Answer 127

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Question 127

How many atheists reading this have ever been assaulted and/or threatened due to their atheism?

I've never been assaulted or threatened. This is probably because only a handful of people know that I'm an atheist. I don't advertise it. I'm a decent size guy too--6'2", 203 lbs. I'm not sure which of the above is the greater factor, but my hunch is that the first is probably more important. (JS Locust)

Not me. (Stoney #9)

Verbal assault only. It has been common to be ganged up on when people find out your an atheist. It gets pretty ugly sometimes. (ClayeSkye #4)

Personally I have never been threathened not even with eternall Hell People who know me personally just do not take me serious if I say I am an Atheist. They just assume nice people can't be Atheists. What can I do about it? Spank them? (Peter van Velzen #1107)

I find usually that fundies will never talk to you again once they see that you won't be converted. I've had plenty of threats made against me for reading my poetry, some of which bashes religion. Does that count? (Malcolm X-Files -Medieval Kneivel- #1552)

Ah, the joys of public school! Back at Edgewood High School I was insulted and verbally assualted every now and then for being atheist (read "Satanist" in hickspeak), and also for being intelligent and weird. Some rednecks felt the need to threaten me every couple weeks as well, but none of them ever made any move whatsoever to carry out any of their threats, which was really kinda disappointing. Since I've escaped from Edgewood I've not had any problems in the least, though. (Patrick Alexander #1736)

Well, I had to cope with innumerable conversion attempts all through high school and college, and some of the would-be converters got pretty irate when I politely declined. There's only one time I've been really, seriously threatened, though - but that one hit hard.

I was watching over a friend's kid for the afternoon (I love to be around children - gets all my maternal and protective instincts going. :) I'd taken him to the playground, and was having fun watching him tackle the swings. (And I do mean tackle. Active kid. :) A lady comes up to me, and asks me if I want to enroll "my child" in a Bible Study class for kids.

"I'm sorry, I'm not religious," I said absent-mindedly, not bothering to correct the misconception. Half of my attention was set on making sure the swings didn't tackle the kid back.

You'd've thought I just said, "I'm sorry, but I'm an axe murderer" from the look on her face. She set out to convert me on the spot. Well, I was within easy mad-dash-to-catch-falling-child reach, and he was keeping himself amused just fine, so I gave her the other half of my attention. I'd been through the arguments she brought up a thousand times, so I gave my usual rebuttals. I tried to be polite about it; after all, we were on a playground and there were children present.

She just kept getting madder and madder at each answer. "Well!" she finally burst out. "Somebody like you shouldn't be allowed to raise a child! I'm going straight to Child Services, young lady, to get that boy put in a decent, *Christian* home!"

He wasn't my son; I don't, yet, have children of my own. But let me tell you, that hit me like a blow to the gut. That someone could even *think* of doing something like that - using a threat to a child to bludgeon a parent into her religion! I'm pretty sure she was just spouting off - she didn't even know my name - but I was still in shock. I went straight to the kid and told him we were leaving, brought him right back to his folks, and told them about my encounter, just in case.

Ever since then... I've had this deep, pernicious, nagging fear. Those of you who are parents must already know this one. What if... what if... what if someday it *is* my child, and for the sake of what I don't believe in, some other "Good Christian" decides to take the kid away from me? You'd think it couldn't happen in the good ol' USA, but I watched the hysteria on "Satanic Ritual Abuse," and... I wonder. (April #1723)

When I was seventeen, my girlfriend's family was semi-eligious (attended church, but didn't really worry about others beliefs), but her older brother was a fanatic. He was in the US Army, and one time when he was on leave he got very drunk and started talking about jesus. I listened to his version, always open to other viewpoints. When he tried to corner me as to what I believed in, I just said I was undecided. This guy was drunk, and massive, and I didn't see any reason to visit the hospital. But my girlfriend blurted out the truth, and it was like a horror movie when some guy turns into a werewolf or something. He became enraged and threatened to castrate me unless I converted to his personal brand of insanity.

Of course I split immediately. I didn't even call her until after he went back overseas. Several months later I heard he was sent to the brig for three months for sending a jew to the hospital. I intentionally lost contact with the girl when she said the jew deserved it.

There have been various threats over the years, but most them were just hot air. But never debate with a drunken giant, for he may remove certain body parts of yours that he deems unnecessary.

I was 23 when some fundie chick decided that I was so evil that I didn't even deserve to go to hell and that when I died I would cease to exist. When I told her that at least we agreed on something, she actually frothed at the mouth and hyperventilated her way to her car. She sat in her car several minutes, trying to calm down. The look in her eyes told me she was deciding whether she could run me over and get away with it. She finally drove off and I never saw her again.

There is one particular reason why I've had so many problems with christians over the years. I have pointed ears (not like spock, but enough to notice) and it seems to bring out the worst in fundies. (zach #33)

I have told the story a few times before on alt atheism, but here goes. As a child (8) I was attacked by a group of kids ( 8 also poeticly enough) when a discussion of "what is the unforgivable sin?" revealed me to be a little atheist. Two teachers stood by and watched passively. Later when my mother complained to the principal he made it clear that he would do nothing to discipline either the students or the teachers involved so my mother moved me to a different school.

Three years later (at a different school) a girl hit me several times "because I worshiped satan". Earlier in the day a discussion among the children of what church people belonged to had led to my "I'm an atheist" admission. This time however she was promptly escorted to the principal's office and some punishment was meted out( this was a different school). Through out high school I was repeatedly told "If you were a guy I'd kick your ass" when I said I did not believe in god. I'm not exactly sure that counts though it happened about 3 times a year from 10th to 12th grade. I was also threatened and chased through a local theatre as a teenager for being a "satanist" and I think this was due to my admitting to atheism at school and the rather muddy thinking of some of my class mates. Luckily I had a friend with a car and got away unscathed that time. (Margie Gwen #1638)

I have, sort of. Three redneck lumberjacks pretty much pounded the living crap out of me in the back of the bus after getting back from a band trip while the bus driver/band director/Baptist minister sat outside smoking a cigarette. The incident was really instigated by my (purely traditional, non believing) paganism, though. Ah, those lovely memories of High School life that make one sympathize with nut jobs like the kids from Columbine.
I was spit at (though not for his lack of trying to hit me) by some loud frothing man outside my grocery store and I assume it was because he saw my Darwin fish... He was ranting something about blasphemy and handing out home made pamphlets of some kind.
That's it for what I'd consider assault, since I don't really count verbal harassment. As for threats, since my first night in an atheist chat room four years ago I've gotten at least 60-70 threats of physical harm in varying degrees. I don't really take them seriously. (Stefan C. F.)

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