion
- Corporate America
- Anti-gay laws
- Anti-abortion
- Square Enix's greedy corporate scum
- A certain neighbor of mine
...

[FaustWolf]

Whaddaya wanna call it J, "Fuck da Pledge"?

[Lord J Esq]

That's ZeaLitY, not me. I usually prefer to avoid extraneous language in my titles. (And if MsBlack says even one word, there won't be a British Isles come tomorrow!) Besides, in this specific case I'd prefer a more neutral title anyhow. How about "What Are Your Thoughts on the Pledge of Allegiance?"

[FaustWolf]

Done!

[Radical_Dreamer]

And I'd say that babies are born agnostic rather than atheist. They don't come out of the womb thinking, "Oh boy! God doesn't exist and Richard Dawkins is the best!" Its probably "WTF? Where am I?" Remember, atheism is the outward denial of religious thought, not the absence of it.

While I think it's probably more meaningful to think of infants as agnostic (they are without knowledge, after all), atheism doesn't imply a denial of religious thought. An atheist is someone who does not believe there is a god. Some believe there is not a god, but that is not necessarily the same thing. There is a case to be made that infants are atheists (since they don't believe in a god) but I think that they should be considered agnostics, due to the fact that they are without the knowledge to evaluate the issue, or even be aware of it.

[Thought]

Babies and children are born atheists.

That is tantamount to claiming that infants are also antihumanists and that they are anti-equality and anti-Carthaginian. Even the term "agnostic" is making a little too bold of a claim. Non-theist would be a little closer, though still misleading.

But really, why would you want to identify infants with your particular stance? There is no inherent virtue in a baby’s lack of information or decision. Indeed, if atheists claim that their rejection of belief is the result of intelligent investigation, wouldn’t being connected to “individuals” who notably lack knowledge and critical thinking skills be insulting?

[Lord J Esq]

If a million babies agree with me, then I can't possibly be wrong!

[Mr Bekkler]

Fucking work computers deleting my long posts makes me not even want to try to speak my mind.