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Permalink Reply by Ralph Dumain on August 17, 2009 at 1:33pm

There are a few black women emerging, such as Siviku Hutchinson who gained some publicity recently. Never heard of Wattleton. Ali is Somali, which is a different kettle of fish from being an American. But more importantly, she is now in the camp of the American right wing--the American Enterprise Institute--which makes her even more despicable than Sam Harris or Christopher Hitchens.

Permalink Reply by Kenneth W Stephens on August 17, 2009 at 4:40pm

I can understand your objection to Hitchen's support for the imperialist Iraq war, but I'm not so clear on your sentiments concerning Sam Harris, unless it involves his objection to the word "atheist" or his subtle inclination towards transcendentalism. It appears the neocons "picked up" Ali for their cause likely because no one else would at the time. Too many liberals stupidly consider Islam a "religion of peace"; she knows all too well that it isn't. Faye Wattleton was one of the founding chairwomen of Planned Parenthood. Until she "comes out" I suppose that leaves us with Dr. Mary Berry (close your eyes and think of Faye). The neocons exploited Ali's vicimhood at the time she was a refugee. African American Secularists should have reached out to her in the early days of her career.

Permalink Reply by Ralph Dumain on August 17, 2009 at 5:26pm

I've made a lot of enemies for my disdain for some of the "new atheists". I think Harris is far more reactionary than Hitchens. Harris calls himself a liberal--meaning what?--but he panders to the far right in interviews, op ed pieces, etc. Hitchens knows history, though he turned his back on what he know when he lost his mind on 9-11-01. But Sam Harris is a political and historical ignoramus, and like so many other liberal cowards takes refuge in the right when he feels threatened. I need to find the video link to his appearance on Mothertucker Carlson's program. I've discussed Harris on my own blog and on this site, but for the moment this is the only link I can find:

http://www.atheistnexus.org/profiles/blog/show?id=2182797%3ABlogPos...

Permalink Reply by Kenneth W Stephens on August 18, 2009 at 1:10pm

I agree that Hitchen's about-face on Iraq is contemptuous. He still seems to be "spot-on" about most of everything else. Harris, as you know is a neuro-scientist, some of his assessments about belief might be Freudian based; not that it matters much. That would leave us with Dawkins and Dennett. Perhaps PZ Meyers and Neil Degrasse-Tyson can be offered as 3rd and 4th chair alternates. Ironically, the neocons who boost Ayaan Ali are mostly Ayn Rand objectivists, in other words..., classist right-wing atheists who don't think the rest of us are smart enough to figure out what they are.

Permalink Reply by Ralph Dumain on August 17, 2009 at 5:52pm

I could only get through the first minute of this. Is there anyone who wears a bow tie who isn't an asshole?

Permalink Reply by M Jones on August 19, 2009 at 5:38pm

Funny that no matter what baloney is being served, the cadence is so very similar. Apparently, according to this fellow, you ain't gotta be no scholar to understand!

Poor kid. Islam is the black man's religion. Submission to the Will of god. And this is a good thing. You know if he tightened the bow tie a smidgen, his voice would get all squealy and this might be entertainin'! Otherwise, sad sad sad.

Permalink Reply by Ralph Dumain on August 18, 2009 at 9:51am

Good point. But the same survival orientation entails the suppression of critical thought. This self-suppression serves the will to survive under unfavorable conditions, since self-sacrifice is constantly required: you don't follow your feelings or inclination to autonomy; you do what you have to do no matter what. Think how painful it would be to maintain constant awareness of one's unfreedom; instead, one must absorb oneself in what has to be done. And so unfreedom is perpetuated down through the generations.

Permalink Reply by Kenneth W Stephens on August 18, 2009 at 12:21pm

But haven't we experienced the dawning of a new day where such suppresion of critical thought is deemed obsolete..., can someone say Michelle Obama?

Permalink Reply by Ralph Dumain on August 18, 2009 at 12:22pm

No, we haven't. And I'm thinking of the average working woman.

Permalink Reply by Ralph Dumain on August 18, 2009 at 5:17pm

I'm thinking of the average working black woman in the USA. While there have been obvious changes, some things have not changed. We are talking about the persistence of unfree minds, are we not?

Permalink Reply by Kenneth W Stephens on August 18, 2009 at 12:16pm

Women are pragmatic, but so are men. Harriet Tubman would classify more closely as the pragmatist, Sojourner Truth for all her prosaic beauty, leans closer to what we would categorialize as a religious fanatic. There's Ida Wells-Barnett, Ella Baker, Zora Huston, Claudia Williams, Charlene Mitchell, Mary-Alice Waters, Faye Wattleton, Angela Davis, Mary Berry, little Jeanstake (hopefully, the future) on youtube, and thousands more unknowns. My father is more of a pragmatist, my mother, "her-god-love-her" is unfortunately more of a religious fanatic. Yes, brother namesake, I'm afraid that was a broad generalization, but I won't hold it against you. Can someone say Michelle Obama?

Permalink Reply by Kenneth W Stephens on August 18, 2009 at 9:02pm

A Christian? How disconcerting. It seems that last year secularists were saying she was something of Humanist and right-wingers were calling her an atheist. How can one really tell? She's been very quiet since the inauguration. Right-wingers were calling her an atheist for some reason based on a distortion of facts due to her years as an attorney. Many of her statements had a strong rationalist sound about them. Had you ever noticed?

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