Long time, no see. It's been almost a year since the last time I posted here, although I've lurked. 2011 was a COMPLETELY INSANE year for me, one that uprooted me from my more liberal home in New Jersey to the middle of the Ark-La-Tex area and the culture shock has hit me pretty hard. I think what makes it even harder for me is that I didn't come here by choice, but because my husband's job brought him here.
It was easy being an atheist in a place where Buddhist temples were right next to Catholic churches and yeah, people went to church but there was still a lot of diversity and it wasn't necessarily a big deal for most people, even the ones who did go to church. People tell me they have Catholic churches here, although I haven't actually seen any and there certainly are no Jewish, Buddhist or Hindu temples. All I see are Baptists, Baptists every where, and I've found out the hard way that they seem to be a special brand of judgmental. As a liberal atheist Yankee, I feel extremely isolated and alone. And of course the first thing people tell you if you comment that you're lonely or you want to make friends is that you should come to their church. Um yeah. Thanks, but no thanks.
I feel afraid to be myself around most people. Atheists are the most mistrusted group in America, and I don't trust some of the folks I've met here to get to know me before they write me off as a godless heathen that's not to be trusted. I've met a couple of nice Christians down here, but I still wouldn't ever feel comfortable talking about my religious or political feelings with them. I wouldn't feel comfortable putting a Darwin sticker on my car for fear someone would probably cut my tires. I'm only a few hours from Bastrop, LA, where that atheist high school student was pretty much run out of town for contacting the ACLU last year when his high school violated his 1st Amendment rights and had a prayer as part of the graduation ceremony. I'm also still waiting to experience the Southern hospitality people are always talking about, but so far have found the area where I live to be overwhelmingly unfriendly. At least I know I'm not the only one-my local craigslist rants and raves featured an exchange between various transplants from the North saying they felt unwelcome here. The local response was pretty much fuck you and go back North, you damn Yanks. Nice.
At any rate, I know some of you guys here live in the South. Whitney, you're in TX, right? So..how do you do it? I know there are other atheists or at least secular humanists out there, but I wouldn't know where to look. So Southern atheists, share your wisdom. Tell me of any places you know that are more open, or any groups you might know of. And maybe where you are located, if anyone would possibly be interested in a meet up of some sort.
Hi philosoraptor
Nice to see you back. Bloody sorry to read about your circumstances :(
You can always come here for a virtual hug!
I'm in Arkansas and I'd recommend Eureka Springs. We're pretty much the San Fransisco of the south. I don't have any groups though =/
Quote from: Brieze on January 21, 2012, 08:27:49 PM
I'm in Arkansas and I'd recommend Eureka Springs. We're pretty much the San Fransisco of the south. I don't have any groups though =/
I always thought a group starts with two!
Quote from: Brieze on January 21, 2012, 08:27:49 PM
I'm in Arkansas and I'd recommend Eureka Springs. We're pretty much the San Fransisco of the south. I don't have any groups though =/
I've heard that it's beautiful up there. I'm trying to convince my husband to do a weekend trip or something, but he wants to hit NOLA first and we're about the same distance from both cities.
I've only left LA twice since we moved in April 2011-once to fly home, and once I drove to TX to go to the Marshall Pottery Factory and get food poisoning at a local burger joint. I'm amiable to driving, I just need to have somewhere to go and someone to go with me or to at least meet me there.
It is great to see you back philosoraptor.
I always liked seeing Simone de Beauvoir all over the place. (https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi647.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fuu198%2FRamblingSyd%2FFSMlaugh.gif&hash=883c2cb00626f643a7775c6ad6264aae7d1f4643)
Quote from: The Magic Pudding on January 22, 2012, 02:16:50 AM
It is great to see you back philosoraptor.
I always liked seeing Simone de Beauvoir all over the place. (https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi647.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fuu198%2FRamblingSyd%2FFSMlaugh.gif&hash=883c2cb00626f643a7775c6ad6264aae7d1f4643)
How about Sartre and de Beauvoir? ;-)
Tank, I tried like 40 times to respond to your PM, but every time I did it timed out. I'm seriously starting to think that my internet provider is fucking with any atheist related websites I visit, as those are the only ones that frequently seem to stop working for me... ???
Quote from: Tank on January 21, 2012, 08:30:50 PM
Quote from: Brieze on January 21, 2012, 08:27:49 PM
I'm in Arkansas and I'd recommend Eureka Springs. We're pretty much the San Fransisco of the south. I don't have any groups though =/
I always thought a group starts with two!
Technically lol.
I feel like I should know what NOLA is. I'm probably biased, but I do find it beautiful here. Especially on a motorcycle. I don't know why but a bike makes it perfect.
If you ever make it to Eureka, let me know. We can grab coffee or something =]
Well if you ever find yourself in Dallas you would be among friends .... I like my little bubble of freethought here. have you tried meetup.com
I'd love to get out to Dallas. I very nearly went in August for the Death Cab for Cutie show, but it was so close to our wedding that I couldn't justify the cost. I have a friend who's from there originally, she was saying they do RHPS live there?
Quote from: philosoraptor on January 22, 2012, 03:08:16 AM
Quote from: The Magic Pudding on January 22, 2012, 02:16:50 AM
It is great to see you back philosoraptor.
I always liked seeing Simone de Beauvoir all over the place. (https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi647.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fuu198%2FRamblingSyd%2FFSMlaugh.gif&hash=883c2cb00626f643a7775c6ad6264aae7d1f4643)
How about Sartre and de Beauvoir? ;-)
Tank, I tried like 40 times to respond to your PM, but every time I did it timed out. I'm seriously starting to think that my internet provider is fucking with any atheist related websites I visit, as those are the only ones that frequently seem to stop working for me... ???
Ah! Interesting. I got the reply when I logged on this morning.
Quote from: philosoraptor on January 22, 2012, 08:00:27 AM
I'd love to get out to Dallas. I very nearly went in August for the Death Cab for Cutie show, but it was so close to our wedding that I couldn't justify the cost. I have a friend who's from there originally, she was saying they do RHPS live there?
Ah! So you are a married raptor now. Congratulations ;D
Weird. If you got several versions of the same message I'm sorry!
I'm a double married raptor now. We signed our license and recited the state mandated vows in the presence of our immediate families and a judge right before we moved to Louisiana in April. But since we'd already put a lot of work into the September wedding, we just kept that date and had a more personal ceremony and reception. It was pretty great. We were able to incorporate some Irish and Apache blessings that are quite secular but still really beautiful and meaningful. We were lucky to have a family friend who is an extremely laid back interfaith minister. It was a trial planning a secular wedding that would appease his religious relatives, but we really pulled it off. We exchanged rings at the court house ceremony, so we did a handfasting in lieu of the rings and people thought that was cool since it has ties to so many different traditions. ;D
Quote from: philosoraptor on January 22, 2012, 08:29:18 AM
Weird. If you got several versions of the same message I'm sorry!
I'm a double married raptor now. We signed our license and recited the state mandated vows in the presence of our immediate families and a judge right before we moved to Louisiana in April. But since we'd already put a lot of work into the September wedding, we just kept that date and had a more personal ceremony and reception. It was pretty great. We were able to incorporate some Irish and Apache blessings that are quite secular but still really beautiful and meaningful. We were lucky to have a family friend who is an extremely laid back interfaith minister. It was a trial planning a secular wedding that would appease his religious relatives, but we really pulled it off. We exchanged rings at the court house ceremony, so we did a handfasting in lieu of the rings and people thought that was cool since it has ties to so many different traditions. ;D
I only got one copy of the message.
Sounds like you have two lovely days of celebration ;D
Quote from: philosoraptor on January 22, 2012, 08:00:27 AM
she was saying they do RHPS live there?
I don't know what RHPS live is...so maybe? There is a lot of stuff here.
Quote from: philosoraptor on January 21, 2012, 08:38:49 PM
I've only left LA twice since we moved in April 2011-once to fly home, and once I drove to TX to go to the Marshall Pottery Factory and get food poisoning at a local burger joint. I'm amiable to driving, I just need to have somewhere to go and someone to go with me or to at least meet me there.
I highly recommend Jefferson, TX for a fun weekend. It's small, but it's a little bit of New Orleans in Texas. Go on Halloween, as it's the most haunted town in Texas. Stay at the Excelsior House Hotel.
There's also Nacogdoches, Texas, which claims to be Texas' oldest town. Have a drink at the Hotel Fredonia. Neither of these towns are too far from Whitney in Dallas, so she should be able to meet you there.
I'm currently in small town south Texas about 30 miles north of Victoria, TX. I wouldn't recommend this area at all. I ended up back here due to some unfortunate factors like being laid off from my previous job, a disabled father who has only gotten worse the past few years, a breakup (an ugly one) and subsequent divorce...but enough about my problems. In Texas just about any of the larger cities will have plenty of like-minded folks. If you can, try visiting Austin - the only place you can go where the hipster employees play trance music on the store loudspeaker at Dollar General. The traffic on the main roads is horrendous though and 6th street isn't what it used to be.
Anyhow, don't feel too bad, you're not as alone as you think ;).
QuoteSo..how do you do it? I know there are other atheists or at least secular humanists out there, but I wouldn't know where to look. So Southern atheists, share your wisdom. Tell me of any places you know that are more open, or any groups you might know of. And maybe where you are located, if anyone would possibly be interested in a meet up of some sort.
Well, Whitney and I live in an area that boasts 7,000,000 people and growing. You live in rural La in a city of around 13,000. If you take the 10% of 7 million that are atheists, one would think that the current atheists/free thought groups in D/FW Metroplex could boast a total of 700,000 members. Uh uh...*shakin my head*. The largest group I visited pulled in perhaps 80?
Someone mentioned Meetup.com. That seem to be your best bet.
We've had over 100 before at some of the group things...there are over 850 members on meetup for FOF and, Fort Worth Freethinkers has over 470, Metroplex Atheists has over 470 (some overlap)...it's just hard to get everyone to show up to the same place at the same time (herding cats and all). The number are fairly accurate because meetup has started deleting the accounts of members who are inactive and fail to indicate desire to remain on the list; happens after 6 months of inactivity and that feature has been in place for at least 6 months now. There are a lot of people who are secular yet don't know of the groups or have absolutely no care to be associated with them (either due to not feeling a need or because they are apprehensive). Just because people are a certain label or worldview doesn't mean they'll want to go out and and do something with like minded people...so it's unreasonable to assume that 700,000 freethinkers will all be wanting or needing to seek out community. Even in the religious communities the churches only pull in a fraction of those who actually claim the label; and that's with fear of damnation over their heads.
Quote from: Gawen on January 23, 2012, 01:02:19 PM
QuoteSo..how do you do it? I know there are other atheists or at least secular humanists out there, but I wouldn't know where to look. So Southern atheists, share your wisdom. Tell me of any places you know that are more open, or any groups you might know of. And maybe where you are located, if anyone would possibly be interested in a meet up of some sort.
Well, Whitney and I live in an area that boasts 7,000,000 people and growing. You live in rural La in a city of around 13,000. If you take the 10% of 7 million that are atheists, one would think that the current atheists/free thought groups in D/FW Metroplex could boast a total of 700,000 members. Uh uh...*shakin my head*. The largest group I visited pulled in perhaps 80?
Someone mentioned Meetup.com. That seem to be your best bet.
I'm sorry if I was unclear-I live in Shreveport-Bossier. The population is definitely more than 13,000, although if I drive even 15 minutes outside of the part of the city where I live, I'm in seemingly rural Louisiana.
I may try meetup.com, since a few of you are suggesting it. I actually posted a craigslist ad when I first moved down here looking for friends, but it was flagged for removal-I can only assume because I made reference to being atheist and liberal. ::)
Quote from: philosoraptor on January 23, 2012, 07:24:13 PM
I actually posted a craigslist ad when I first moved down here looking for friends, but it was flagged for removal-I can only assume because I made reference to being atheist and liberal. ::)
That's weird...I have frequently cross posted atheist and freethought meetups onto craigslist without any flagging that I'm aware of.
Quote from: Whitney on January 23, 2012, 07:59:12 PM
Quote from: philosoraptor on January 23, 2012, 07:24:13 PM
I actually posted a craigslist ad when I first moved down here looking for friends, but it was flagged for removal-I can only assume because I made reference to being atheist and liberal. ::)
That's weird...I have frequently cross posted atheist and freethought meetups onto craigslist without any flagging that I'm aware of.
Yeah, it was bizarre. There was no cursing or anything that would've violated CL guidelines, so I couldn't figure any other reason for it to be pulled. My local CL seems to be mostly dominated by stuff of the "Obama is a terrorist" nature though, so I guess it's not surprising.
Quote from: philosoraptor
I'm sorry if I was unclear-I live in Shreveport-Bossier.
You're three hours away from Dallas.
I found this for Shreveport:
http://atheists.meetup.com/cities/us/la/shreveport/
or
http://www.meetup.com/FoFShreveport/
Quote from: Gawen on January 24, 2012, 12:22:43 AM
http://www.meetup.com/FoFShreveport/
^If you go to this one let me know how it went. I've been meaning to go check it out sometime since they are our sister group..I'll let you know if I have plans to come into town.
Quote from: Brieze on January 21, 2012, 08:27:49 PM
I'm in Arkansas and I'd recommend Eureka Springs. We're pretty much the San Fransisco of the south. I don't have any groups though =/
I haven't been to Eureka Springs, although the wife and I have been intending to go. I've heard there's some cool stuff there, and she loves haunted houses. However... are you joking or serious with San Francisco of the South? Isn't Eureka Springs famous for the Passion play?
I'm in Jacksonville, btw.
Quote from: Gawen on January 24, 2012, 12:22:43 AM
Quote from: philosoraptor
I'm sorry if I was unclear-I live in Shreveport-Bossier.
You're three hours away from Dallas.
I found this for Shreveport:
http://atheists.meetup.com/cities/us/la/shreveport/
or
http://www.meetup.com/FoFShreveport/
Thanks a lot! I will definitely check that out. I was recently laid off, so I have plenty of time to do meetups. If/when I get to a meeting, I'll let you know how it went.
Yeah... San Antonio is where all the Catholics are. It's a really big Catholic Community. There's not too many atheists around this far south, but luckily, staying down here is kind of like an atheist's paradise. The people are so easy going, you can tell thems straight up that you are an atheist, and they'll be like, "oh, ok." Atheists and christians tend to leave each other alone down here.
It's would be pretty hard to find anywhere in the southern U.S. where you can get away from religious bs. I moved to Augusta, Ga 8 months ago and had no idea what I was getting myself into. Nobody is even from here yet everyone is a Baptist. Nobody here is even really from here they all come from somewhere else, yet some of the worst ones are from the north. I gotta hear some guy from Jersey talk about dying on a cross in calvary. On a regular basis. I'm still not sure what calvary was. A place? the same guy will prattle on about god all day, but say one thing against god and he is offended. I tell him well I am offended by all the god talk so deal with it. The best places to go would be maybe California or one of the corn states. Illinois is pretty cool. Everybody is a Christian, but none of them ever go to church or bring up the god thing. Being in the south is horrible. I get into an argument with somebody on a regular basis down here. The level of ignorance in this state is astounding.
Welcome back. I'm in Louisiana and have never had major problems with those around me. I have two Ron Paul magnets on my car and bumper sticker that reads "No Gods No Masters" with the atheist A on the back of my car and have never had problems. I differ from the majority of the population here politically and religious belief wise, but have never had major problems. The baptists piss me off as well, and I haven't found but one I like to associate with.