The realisation was a bit of a shocker. How did I let it get to this? Once more, I was involved in a belief-based organisation, and once more there was hierarchical trouble.
This time, of course, it was a body based on non-belief, but the strong emphasis on things of faith was similar, even if the drive was in the other direction.
I saw a good friend marginalised and silenced. I saw an argument from authority based on sources which were vaguely referred to, and which couldn’t be referenced. Yes, I’d seen this before, only my previous experience was with a church organisation.
It has been interesting to read the Official Pronouncements. There were some pieces I recognised, but none of the finagling and nastiness that went on behind the scenes. I suppose history is written by victors, and press releases and their like are almost always about perfect people, praising their perfect organisations.
Well, let’ em have their Official Truth™. The smoke and mirror trade is strong at both ends of the belief spectrum, and it seems that hierarchies (yes, the derivation of the word is Quite Interesting) tend to attract the same kind of top-level predators.
For me, it’s time to say “Fuck that for a game of soldiers.” I’m still a non-believer, but you can also count me as a non-believer in big organisations which purport to fulfill a long-term goal, and wind up sidetracked into keeping themselves, and their respective leaderships, in existence.
I can find better things to do.
Friends, we’ll catch up. Ask if you need to know where.
I am utterly amazed at how much “you’re either with us or against us” crap has been going on among atheists lately. It unnecessarily dividing everyone into little factions, which is something I consider to be weird.
The factional warfare stuff needs to end, and soon.
It’s possible the fault lies in staying all bunched together when there’s nothing to do.
We ARE all different, as Brian of Nazareth told us. Some unbelievers are great, and some are not folks with whom I’d like to share a lunch table.
From here on, I’ll look at everything on a cause-by-cause and project-by-project basis.