{"id":139,"date":"2013-11-11T01:13:09","date_gmt":"2013-11-10T19:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/enoughsenough\/?p=139"},"modified":"2013-11-15T21:31:00","modified_gmt":"2013-11-15T15:31:00","slug":"where-i-worry-about-sounding-like-one-of-those-animal-rights-wackos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/enoughsenough\/2013\/11\/11\/where-i-worry-about-sounding-like-one-of-those-animal-rights-wackos\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2026where I worry about sounding like one of those animal rights wackos"},"content":{"rendered":"

I eat meat and support legal abortion. This makes me question how best to go about atheist activism. And it tilts me toward being more understanding and accepting of believers. Here are two, parallel arguments that show why:<\/span><\/p>\n

The accommodationist argument from vegetarianism:<\/p>\n

I eat meat, but the vegetarians have some good arguments. I get that taking a life is not justified by my desire for a certain flavor or protein source in my diet. Or by my desire for convenience or to fit in with my meat-eating friends. I just don\u2019t care enough to change. Vegetarians and animal rights activists simply must accept that most people eat meat and aren\u2019t persuaded by their arguments.<\/p>\n

Likewise, it seems atheists must accept that most people consort with various gods who, if they were real, would be grotesquely unfair and brutal. Most believers don\u2019t care enough to change. Comfort, religious experience and fitting in with their believing friends are just more important to them.<\/p>\n

We carnivores tolerate vegetarians at our potlucks. We are respectful, and sometimes admiring, of their celibacy from flesh. But that\u2019s all. We\u2019re not going to feel bad about eating meat, or put up with continuous harangues or emotional diatribes about it. If you don\u2019t like eating meat, don\u2019t do it.<\/p>\n

This seems to be the attitude liberal believers have toward atheists. \u201cYou have some good arguments, but some of us still believe. We don\u2019t feel bad about it, in fact we enjoy our belief. Logic bombs and dead babies have no effect on us. We don\u2019t think you\u2019re wrong, we just don\u2019t care about your arguments. Our belief in God causes no moral or social pinch for us. Leave us alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The accommodationist argument from the pro-life position:<\/p>\n

I support abortion rights, but the pro-life people have some good arguments. I get that taking a life is not justified by my desire to avoid pregnancy or the burden of raising a child. Or by my desire for convenience or to fit in with my friends. I just don\u2019t care enough to change. Pro-lifers simply must accept that most people want legal abortion, and aren\u2019t persuaded by their arguments.<\/p>\n

Pro-lifers must live in a world with legal abortion. Most abortionists don\u2019t care enough to change. Women\u2019s rights and personal autonomy are just more important to them.<\/p>\n

We abortionists tolerate pro-lifers in our society. We are respectful, and sometimes admiring, of their position. But that\u2019s all. We\u2019re not going to feel bad about providing legal abortions, or put up with continuous harangues or emotional diatribes about it. If you don\u2019t like abortion, don\u2019t have one.<\/p>\n

This seems to be the attitude abortionists have toward pro-lifers. \u201cYou have some good arguments, but some of us still support legal abortion. We don\u2019t feel bad about it, in fact we think it\u2019s a good thing. Dead babies have no effect on us. We don\u2019t think you\u2019re wrong, we just don\u2019t care about your arguments. Our position on abortion causes no moral or social pinch for us. Leave us alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, there you have it. As a meat-eater and supporter of abortion rights, I know what it\u2019s like to hear good arguments and hold my position anyway. I\u2019m outing myself. When I criticize believers for intransigence and unreason, I must admit that I am not untouched by them.<\/p>\n

Of course, there are counter-arguments which give us reasons to speak up anyway:<\/p>\n

The counter-argument against accommodationism from vegetarianism:<\/p>\n

Look, I\u2019m not a vegetarian because I like the cuisine. I\u2019m not a vegetarian because meat is unhealthy. I\u2019m a vegetarian for a far more important reason. When people eat meat, suffering increases. So, I can\u2019t apply Live and Let Live to carnivores. They don\u2019t Live and Let Live when it comes to animals. So, I can\u2019t just go along to get along.<\/p>\n

And, the counter-argument against accommodationism from the pro-life position:<\/p>\n

Look, I\u2019m not pro-life because I like birth defects or hate loose women. I\u2019m not pro-life because I think sex is only for procreation. I\u2019m pro-life for a far more important reason. When people get abortions, suffering increases. So, I can\u2019t apply Live and Let Live to abortionists. They don\u2019t Live and Let Live when it comes to fetuses. So, I can\u2019t just go along to get along.
\nI must conclude by saying that I don\u2019t want the vegetarians and pro-lifers to leave me alone. If I can\u2019t defend my position, then I am willing to put up with their reminders. In fact, I welcome it. Suffering should impact us, and good arguments should irritate us. I may not change my position, but I don\u2019t want to be uninformed about its weaknesses. Perhaps it will eventually wear through, or my values will change. I can honestly say that factory farming and abortion both bother me. Just not enough to change. Yet.<\/p>\n

If a person just happens to be an atheist, for reasons of fashion or circumstance, then there\u2019s little reason for that person to speak up. But if a person is an atheist for good reasons, reasons that matter, they shouldn\u2019t be silent. Atheists are stuck living among believers, but we don\u2019t have to stop putting forth our arguments. For many of us, it was argument and evidence that persuaded us away from belief.<\/p>\n

We know enough about human psychology to know that argument is not the only thing that causes us to believe as we do, or even the dominant thing. I can\u2019t explain why human suffering has caused me to reject God (even if he were real), while animal suffering has little effect. And I\u2019ve had countless conversations about God and religion where the other person completely understands my objections to God, but just can\u2019t muster the same outrage I have. Once I saw this in myself, I began to give stubborn believers a break.<\/p>\n

But argument has a way of sticking under the surface, reminding us that something doesn\u2019t fit. Faith, at its worst, is a way of smoothing over or denying these irritants. But even atheists like myself smooth over some things, as long as our values let us.<\/p>\n

\"206390-animal-rights-protests-in-2011\"<\/a>With this in mind, my aim as an atheist activist is to outline the issues, and to show the costs and benefits of holding various positions, including atheism. To be credible, I have to be even-handed and try to apply the same standards to my positions in other areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I eat meat and support legal abortion. This makes me question how best to go about atheist activism. And it tilts me toward being more understanding and accepting of believers. Here are two, parallel arguments that show why: The accommodationist argument from vegetarianism: I eat meat, but the vegetarians have some good arguments. I get […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/enoughsenough\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/enoughsenough\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/enoughsenough\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/enoughsenough\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/enoughsenough\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/enoughsenough\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/enoughsenough\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/enoughsenough\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skepticink.com\/enoughsenough\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}