Today, I'm wearing a button with the logo of the Secular Student Alliance. This makes me a little nervous, for a couple of reasons. One, I'm not the most naturally social person, and I am wearing this button in the hopes that people will ask me about it and I can tell them about the group I am trying to start. I am a little afraid that it will have the effect I want, and also a little afraid that it will not, and then I'll have to find a better way. Two, I'm not certain what I will tell people if they do ask me about it; there's been some difficulty with communication, which I will talk more about it a bit. And three, of course, I wonder if it will change people's perception of me in a negative fashion. It is not so obvious as the sticker I'd put on my tablet if I were sure it would stick-- that one says "I'm an atheist! Ask away!" or something of the sort, because the SSA likes to host "Ask an atheist" events. In fact it's probably too subtle for anyone who didn't know what to look for to recognize, which means most of the people who would know what it meant would be friendly, but...
Story time. I've been an atheist for much longer than I have known I was. Once I realized I was an atheist, I didn't have a big coming out or anything. Nor did I feel I was hiding-- my closest friends knew how I felt, why should I tell everyone? Then one night, after a few drinks, I had someone ask me straight up if I was an atheist, and I told him yes, I was... and he stopped talking to me. He avoided me for weeks. And then when he did start talking to me again, it was weird and awkward, like he didn't know how he was supposed to treat me. That is far less severe than I know others have faced. Public perception of atheists is extremely bad-- a recent survey said people trust us about as much as they trust rapists. Things are improving-- where we used to be the most hated group in America, we've now been displaced by the Tea Party. Of course, that could just be because they're louder and more obnoxious. There are a lot of people who are afraid to let the world know that they don't believe in god.
In part, I am afraid of how people will react, too... but in part, I am simply unsure if I want to take this on. It seems a bit like tilting at windmills, trying to alter public perception of such a group of people. I will take it on, though. I made that decision before I set the wheels in motion to start this group. Speaking of which...
Organizing atheists, it has been said, is a little like herding cats. We all very much value our own thoughts and reason, and therefore getting us to follow anyone else is a bit difficult. At least, that's my theory on why we're so difficult to organize. Anyway. When I arrived at Mines and found that there wasn't an atheist/secular/nontheist/skeptics/ANYTHING group, I was a bit miffed. Surely, at a school where everyone is studying science in one way or another, there would be more of us? But no. There are eleven Christian groups, one Muslim group, and nothing for the rest of us. So, when I was getting things in order this semester, I thought I would see about finding others here, maybe starting a group. That set things in motion-- a board member from the SSA contacted me, I met with him as soon as spring break was over, and things are going well. Mostly.
Another person on campus, it turns out, requested a group starting packet back in January. Nate promptly emailed him about meeting and talking about things. And then heard nothing, until last week. Matt (this other student) says that he's gotten a lot of the legwork done, he's found other interested students, and he apologizes for not replying and invites Nate to a meeting on Tuesday... but does not say where this meeting is. Now, I would be happy to collaborate with other students, especially if they've done the part that I find hardest already. But if he vanishes for two months and then doesn't even give us a location... well, the kindest thing I can think of is that he's a space cadet, who forgets things when he's busy. Which makes me wonder how suitable he would be for running a group of this kind. Nate, it seems, is as wary as I am. If we cannot reach Matt to find this meeting tomorrow, how long should we give it before we give up on him and I just do it myself? I don't know.
I would rather avoid this drama. There's bound to be drama enough once the group gets going (it's inevitable, really), I'd rather not have any before we even get off the ground. *sigh*
Story time. I've been an atheist for much longer than I have known I was. Once I realized I was an atheist, I didn't have a big coming out or anything. Nor did I feel I was hiding-- my closest friends knew how I felt, why should I tell everyone? Then one night, after a few drinks, I had someone ask me straight up if I was an atheist, and I told him yes, I was... and he stopped talking to me. He avoided me for weeks. And then when he did start talking to me again, it was weird and awkward, like he didn't know how he was supposed to treat me. That is far less severe than I know others have faced. Public perception of atheists is extremely bad-- a recent survey said people trust us about as much as they trust rapists. Things are improving-- where we used to be the most hated group in America, we've now been displaced by the Tea Party. Of course, that could just be because they're louder and more obnoxious. There are a lot of people who are afraid to let the world know that they don't believe in god.
In part, I am afraid of how people will react, too... but in part, I am simply unsure if I want to take this on. It seems a bit like tilting at windmills, trying to alter public perception of such a group of people. I will take it on, though. I made that decision before I set the wheels in motion to start this group. Speaking of which...
Organizing atheists, it has been said, is a little like herding cats. We all very much value our own thoughts and reason, and therefore getting us to follow anyone else is a bit difficult. At least, that's my theory on why we're so difficult to organize. Anyway. When I arrived at Mines and found that there wasn't an atheist/secular/nontheist/skeptics/ANYTHING group, I was a bit miffed. Surely, at a school where everyone is studying science in one way or another, there would be more of us? But no. There are eleven Christian groups, one Muslim group, and nothing for the rest of us. So, when I was getting things in order this semester, I thought I would see about finding others here, maybe starting a group. That set things in motion-- a board member from the SSA contacted me, I met with him as soon as spring break was over, and things are going well. Mostly.
Another person on campus, it turns out, requested a group starting packet back in January. Nate promptly emailed him about meeting and talking about things. And then heard nothing, until last week. Matt (this other student) says that he's gotten a lot of the legwork done, he's found other interested students, and he apologizes for not replying and invites Nate to a meeting on Tuesday... but does not say where this meeting is. Now, I would be happy to collaborate with other students, especially if they've done the part that I find hardest already. But if he vanishes for two months and then doesn't even give us a location... well, the kindest thing I can think of is that he's a space cadet, who forgets things when he's busy. Which makes me wonder how suitable he would be for running a group of this kind. Nate, it seems, is as wary as I am. If we cannot reach Matt to find this meeting tomorrow, how long should we give it before we give up on him and I just do it myself? I don't know.
I would rather avoid this drama. There's bound to be drama enough once the group gets going (it's inevitable, really), I'd rather not have any before we even get off the ground. *sigh*
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