I have not been active in the atheist or secular community for years and that is in large part due to disillusionment. This was predictable, I kind of saw it coming. I entered the community as many did in 2009, when many of us Black atheists found one another. But I found myself constantly disappointed by the regressive politics and anti-blackness that I encountered. There were only so many jokes I could tolerate about Black churchgoers, only so many times I could stomach hearing Black believers called “sheeple”. Constantly I was finding that atheist activism, and Black atheist activism by extension, amounted to little more than bitching about religion and having parties. My disappointment culminated in the betrayal of some of the individuals I partnered with hoping to be the change I wanted to see. I speak of my experience with POCBF as well as a short-lived stint where I tried to co-lead an organization known as Chocolate City Skeptics. I don’t want to rehash anything specifically that happened. I already named what happened with POCBF in my previous post and I don’t wish to discuss it further.
During the time I was in the “movement”, Kimberly Veal, Jenn, myself, and a smattering of others criticized the movement for its lack of engagement with social justice. We were able to influence organizations to address and sometimes discuss social justice issues like the death of Mike Brown. And though I was and continue to be disappointed with the “movement” at-large, I am proud to have been a part of pushing these issues to the forefront.
Moving forward, I want to continue to highlight issues of social and political justice. I will continue at times to critique the atheist and secular communities where I feel that it is appropriate. With that said, I find it interesting that there has been little to no criticism over the House Resolution that passed naming anti-Zionism as antisemitic. As though such a notion does not cast anti-Zionist Jews and those protesting on behalf of a Ceasefire or on behalf of the people of Palestine as antisemitic. Where is the concern for the separation of church and state when our tax dollars are used to support the killing, bombardment, and displacement of Palestinians by a religious ethno-fascist apartheid regime? And I must write this, unfortunately, because it should go without saying that all people deserve safety, but none of this is said as a form of support for Hamas or terrorism. But as a Black American woman who has lived with a kaleidoscope of oppressions and is herself a product of people who survived enslavement, racist terroristic violence, and systemic racism, I have to name a thing a thing. No matter how one feels about what happened on October 7th, the response of the IDF has been disproportionate.
You would think that so-called humanists, interested in ethics, free speech, democracy, etc. would want to weigh in on what is happening in Israel/Palestine. Admittedly, these issues are difficult to discuss, and require effort to resist persons or agendas that seek to promote antisemitism or stoke hatred towards Palestinians, Arabs, or Muslims. There are problematic parties on either side that must be managed in order to facilitate what is sure to be a difficult discussion in good faith. Difficult discussions, however, are necessary. And it is disappointing to see that there are no discussions or attempts at educating the secular and atheist communities regarding this conflict. This is not only irresponsible, but it betrays the fact that these communities are only concerned with the narrow politics of middle-class white males and catering to the bemusement they get from shitting on religious communities of color. The bemusement they obtain from making fun of the perceived lack of intelligence of religious communities of color and pointing out the harms and oppressions they participate in. Or in the satisfaction those same white males get from expressing Islamophobia and Western chauvinism, like those who defected to the intellectual dark web. It is not a coincidence that the political/cultural backlash that we are seeing against a pluralistic democracy and progressive politics also finds itself largely aligned with a White Christian Nationalist fascism that is also invested in supporting the apartheid regime of Israel because they see it as a way to hasten the return of Christ otherwise known as the ‘Second Coming’ (see John Hagee, March for Israel Rally). The similarity of the secular Far-Right agenda and the religious Far-Right agenda, made for an easy transition from atheist activism to Christian Nationalist activism for Ayaan Hirsi Ali. One wonders who will defect to Christian Nationalism next? This is similar to the right-ward shift we saw when American Atheists, under President, Dave Silverman, began attending CPAC. They even sponsored a black speaker who engaged in historical revisionism, predating the narratives of the anti-CRT “movement” by 9 years. Why is no one else pointing out these connections?
It is disappointing that none of these atheist/secular/humanist organizations and particularly the Black and multiracial groups in the community have spent little to no time addressing the connection between the violence, over policing, and surveillance of communities of color here in the US and the occupation of Palestinian territories. Several organizations including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) have sponsored police training in Israel. And these trainings could become a part of the training offered at ‘Cop City’ in Atlanta, GA through the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE) program (Stop Cop City activists link GILEE program to Palestinian genocide (prismreports.org)). A petition to put ‘Cop City’ to a vote was turned in today, December 13, 2023, however the 116,000 signatures will need to be validated. But even if those signatures meet the threshold required, there are pending Appellate court decisions that may kill this effort. In one of these cases the city argues that the petition is void because it would illegally terminate a contract and violate state law. Additionally, 61 forest defenders/Stop ‘Cop City’ activists have been indicted on RICO charges for their efforts to thwart the construction of ‘Cop City’. These and other instances highlight how fragile American democracy is, how vulnerable people of color and ethnic minorities are, and how domestic and foreign policy influence each other- in other words how seemingly disparate issues are interconnected.
So-called humanists must care more about the world around them. They need to demonstrate that they care not only about theocratic religions but secular ones too (like nationalism). So-called humanists should be attempting to bridge understandings and foster compassion. How small-minded does one have to be to think that with all that is going on currently that all that’s left to find freedom from is religion and faith? I see many faith organizations on the front lines, and many have always been. Faithful organizers have participated in helping to expand access to family planning, to education, and social justice. Where are you? What side do you stand on? And for marginalized people in the atheist/secular/ humanist community, when will you stop fighting for, speaking for, and being tokenized for agendas and organizations that refuse to stand up for all of you, to demand justice for all of you, to promote all of who you are? It is time to let it go.
Rhoades to Reality 