I don't like Dawkin's big red A is for Atheist thing. It just bugs me. When I see it, I don't think, ah, here is a fellow freethinker. I think, here is an angry git. I'm not sure why this should be. When I see someone wearing conspicuous religious clothing or jewelery, I don't think that. Is there any good reason for this habitual tolerance of mine? I can't really see any reason why the one is worse, or better, than the other. I guess it may be that traditions get a pass, because people follow them for all sorts of reasons. About the only reason to wear a big red A is a kind of smug, hateful, alienated surlyness.

Speaking of which, is there anything society can do about fake baptist websites? I don't think there is, but it bugs me. They're textbook bigotry with a protective ironic coating, and do real harm to the gormless who don't get the joke. The world is bad enough without trying to fool people into thinking it's even worse.

I seem to be grouchy. And I may need to try to get a grip on why I think Hitchenesque thundering about the harm religion does seems okay to me in moderation, but the notion of godless pride parades just bothers me. I can see that maybe they do some good. I'm not the audience. Rather, they're aimed at people who don't realize we walk among them. I'm just not pleased by my self-nominated representatives, I guess. _
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