The Reason Rally!

Holy freakin' balls you guys. I am on tv. Well, not really. I'm on YouTube. Which is BETTER than TV!


It's just me talking about the Reason Rally, but still. It's pretty cool. I also look wide as a whale because it was uploaded at a weird ratio, but OH WELL. I'm still famous (not really). 


Anyway, the video is here.


You gonna be at the Reason Rally??

Reflections on Thanksgiving

I took this image from Postsecret, which is a fantastic website that I love to check every week. I thought about doing this post on Thanksgiving, then decided not to, then I saw this PostSecret today and changed my mind again. So we'll see how this goes.

Now, as you read this, I want you to keep in mind that I love my family, dearly. They are all good people, so this isn't a dig at them. They just don't understand sometimes.

I'm the middle of three children. I have an older brother and a younger sister. My brother and sister are both tall, blonde, and popular. They're both rockstar athletes (my sister made varsity track her freshman year, my brother was a basketball superstar) and were the cool kids in their grades. And I'm...this weird little brunette who likes school. So I kind of stand out already.

I got weirder. I liked books and didn't dress in cool clothes and I had nerdy friends...and then, the real blow. I did something against the Catholic church. I joined the Gay-Straight Alliance at my high school. That created some waves, and then even worse...I decided to do my first real act of activism. A gay couple at my high school told the GSA that they weren't allowed to buy prom tickets together, so the GSA was looking for volunteers to try to buy tickets to the next dance with a same-sex partner. So of course I volunteered with my friend Danielle.

My parents were not happy about that. We had a few really big fights about it, and they told me that didn't want me making waves, that I would get made fun of for doing it (except I was already being made fun of for everything else, so this wasn't a huge concern of mine), and they wanted to know why I had to be so different from everyone. Why couldn't I just be normal? (By the way, we were allowed to buy tickets together, and here's a PG rated picture of us at the dance together. I was 15 at this time, so don't be creepy.)

This became a recurring theme in my life. Why was I so different? Why couldn't I be more like my brother and sister? My parents weren't excited that I had straight A's, or that I volunteered on a regular basis all throughout high school, or that I was getting ready to be the first person in my family to go to college (well, it didn't seem that way at least). We just argued about how "out there" I was.

Now that I'm an adult with a college degree, and pay my own bills, am gainfully employed, they...still think I'm out there. It really sucks that I can't really talk about my work to my family, because they think I'm radical. I really don't think I'm that radical, but even if I were, the only things I talk about are helping students (because, you know, that's what I do)...and yet my family still thinks I'm radical.

It's weird, because my dad has admitted to me that he thinks the Bible is bunk, and he doesn't really believe in a Judeo-Christian god...but he calls himself a Christian because it's "easier." He thinks I should stop being "out there" and just "go with the flow." I think he's mostly a deist (even though he claims not to be). I felt really left out at Thanksgiving dinner when we prayed. I felt almost...targeted, because we haven't said a prayer before Thanksgiving dinner in years, and now that I'm a professional atheist, we have a prayer to our "Heavenly Father?"

It stinks, because you always hear about how standing up and being different is good...unless you're an atheist. Simply not believing in a deity and thinking we should have a separation of church and state is radical enough that my family doesn't want to hear about my work. That kind of sucks. :/

Anyway, that's why I think secular groups are important. Even if my family isn't excited about my job, my friends can be. I have my biological family, and I have the family I've built here in Columbus and online. My coworkers are all fantastic (like JT, he's so fantastic that I put his stuff in jello) and the people I've met at conferences are so kind and supportive.

I know there's no invisible sky daddy watching me who's proud of my accomplishments, but I can at least rest easy in the fact that I'm making a difference in the world and actually helping people...and there are people out there who are proud of me. 

And shit, I'm proud of me. That's pretty important.

My defection from the Catholic Church

That letter is my formal defection from the Catholic Church. Like many people, I was baptized as a baby, and since water was dropped on my head before I could talk, that means the church owns me forever!

Not anymore. I got my copy of a defection letter from here (PDF) and found the address of the church diocese that I was baptized at here (for US only). I filled out my info, and since the church doesn't want to lose me as a member, I wrote on the back "I request confirmation of my defection from the church sent to [address]. Thank you for your prompt attention." I then wrote my name and email underneath it. (Many thanks to my coworker JT for being my witness.)

It may seem stupid or unimportant to some of you. That's fine. For me, it's a big deal. I was a Shi'ite Catholic (to quote Jim Gaffigan), so to officially renounce it...feels good, man. Also, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has  over 600,000 members-- which is outrageous when you realize the metro population of Milwaukee is approximately 1.5 million. The Catholic Church is also the largest denomination of Christianity in the world, exceeding 1 billion members.

I don't want to be counted in that number. I don't want them to pray for me. I don't want them to keep sending requests for money to my parents' house for me. I don't think I need to go through the details of why the Catholic Church is a horrible institution. If for some reason you don't know why the church is so awful, I highly suggest you watch the Intelligence Squared debate with Christopher Hitchens and Stephen Fry. If you ever needed more reason to dislike the Catholic church, this will do it (or if you don't hate the Catholic church-- this will make you).

And considering it only takes a few minutes to do (I mean, the letter is already written for you and everything) and the cost of a stamp...it's worth it to me. I feel good about it. If you do it, leave a comment and let me know! Stop supporting this homophobic, misogynistic, and pedophilic organization. I'll post an update when I get a response from them.

(By the way, if you're in the mood for a laugh, definitely watch the Jim Gaffigan clip about Jesus and religious people. It's hilarious.)

So, who is this chick?

Alright, so you've happened on my blog. Probably because I bothered you on Twitter about it. Good job, you've made the right choice so far. Read carefully, there will be a quiz at the end.


Anyway, you may be wondering who I am, so I feel an introduction is due. So, my story, in abbreviated version (some parts will be expanded upon in future blog entries). 


I grew up just outside Milwaukee, WI and attended Catholic school for about 10 years. I was, for lack of a better term, a Super Catholic (TM). If they gave awards for being Catholic, I would have won. Yadda yadda yadda, in college I became an atheist (like I said, certain parts deserve their own entry, and so I will not go into much detail now). 


Of course, since I was mostly Christian when I was picking out colleges, I chose to attend an ultra-mega-extremist Christian college. Hey, they were friendly on my campus visit. I was generally fine with the outrageous Christian hegemony at the college (aside from a few annoying run-ins), until my senior year when I decided to start an atheist student group (this will be another entry of its own).


Basically, I started a Secular Student Alliance at my college and was then harassed for a year straight. It was awesome (for those of you who don't know me very well: that was sarcasm. I do that a lot. Don't worry, you'll catch on quickly.). 


It was pretty awful, if I'm being completely honest. Fortunately I had some good friends and support, and even more fortunately, I graduated! So in May of 2011, I was released out in the Real World, which was simultaneously awesome and horrible. After about two months of job searching, I applied for (and got!) a job working for the Secular Student Alliance (I'm going to talk about the SSA a lot, because it's an awesome organization, and you should support it. Go do that. I'll wait. *Twiddles thumbs* Done? Okay, cool.) 


So, I bought a car, packed up my life (and new kitten), and shipped off to Ohio. After just a few weeks, I was sent off to tour with Richard Dawkins with his new book, The Magic of Reality.

So, after a few weeks of travelling with my bff Richard, I came back to Columbus, and now here I am. Well, okay, technically I'm in Milwaukee visiting my family. Why don't you just pick apart everything I say?


And that's my life. If you have questions, leave me a comment! Or if you just liked (or hated) my blog, or me, or my face, leave me a comment as well. I'm new to this whole blogging thing so I hope I'm doing an okay job. If not, I'm sure you'll leave me a nasty comment telling me to die or get fucked or something, and those will be lovely to read as well.


Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving!