Atheists are more moral and smarter than Xians; the numbers prove it.

[MindPilot]

Not Morally Straight? Think Again

By KEITH TAYLOR
Voice Guest Columnist
Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2005

"Boy Scouts Ban Episcopalians." Can you imagine the uproar if that headline greeted Mr. and Mrs. America tomorrow morning? San Diegans would cut loose with a torrent of e-mail, faxes, phone calls and letters to their congressional representatives raising (shall we say it?) holy hell. The representatives in turn would rush to Capitol Hill to see who could shout loudest to demand the Scouts repudiate such nonsense or they'd lose government support.

But rest easy. The Boy Scouts didn't do that to Episcopalians. They picked a couple of larger and much safer targets -- gays and atheists. In fact the San Diego Unified School District just revoked a policy which charged fees for the Scouts (and other religious groups) to use school classrooms.

Full article at: http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=euLTJbMUKvH&b=312465&ct=1556363

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Great editorial. Nicely put. Thanks

[beam me up scottie]

2. Righteous!

Hypocrisy isn't the sort of thing we ought to be teaching the next generation. There's enough of it in this one. At the very least governments should stop subsidizing the Boy Scouts and any other outfits that deliberately exclude those who choose to think rather than believe.

[ixion]

3. yes, when you can't blame everything on your god

it makes you a more ethical person. :-)

[MindPilot]

4. Yep, Atheists don't get do-overs

so we have to figure out how to not screw up the first (and only) time around. That's where the "thinking" part comes in.

[frankly_fedup2]

5. You forgot one other min. . . well . . . I guess they would be considered

in the majority now because they say that over 60% of Americans are obese.

This is another group that is frequently discriminated against as well. In airports when they demand those that have hips wider than a certain measurement to pay for two tickets. Personally, I think people are packed into airplanes like sardines. Whether the person beside you is big or small, they are going to invade some of your space as well as you theirs. In restaurants I have seen and heard people make comments around the all-you-can-eat bars.

I have not been over 100 pounds (which is considered obese) overweight but have been close. I have lost the weight and got back down to a size 9. I'm back up as far as weight is now due to an illness that does not allow me to move very easily. I have been at one end of the spectrum of prejudice that is one of the last acceptable bigotries. I am treated like a human being from size 9-18. Once I get past a size 18 and at my biggest of a size 26-28, I, basically, no longer feel like a part of society. The weight doesn't bother me, I love to eat, especially chocolate. However, I'm getting older and the health risks that obesity brings on I can do without. I can also do without anyone treating me less than human. Of course, I am treated different; however, I have never really had any cruel remarks made to me like I have seen done to others. Especially teenagers and younger.

I don't think the neocons could handle a homosexual that was also fat and an atheist being a part of any group. Problem is they don't seem to worry about the pedophiles until their children have been molested, but by God you better not be a homosexual fat atheist trying to volunteer some of your time to help the community, and you are really screwed if you are a teacher. Then the community villagers will come to burn you out of house and home.

Ridiculous just like this post.

[MindPilot]

7. I don't think that's what the author meant when he refered to

"larger targets". :)

[Skittles]

8. hey frankly

I hope you speak up when you hear those snarky comments - they should not be allowed to get away with being such assholes whose only mission is to knock a person down. I speak up when I see it......like, "WHAT THE F*** IS IT TO YOU WHAT SHE IS EATING?" said loundly to a couple ladies seated at a table between me and and obese woman in a restaurant (they were making comments about her and laughing). YES they got embarrassed and RIGHTFULLY SO.

[frankly_fedup2]

9. I've only had that happen to me one time and I was at work. I was an

assistant to the VP of Donkenny, a clothing company. The offices were in front of the warehouse that shipped all of the orders. If anyone has ever worked in an office setting, you know how they are constantly moving offices from one side of the building to another, or moving furniture around in offices, etc. It's madness but they constantly do it.

Anyway, we would always get some young men (pretty much the same age as me at that time) from the warehouse to do all of this. I had never really had anyone say anything to me (except my ex-husband when we were still together. He was rather cruel at times. However, I had just had my first child and had gained like 70 pounds. I had lost 40 of it but that's a whole other story).

I was in a friends office going over some report to be sure it was right, and turned and walked out the door right in front of about 6 of these guys. I could hear the snickering behind me and tried to ignore it. I was headed for the end of the hall as fast as I could so I could get away from them. Then one of them made sounds like a pig. I just kept walking like I didn't hear them but after one of them made the pig sound, the rest of them started snickering louder.

Now due to my position, I could have had any of them fired; however, I did not know which one made the insulting sounds. It hurt my feelings terribly. I had seen this happen to other people before and like you, I have went right back at them.

I've never understood how men could be so cruel. They judge the outside of a person. A woman can be ugly as dirt in the face, or a really shallow-type of person, but if she has a decent figure, then she is really hot to them. Not all of them are that way, of course, and there are women who can act as stupid as men do; however, women seem to be more able to stay with a man they are not physically attracted to if he has the cash and has somewhat of a personality. Oh yeah, they have to still be breathing too. Makes me think of Anna Nicole.

The gays and the obese will always be acceptable targets for the uneducated, bigoted jerks in this World.

[Skittles]

10. girl

if that happens again you walk right up to them and ask them why they think it s acceptable to hurt your feelings - guaranteed it will make them feel ashamed. I think a lot of it has to do with the way thinness is glorified and they way people of real size are simply not well-represented on TV and when they are, they are all too often the butt of jokes. You - we- have got to let people know that such behavior is unnaceptable. I've never been overweight but I grew up defending the underdog and I still do it. I remember beating up a boy on the playground when I was 8 becasue he was taunting an overweight girl. I was screaming at the girl YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE THIS!

[shrike]

11. Good for you, Skittles

I remember giving the evil eye to a friend of mine after he made a snarky comment about a very obese man who came to our booth (we were working a charity event.) He (the obese man) was so pleasant, so nice.
You know, this is off-topic (I'm not going to jump into the rest of this thread!) but as characteristics go, obesity is sure preferable to some of the cold-hearted nastiness that passes as human behavior these days.
I know an obese woman (I do worry about her health sometimes) who is just a delightful soul. Her family loves her, her co-workers love her. She has not a bad word to say about anyone. She holds two jobs, sings in the church choir on Sunday, spends as much time as possible with her children and grandchildren. Oh, and she also has a longtime boyfriend who sends her roses on Valentine's Day. He chased her for years until she finally decided she was ready for a relationship again. (She's divorced and has no interest in remarrying.)
I have to look a person like her and think, "What the hell difference does it make if she's fat?"

[bumblebee1]

6. Just read it.

Amen to all of it, Mr Taylor.

[Rich Hunt]

12. I'm an agnostic

....but I really see no purpose in telling yourselves this except to puff yourselves up.

I loathe snobbery and vanity far more than I do organized religion. Excuse me for having my priorities straight.

Apparently being a shallow, snobbish, egotistical jackass doesn't disqualify one from being 'moral'.