Words of Week 11

Insipid: Without distinctive, interesting, or stimulating qualities; dull
Stoicism: Repression of emotion and indifference to pleasure or pain.
Exertion: Vigorous action or effort
Poignant: Affecting or moving the emotions
Negligible: So small, trifling, or unimportant that it may safely be neglected or disregarded
Xenophobe: A person who fears or hates foreigners, strange customs, etc.
Asphyxiated: To cause to die or lose consciousness by impairing normal breathing, as by gas or other noxious agents; choke; suffocate; smother 

Boston Bigots

First off, I am deeply saddened by the tragic bombings in Boston. This week has been filled with horrible events, and I don't know which direction humankind is headed for, but it sure doesn't look bright.

While the people who are suffering from injuries, both minor and major, and the three families who lost a member mourn, the majority of the rest of the world is speculating that the bomber may be Muslim. A small percentage of people are helping, donating blood, volunteering at hospitals and trying to restore collective faith in humanity, but for me, it is done. I am done. I am done with the world, and its inhabitants.

Whenever something wrong happens, everyone blames the Muslims. It must have been the Muslims. Who else could do such a horrible thing? And that stupid stereotype invades people's privacy and goes unnoticed. Police officers see Saudi man running away, he is bruised, and hurting, but he is darker skinned, he is running away, and he definitely must be a suspect. What's your name? Oh, you are Muslim..all the more likely. We will search your house, although we don't have a warrant and you can't do anything.

People disgust me. Period. Today I heard on the radio, two other suspects were found, one is under custody. Guess what? The country they come from from is majorly Muslim. I am beginning to think, if something happens, and in no way it is related to Muslims, people will still find a way to relate it no matter how improbable and how ridiculous.

"Oh yeah, that American kid who shot people at an elementary school, had a cat. The cat was transported from France. There is a bakery in France that served its owner. Once, a Muslim came into the bakery and drunk coffee. So it must be that Muslim's fault because obviously he planted a mind-controlling chip on the cat-owner who unknowingly transferred it to his cat, who then rubbed off to the American kid. Yes, the fault belongs to the Muslims."

-Lots of deerstalkers,
Belle

a.theist

* This is a very personal post, and has critical religious content. Read if you feel comfortable with it.

Yesterday I read an article on the guardian by Glenn Greenwald, and I slowly watched my faith-in-humanity-bar as the scale lowered itself once again to absolute zero. The article is well written and I loved it. I am so happy that I found it and I read it because it helped me shape a few thoughts I have had from before into solid beliefs and theories.  It is a little long, and without a bit of background knowledge you might find yourself walking into stranger territory but if you have time, and you are interested I would definitely recommend it. The article is about what Mr. Greenwald thinks of the "New Atheists" and specifically Sam Harris. Although he, himself, denies the claims, I personally believe that Sam Harris is in fact an Islamaphobe and sadly he has too much voice in the media and influences a bigger audience than one might expect. I am not going to summarize the article here, just read it if you want, and check the links in the article because they are essential to understanding the whole story.
--
I have been indeed in a battle with all of humanity from the beginning of time. The whole world right now, at this moment, is a mess. A jumble of moral decline, societal decline, and financial decline. We are going down.

Nobody can deny that we aren't fixing the issues we are creating and then imposing on ourselves. Little side organizations, volunteers, educated people who are trying to make a difference, are really paddling upriver and going nowhere. It is extremely sad, but we have to realize that to change the way we live, we need action on a bigger scale. A few people cleaning up trash doesn't really affect anyone, and has a near zero impact on society. I know people will argue against this notion of no achievement, but let's be honest - our attempts at fixing the world aren't the same as our attempts to get people to vote.

Every vote counts. So every individual makes a difference, not by themselves, but together because there are many individuals who constantly need to be reminded of their significance no matter how insubstantial. With voting, we have achieved our goal. With social welfare, justice, law enforcement, ethics -we are not quiet there yet.

Unfortunately, although the world's greatest nations keep bragging about their greatness, while living in the land of opportunities, I still face negative stereotypes, racist remarks, unfair assumptions, and plain inhumane treatment, because of my religion, my gender, and ridiculously enough my clothing choices.

Freedom of speech, I respect with all my heart, but respect for other humans, is the backbone of my ethical beliefs. Atheist bashing on religion, criticizing belief systems to the degree that the followers of those belief systems are deemed 'uncivilized,' judging and commenting on things they do not understand and then hurting people scores a major negative on the respect scale. Religious people arguing over their absolute truths, and ignoring each other's existence is also childish and unfathomable.

Respect. I don't care if you worship a crimson llama with an ice-cream hat who feeds on surf boards. I. Don't. Care. You are as much human as I, and therefore I will respect you and your choice. But I expect the same treatment.

Lots of droplets,
Belle