Comments on: Diversity and the Best Atheist Blogger Award – Please Don't Vote for Me

By: Cathy Cooper

Cathy Cooper — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:46:57 +0000

I just recently came across this post, and since my husband and I (I am white, and he is an African American/Cherokee philosopher) write out blog together, and now we are contributing to John Loftus’ blog, Debunking Christianity–we are at least 2 more “non-white males” that hope to crack the nut that is Christianity. The more the merrier I say!

By: Grizwald Grim

Grizwald Grim — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:24:22 +0000

Pretty racist of you to drop out because of the race of the nominees.

If you want to call into question the nomination process, do so. If he refuses to be transparent, draw attention to that.

“We need to stop making the public face of atheism primarily white, and primarily male.”

Then hold the people in positions that allow them to determine the “public face of not believing in something” accountable for their actions, don’t pull affirmative action crap.

By: Phil Giordana FCD

Phil Giordana FCD — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 09:07:30 +0000

Extremely patronizing, IMO. I’ll just leave this here, for an “insider’s” view on diversity in the atheist movement:

http://freethoughtkampala.wordpress.com/2011/09/28/the-atheist-skeptic-movement-and-minorities/

By: Leni

Leni — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 07:23:55 +0000

Dearest Greta,

I’m sorry about the limited options, but I voted for you anyway.

Not because of your gender or race or any of that bullshit. But because I just like your blog better.

I read it more. And I read your commenters more. And not just because there are fewer of them and so I can sorta keep up, but just because I like them better and actually enjoy reading them.

I read Pharyngula when you and the other bloggers I love (and me) are having slow days.

Grr. It annoys me that you have to feel responsible for this. And that I can’t just vote for you cause I like your blog :/ Which of course I can. I know. But grr.

By: ash

ash — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:40:14 +0000

I was on record months ago for naming Crommunist the best of the new wave of FTBer’s. (new at the time) So calls of “tokenism” are way off. I’ve never had the issues of race and privelege so well refined and fleshed out. Plus he’s a violist!

By: PermanentStaycation

PermanentStaycation — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:15:25 +0000

Confused says : “I have been sporadically following the friendly atheist over the last few years. I had forgotten there was anything (still don’t remember) different about him. Cool.”

Something different? Racist!
How bloody patronising: “Oh, you’re one of those people of coloured people? Bully for you! Well done, on being able to blog and everything little fellow! Cool.”

“If I ever find out the blogger has some unusual features, I just say “cool””

Unusual features? You racist.

You’re all being horribly, patronisingly racist about this.
White people and people of colour. Keep highlighting the differences won’t you, or the “unusual features”. Bloody racists.

By: Anders

Anders — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 06:11:59 +0000

Anyway, we’ve both clearly made up our minds about the matter at hand. I don’t think there’s any point to continuing the discussion.

Adieu.

By: Anders

Anders — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 05:54:12 +0000

Since society and the material conditions have changed so much since the 19th century, I’d be extremely wary of drawing conclusions from then as to what the outcome is now. There was simply not enough wealth to spread around. You can have the most impressive social programs that you like but they won’t help anyone if there’s no wealth to distribute.

And if you think the Great Depression was caused by laissez-faire capitalism then I have a bridge to sell you. The Depression was caused by a catastrophic reduction in the money supply and the responsibility for that was in the hands of the government.

By: Azkyroth

Azkyroth — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 05:10:08 +0000

No, we disagree that the government is the organization best able to make society more humane.

Since it advocates an approach to dealing with social and economic issues that was a demonstrably a disaster in the past and resulted in the misery and squalor of the Gilded Age and the international catastrophe of the Great Depression, it is clear that the narcisso-capitalist formulation that dominates the use of the label “libertarian” rejects either the tenet of building a humane society or the tenet of perceiving and accepting reality for what it is.

Thanks for playing.

By: Anders

Anders — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 02:03:04 +0000

No, we disagree that the government is the organization best able to make society more humane. You are fighting a war against your own misconceptions of libertarianism and your demonization against libertarians. That is not a serious way to conduct an argument.