September Updated

Good afternoon everyone!

Today:

Susan started things off today, talking about Factfulness and Active Measures. We had a great meeting today. We went around the group and asked what people wanted out of how we, as non-religious people, are seen by the outside world. While there were a lot of different responses, common themes were basically that a person can be "good without god," that we're tired of being seen as amoral, that we are a community, and that we are individuals who have as many or more different interests and beliefs as the rest of the world.

I guess a good way to say it might be that we're interested in atheist personhood. While not being hyperbolic, I wish that that were more of a joke.

Coming soon:

In other news, this weekend is Pride! Come see us!

Also, the 29th will be our next Drinking Skeptically!

I hope that everyone is having a fantastic September, and I hope to see you all soon!!!

September

First of all, sorry this email is only just getting out now. I was waiting on some things and trying to rush others. Anyway, it may not have been to late to order FAACT shirts for Pride, but I'm pretty certain that it is now. At any rate, here is a picture of the specific shirt (it's not date specific and it's a nice design - but, vista print is making me enter a name and password to get the order... so, you must need an account) as well as a link to the FAACT store.

Also, here's the email!

September 2nd

So this past weekend, we had another discussion similar to our reoccurring theme of "how do you interface"? This time, we talked about whether or not it's wise to be a part of a group whose main goal(s) you support but, perhaps, take issue with some of the things that are being said/done? Or, perhaps, put better in the words of Dumbledore about Neville Longbottom.

This was, in my opinion, an interesting and not entirely comfortable conversation - which is not a bad thing. A lot of us attend FAACT meetups because of the oft mentioned "definition of that which we Are Not" and this turned into a discussion of how to handle disagreements on how to interface with those who Are... so to speak. A few people had anecdotes to share with regard to the splintering of good causes because of carelessness or promoting one less popular issue over a more popular issue. Ann talked about criticisms of her own dealings with those who are *ahem* politcally different; Penny talked about the Women's March; I talked about the Teacher's March; Josh talked about his son's experience at Black Lives Matter rally, and while the agreement was that these things were all tools being used to achieve a bigger, broader good, there were elements of disagreement and discord in how and in what way to proceed.

Josh brought up the term "thin commonalities" from Walzer's Thick and Thin, basically that in order to achieve a goal, it's important to focus on the commonalities that we have with those with whom we are working. Someone (forgive me, but I forget who) brought up Maslow's Heirarchy of needs and how it's important to prioritize when it comes to a struggle like this. To wit, I am not going to worry about being a tad hungry if I am engulfed in flames. 

Uzma pointed out that many on the right wing are single issue voters who are mostly after things like making abortion illegal. It isn't hard to find a commonality with people who are pro choice when really, very few people would classify themselves as "pro abortion."

Forgive me, but this isn't summary. Instead, this is more of an evaluation of the information gleaned from my notes as a whole. It would appear to me that when an issue comes up as big as the denial of basic human rights, whether they are being denied because of gender, race, or socioeconomic status, naturally, people of every stripe and belief structure are going to come to bat for it. It's not the differences that are drawing those people together. It's the commonality of their belief in those rights. That having been said, you may find yourself, some day very soon, walking with a group of people who believe that you're going to hell for your lifestyle but who are also trying to help along an issue about which you feel very strongly. It's not only possible; I would say that the more active you are in terms of issues, the likelier it is that that exact scenario will play out. Even within FAACT, a lot of things unite us, but every single person is an individual.

In closing, I love you all for who you are - even if I haven't seen you in a while, even if there are things on which we might not agree. This is a fantastic group, and I hope that it continues that way.

September 9th

Open topic! Email me soon!

September 15th

LGBT Pride - we will have a table at pride... with a banner and pamphlets and a canopy and everything... so I'm informed. I will be there periodically to relieve others, but a number of volunteers have already stepped up. RSVP and come!

September 29th

There is a 5k race that I am planning to run to raise money for burn victims and for counselors for said burn victims. The race is commemorating Will Caviness, a Greensboro firefighter, who died running in the Chicago marathon to raise money for the same group. There will be a block party afterwards. If you're interested in running and/or donating, here's a link.