And on the other hand, there’s yet more of the fake meme bullshit directed at Dawkins himself. That is not ok.
@RichardDawkins Curious if this is your actual quote as there is a debate among friends as to its accuracy. Thank you
The quotation in the photo reads:
People are brainwashed into believing that human procreation is some kind of altruistic ideal full of love and kindness. When really it is nothing but a selfish, narcissistic urge in a vain and stupid attempt to perpetuate ones [sic] genes.
His reply on Twitter was:
I never said it, or anything like it. I just Googled it and found it on an anonymous FB page. How did it get attached to me?
More dirty pool, that’s how.
shari says
A crummy act, and maybe it will underline why that whole photo-shopping thing is a problem, for those who Still don’t see it….
Blake Stacey says
The world already contains a surfeit of foolish-to-nasty things said by Richard Dawkins. To invent and propagate more is to ship coal up the Tyne.
Ophelia Benson says
Heh. Good point, Blake. Here I am dealing with both in sequence.
oolon says
This is now going to be the “Your a Dick” standard response to anything daft Dawkins says, mark my words…
https://twitter.com/erasmuslijn/status/481424180265889793
John Morales says
[OT]
shari @1, that’s not what is normally referred by the metonym photo-shopping, but rather a straight-forward misattribution.
shari says
Hi John, regrettably, I know well what the metonym has referred to in the context of harassment towards Ophelia and the pro-feminism skeptics . I am thinking bigger picture in general – the malicious nature of falsified images and quotes has really been bothering me lately. The harassment images that she, Stephanie, and Rebecca have recieved, for example, have been violently disturbing, when they aren’t **merely** meant to be demeaning or shaming. Falsifying an image or quote for ‘entertainment’ is malicious at its heart…..Dawkins is getting a dose of it in a way that would possibly bother him more than a sexually themed obvious photoshop. Dirty pool intended to make him look bad… if that helps explain my point of view.
John Morales says
Thanks, Shari.
I entirely concur with your #6.
Crimson Clupeidae says
But if it hurt’s Dawkins’ feelings, it doesn’t matter, right? It should only be corrected because it’s inaccurate.