Do You Fit the Atheist “Stereotype”?

I have a problem with labels to begin with. They tend to do less informing than permitting stereotypes.

I like Tarico’s method. Ditch the labels.

It depends on the sterotype. IS the sterotype of an atheist a second class petty officer who is serving in Kuwait for Operation Enduring freedom? An accountant who is married with three children? A single father who has custody of his kids? Some one who does his best to be a good person? I have been or am all of these things. Is that the sterotype?

There are “angry” atheists just like there are “angry” Christians, Jews, Muslims, etc.

And I am pretty open about my lack of belief. It came up with a gal on a second date and she was shocked. “I’ve never met an atheist before.” I didn’t know we were so rare.

Aye caramba. Before reading the link I was thinking of those nitwits who whine about those nasty gays who ruin it for us because..(insert reason here – usually has something to do with drag queens, men who aren’t macho enough, women who have short hair, etc). What am I greeted with when I click the link? Her rendition of how wonderful her gay brother is because he doesn’t “act or look gay”. Then of course we get the garbage about how we as atheists are supposed to stop being such beasts. I mean it’s OK to be an atheist, but do you have to tell people about it? Geesh!

I detest the self-loathing types who pander to bigots with the claim that we’re the nasty ones for merely refusing to stay in the closet. Closets are for clothes, not for people of any kind.

Does anyone remember the “I am an American” commercials that popped up after September 11th? I think they were trying to fight any Arab backlash that might pop up.

We need a commercial like that.

————————————–
Hi, my names Bill.
I’m the father of two daughters.
I’m a welder during the week
and a soccer coach on Saturdays.
And I am an atheist!
————————————–

Just a thought.

Love the T-shirt idea, Amanda — and your idea, too, Brian. The idea is for people to see the basic humanity that we share. There are lots of ways to do that.

“My brother, David, is gay. You can’t tell by how he walks or talks or dresses. You wouldn’t know who he loves and why unless you know him. The only clue, maybe, is that he happens to be nicer than the rest of my mother’s offspring, including me.”

~Valerie Tarico

Huh?
Am I reading this correct?
ALL gays are nice?
Labels?

As for messing with people’s stereotypes,seems to be a waste of time spent on focusing on what other people think of you, and not just living your life.

I see the atheist stereotype as being one of arrogance and condescension. Over-educated types who have lost touch with the common folk through years of liberal education.

Tao Jones wrote:
“I see the atheist stereotype as being one of arrogance and condescension. Over-educated types who have lost touch with the common folk through years of liberal education.”

That may be a reasonable description of the stereotype – and clearly light-years away from most atheists. I am puzzled by the phrase “over-educated” since that sounds like a good thing.
“I’d like the over-educated surgeon, please. The under-educated one took off the wrong leg last time I was in.”
I also wouldn’t mind knowing the difference between liberal and conservative education.
Have atheists lost touch with “the common folk”? I doubt it, since most of us probably are “common folk” (and what does that really mean, anyway?).
I don’t fit any particular stereotype and I’ve never met anyone who does.

Are there really stereotypes?
I have never heard any. But then when there are so few out atheists in a community it’s hard to even think about them.

The first atheist I was aware of in Oklahoma was the physics professor at the benedictine monastery where I went to Jr. college. He was a nice, smart, funny guy, and the fact that he was an atheist was just a quirk about him no more remarkable than that he was fat, short, and had coke-bottle glasses.

What was really remarkable was that he totally kicked my ass at racquetball and was married to the hottest woman I’d ever seen – always gave folks a double take “SHE’s married to HIM??”

We all know the external stereotypes – smug, angry, vengeful against religion for some perceived wrong – but I’m more interested in the stereotypes with a little more demographic truth to them. Even here in CA I noticed a tendency for atheists (at least in organized groups) to be middle-aged or older straight white males. A woman once told me her jesting theory that some of us straight white males want to make ourselves into a minority somehow.

The irony is not lost that I’m making this comment on Hemant’s blog, but that highlights that my impression of this has changed much for the better in the last 18 months. I see a lot more black atheists, woman atheists, gay atheists, and I don’t think it’s a result of any real demographic shift, but rather that atheists have become more vocal and organized.

Steven,

I didn’t say it was true.. I said that was a stereotype.

Wouldn’t you rather a surgeon who had experience successfully performing the surgery before? Thirty years of medical school without any practical experience? No thanks.

There are plenty of over-educated people in the world. People who think their education makes them right whether they are right or not. People who have the knowledge but not the understanding. People who use polysyllabic big words when small ones will do.

Anonymous,

Thanks.

BTW, all of my message was about the linked article, not any of the comments. I was reacting to Tarico’s insinuation that gay people and atheists are “good” when they’re closeted – IOW you can’t tell they’re gay/atheist in any overt way. So of course those of us who happen to be open about who we are by default bad.

If you keep your status as an atheist, gay person, etc. quiet out of necessity that’s fine. I’m the first one to understand that. But Tarico’s insinuation that one should because being open makes you somehow bad is offensive and wrong.

I guess I’m not sure what the stereotype is that you are referring to here so I’m not sure how to know if I fit it or not. If you just mean “evil, angry, militant, immoral,” then I probably only fit the angry one.

Buffy said

…Tarico’s insinuation that one should because being open makes you somehow bad is offensive and wrong.

Valerie said:

1. Find a kind, matter-of-fact way to let people know you lack a god concept.
2. Be yourself.

I’m struggling to see how being open about my atheism and being myself are ways of remaining closeted.

Buffy, could you clarify what part of Valerie’s writing insinuated that secrecy was necessary?

Awesomesauce,

Tarico says:

My brother, David, is gay. You can’t tell by how he walks or talks or dresses.You wouldn’t know who he loves and why unless you know him.

There’s the set up. David is a Good Gay because he doesn’t give any overt indicators that he’s gay. Only when you really get to know him do you find out that David is gay. And likewise to be a Good Atheist you have to get back in the closet. Don’t scare the horses by wearing your Proud Atheist t-shirt. Don’t be a jerk by protesting blatant violations of Separation of Church and State. Don’t ruffle any feathers so when people get to know you and find out you are an atheist they can be amazed at how really nice you are.

It simply feeds into the notion that we should hide and pretend to please others.