Why I Come To Atheist Conventions

This was my second American Atheists Convention^[1][2].  My first was last year right after the Reason Rally^[3], which was also my first atheist convention in general).  I've been to two more since, last year's Midwest Freethought Conference^[4] (now called Apostacon^[5][6][7]) and Skepticon 5^[8][9].  I've enjoyed the conference so far, but I don't come to these things for the speakers.  Even with my social anxiety and lack of people skills, my reason for coming to these things is to meet other atheists.

It's not that I have a problem with having speakers at these things.  I enjoyed seeing some of them.  David Silverman^[10][11][12], Greta Christina^[13][14], JT Eberhard^[15][16], Matt Dillahunty^[17][18], and Katherine Stewart^[19][20] all gave good talks that I'm glad I didn't miss.  Jay Jay French^[21][22] , Pete Stark^[23], and Keith Lowell Jensen^[24][25][26] were highlights as well.  But, at these things, I'm usually not interested in more than half the speakers.  Even with some of the people who I really like (Christina Rad^[27][28][29], Hector Avalos^[30], Hemant Mehta^[31][32]), I'm not that interested in their talks.  Then there's the ones I wanted to see but missed due to a mix of time and exhaustion (Edwina Rogers^[33], Richard Carrier^[34], Dale McGowan^[35][36], Jerry DeWitt^[37][38], Cara Santa Maria,^[39][40] Seth Andrews^[41][42], Ophelia Benson^[43][44], Edwin Kagin^[45], Teresa MacBain^[46][47], and the Panels on Women in Atheism and Atheism vs Humanism).

Despite that impressive list of speakers, I do have some issues with the focus on them.  I've noticed, what seems to me at least, too much focus on the stage.  I'm guilty of it myself.  At the Reason Rally, I was so focused on the stage that I forgot to go see the protesters, something I had really looked forward to doing that day.  By focusing on the stage so much, I completely missed out on meeting some of the more than 20,000 other atheists there.  It was caused by a mix of excitement about the event and the weather, but it still happened.

Coming to these things is definitely worth it.  I just need to not forget that the real magic of it isn't on the schedule or on the stage.  It's in the hotel lobbies and at the bars.  It's when organizers for local groups meet and share ideas.

The speakers can sometimes have some interesting things to say or get people motivated to action, but they can also often be merely preaching to the choir and unnecessary.  I would love to see speaker lists that are less packed, with more room for actually socializing with the other atheists.  But without that, I'll keep on ignoring half the lineup on stage and mingling as best as this awkward geek with social anxiety is capable.

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1.  http://atheists.org/convention2013
2.  #AACon13
3.  http://reasonrally.org/
4.  http://youtu.be/8NCaRpkcGKk
5.  http://www.apostacon.org/
6.  @Apostacon
7.  http://www.facebook.com/Apostacon
8.  http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDyZC8lflYBvkxmJGFeAihtz-OoDqVMy7
9.  @RealSkepticon
10.  http://www.atheists.org/
11.  http://youtu.be/2BCipg71LbI
12.  @MrAtheistPants
13.  http://freethoughtblogs.com/greta/
14.  @GretaChristina
15.  http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wwjtd/
16.  @jteberhard
17.  http://www.atheist-experience.com/people/matt_dillahunty/
18.  @Matt_Dillahunty
19.  http://www.thegoodnewsclub.com/about
20.  @kathsstewart
21.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Jay_French
22.  @jayjayfrench
23.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Stark
24.  http://www.youtube.com/user/klfly/videos?view=0&flow=grid
25.  @keithlowell
26.  http://www.facebook.com/kljfans
27.  http://www.youtube.com/user/ZOMGitsCriss
28.  http://freethoughtblogs.com/cristinarad/
29.  @ZOMGitsCriss
30.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hector_Avalos
31.  http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/
32.  @hemantmehta
33.  http://secular.org/node/637
34.  http://freethoughtblogs.com/carrier
35.  http://www.parentingbeyondbelief.com/
36.  @MemingOfLife
37.  http://youtu.be/BqaN0gZtQ-A
38.  @jerry_dewitt
39.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/cara-santa-maria
40.  @CaraSantaMaria
41.  http://www.thethinkingatheist.com/
42.  @ThinkingAtheist
43.  http://freethoughtblogs.com/butterfliesandwheels
44.  @OpheliaBenson
45.  http://freethoughtblogs.com/kagin
46.  http://www.npr.org/2012/04/30/151681248/from-minister-to-atheist-a-story-of-losing-faith
47.  @Teresamacbain

Twelve Apostates - Tim Minchin

People who know me know I appreciate sarcasm.  I probably couldn't get through my day without it.  So, of course, I appreciate Tim Minchin.

Sound check before the Reason Rally

I was aware of Tim Minchin before the Reason Rally and already a huge fan of The Pope Song^[1] because it illustrates precisely how I feel about the Pope and the Vatican.

That song hits a complicated issue right in the face with how simple it is.  If you protect pedophiles, you're culpable in their crimes.  In other words, fuck the Pope.  I've encountered Catholics who see that song and only respond with complaints about the language, completely missing the point and further highlighting why the message of the song is spot on.

Before the Reason Rally, I hadn't yet heard his song "Thank You God"^[2], but it resonated with me like nothing had since I first encountered George Carlin's take on religion.  That moment was the closest I've ever come to knowing what religious people feel when they think they're feeling the Holy Spirit.  The song mocks the notion that prayer works, while highlighting some of the errors people make in thinking it does.

He's also used comedy to give the Bible itself some due criticism.

This song shows quite well how Christian Bible is a terrible book that should absolutely not be upheld as a source of morality.

New age woo woo, as James Randi puts it, has not escaped either.

I'm sure we've all met someone like Storm and wanted to rant at them like that.  Silly beliefs aren't restricted to religious beliefs and should not be immune to criticism.  Also similar to Randi, he's offered a reward for anyone who can prove claims such as Storm's.

On top of that, he's handled, better than most, one of the most talked about topics in the debate between religion and atheism.  Evolution.

And after all that entirely appropriate criticism of religion, he managed to create a beautiful song about celebrating Christmas.

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1.  It was rainy that day, and this picture is of the sign language interpreter, who spent much of that day in the rain signing diligently, during the Pope Song.

2.  This is probably because my exposure to Minchin had been primarily on YouTube and it's not up there.  Although, a decent cover has posted since.  It's still the only version of the song on YouTube, while I've seen some others get posted and later removed.

Twelve Apostates - Omaha Atheists (And Other Local Groups)

I never actively sought out an atheist group to join.  When I joined the Omaha Atheists Facebook group, it was one of many atheist pages/groups I had liked/joined that day.  I didn't put enough thought into it to even realize it was a group who met in person.  I just joined the Facebook group & forgot about it.

A little bit later, I got an invite to the Facebook event for their New Member Meetup.  I was free then & curious, so i decided to check it out.  My first regular event was the May 21 (End of the World) picnic.  I was welcomed as part of the group immediately.  And it wasn't in that creepy cultish, "We're going to pretend to be nice until we dull your senses to the brainwashing that's coming" kind of way I get when I visit some churches.

It was a sincere welcoming that has persisted since.  It's done so because it's a community.  Several of my favorite people in the world are in that group, and I haven't even known them that long.  And many of them are people I could have already known but did not.  Many are gamers, like me.  So, we now have a monthly Game Night, and many of us meet more often to play the games we enjoy together.  Some worked at the same company as me, for as long as I have.

They're not just random people who happen to be in the same group as me.  They're my closest friends.  They're like family.  Many of them helped me move, without me even having to ask.  I've done the same for many of them.  It's a support structure, for both problems relating to religion and otherwise, both online and in person.  We've gone on vacations together, including sending more than 20 people to the Reason Rally.  We've also gone camping together multiple times, visited Kansas City to party with some KCAC folks, and gone to Skepticon as a group.

We have so much going on, with 3 events that each recur monthly and many more things going on, that we don't often go more than a week seeing each other.  And when we do go a week without seeing someone, it is noticed and they're told they've been missed.  Even with all the events, we still see each other on a regular basis in between them.

Like I said, we're a community.  It's a community I've not even been a part of 2 years yet, but it's certainly one I wouldn't want to go without.

As much as I care for Omaha Atheists, and the people of it, I don't think they're entirely unique.  I also think it's a good thing that we're not unique.  Hundreds of local atheist groups exist around the country and the world.  I've seen similar community from the other local groups I've interacted with so far.  

We're at a point where even just simply participating in an atheist group is itself activism.  It does a lot to normalize atheism.  I don't mean the groups make being atheist normal, as I already think it's normal.  But it's, sadly, not viewed that way by many people.  These groups provide the perfect evidence to show people they're wrong about us.  We're just like them, except for that one thing, and they already like us.  One excellent example of what I mean by this was given by JT Eberhard in his submission to the We Are Atheism project.

If you haven't found a group, I hope you will give it a try.  They can be found in a variety of ways.

• See if your area has a Coalition of Reason, by visiting their website and using the tool they have right on the front page.  If your area has one, it will give you a list of the atheist groups in your area.
• Meetup.com - Log in and search for groups in your area.  Searching for atheist usually does the trick, but some places do use other terms for their names such as "freethinkers", "secularists", "rationalists", "skeptics", "humanists".
• Use the same search options I gave for Meetup in a Google search.

If you find your town doesn't have one, please start one.  It's incredibly easy to do, and your town (depending on its size) probably has more atheists other than just you.  Even though it often feels like you're the only one.  The Atheist Community of Austin was started with an ad in the newspaper.  But at the time, they didn't have such effective resources available via the Internet.  Start Meetup and/or Facebook group, and grow from there.

It will be worth it, I promise.

Twelve Apostates - JT Eberhard

JT Eberhard, author of the popular blog WWJTD, is a fast rising star within the atheist community.  He knows it but doesn't behave like it, and I do not think he ever will.  It's just not something that seems within his personality. 

JT co-founded Skepticon, the largest free atheist convention in America.  Of the few I've been to, it's my favorite, with the exception of the Reason Rally of course.  Their speakers have included Richard Carrier & PZ Myers (who have both been at all 5), Dan Barker, Matt Dillahunty, Hemant Mehta, Brother Sam Singleton, and more.

He also spent some time with the Secular Student Alliance, helping kids in high school start SSA chapters at their schools.

At Lobby Day, the day before the Reason Rally, there was some buzz about the fact that he was there participating.  Although, that was mostly centered around comments about him and his girlfriend being excessively cute together.  If you've seen them together, you know what I mean.  Especially if you saw his talk at Skepticon 5.

As good as that talk was, his workshop on activism, earlier the same day, was better.  It was informative and fun, which fits his main point about how to do activism effectively.  Make it fun.  This attracts both attention to the cause and people to participate.  I previously said the debater I most wanted to emulate was Christopher Hitchens, but the activist I would choose to emulate is JT.  I'm hoping to get him to Omaha to do that workshop for the people here, who I already know are interested in activism.

I doubt JT would like being put on a list like this one, but having met him a few times, and being aware of what he's done for the movement, I wasn't left with any other choice.  He's done amazing things for the movement and will likely do even more.

It's those things done that has him on this list.  He's not content just to write a popular blog, which he does well.  He's not content just to debate Christians, which he does well.  As he once put it (in a post I was hoping to link to but could not find), he's out there doing shit.  We should all be so motivated.  After all, we know he's doing shit for a very worthy cause.

Find JT on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+