Old Atheism, or, Apologia Per Blogae Sua Revisited-

I have revisited my blog on different terms, and decided some of what I've posted, in opposition to religion, isn't really fair or appropriate when I consider that the position from which I am viewing other people's ethical deliberations is a position of relative privilege, generally. It's easy for me to point out "other fail". It's harder for me to figure out where people are coming from. I still think I need to point out "fails" where I see them, but I think my cultural criticism needs to undergo a social justice revamp, in terms of tone and the direction of my criticism. I haven't really blogged about atheism or against religion recently, except in a general anti-culture-warrior way, and this has been in part due to my recognition that faith genuinely is, if not integral to a person, in that it can be rejected, integral to the culture in which a given person has been acculturated.

I was not acculturated to religion, and used atheism as a kind of "rational privilege". I viewed myself in terms of having something innately better, and even if I do, it can't be my assumption in how I frame posts regarding faith. My current outlook isn't accomodation--per se, rather, I think I'm bowing to a kind of "tone argument" that has mostly been in my head--I just don't want to be "that atheist".  I want to not be insulting. I want to make arguments in good faith. I would rather be a little weak if it means not kicking someone in the slats. I think the way I want to go with my blog is going to be harder, but it's worth it to me to be kinder and more inclusive, and more readable for more people. It's all of a piece with the decision to do "trigger warnings" and use less gendered language. I want to write for a lot of people, and I don't want to exclude or "other" or wound anyone with what I say--well, except for sometimes discomfiting the comfortable.

I don't know how well I'll do at this, and I don't really have a readership, so I'm doing this in the dark--but at least, I read what I write--and I know I can do better. And part of this is ending my imaginary "religion-bashing rota". I never truly had one: I generally criticized religion based on stories of the day. But I think, instead of trying to put down all traditions equally, I will only address actual fails, and only as cultural or social justice fails, without the assunption that religion alone is responsible for a culture-fail, since things like mysogyny or homophobia, etc, don't occur in a void, but have both religious and other sources. I need to recognize things like that better.  I need to acknowledge I don't always understand all the intersections on class, education, etc. That being said, I can only try to be more considerate. So, that's an important thing I'm up to.