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and here I thought those atheists were so morally superior, and that misogyny and every
other sort of ignorant, hateful behavior in the world was the fault of "religion". 
.
A professor of mine in college told me that, historically, the "turn" of centuries,
tends to bring out fears of the world ending in Christian cultures and the
end of a Millennium brings it out Big Time and, sure enough, my own limited research on the
topic bore out his theory.
I bought a book called "1000 A.D." and it seems that Christian
Europe was freaking out, getting suddenly "religious" just as as modern culture seems to be doing.
Last minute acts of sever penance and alms giving (one noble gave away all his property)
were the order of the day.....When the clock struck midnight on 1001....Well,
you can imagine a lot of people were relieved -- but some had reasons for regret
as well. 
was just starting to flex their muscle...We thought it would be "temporary".
Being a boomer and having grown up in what's now being called the "Golden Age" of American -- fifties through late seventies -- I've
really not adjusted to these whack jobs...I grew up in a large, northeastern city of Catholics, mainstream Protestants and Jews,
and everyone got along pretty well...Seriously, in an urban environment of the Northern part of the country,
especially, I suspect, the "Northeastern" part of the country which I suspect was THE most "diverse" part of it,
no one really talked about religion and people were generally tolerant...They were neighbors, They went to their own houses of
worship, worked together, lived together, and it was simply NOT an issue....Separation of Church and State was not even
questioned. People like Michelle Bachman and such would have never even MADE the national stage...People like that would have
been LAUGHED off the stage...Sure, there was some buzz about John Kennedy and his Catholicism, but they
got over it and that was that...This "America" that I'm living in now is SO much different than the one I grew up in. 
Stick around DU for awhile, though. You will see it crop up
among men of all faiths and NO faith.
The most recent "dust up", actually, was not that long ago and it concerned
a young middle eastern girl -- eleven years old and developmentally disabled.
Some muslims in her area (her family was Christian) were furious, threatening to
arrest her for supposedly "blaspheming" the Koran. DUers were weighing in on it like
crazy and quite a FEW said things like "Religion...it so destructive, etc." as if this was simply
a matter of "religion", like maybe your local methodist congregation...Indeed, more than
one said things like "It's just a matter of time before it happens here"
and utter nonsense like that. Trying to tell these people that blaming awful incidents like
this on "Religion", without specificity is like blaming "Government" for Stalin and is really NOT
on, as they say, I STILL got pushback.
When I, and a few of the cooler heads pointed out that western culture is very different
and the US, for one, has a "separation of church and state", not to mention a disinclination
to arrest retarded for any such thing, people, I think, started to "get it".
Thankfully, for the little girl herself, some enlightened Imams REFUSED to charge the kid
with anything, and later, it was found out, some creepy cleric admitted to lying about it.
I will try and find those threads. 
we never see atheists here doing that to theists, do we?
"All atheists claim is that religion is not necessary to be a moral person, and that lack of religion does not preclude it"
Oh bullshit...They claim a LOT more than that.
"No claim is made that lack of religion guarantees morality"
Really?...Could have fooled me....The idea that religion is the source of all evil in the world
is expressed here almost daily. Talk about "idiotic straw men".
Stick your insulting little rant, bro...If you don't like what I say, you only
need to remember that Ignore is your friend.
My I.Q. ranks in the top two percent of the population,
so it's likely you who doesn't "get it"....Please join the
rest of the dummies on my Ignore List. 
Let's talk about the FFRF, the RCC . . . . and butterflies.
Unfortunately, it's mostly coming from a couple of atheist-bashers who are WAY behind the curve on this whole thing. And never knew much about the whole thing in the first place.
It is deliciously ironic that I see so many links to Freethoughtblogs. That's where P.Z. Myers hangs out, and he offended the Catholics a couple years ago by mutilating a cracker or something. I guess "enemy of my enemy is my friend" and all that.
(Just a friendly clue, bashers - FTB isn't the only star in this reality show. Google "The Slyme Pit." After that, you might poke around the Rational Skepticism site, JREF and a few more. And bring provisions - you'll be there a while.)
But let's check out some of these misogyny claims.
For example, would Dr. Harriet A. Hall be considered a "misogynist?"
Well, let's see. She's a retired Air Force Colonel, pilot, physician and IIRC the first women ever qualified as a Flight Surgeon.
The title of her 2008 biography is "Women Aren't Supposed to Fly : The Memoirs of a Female Flight Surgeon." Because on one of her first official USAF flights, a male officer literally told her "women aren't supposed to fly."
She's also author of the "Skepdoc" column in Skeptic magazine, and a very frequent speaker at atheist/skeptical meetups.
In fact, she just recently spoke at The Amazing Meeting (TAM) in Las Vegas. Check out the T-shirt she wore at TAM:
Front of shirt: "I Feel Safe & Welcome At TAM:"
Back of shirt: "I'm a skeptic. Not a 'skepchick.' Not a 'woman skeptic.' Just a skeptic:"
Concerning their peril. They have already managed to sever off a chunk of the movement. It's stunning that Atheism+ would have to be formed for women to feel safe. Absolutely stunning. Just because some real jerk guys do not recognize gender equality.
I am especially pissed at DJ who should know better. He's an out gay.
