Note to Atheists: Be More Funny

[BridgeTheGap]

Religious fundamentalists and modern atheists have something in common: Neither one can take a joke. Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and the other heirs to the enlightenment are not funny, Giles Fraser writes for the Philosopher’s Magazine, “And that’s as sure a sign as any that the Enlightenment is as creatively dead as the proverbial parrot.”

“Whenever laughter is absent,” Fraser writes, “the heavy drumbeat of political control is never very far behind.” Humor is the most effective way to speak truth to power (see: Steven Colbert), and without humor, political views become too serious, too certain. Laughter promotes understanding, and Fraser writes, “whereas understanding leads to peace, certainty leads to conflict and violence.”

Some people laugh at the dry humor of Christopher Hitchens, but his “vitriolic attacks upon Islam as something backward and ignorant” make Fraser anxious. Though Fraser doesn’t mention them, Hitchens’ recent attacks on women’s humor are decidedly not funny. And most of the other new atheists don’t even try to find humor in their attacks on religion and their defense of science. “Without laughter,” Fraser writes, “all this is smug and dangerous.


http://www.utne.com/Spirituality/Note-to-Atheists-Be-More-Funny-Gordon.aspx?utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email

[specialed]

1. So true. I find the hard core..

believers and non believers to espouse their opinions in the same vitriolic manner which is kind of funny in and of itself.

[Kelvin Mace]

35. I have a sense of humor

it is of the black variety.

After reading the report on child abuse in Ireland, black humor is all I have left.

[rd_kent]

66. Hey friend, there are no "non believers" just realists

and theres nothing funny about a believer trying to force their fairy tale on others.

[Silent3]

2. An atheist walks into a bar...

...and he buys himself a drink.

Damn. I guess I don't have the hang of this.

[Buzz Clik]

9. LOL!

Unfortunately, there is no bartender....

[onehandle]

3. That's for sure.

Those on the Extreme right and left of religion and/or politics have no sense of humor.

[BridgeTheGap]

4. I damn near lost mine when Bush was in office! n.t

[Silent3]

5. On a more serious note...

Nevermind... that would be missing the point.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. We miss Douglas Adams (nt)

[safeinOhio]

7. Bill Maher?

[jgraz]

67. Bill Hicks, Sam Kinison, Janeane Garofalo, Ricky Gervais, Sarah Silverman, etc..

http://www.celebatheists.com/?title=Category:Comedian

[Grey]

8. Tell that to George Carlin....

I wish he was here to answer this. Now that would be funny.

[sybylla]

15. George did have a fine way with words

and the craziness of dogma

[izquierdista]

20. Fortunately, we have YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNy6ziOyxoA

[Grey]

29. Thanks, I was just over there....

Loved that man.

[pokerfan]

70. More Carlin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PiZSFIVFiU">George Carlin on Death

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPOfurmrjxo">Carlin on Religion and God

[sakabatou]

51. Raise a toast to George

:toast:

[customerserviceguy]

10. How about Julia Sweeney?

She's a very funny atheist.

[Buzz Clik]

12. Does she do atheist-based humor? I really don't know.

She didn't used to...

[customerserviceguy]

17. Her "Letting Go of God" album is funny

check it out sometime!

[Buzz Clik]

25. I will. I find her very funny.

[Kelvin Mace]

36. Funny, and very painful

for those of us who made the journey to truth after a life of lies.

[sakabatou]

52. Checked it out and it's hillarious

[immoderate]

11. Why? Because the Pope is such a cut up?

Let's leave comedy to the comedians.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_BRZoXjOmI

--imm

[Buzz Clik]

13. I think you need to revisit the OP.

[immoderate]

22. Noted.

But I pointed to some atheist comedy, which does exist.

--imm

[Buzz Clik]

26. Indeed. I saw the entire hour of Lewis Black on the tube some time ago.

I watched it with my conservative, southern Baptist family (in-law). We all thought it was funny.

[cosmik debris]

14. It comforts some people to have these kinds of stereotypes

It allows them to avoid any real issues.

[MindPilot]

23. +1 n/t

[Buzz Clik]

27. What stereotype? The OP went after very specific people.

[cosmik debris]

30. The first sentence of the OP

"Religious fundamentalists and modern atheists have something in common: Neither one can take a joke. Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and the other heirs to the enlightenment are not funny,..." (my bold)

That sounds like a lot more than "very specific people." And I didn't even have to read past the first sentence.

[Buzz Clik]

32. I guess I emphasized Hitchens and Dawkins.

We read it according to our own perspective.

[cosmik debris]

33. You're right about my perspective

I'm currently engaged in another dispute over stereotypes in another venue.

It seems that some people believe that "Mexican" is the name for a race of brown skinned people.

I say that it is a stereotype and that there is no Mexican race. Mexico is a melting pot just like the USA.

The Mods disagree with me, so the battle goes on.

Anyway, I am rather sensitive about stereotyping today.

[Buzz Clik]

38. Somebody thinks "Mexican" is a race? Gawd.

I hope that isn't at DU.

Do these people think that Canadian is a race, too? Brazilian?

[rug]

16. How many atheists does it take to change a light bulb?

Two. One to change the bulb, and the other to videotape the job so fundamentalists won’t claim that god did it.

[Grey]

18. Thanks for the laugh..

nt

[sakabatou]

53. LMAO

[Jokerman]

19. We're very funny people.

But the instant we crack a joke that "offends" some believer we get called all sorts of nasty names.

Religion may not be the only thing we laugh about but when you're on the outside looking in, believers can look pretty damn funny.

[MindPilot]

21. Giles Fraser over at the Philosopher’s Magazine is my go-to guy for the funny

A believer philosopher telling non-believer philosophers they aren't funny is kind of like that pot and kettle thing except that there are some very funny Atheists out there. But they are generally professional humorists working in the entertainment industry. Not "philosophers".

Now, Mr. Fraser, please stop telling me how I have to change in order to be graced by your acceptance.

[dmallind]

24. OK

"Peter, Peter, take me down from here"

"Yes Lord!"

"Feet first you bastaaaaaaarrrrrd!"

[BurtWorm]

28. What a crock of shit.

:patriot:

[BurtWorm]

31. This is a red herring.

First of all, it's bullshit. Either you take the guy's word for it that there are no funny atheists (or fundamentalists), in which case, you're a sucker. Or you use the evidence of your own experience, which ought to tell you that humor is not a single, boxable quantity but based entirely on taste and varies from person to person.

Second, humor is irrelevant to whether or not someone's point is valid. You can be a laugh riot ordinarily, but people tend to be deadly serious when making a point about something they care about.

[Buzz Clik]

39. I believe that atheists have no sense of humor.

I can't prove it, but I read it and I have faith that it is true.

That should be good enough.

[BurtWorm]

42. Godless bless you for your faith.

[rrneck]

34. Every joke has a fall guy.

If the fall guy can laugh, it's humor. If the fall guy can't laugh, it's an insult.

If the fall guy takes himself way too seriously he becomes a humorless dolt, and skewering him becomes funny.

[Kelvin Mace]

37. I beg to differ

I have a sense of humor, but when faced with the insanity that is accepted as "normal" by so many people, it is hard to laugh some times (just watched "Jesus Camp", and almost became ill watching these people utterly crush the intellect of children, while breeding the next generation's conservative sociopaths).

To quote the dour and humorless George Carlin: "Religion is like a lift in your shoe. If it makes you feel good, great. But that doesn't mean you get to nail lifts on the feet of the Indians."

[groovedaddy]

40. Great Carlin quote. Thanks for sharing. n.t

[Strong Atheist]

41. You asked for it, you got it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=214&topic_id=197369

[groovedaddy]

43. Ha ha! n.t

[Evoman]

44. Obviously, you've never seen this epic thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=214&topic_id=133550&mesg_id=133550

[BridgeTheGap]

45. No, I haven't, but thanks for sharing. n/t

[uberllama42]

46. TL;DR

What was so great about it? It seems like a real trip from the OP, but I don't want to wade through all the nonsense to get to the good stuff.

[Evoman]

47. Within the very thread, I describe it thusly:

"Are you kidding? This is like the best thread ever.

It has everything...Galactus the devourer of worlds, Batgirl, conspiracy, ass pimples, and vaginal scrunch.

Its like a perfect storm of relevant RT topics."

[uberllama42]

49. Damn.

That sounds like a hell of a thread.

[Jeffersonian Dem]

48. Humor has its place, and is surely needed. But truth is often not funny.

I understand the point. Those who are certain, cock-sure, self-important and self-righteous tend to take themselves too seriously. And Fraser rightfully points out that arrogance and smugness are divisive and even dangerous.

We need humor, and I am thankful for those who make us laugh.

However, truth must be told. And often truth is not funny, but dead serious.

The world need truth, now more than ever before, because the vain folly of Man could continue to get worse to such an extent that death and destruction would become far worse than it already has been and still is.

Let the humorists be funny, but let the messengers of truth and the whistle-blowers say what they need to say as well, in all seriousness.

[Ready4Change]

50. A priest, an atheist, and an all powerfull being who doesn't exist...

... walk into a bar. Bartender says "What can I get for you three?"

The atheist gets a bit red in the face with annoyance, but the priest beams and says "Set us up with 3 beers, on me."

A short amount of time passes and the glasses empty. The bartender asks again "Say, you three are looking a bit dry. What can I do for you?"

Again the atheist is annoyed, but the priest is smiling widely (if a bit unfocusedly) and says "Another round of three, on me!"

Again the glasses drain, and as the priest is setting down his glass with excessive care (or was that the glass of the all powerful being who doesn't exist?) the bartender leans on his bar rag and says "You three guys are on a roll. Ready for more?"

"Sure!" burps the priest "Bring 'em on! Three more on me, bless you."

As the bartender is drawing three more beers the now quite annoyed atheist approaches and asks in a quiet voice "What are you doing? You know there's only two of us, and that priest has had 4 beers in half an hour!"

"Shhhhh!" shushes the bartender, "I'm hoping that tomorrow I can go to church bragging about how god got so drunk that I kicked his a** and threw him out of my bar!"

ba dump

Sorry, best I can come up with on short notice.

[sakabatou]

54. LMAO

[Ready4Change]

55. Thank yew, thank yew.

You've been a great audience. :)

(I know. Don't quit my day job.)

[onager]

56. A blind man, a one-armed man and a redneck are in a bar...

One of those smoky, dim-lit places in the Deep South where most of the patrons have more tattoos than teeth...and the guys REALLY look mean.

The three sit down at the bar, and the one-armed man peers thru the haze.

"Hey!" He yells to the redneck. "Look down at the end of the bar! I don't believe this!"

"What is it?" asks the blind man.

"I think it's Jesus."

"Jesus Rodriguez, from the gas station?"

"No, Jesus Christ. Sure looks like him. Long hair, beard. Top of his head's glowing. Nail holes. Hey! Bartender! Give my buddy Jesus a beer on me!"

Jesus gets off his barstool and walks back to the one-armed man. "Thank you, my son."

He touches the man's amputated arm and it grows back! Into a fully functioning limb complete with hand!

"My arm grew back!" the formerly one-armed man yells.

The blind man yells at the bartender: "Give Jesus a beer on me!"

"Thank you, my son." Jesus touches the blind man's eyes...

"I can SEE! I can SEE!"

The redneck turns to Jesus and says: "Don't touch me, you bastard. I'm collecting Disability."

[inna]

68. LMAO, TOTALLY!! hilarious, i'll have to remember this one!!

great job, you have a gift!! :)

[and-justice-for-all]

57. Oh please....I have a sense of humor and laugh just fine. thanks..nt

[Strong Atheist]

58. Yes, my religious overlords, I will put on a happy face for you. Just please don't

beat me...

[groovedaddy]

59. "The beatings will continue until morale improves!" n.t

[centristgrandpa]

60. dry humor...

Note to religious nuts; no need to be more funny, the jokes on you all...:evilfrown:

[Orrex]

61. An atheist and a Christian walk in to a bar

"What'll it be?" the bartender asks them.

"Nothing for me," says the atheist.

"Not much for me right now," agrees the Christian, "but later I'll have everything."

The bartender frowns. "Last call's in ten minutes. After that I'm throwing both of you assholes out of here."


Nyuk nyuk nyuk.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Fraser errs in creating a false equity between two viewpoints, when one is clearly in a position of power. It's simply not reasonable to demand that an oppressed minority see the humor in its minority status. If religious fundamentalists and atheists held equal or nearly equal sway in our current culture, Fraser would be more convincing.

[skepticscott]

62. And the point here is...what?

Are cosmologists, as a group, funny? Are appliance salesmen funny? Are mystery writers funny? Why in the world does it matter whether atheists, as a group, can be regarded as "funny"? Atheism is nothing more than the state of being unconvinced of the existence of gods. What about that needs to be funny, and why would anyone but an idiot try to judge something so simple by such a standard?

[uberllama42]

63. He's viewing "modern atheists" as a philosophical movement

I guess we should be grateful he didn't say "fundamentalist atheists."

Cosmologists are not advancing a coherent agenda in the way that Dawkins and Hitchens are. Fraser is referring to a narrower group than merely those people who do not assert the existence of a god or gods. It's not clear from the matter included in the OP that there is any reasonable impetus behind the expectation that Dawkins and Hitchens specifically ought to be funny.

Apparently people like Julia Sweeney, David Cross and Lewis Black are not included for some reason. I don't know if there's some cogent justification for not including atheist comedians in the set of atheists, or if Fraser is just ignoring them so he can blow smoke out of his ass.

[Ready4Change]

64. I think you can tell a lot about a person from their humor.

A good sense of humor, to me, is a sign of a healthy mind. Being able to laugh appropriately indicates that that your mental faculties are in good operating condition. Also, WHAT you find funny is as revealing whether or not you find anything funny at all. Do you laugh at yourself to lighten up? Or do you only use humor as a weapon for belittling opponents?

[skepticscott]

65. I suspect that Giles Fraser

has spent no time interacting personally with either Hitchens or Dawkins and knows absolutely nothing about what they laugh at and why. I'm guessing he probably didn't even talk to people who know them to find that out, since the truth might have undermined the piece he so desperately wanted to write.

Would Fraser villify human rights advocates who fight against torture and genocide because they don't make or take jokes about it very well? I think not. This is just another lame attempt to sling mud at anti-theists (he, like so many others, can't even distinguish atheism from anti-theism) due to lack of any substantial and coherent response to their position, which he feels deeply threatened by. He can't engage on the facts, so he tries the smear instead.

[dorkulon]

69. ...

[charlie]

71. Give Eddie Izzard a ring, Giles

He lives on your side of the pond. You'll like him, he can goof on religion without you fulminating about nasty atheists.

The Corinthians write back to St Paul

God creates the world