Could next year's Reason Rally look like this? Hell yeah!
Hate to be dragging this out over days, but some video links have been hard to come by. P.Z. Myers helpfully provided a link to video of his talk at the Reason Rally this morning. Until now, these videos had been scarcer than hen's teeth. There is going to be an official spiffy Rally video released later, so I can sort of see why it has been so difficult.
But here's the thing: the excitement is out there right now. We need to use that energy to spread the encouraging message that was sent to closeted atheists everywhere on Saturday now. The official video will be great, I am sure, and I will certainly be buying a copy of it (or downloading if it is freely accessible - which I hope it will be (are you listening Reason Rally organizers?).
First up, P.Z. Myers, the tentacled overlord of Pharyngula fame (blog link on the right).
Julian Baggini published an atheist "manifesto" in the Guardian (U.K.) which I have not yet read in full, but which looks meaty and interesting. There is a 'Series: Heathens Progress' above the author's byline and under the Guardian banner which gave me a momentary thrill. Could heathenish writing actually have scored series status in the U.K. media? Excellent, if true!
Canada's National Post has published a story about Richard Dawkins' talk at the Reason Rally.
The Friendly Atheist made a herculean effort and posted a Rally recap with his impressions, photos and videos.
USA Today published a hatchet job using every atheist trope the hopelessly bigoted Religion writer could cram into the piece. I only include such verbal excrement in the interest of fair and balanced reporting. :-/
Video of Tim Minchin has been really hard to find online, but Kylee Sturgess (Token Skeptic) managed to find this one from UStream (David Singer). The first 58 seconds are broken (perhaps Penn Jillette broke it, heh) but then it works and Tim Minchin's bit comes right after:
These screeds don't just clutter up your INBOX. They don't just stink up mine. They infest email inboxes all over the country - all over the world - and they spread dirty lies. They are sent via email "trees" to thousands of people who receive them frompeople they trust. Some of the recipients may just delete these emails without opening them, but many others' attention is snagged by the catchy subject lines, so they open the emails and read the poisonous contents. All too usually, the recipients suspend their disbelief. They suspend all critical thinking skills. They accept these vile messages as gospel truth because it comes to them from a friend or relative. None of us wants to believe that a trusted source like a friend or relative would send us frightening or disgusting lies, and most of us still hold fast to the "where there is smoke, there is fire" folk wisdom. These groups depend on that general tendency to trust; they create the smoke using unconscious and conscious bigotry, photoshop and sheer blatant lies. Then they disseminate the disgusting product throughout the inter web via unsuspecting networks of friends, coworkers and families.
Most progressives simply delete these awful emails and try not to think of them when we see the friends or relatives who sent or forwarded them to us. But is there something more we could or should be doing? I am inclined to think that yes, we could and, more importantly, we should do something more about this. These emails are not benign. They are not in the same league as the "Let's celebrate girlfriends!" chain mail, but I think the strategy is to have them fly under the radar pretending to be just as harmless and/or benignly "informative" as those.
What?!
No. These emails are like the spreading of a cancer. Email tree chains quickly spread to thousands and then millions of people. This is a propaganda tool which we have ignored at our peril. Most of the time, we ignore it because we do not want uncomfortable confrontations with friends or relatives. But here's the thing: the groups spreading this vicious garbage are counting on that.
I think there is at least one way that we can fight back. One way to counteract this sort of vicious campaign of lies which most progressives can get behind. Fight the lies with - it's so obvious - the truth! Of course, if it were that simple, the truth would have worked all along. Unfortunately, people who are caught up in this sort of chain mailing propaganda - mail coming from trusted friends and relatives remember - are often caught with their guards down, therefore prime targets for lies and smear tactics.
During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.George Orwell
Getting people to accept the truth - when it contradicts what trusted friends and relatives are telling them - is a challenge, but it can be done.
Photo may cause apoplexy
Here is advice I've adapted from the excellent methods shared by Aratina Cage, a blogger and frequent commenter on Pharyngula. I think it is brilliant.
-Create an anonymous email account (a nice touch - and truthful! - might be to give your new email account a patriotic-sounding moniker. Something like trueblueamerican@?mail.com). You will have to give the email server your info, but the recipients of the mass emails will just see the patriotic sender's address. Maintain your usual email for your regular email.
-Generate a new mass emailing to all recipients of the original obnoxious "patriotic" hate email. Include yourself and the sender of the original email.
-Copy and paste the Time cover photo of Obama and Reagan (pictured left).
-Beneath the picture, remind the recipients that President Obama is the current head of state, and you just know that they are all very interested in his accomplishments.
-Helpfully provide links to political tracking sites such as PolitiFact. The Obameter there keeps track of the President's accomplishments and his fulfillment of campaign promises. It also keeps track of where he has failed to deliver.
-Encourage the recipients to keep tabs on the President's daily activities via the White House Blog. There, they will be kept informed of news, videos and ideas directly from the administration.
-Last, provide a link to Snopes where you can urge the recipients to fact-check chain emails to be sure that they are always armed with the truth and can never be fooled by fiction presented as fact.
-Keep everything in a file labeled "nuisance emails" and repeat every time you receive a propaganda email.
Aratina Cage has come up with a great idea and I plan to start using it immediately. In fact, I now find that I welcome these types of emailings! With this method, freethinkers and progressives can refute the destructive, fear-mongering false claims of the anti-Obama reactionaries using their own methods. And for those of us who shy away from confrontation with relatives and friends, it is all anonymous.
These mass emailings spread lies and frighteningly damaging propaganda. It's time to fight fire with water. Or, more appropriately perhaps, we ought to fight filthy garbage with powerful cleansers!
(Courtesy of chigau, Pharyngula commenter) Check out the name on the plumbing truck the white knight is charging towards. Classic:
This deserves its own post. Check out the link here to this morning's program on MSNBC, UP with Chris Hayes. The segment is entitled Atheism, and may have been inspired by the Reason Rally yesterday in Washington DC.
Chris Hayes' guests included Richard Dawkins, Jamila Bey, Stephen Pinker and others, including a Christian pastor, Mike Aus, who came out as an atheist.
This is television that matters. Kudos to Hayes.
The link goes to a page with lots of links and video with the entire program broken up into manageable segments. There are also links to related interviews and stories. I haven't finished it myself yet (parenting duties, don'tcha know), but I look forward to finishing tonight. I did not want to wait until then to post this, though.
Greta Christina's exhilarated and uplifting post on the Reason Rally here. "If you came to the Reason Rally, and you do just one thing for atheism that you haven’t done before? If you tell one person that you’re an atheist? If you start wearing atheist T-shirts? If you start crossing “In God We Trust” off your money? If you start hanging out with your local atheist group? If you organize one event with the local atheist group you already hang out with? If you donate money to one atheist organization? If you run for public office as an out atheist? If you start re-tweeting things about atheism?
If you do just one thing for atheism that you haven’t done before… this movement will be radically changed."
(Update: Reason Rally coverage! Here and here and here and here and here! Go read and celebrate!)
I cannot believe this. I have been searching all over the internet - on every news service I can think of, as well as google and similar - and I cannot find a single current news story or article about the Reason Rally.
Right now on CNN - on the NewsRoom, no less - two anchors are discussing bagels. Bagels! This right after a gripping story about "the Tupperware lady - a stay at home mom who has tips..." .
Nothing to see here (file photo)
WTF? WTF?! Does CNN actually consider bagels and Tupperware - along with recycled stories from the previous week - more newsworthy than the fact that thousands of marginalized citizens have gathered on the National Mall, rallying from all over the country to send the message that we are here?
The lineup of speakers is impressive by any measure. Even gutless CNN has featured many of them at various times - Richard Dawkins, P. Z. Myers, Bill Maher, Tim Minchin, Eddie Izzard, James Randi, Dan Barker and many others. Were these people lined up to speak at some other sort of event, it would certainly be newsworthy. But, they are speaking at an explicitly atheist/humanist rally before thousands of people: and the media reaction? Crickets.
Back to CNN. Now, a brief blurb on the anti-Affordable Healthcare act protest in Washington today.
Finally! Coverage of events in Washington DC today!
But wait!
Unbelievable. Still not a word breathed about the much larger Reason Rally.
Let's review: Not a word all day about the Reason Rally - a large gathering in Washington DC on the national Mall, featuring dozens of prominent speakers and performers and attended by thousands of freethinkers, atheists and humanists from all over the country. Contrast this with the repeated coverage of the pro-religion rally against the president's Affordable Care Act, giving airtime and publicity to the position of those opposed to Healthcare reform.
Fair, balanced, honest journalism? I think not.
Is it really much of a stretch to say that this country has lost any true fourth estate? The integrity of journalism in this country has long been in question, as blatantly propagandist "news/entertainment" organizations (e.g. Fox) have sprung up all over the cable channels. Still, a few networks still claim to be actual places of real journalism. CNN, the major networks (CBS, ABC, NBC) and PBS still claim to stick to actual objective journalism.
Let's examine two similar events and the media response to them. Last year, when the famously fractious and divisive Glenn Beck held his religious rally in Washington, there was blanket coverage across all major media outlets. Today, when a similar-sized crowd of people converges on the capital to speak for the marginalized, the oppressed and the threatened in our society - absolute, total silence. Worse than silence: they air filler stories about "Twilight", "Tupperware" and "Bagels" as if there is simply nothing newsworthy going on today.
The loss of reason and common sense in the public sphere is something that has concerned freethinkers for a long time. Only recently have people begun to notice and worry about the loss of the fourth estate. A free press is one of the cornerstones of any free democratic republic. It helps to check the abuse of power by the government, by the wealthy and by the well-connected. When the media itself is owned by or kowtowing to a few powerful groups, the society has lost an important voice for justice and security.
I'm disappointed to report that there has been very little in front page print media or online from major news sources about the Reason Rally so far. I hope that this situation improves through the day.
There is one interesting thing to link to, however. This "belief blog" post on CNN's back pages talks about the Reason Rally as a moment for atheists in this country to come out - there is a video featuring Richard Dawkins, too. And this one, posted yesterday, features Dave Silverman of American Atheists (one of the main organizers of the Rally).
The most interesting part is that there are well over 2000 comments below these two blog posts lost in the obscurity of CNN's back pages. CNN blogs rarely garner huge numbers of comments, especially this quickly. (Compare the comment number for these two entries with comments for the posts immediately preceding and following them). As usual, just the very idea of atheism sparks irrational outrage and backlash from theists. Most of the usual angry atheist/immoral godless tropes are dutifully trotted out in these comments.
Don't read them unless you want your day ruined!
Updated to Add: Mano Singham from FTB linked these three stories earlier this week.
And this amusing example of "up is down, good is bad" rationalization from FauxNews:
Why the Reason Rally is unreasonable In there, you will find the usual accusations that atheists are arrogant and self-important, coming from those who believe that they know everything that needs to be known in the universe and that the earth, all of its living forms and the entire universe exists solely for their benefit. Classic.
I am of the opinion that articles like this from the "folks" at Faux is confirmation that they are aware that their ability to keep people in fear and ignorance is waning at long last. Reasonable people are standing up and that is making the right wing extremists - including their political arm, the Republican party and their chief propaganda arm, Fox media - very nervous.
Today is the day! Atheists, freethinkers and people who value truth and science will be pouring into Washington DC and filling the national Mall with the sounds of great music, inspiring speakers and intelligent conversation. The Reason Rally has arrived!
I will be watching the various news outlets for coverage of this important event. Other, patently stupid events received huge media coverage, so I expect at least as much media attention for the Reason Rally.
Whatever happens, though, it is sure to be an exciting day for the participants (estimated crowds could be as large as 30,000-50,000 people!) and an eye-opener for those closeted atheists in the rest of the country who still think they are alone.
