Who on the Pit DOESN'T agree with the "principles he advances" when not taken to Carrier's insane extremes?Steersman wrote: Generally agree. I can well see that his self-righteousness and hypocrisy has pissed off a lot of people - his AtheismPlus post for example. Although, for instance, I think that some people - Shermertron for example - have their thumbs on the scales when analyzing that post. While I certainly think that Carrier is egregiously dogmatic in drawing the lines between them and us, and seems not to have any appreciation or understanding of any shades between white and black, I also think he has some justification for criticizing those who nominally qualify as atheists. Seems more appropriate to acknowledge that than to suggest that all those who are not prepared to fly the AtheismPlus flag are beyond reproach.
However, while I can sympathize with indulging in a bit of schadenfreude over his supposed "death" by the sword he fashioned - karma in action - I think it unwise to conflate his dogmatism and moralizing with the principles he advances that might have some credibility. Kind of a case of not judging the book by the cover, even if there's some limited value inside it.
McCreight said:
How many "active" atheists oppose the normal definition of gender equality? How many are in favor of racism? How many were really anti gay or anti trans? Randi was/is the long-time hero of the movement and he's gay. No one cared when he came out other than sending him messages of support.Atheists plus we care about social justice,
Atheists plus we support women’s rights,
Atheists plus we protest racism,
Atheists plus we fight homophobia and transphobia,
Atheists plus we use critical thinking and skepticism.
Carrier is considered a clown because he took these to insane and dogmatic extremes.
I'd be really interested in seeing some examples of Slymepit-type Carrier critics taking the piss out of Carrier for his "anti-racism" or his "pro-gay" stances. All I've seen are some Christian apologists alleging that his "polyamory" is a sin, etc. Most Pitters seem pro-poly...so long as everyone involved is on the same page. We were ALREADY anti-racism. We were already in favor of gender equality. Carrier did the A+ crap because he (like others) wanted to rebrand atheism in a way that makes him the center (and brings him money).