So, I obviously don't actually update (or even check) this blog very often.  Apparently I got a comment on one of my previous posts taking issue with my title of "Raving Atheist."  The problem, apparently, was that there is actually a copyrighted blog/forum of that name.  I pulled up that site, and they've been doing it since well before I started mine.  As such, I have changed the title of my blog.  I have not received any sort of contact from that site (or at least no official communication), but I'm a reasonable person, and they have archives going back nine years before I even started.

Now, had they come about after I had started, I wouldn't care in the least.  Active or not, if I started first, too bad.  However, they started well before I did.  As such, it is only fair that I disambiguate my title.  I'm leaving the basic concept in, because it fits me.  Given that, the change may not be enough to prevent a Google search from bringing me up alongside them.  However, once the searcher sees my title, they should have a pretty good idea that I am not them.

Religion and shame

I have just finished reading one of the most promising things I have read in quite some time.  Not, sadly, that churches are going to be taxed or something like that, but a very wonderful story nonetheless.

http://ayoungmomsmusings.blogspot.com/2012/04/unwrapping-onion-part-one-secret.html

If you didn't go read that, do so.  Seriously.  It is well worth your time.

For those of you who don't read it, I'll summarize in a dry manner that doesn't begin to do it justice.  Man and woman grow up in freakishly Christian conservative homes.  To the extent that their marriage was more or less arranged.  She's gay, and has always known it, but buried it because, again, religion.  They have kids.  He comes out to her as transgender.  They are now a happy lesbian couple.

There's more to it than that, of course, and that pathetic summary doesn't touch on the struggles they went through, and what they are still struggling with (thankfully the continued struggle is more from conservative family members, rather than their own relationship).

This has motivated me to share a story of my own.

When I was about six years old, I went to after school babysitting at a very nice woman's home.  She had a huge ranch with dogs, horses, and tons of woods across the two lane, barely trafficked road.  She didn't charge much, and I still have fond memories of my afternoons there.

Before anyone freaks out, no, she didn't do anything to me, other than make sure I didn't hurt myself and make snacks.

One of the other boys she looked after did, however.  We were out in the woods playing, and he suggested that we take off our clothes.  He was perhaps two years older than me.  He suggested that we exchange oral sex.  Neither of us were old enough to actually get off, but we did it anyway.

We put our clothes on, and never talked about it again.

I will say that I never felt like I was violated.  He didn't hurt me, or threaten me, or really even try to convince me.  He suggested it, and after a bit of thinking about it, and some hesitation (I thought he was going to pull a prank and piss in my mouth, but he didn't), I agreed.  He honestly didn't even pressure me.

What did hurt me, was that as I grew older, and learned more about the world, I began to feel ashamed of it.  I didn't tell anyone, for fear of what they would think of me.  The feeling of shame persisted for years, and though I didn't often think about it, whenever I did, those feelings would come rushing back.  The first person I ever told was my first girlfriend.  Her response helped me immeasurably, because she simply didn't care, and didn't really understand why I stuttered in telling her.  I realized then that not everyone was going to think badly of me.

Thankfully it doesn't bother me anymore, because I stopped caring what most people think of me.  But the shame I lived with was generated by religion, and I can only imagine the pain that someone who is gay or transgender goes through.

Batshit insanity

So, election time is upon us, and once again, every single Republican candidate cannot manage to say enough how much they love Jebus. Some bandy it about more than others, as Perry and Bachman are running pretty much solely on the "We love us some Jesus" platform, but all of them make mention of it quite often.

Wouldn't it be nice if just once, a Republican candidate didn't mention Jesus? Unless asked, of course, I don't have a problem with them admitting their beliefs if the question is brought up (and it would be, frequently). It would just be nice if one candidate would make the election about the issues (unemployment, the sorry state of our economy, the fact that our government has spent us into debtor nation status), instead of their belief in god.

If ever there were an election where an atheist could actually stand a chance, this is it. If someone could actually bring some real solutions to the table, they would stand a decent chance of seeing the inside of the White House, no matter what they believed.

And, maybe someday, those poor pigs will finally sprout wings.

An interesting concept...

So, I work nights. I work, usually, alone. This means I have a lot of time to think, and one of my most recent thought processes was this:

Take the god of the bible. Now, remove the idea that he's the only deity/creator in the universe. So one day, this wise, all-powerful creature finds earth. Of course, he also finds humanity. He looks at humans and says to himself, "These creatures are ignorant savages. Maybe I can help them." So god takes one guy named Adam and puts him in a garden. Later, god realizes that humans like having companions of the opposite sex. So god gets Eve, and puts her in the garden.

He tells them not to eat the apple, not because he doesn't want them to do so, but because his plans aren't far enough along for that event to happen. But it does. So, he kicks them out and tries a different approach.

After a long string of failures to improve humans, he finds Moses. So, god decides that Moses is an alright guy and gives the whole 'improving humans' thing another shot. Most of the laws in Exodus and Leviticus are horrible, but keep in mind that this is still a step up from where the majority of humans were at this point. So god keeps trying to get people to stop being dicks to each other for quite a while and it isn't working.

A little while later, god thinks to himself, "Hey, maybe if I just told them to be nice. That might work." So he makes Jesus and sends his son amongst humanity to teach them to be nice to each other. And the humans nail Jesus to a chunk of wood. There are a few people who seem like they may have gotten the idea, so god sits back to see how that goes. It goes poorly.

Next, god finds Muhammad. He gives this guy the laws of Islam and almost immediately, it all goes to shit again.

At this point, god says 'fuck it.' "I've tried and tried to get you to stop being ignorant savages, and it just doesn't work. I'm leaving."

Ah, the things boredom does to the brain. Just felt like sharing the concept, which, in my opinion, makes a hell of a lot more sense than just about any other explanation for god (other than his non-existence). Thoughts, anyone (he asks rhetorically, because if I'm not mistaken, no one ever reads this)?

Draw Muhammed Day

Well, tomorrow is "Draw Muhammed Day." For those that don't know, on this day, Thursday, May 20, I encourage you to draw a picture of the Muslim prophet. He can be eating breakfast, or sipping tea, or being fucked in the ass by a horse. Doesn't matter.

Now, of course, Muslims will be offended by this. Quite frankly, I don't care. Islam is a religion of violence and death threats. It deserves all the mockery we can heap upon it. Freedom of speech is simple, really. People can say what they want, and if you don't like it, you can fuck miles of off.

So, make your drawings, post them wherever. And don't let these barbaric savages tell you to be afraid.

The power of stupidity

First, I want to point out this wonderful post here.

That being done, I'll add my own take on the problem of ignorance and stupidity.

Part of the problem, as I see it, is that we've lost sight of the American Dream. Oh, we still talk about it, but it doesn't mean what it once did. Once upon a time, the American Dream was to better yourself and your station through hard work. If people couldn't pull themselves up, they worked hard so that their children would have more opportunities than they did. People tried to educate themselves, because education meant better employment, and a better standard of living.

Now, the American Dream means something new. Everyone wants something for nothing, and not just a little something. It isn't that people want everything handed to them for free, they expect it. The ignorant among us expect that the answers to their questions will appear in their heads without any actual thought required. And that's a problem, because most people's first instincts are wrong. The brain is hard-wired to have logical fallacies, and it takes a great deal of effort to overcome that.

I believe that I already covered the problem of effort.

I don't know what the fix for this is. After all, this is just a blog post, and it isn't as if I've spent hours doing research. This is an opinion. So, how can I berate those who accept their first thought as true when I'm doing much the same? Simply put, because if someone shows me that I'm wrong, I'll admit it.

Well, it's been three weeks to the day that my clove cigarettes got banned.

The good news is that I've discovered that I have no physical addiction to nicotine. The only time I crave a cigarette is when I'm doing something I've come to associate with smoking. So, mental addiction yes, physical addiction no. I've smoked, perhaps, a pack and a half in the last three weeks, and I used to be a pack a day smoker.

So, I found out that I can go without tobacco if I want to. I do not, however, want to do so. Of course, there doesn't seem to be much I can do about it.