Sexism and Atheism, the Rebecca Watson and PZ Myers conundrum

Now, before I get into this, I am not one for drama.  I generally let the YouTube and blogosphere communities fight it out when stuff like this comes up, but there are many reasons why I think that what is going on right now is worth talking about.

I had done a very emotional response to Rebecca Watson’s video about the guy who hit on her on an elevator at a bar.  I get annoyed when I see somebody being lambasted publicly for no good reason.  The problem is that after people like me and The Amazing Atheist went after this video, she got a lot of responses.  Admittedly, there were horribly unpleasant responses.  But unfortunately, Ms. Watson took them to heart.  Now, she believes that there is a huge problem about this because of all the hateful comments she got.

From this, she chose to make a giant mountain about this issue.  And she got a lot of backing about it, too.  PZ Myers, one of the biggest atheist bloggers on the internet has taken her side.  Now, some time later, there is a movement to stop sexual harassment at conferences.  The size of this issue is completely non-existent.  I have been to a few conferences in my time, and you wanna know how much sexual harassment I’ve seen?  None.  Like Thunderf00t, I’ve seen a lot of sexual harassment in bars after conferences, but sexual harassment happens all the time at bars.  If one measures how much misogyny there is at somewhere based on what they see in a bar, it is only natural that your opinion is going to be completely one-sided.

Watson was a speaker at a conference where she said that she has gotten “hundreds of comments” that atheists, she singles out atheists, wanted to rape her or hoped that she got raped.  She made these comments, and apparently takes them seriously.  Ms. Watson, you were commented at by internet trolls. Trolls who just wanted to push your buttons.  They are everywhere.  I have had this blog for some time, and I have gotten death threats from internet trolls.  You know how much I take them seriously?  Not at all.  Know why?  Because it is the internet.  Under the user named “Anonymous” or “Texan,” a person can say whatever they want, trying to get a rise out of me or scare me.  But I am internet-savvy and I realize that they are just trolls, nothing more.  If I actually had a threat that I believed was genuine, I would take it to the authorities, and it would end there.

However, you decided that you would take it a step further.  The new issue is to stop sexual harassment at conferences.  Like this is such a major problem that we, the atheist community, need to devote our time and resources to.

Now before the Watson-ites come on here and attack me as some kind of misogynist, I don’t hate women.  I generally prefer the company of women to men, because women generally have more interesting things to say.  The ones I meet, and chat with, anyway.

But really, where do you think that this issue falls in what the atheist community has in front of it?  Religion has a strangle-hold on America’s politics.  God is everywhere in a country that was founded on secular ideas, holding that one can have their religion, but it stays out of public affairs.  Religious intolerance is keeping our sex education system in the gutter in large parts of this country.  There are so many really big issues to face, and what does Ms. Watson want us to do?  Look at something that as far as I have seen, and as far as I have heard from everybody I know who is also a part of this community, not an issue.

Thunderf00t, the YouTube vlogger, made a video about a post he did about this topic.  I found it insightful, thoughtful, and generally approaching things from a very rational point of view.  Sadly, one of Ms. Watson’s supporters, popular atheist blogger PZ Myers, disagreed.  His response to him was laced with strawman arguments, along with outright statements that were false, if he had actually closely read Thunderf00t’s post.

But, as with Richard Dawkins’ comment to Rebecca Watson about the elevator incident, the battle lines are once again drawn.  The atheist online community is picking sides and fighting it out in a war of words.  And while we are doing that, our enemies are winning.

Here’s a reality – the atheist community is an overwhelming minority in this country.  I know that a lot of people say that there are more of us than it appears, and I agree, but the fact is that in a nation as religious as America, we are the minority.  When a house this small is divided among itself over completely small issues which could be remedied, as Thunderf00t pointed out, with the words “management reserves the right to refuse admission” on a pamphlet, there is something wrong.  Christian ideology is a fundamental element at play in this year’s election cycle, did you know that?  Very soon, it is really likely that the religious right of this country could take it over.  So while you are fighting with each other about harassment at conferences, and about gender roles the rest of us adults will be out fighting for something that actually matters.

This is yet another non-issue, Ms. Watson.  You and Myers have taken something that is small, and incredibly easy to deal with and inflated it with importance, just as you did with the elevator issue.  I am not writing this to insult you.  I am writing this because I hope that some part of you legitimately understands that what is happening here is pointless, and having the atheist community focus on this is a waste of time.

Of course, given your quick run to defend this position, I doubt it.  You haven’t listened to reasonable arguments before, why start now?

Women should be respected (provided that they have earned it, as with men and all people), and shouldn’t be harassed, but in the scope of issues, making a mountain out of this will absolutely do more harm than good.  Remember that.

Until next time, a quote,

“In terms of enforcement, ‘management reserves the right to refuse admission’ is perfectly fit for purpose for enforcing the policy of ‘don’t be a jerk!'”  -Thunderf00t, PZ Myers and the “embarrassingly clueless” article

Peace out,

Maverick