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Conversational Intolerance
A while back our member Trent Eady, futurist and creator of http://www.trenteady.com/ inaugurated a facebook group to promote "conversational intolerance". I visited the group today because I have recently encountered people who don't appreciate my direct style of confronting religion. They said I was "offensive". I wanted ideas to fight back with, and in focusing on Sam Harris' concept I let my mind go into free running mode. A dangerous proposition, I will admit. Anyway, I realized the concept of openly advertising you are a critical thinker has great potential as a tool in the activists arsenal. It needs a little promotion.
Where are the Cafe Press promotional articles? If this idea is going to gain ground we need coffee mugs, tee shirts, bumper stickers, decals, shirt patches --- you know all that stuff. What about a logo contest?
Think big. What about billboards. The Goodyear blimp? Come on people. Conversational intolerance has great potential to be a run-away cultural phenomenon. Think guest spots on Oprah, Letterman, maybe even Jon or Colbert. Trent is very photogenic in a strange Canadian sort of way.
Say you venture out in public wearing a tee or sweat shirt with the logo and the words "Conversational Intolerance" emblazoned on the front and back. The curious will just have to ask you what that means. Now you have an opening. You could say, offhandedly, oh, you mean the slogan? I'm a fan of Sam Harris.
Play for time. Glance away, maybe whistle softly. Let the suspense build.
Yeh, so?
Finally you answer. The slogan means I critically evaluate what people say to me. If it is obviously crappola like astrology, or psychic readings or supernatural bullshit, I just let them know what I think. It means I don't have to tolerate crap in a discussion because of some misplaced notion of politeness. If you tell me you pray and talk to god, you are going go be subjected to follow up questions. Which god? How do you talk to him/her through your hair dryer? The more sarcasm, the better.
Stunned silence ensues. Goal achieved.
Moreover, while out in public if you should see someone else wearing a tee with the slogan, you can nod and smile knowingly. It would be like a secret handshake.
I sent invitations to people in my facebook, but if I missed you for some reason or you are not in my facebook, just go here.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=11306530867
We might have contests to see what the best rejoinders are. Keep in mind our misplaced deference to religion has finally resulted in Sarah Palin as a serious contender on our national political scene.
Where are the Cafe Press promotional articles? If this idea is going to gain ground we need coffee mugs, tee shirts, bumper stickers, decals, shirt patches --- you know all that stuff. What about a logo contest?
Think big. What about billboards. The Goodyear blimp? Come on people. Conversational intolerance has great potential to be a run-away cultural phenomenon. Think guest spots on Oprah, Letterman, maybe even Jon or Colbert. Trent is very photogenic in a strange Canadian sort of way.
Say you venture out in public wearing a tee or sweat shirt with the logo and the words "Conversational Intolerance" emblazoned on the front and back. The curious will just have to ask you what that means. Now you have an opening. You could say, offhandedly, oh, you mean the slogan? I'm a fan of Sam Harris.
Play for time. Glance away, maybe whistle softly. Let the suspense build.
Yeh, so?
Finally you answer. The slogan means I critically evaluate what people say to me. If it is obviously crappola like astrology, or psychic readings or supernatural bullshit, I just let them know what I think. It means I don't have to tolerate crap in a discussion because of some misplaced notion of politeness. If you tell me you pray and talk to god, you are going go be subjected to follow up questions. Which god? How do you talk to him/her through your hair dryer? The more sarcasm, the better.
Stunned silence ensues. Goal achieved.
Moreover, while out in public if you should see someone else wearing a tee with the slogan, you can nod and smile knowingly. It would be like a secret handshake.
I sent invitations to people in my facebook, but if I missed you for some reason or you are not in my facebook, just go here.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=11306530867
We might have contests to see what the best rejoinders are. Keep in mind our misplaced deference to religion has finally resulted in Sarah Palin as a serious contender on our national political scene.
Comment
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Comment by Beyond the Flock on December 11, 2008 at 5:46pm - I wrote a quick one on this a while back; you can read it here.
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Comment by LarroFCD on October 22, 2008 at 12:19am - How about this: Support the Atheist Bus Campaign and see atheist ads on London buses
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Comment by Jaakko Wallenius on October 18, 2008 at 12:18am -
A little remark to all here: A real nuisance in this Ning-enviroment is that the weblinks are not created automatically when you write or paste on web-address, but you must really make them happen from the toolbar.
As this process is already history in many other web-enviroments, it is easily forgotten and alas! your reader needs to cut and paste the address to the addressbar to read your link and they are lazy to to that, believe me...
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Comment by James Tracy on October 12, 2008 at 9:25pm -
My promotional attempt:
http://www.anatheist.net/store/atheism/conversational-intolerance/
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