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It's because of morons like this that atheists get a bad rap.super mc plus t900

I recently remarked to a friend in passing that I am an atheist. A long while later, this conversation occurred:super mc plus t900

Me: Yea, I don't have big plans for Christmas.
Her: Well, of course not.
Me: Huh?
Her: You're an atheist.super mc plus t900

The thing is, I normally do celebrate Christmas (and I do call it Christmas). It's just that my folks are in China for the holidays so I have no family here to celebrate it with.super mc plus t900

This is why I sometimes tell people that I'm agnostic even though it's not the truth. Say "atheist" and you'll need to spend the next half hour explaining that you don't actually stab babies and shit on the homeless.super mc plus t900

I guess this comment is actually more related to your post about Dawkins but oh well.super mc plus t900

Wait, you don't stab babies? Dude, we're going to have to take back your membership card.super mc plus t900

I just noticed that Sean Carroll at Cosmic Variance covered this as well.super mc plus t900

I may have less of a tendency to identify with groups than most, but I don't think of Sklansky as reflecting poorly on atheists by being an asshole -- rather, he's just an asshole. In this case, he happens to be an asshole about atheism. In fact, I'd go further and say that the urge to caricature believers as dumb rubes isn't unique to atheists, but is simple a specific form of the general human tendency to be assholes to each other.super mc plus t900

Also, I should point out that Sklansky is not just a poker player and author, but one of the most prominent and well-respected poker theorists. Just to point out that, just as people who are stupid (from an atheist perspective) about faith need not also be stupid about numbers, Sklansky's genius with numbers doesn't prevent him from being stupid about people.super mc plus t900

I linked to the same article. However, he doesn't appear to have a lot more wins than you'd expect from a decent player who's been persistent for a long time, and all of his books are published by a house he owns, so I wasn't sure how much stock to put into that claim. If you've heard independent verification, that's interesting news.super mc plus t900

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