Reply #87: The new atheists are trapped in a negative mimetic relationship with strongly religious people.

[Critters2]

They are imitating the behavior they claim to abhor because of shared desire...for respect, attention, power, tolerance, whatever. Because they are modeling this behavior, they will likely end up being what they abhor--intolerant, mean-spirited, narrow-minded. This isn't an attack on atheists, per se. Human beings are mimetic, imitative. We have mirror neurons that make us so. The only way to break the pattern is to be aware of it, and turn away from the mimetic model you're focused on. This group demonstrates, day after day, that atheists are attached to the Christians they hate as their mimetic models. This can't end well, but it sure makes people feel good in the short term!

So, have at it! But there's plenty of good science out there to demonstrate what you're doing and why you, too, are being irrational. Don't let a little anthropology get in the way of a good mimetic crisis, I always say.