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Why is there so much anger here?

So much anger and hostility in so many here. If there is no afterlife then it's certainly not advisable to sit around in this much anger and despair.

Instead of thinking you need a final answer maybe you just need to follow the path of the seeker. Sometimes the journey is more important than the final destination. Don't let religion or the religious kick your ass.

JeffMesser 8 May 22
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27 comments

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17

Frank discussion and disagreement is not anger. I actually respectfully enjoy that part of this site as long as it's rational discussion.

Lukian Level 8 May 22, 2018

I have encountered a few who promote logical fallacies and display a (usually) polite but profound errors in their fallacious assertions without the ability to reconcile their mistakes. Although they do not make me angry, I am annoyed that I waste so much of my time attempting to educating them on their mistaken assertions.

12

As others have pointed out, and quite correctly, being adamant shouldn't be confused with anger.
However, I embrace the anger. There is plenty to be angry about, and I don't believe in white-washing any emotion. Churches pay no taxes, that's bullshit. The religious have far too much influence in government and public policy, that's bullshit, too. Too many religious people feel completely justified in forcing their beliefs on the rest of us who have no interest. These are all things that it perfectly reasonable to be angry about.
Anger can be a great motivator to action against the things the are counter to living a peaceful life. There is no instance where it is acceptable to not call theists on their interference into the lives of others. Their continued interference is plenty to be angry about. Why shouldn't they be told to stop what they're trying to do?
Anger does not always have to be construed as a negative.
Anger is a natural human emotion and it's existence is equal to all other emotions.
Being angry doesn't mean a person is full of negativity. Not even close.

12

I am angry that people believe that their God wants them to beat their children,
I'm angry that people kill people because their imaginary God tells them to,
I'm angry that Churches swindle money from the poor,
I am angry that religion teaches to hate and kill gay people.

I have many good reasons to be angry at religion. But in general I am a very happy person. I also think your position is overstated.

there could be truth to that.

11

Don't mistake adamance of position and pointed language for anger, first.
Then, given the absolute harm posed by religion, as well as other mindsets...some will be quite adamant in those positions.

This is an apropos answer to the OP.

8
8

Hmmmm.... I see a lot of trigger words and statements and red flag statements. words that cause a reaction. You can get what you want in here. A peaceful easy feeling or a lashing out at you. It depends on what you say. Example.... a lady said she was chubby and had handles starting to come out. Well ...I took this as a sad way of saying she was getting fat and it bothered her. I said not to worry that she still looks hot. She jumped all over me for labeling her as a piece of meat. I thinking... God damn!!!.. what just happened here. She said she wanted to be called beautiful... people are very sensitive... and in pain in here ... not all... but some. The me too movement is going on right now. Females are having flashbacks of abuse. They're being vocal about their pain and who caused it. The equality issue is out there. Everyone wants equality in work or everywhere. The pay of others is not enough to survive on and some work 2 jobs just to live. Racial issues are an issue in here. A lot of statements about what the whites did and are doing. Take your pick of where you want to go. Of course we have those that have had enough religious bullshit and they've come here to vent and learn. This would be me most of the time. I tend to say the wrong thing in here and it causes a reaction I can't explain to make it right. I'm learning as I go. Theres a lot of pain going on... be patient and prepared. Good luck.

I have had the general life experience of well-intentioned words or deeds running afoul of various people's hot buttons and hangups and neuroses and past trauma that imposes a context on what I said or did that I could not possibly have known about. In my personal life I have largely drawn back and stood down, as I have lost confidence in my already meager ability to navigate the cross currents and undertows of other people's [mis]beliefs and [mis]perceptions. not to mention their snap judgments. Plus at my age, increasingly, I just don't give a fig. And clearly for the most part the feeling is mutual.

I like this kind of environment because people with online experience at least understand the limitations of the medium, the absence of body language and other nuance, and so are less prone to leap to silly conclusions than they are In Real Life. But even here, I can't tell you how many of my responses are heavily edited or just end up not being posted because I just find people's endless ability to misconstrue things and take up offense at the drop of a hat to be exhausting.

@mordant I understand you... it makes sense.

8

The directness and adamance of position as @Slappy_Longarms nicely put it, is a reflection of the determination of many of us not to let the religious and religions kick our ass, as you phrased it.

I can understand that. My issue is ... why not just let churchies do their thing? They're the ones picking a harder path. I just smh over them.

@kauva because I have a mother and father, a sister, three kids and a cousin. That's why

@kauva I am quite happy to let them be what they want to be, but it is because they insist that I believe and live as they do...that's where I get irritated and angry. Not to mention the fact that we have been forced to live in a world that they have created due to their beliefs....genocide, wars and politics, just to name a few. That is why I am angry.

@patchoullijulie I can understand that

7

I think when all is said and done, you find what you are looking for. I don't see much anger on this site. May be because I look for the positive and take what I can from that.

7

Not all of us, Kauva ?

Being “converted” to atheism has freed me to live for today! More and more joyful, learning to relax☺️

6

The anger has several reasons.

  1. We have been lied to during our youth and a large part of our adult life, and many of us have wasted valuable time and resources. People made wrong choices because of this, and harbored fear and repressed emotions or feel needless guilt about their sexuality.
  2. Right now people around us make the wrong decisions based on these falsehoods, possibly with damaging outcomes towards us, other people, and to the detriment of society as a whole.
  3. Right now people in our government and in our media start the same old discussions again, for the 100th time, about the same topics that have been exhaustingly discussed, finalized and where a consent exists based on facts, science and reason.
  4. As we speak, in our so called enlightened society, people seek to actively destroy separation of church and state to drive their archaic religious agenda and influence policy and obstruct scientific research and progress.

All this negatively affects our life, wellbeing and happiness, and is actually doing damage to everybody.

Why would we be NOT angry?

Joerg Level 3 May 23, 2018

@Faithless1 The Christians are the soldiers against reason. Even if their leaders are the plutocrats, our battle for truth over fiction is with the soldiers.

6

You say this as if anger were a bad thing...

There is nothing wrong about passion, anger, frustration. They're great motivators.

Now Hate! That's something people should be mindful for. Hate is poison. Hate has caused more suffering in humanity than any other emotion. Hate, ignorance and fear.

Be angry. Be hostile even. Some things should be fought.

But don't be a fearful, ignorant bigot. That causes the vast majority of humanities woes.

6

It's not all anger.

I'm sending you a vanilla cupcake in the post. 😛

SWEET!

@WillP2020

Yes. I made sure.

5

Are we reading the same posts?

I think that often text alone is misinterpreted by the persons own mood and viewpoint, as text lack vocal context and body language to help one interpret what was meant.

I see a lot of frustration on here myself, mostly having to do with politics, but I do not see that at "anger." I also see some resentments from people like myself, who have been raised in a theist home, which did nto suit our temperments, and also left a lot of emotional scars. But, resentment is not the same thing as anger either.

I admit to seeing a lot of frustration ... but many are also trimmed with anger.

@kauva I see more resentment than anger myself. however resentment does kind of sit on or straddle the fence of anger.

Having grown up in a Mormon home, I can understand all the resentment and see it as a natural reaction to a religious upbringing, but I don't see much anger or resentment outside of religious or political discussions. T don't think those persons are angry by nature, but rather only by certain situations about which they ned to vent.

4

The only time people get angry with me is in discussion of politics or religion.

4

I actually see less anger here than there should be.

Religion is justifying abuse, judgementalism, mysoginy, racism and inciting violence - and we damn well should be angry about that ... yet what I see here is remarkably chilled.

4

I don't see unusual amounts of anger and bitterness here. Maybe you're confusing watercooler snark and justifiable indignation about the harms of religion, with anger and bitterness. You should not do this; it's no better than theists confusing simple failure to agree with them, with persecution and hatred and rebellion and the like. Differences of opinion do not represent an existential threat to anyone. Well, unless maybe they are heavily invested in not thinking and believe that they will be punished for having doubts.

I am definitely a seeker but that does not mean I'm credulous or that I don't have justifiably high levels of certainty about some questions. Being a seeker does not mean you never find anything. Many -- arguably most -- things are very uncertain, especially when you unpack them in detail, but some things are just inherently not very likely to be true, and some things are just inherently very likely to be true. I would waste my time to continue to seek after answers when, on occasion, I actually find them.

I hear you... I've had a different experience. I'm the next post above you. Check me out.

3

i do not see much anger here only common sense and thoughtfull posts altho if one is relifious then one may misunderstand the posts as they are likely to be detrimental to their beliefs

3

I know. I can still get angry at the blind and fanatically religious but my main strategy is avoidance. I would never be trapped in an elevator with Franklyn Graham.

3

I don't experience it, but then I would never engage with someone who was angry in a bullying way. My feelings about anger are that it is the only feelign that is a force for change. Fear,Sadness ,& Joy don't get anyone who is standing on your foot to get off Anger is the only force we have for change.

you should listen to the dalai lama talk about anger. he's been on a roll about that one lately.

3

There are 2 main sources of anger: (1) outrage at the incivility and lack of morality in the behavior of irrational haters and fear-mongers, and (2) dissatisfaction with oneself which the person has difficulty dealing with. I often feel anger toward those in the first case, but I am not angry about who I am and/or my circumstance.

2

Yep, you seem to be confusing anger with conviction.

I do see a lot of anger here as well.

@kauva What you 'perceive' as anger doesn't equate to anger. Hard to tell how people are really communicating via text. Unless you can read someone's body language, you don't know if they're angry or not...you can imply anger, but that doesn't make it anger. If you read my posts about Republicans, you'd think I'm angry as hell and...well, I'm a bad example! Fuck you! 😛 Seriously, I'm displeased greatly about the current administration, and I express myself in a way that makes me sound angry, but most of the time, it's just matter-of-fact information that is how I feel, in an undoctored manner...just the way I like being communicated too....in a "cut the bullshit" manner.

@Clauddvon good point. I call what I see anger because it makes me feel anger empathically. but thats in me ... you're right.

2

I'm also curious how one reasons with someone firmly believing you are less than them, or simply wants you dead, particularly when they seek or have the means of implementing those desires.
Live and let live is a great philosophy but everyone has to play.
Unfortunately reality slaps the shit out of idealism at every turn.

2

I get pissed on regularly, but enjoy the shower ! Many are very short tempered. They should realise opinions are just that and they belong to the individual ?

1

You must be looking at different posts from me. I haven't seen much in the way of anger. A bit of irritation, a bit of shouting and bad language, but that is the way some people are, and young people these days use expletives much more than they did when I was younger. I have seen a few people letting off steam about the oppressive believing communities they have managed to escape from. Have you found much anger in the Philosophy section? It doesn't seem a very angry group to me.

0

'Anger is an energy'..... John Lydon.

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