Stalker!

It’s like she’s following me everywhere. Stephanie has a summary of upcoming conferences, and I seem to be at all of them.

This year I have resolved to NOT write a whole new talk for every event I go to, because it was killing me*, so she’s probably going to skip my sessions at least a few times.

*Also, somehow, over the last few years I’ve ended up developing and teaching a brand new course every year, and this coming term is no exception (at least it’s a core course with a long history, but I still am new to teaching it). There’s nothing quite like having to compose three or four new lectures every week for my job and, oh, by the way, do another one for fun for the weekend.

At least our cons are better than that!

I think. I don’t know how much leg-chewing goes on when I’m not looking, anyway. I ran across this account of DefCon, the hacker conference, and was impressed at how close it sounds to some of our atheist/skeptic conferences…only worse.

For anyone who wasn’t able to immediately find a female Defcon attendee, I will let you in on a not very well kept secret. Defcon is hell for women. Defcon is also many wonderful things. It is a fantastic environment to learn, network, and connect with friends old and new. But I’m not here to talk about that. There are plenty of other people who have been going to Defcon for longer than I, and who have gained more from it, who are infinitely more equipped to speak about it’s strengths as a conference. All I can speak to is my somewhat jarring experience last year, the first time I attended.

Let it be known that I went to Defcon with a reasonable amount of armor on already. I was reasonably aware of the frat party environment I was stepping into. I have many friends who are involved with helping make Defcon roll smoothly each year, from speakers to goons. And still, nothing could have prepared me for the onslaught of bad behavior I experienced.

Like the man who drunkenly tried to lick my shoulder tattoo. Like the man who grabbed my hips while I was waiting for a drink at the EFF party. Like the man who tried to get me to show him my tits so he could punch a hole in a card that, when filled, would net him a favor from one of the official security staff (I do not have words for how slimy it is that the official security staff were in charge of what was essentially a competition to get women to show their boobs). Or lastly, the man who, without prompting, interrupted my conversation and asked me if I’d like to come back to his room for a “private pillowfight party.” “You know,” he said. “Just a bunch of girls having a pillowfight…. fun!” When I asked him how many men would be standing around in a circle recording this event, he quickly assured me that “no one would be taking video! I swear!” I’m pretty sure this is the point where my lovely partner Morgan asked him if he thought propositions like his had anything to do with contributing to women not feeling welcome at Defcon. This was a very difficult concept for this poor soul to wrap his head around.

The author has a cool solution. She’s making up red and yellow ‘creeper cards’ — when someone makes an inappropriate advance, you reward them with a little card that explains what a slimeball move they just made.

“atheist chicks are easy”

Despite all the battling over sexism within the atheist community (which has the goal of making us better), it’s worse outside that group. Case in point: the Midwest Freethought Conference is getting some pushback in Omaha, where a right-wing talk radio host, Scott Voorhees, is frolicking in the slime. But then, he’s working in the milieu that made the term “feminazi” popular, one of the best indicators that you’re dealing with a cretinous thug.

In response to being informed by show guest Luke Hoffman of the UNO Secular Student Alliance that the UNO CRU Christian group had cooperated with the secular student group to put on a debate last semester, Voorhees declared: “You know why the Christian kids helped you out in your debate? Because atheist chicks are easy. And a lot of them are Goth and hot.”

The remark was recorded; you can hear it yourself at about the 14 minute mark. This is genuinely repulsive, but about what I expect of an obnoxious evangelical Christian. They do such a good job of smearing their own name.

Luke Hoffman has sent out a few letters of complaint. The first is to the program director at the radio station.

Gary Sadlemyer
Program Director
KFAB Radio 1110
[email protected]

July 18, 2012

Dear Mr. Sadlemyer,

My name is Luke Hoffman. I am the immediate past president of the
University of Nebraska at Omaha Secular Student Alliance. During a
radio interview July 10 with your talk show host Scott Voorhees,
Voorhees made a comment that I challenged on the spot and wish to
follow up on now. In reaction to the fact that a Christian club on
campus had networked with the UNO Secular Student Alliance to put on a
civil debate, Voorhees went so far as to say, “You know why the
Christian kids helped you out in your debate? Because atheist chicks
are easy. And a lot of them are Goth and hot.” (You can listen to this
remark at http://bit.ly/NmcGaG starting at the 14:16 mark.)

In addition to this being another example of what has been termed the
“war on women,” it also impugns the motives of the Christian group,
suggesting that their cooperation was insincere. I called this sexist
remark disgusting at the time (after which I was immediately
disconnected) and, in response to numerous calls for further response,
wish to readdress the matter now.

The reason that Voorhees was discussing this matter in the first place
was because of the forthcoming Midwest Freethought Conference and the
Omaha Coalition of Reason billboard on 72nd and Pacific here in the
city. This is the fourth Midwest Freethought Conference and, as such,
it contributes to Omaha’s economic development.

But instead of discussing this unique community event, Voorhees chose
to be dismissive while dehumanizing atheist women. Moreover, when
listeners called in to express their legitimate outrage at his
comments, he ridiculed them for lacking a sense of humor. But isn’t
that the usual cover for bigoted remarks against minority groups? How
many times have people tried to excuse racism, anti-Semitism, and
sexism under the cover of humor? Radio announcer Don Imus tried this
in 2007 with his “joke” about the Rutgers University women’s
basketball team and was fired as a result.

In the popular atheist blog “The Friendly Atheist,” Hemant Mehta
describes the interaction as “frustrating all around, and that was
even before he made his most inflammatory comment.” Voorhees’
misplaced hostility toward people with differing views was, I think,
demonstrated by his offensive remarks as well as his apparent
unwillingness to really listen to his guests on that occasion.

The membership of the UNO SSA and I, therefore, request that KFAB
repudiate Voorhees’ remarks against atheist women and that he
personally apologize.

Yours sincerely,

Luke Hoffman
Immediate Past President
UNO Secular Student Alliance

The second is to the president of the university.

President James B. Milliken
University of Nebraska
(402) 472-8636
[email protected]

July 18, 2012

Dear President Milliken,

As has already been brought to your attention by others, during a
radio interview of me on July 10 on KFAB Radio 1110 by talk-show host
Scott Voorhees, Voorhees made a comment that I challenged on the spot.
It was in reaction to the fact that the University of Nebraska at
Omaha CRU Christian group had networked with my group, the UNO Secular
Student Alliance, last semester to put on a highly-regarded debate.
Voorhees declared, “You know why the Christian kids helped you out in
your debate? Because atheist chicks are easy. And a lot of them are
Goth and hot.” (You can listen to this remark at http://bit.ly/NmcGaG
starting at the 14:16 mark.)

In addition to this being another example of the right-wing war on
women, it also impugns the motives of the campus Christian group,
suggesting that their cooperation was insincere. I called this sexist
remark disgusting at the time (after which I was immediately
disconnected). Now, in response to numerous requests for further
action, I wish to readdress the matter.

Reasonable people might have expected the UNO administration to act
swiftly and decisively in criticizing this remark against legitimate
UNO campus groups—especially after I brought it to the
administration’s attention last week. And not merely because the
remark attacked UNO students, both Atheist and Christian, but because
that broadcast also challenged UNO’s institutional reputation. After
all, Director of University Relations Tim Kaldahl appeared on the same
show and had to put up with attacks against UNO for hosting the fourth
annual Midwest Freethought Conference. Voorhees openly questioned
whether the university was still worthy of public support. And KFAB
pays UNO for rights to use the “N” logo and to broadcast Nebraska
football. The station calls itself “the Home of the Huskers,” which is
the UNO team. (For reference, KFAB is listed on the University website
as the Omaha affiliate for Nebraska football at:
http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&ATCLID=52 and,
on the KFAB website, the “N” logo is displayed on the homepage and at:
http://www.kfab.com/pages/Huskers.html .)

In an effort to resolve this internally, I talked with Tim Kaldahl,
spoke with Charlene Russel in the campus Equal Access and Diversity
office, communicated with Nancy in the Chancellors office, and sent an
email directly to the chancellor. I have also discussed the matter
with other student leaders on campus.

Adam Maley, immediate past president of the UNO Veterans Student
Organization, said: “This radio personality challenges a socially
unpopular category of people and, rather than discuss the issues, uses
prejudicial and disgusting stereotypes to distract.”

UNO Council for Humanist Thought President John Powers said: “Scott
Voorhees…clearly does not understand the issues of the growing local
secular community and the struggles of living an atheist or agnostic
life.”

Haili Copas-Starke, immediate past director for the Women’s Resource
Center, another student-run organization at UNO, showed her support
for the UNO SSA by saying, “Religion is a good background to formulate
your morals but it’s not the only method, and society allows for you
to do that without the guidance of religion.”

The UNO SSA provides valuable support for nontheistic UNO students, as
Nicole Miller, the current UNO SSA president, noted when she said:
“The Secular Student Alliance has helped me grow on a personal level,
where I’ve made lifelong friends, have become more open to talk about
the issues. Especially family problems with coming out as atheist. I
feel like I’m making a difference in my community.”

In the wake of this reaction, I must ask why the UNO administration
has so far declined comment on an affiliated radio station’s slur that
is prejudicial to UNO students and the university itself—and this in
the face of a reaction across the Internet. (Just Google the phrase
“atheist chicks are easy” and see the online response, which is now in
the thousands of hits when, at the time of the broadcast last week, it
only garnered two.)

As an atheist, my moral compass compels me to stand up to Voorhees’
dehumanizing remark. Is it too much to ask UNO’s administration to
reconsider this opportunity to do the same? Radio KFAB and Scott
Voorhees need to hear, in no uncertain terms, that UNO finds the
remark in question unacceptable. And UNO needs to demand a retraction
and an apology.

Yours sincerely,

Luke Hoffman
Immediate Past President
UNO Secular Student Alliance

Oh, this is going to be such a fun meeting!

I don’t want to deal with this any more

It’s too stupid. It turns out TAM had an anti-harassment policy after all (good for them), except that it was secret and implemented by hidden cameras and disguised security goons who would turn their entire focus on victims of harassment, rather than harassers.

I don’t understand at all.

All I can guess at is that this policy was kept secret so it wouldn’t discourage any creepy guys from attending. Their money is just as good as any woman’s, after all! TAM wants to be open to everyone, including gropers and PUAs and drunk fumblers, and doesn’t want to send any messages that might inhibit them. And I think it’s perfectly fair that there be a skeptics’ convention that caters specifically to frustrated, privileged men — I just didn’t think that TAM, with its history of inclusivity, was going to elect to be that conference.

Another #cvg2012 write-up

Jeez, what kind of blogger is that Daniel Fincke? It took him a whole week to write up his recap. Of course, that he mentions every single person he met might explain that.

(Also, the price of buying him dinner one night was that he was supposed to peddle stories about my satanic nature, my vicious emotional outbursts, and my kitten-torturing, but nooooo…he screwed me over there, again!)

And here’s another…and one in which my glorious hat, far better than any mere pope hat, is revealed.

Yes, I had a throne, too.

Maybe this promotion is going to work…

I just got this news from August Berkshire of Minnesota Atheists, about the upcoming godless cooption of a local baseball team:

Our baseball game is exploding in the news! I got a call today from someone in Massachusetts who wants a jersey!

• This morning (July 12) Heather heard them talking about it on K-TWIN radio 96.3 FM. They couldn’t believe it and were skeptical that the Saints would go through with it.

• “75 years of Spam; Ice cold beer here (TCF); Godless Saints” – Minnesota Public Radio
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/statewide/archive/2012/07/aroundmn-8.shtml
(With a reference and link to our Meetup page!)

• “Minor league Saints hosting night for atheists” – Fox Sports North
http://www.foxsportsnorth.com/07/12/12/Minor-league-Saints-hosting-night-for-at/landing.html?blockID=759992&feedID=3697
(With a picture of the jersey!)

• “Leave your God at home, it’s atheism night at the ballpark” – NBCSports.com
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/12/leave-your-god-at-home-its-atheism-night-at-the-ballpark
(With a link to the Fox Sports North article. Also some great comments from readers.)

I was really surprised at that last one: he’s right, the comments aren’t the usual shrieking Christian hysterics, and are actually fairly positive. It may be because the only people bothering to read about Minnesota sports have already lost all faith in a god.

A night of unbelievable fun

Next month, on 10-11 August, Minnesota Atheists will be hosting a regional atheist conference. If you’re within driving distance of St. Paul, you should go! They’ve got a fine list of speakers, and for something completely different, are sponsoring a baseball game on Friday night, so you can join a bunch of atheists in swilling beer and eating hot dogs and watching a ball get tossed around.

I know, it’s hosted in a city called St. Paul, which isn’t so cool, and the baseball team is called the Saints. But just for this night, the team is being renamed the Ain’ts, so it’ll be OK. Also, St Paul’s original name was Pig’s Eye…and although the city hasn’t agreed to revert the name just for us, there’s no reason we can’t call it that among ourselves. So let’s meet in Pig’s Eye, Minnesota next month!

You can download the meeting registration form, and here’s a form with a coupon for a free hot dog for the baseball game.

No gods, no masters, not even me

I’m going to be speaking at the Midwest Freethought Conference in early August, and right wing Christian radio in Nebraska has caught word of this. They are upset that the meeting is being held on the University of Nebraska campus, and that some evil dork is going to be there.

It seems a group called the “United Coalition of Reason” is funding the billboard, and I am waiting for university officials to get back to me with answers on how this event will be funded — right down to costs of air conditioning, lights, security, parking attendants, clean-up, etc.

Even if no taxpayer funds are being used for this, is this really the type of event that UNO wants to align itself with? On the other hand, since the campus allows Christian Student Fellowship to meet weekly in the student center, they have to allow this travesty, don’t they?

After all, PZ Myers is going to be there! He’s the god of atheism!

And then they include a photo of me, looking like unto a god: fat, homely, sloppily dressed, with a goofy expression on my face while holding a toy panda bear.

This radio goon’s points are absurd. Atheists are citizens of Nebraska, and they have a right to use state facilities with fair recompense, just as do Christians. You do not get to demand special scrutiny for an atheist group that you do not impose on any other group. And yes, representing a significant chunk of their students and faculty and staff seems like an eminently reasonable goal for UNO to want to align itself.

And, you know, I do not take myself that seriously; I have no illusions that I’m a particularly special individual, let alone a god, and even the people who use my site as a gathering place and my words as a focus for discussion do not hold me in exaltation. I’m expecting to die in a few years, a most ungodlike behavior, and the atheists who congregate here will simply move on to some other genius loci than Pharyngula. That’s the nature of things: ephemeral and varied.

Jeez. We don’t even have a cult of personality in the atheist community. Gods? If one tried to arise here, we’d spit on it until it drowned.