American Atheists Convention Recap (Sort of…)


It’ll be better to do a few separate posts on certain topics discussed at the American Atheists convention since there is so much to cover.

But for now, a couple quotations (which you’re not allowed to quote me on) and pictures!

Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists, during her introduction speech:

… has anyone come out of the closet and had a bad experience?

[Many hands go up.]

The atheism closet, I mean.

After her speech, the emcee introduced the next speaker, but first thanked Ellen for her remarks:

Bill Donohue [of the Catholic League] has said there’s a special place in hell reserved for you. And there’s probably also a special place in hell for our next speaker…

It should also be noted that C-SPAN and 20/20 were both there taping the first day of festivities. If it ever airs, I’ll let you know!

There are some fun pictures after the jump, so check them out!

Me with Ellen Johnson:

Ellen

Me with Dave Kong (left, the California state director of AA) and Dave Silverman (right, AA Communications Director and blogger at NoGodBlog):

Daves

Me staring at a fun little clock someone had…:

Bush

There’s also a picture of myself, Dave Silverman, and Anna Ka (the other 2006 AA scholarship winner) at the NoGodBlog!


[tags]atheist, atheism, American Atheists, convention, C-SPAN, 20/20, Ellen Johnson, Bill Donohue, Catholic League, Dave Kong, California, Dave Silverman, NoGodBlog, Anna Ka[/tags]

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10 Responses

  1. avatar Bjorn Watland Says:

    That is a neat clock. I wonder if there has been any information about politcal affiliations, and atheists? Or any other demographic information? It is kind of nice to attend a meeting, and have, not only your atheist views be a starting point for discussion, but politics, movies, food, even tea seem to be similar. I’m sure there is some clever marketing group out there hawking bush clocks, bundles of tea, an inconvenient truth, with The God Delusion.

    I look forward to hearing more about the convention!

  2. avatar Siamang Says:

    BEHOLD THE POWERFUL HAIR OF DAVE KONGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!

  3. avatar Prokop Says:

    So, are you getting to the point where you can show up at a convention and people will actually know who the hell you are?

  4. avatar FriendlyAtheist Says:

    So, are you getting to the point where you can show up at a convention and people will actually know who the hell you are?

    You know, sometimes my name might sound familiar to some people. But usually, I just see heads nods (like, “Oh, I remember hearing about that!”) and approving laughter when I’m introduced as “the guy who sold his soul on eBay.”

    I honestly think that this past weekend, though, more people knew me through this website than from the eBay thing.

    There are also a number of people at any atheist convention I go to that know me from prior to blogging/eBay through my work with the Secular Student Alliance.

  5. avatar Craig Fisher Says:

    Hey Hemant,

    It was great to meet you at the convention (BTW, I took the picture above of you with Dave & Dave) and having lunch together on Saturday.

    I look forward to seeing your upcoming book!

    Cheers,
    -Craig

  6. avatar FriendlyAtheist Says:

    Craig– It was great meeting you, too :) And thanks for taking the picture!

  7. avatar Friendly Atheist » Does It Really Matter if the Public Doesn’t Like Atheists? Says:

    [...] This was the panel discussion question posed at the American Atheists convention. [...]

  8. avatar Friendly Atheist » Where Are All the Atheist Women? Says:

    [...] At the American Atheists convention, there were more women (at least ratio-wise) than I’ve seen at just about any other atheist/skeptic event. It was nice to have them there, but this convention, like all others, was short-lived. [...]

  9. avatar Friendly Atheist » Comedy Jesus Says:

    [...] During the American Atheists convention, we were given a slip of paper that asked us what question we would like to ask God (if there was one). Those who chose to do so wrote a question down, put the slip of paper in a box, and then forgot all about it. [...]

  10. avatar Friendly Atheist » A Christian’s Impression of the American Atheists Convention Says:

    [...] At the American Atheists convention in Seattle earlier this month, I was surrounded by people who were presumably non-religious. But there was a small group (three people?) of Christians who came there as well. They weren’t there to stop the event or protest or anything. But they were questioning a number of people who attended and were willing to engage them. It was slightly annoying to many atheists, gauging from the reactions I saw, but the Christians didn’t seem to be crossing any lines. Still, atheists often go to conventions to get away from those discussions. We tend to have them in so many other areas of life that it’s nice to be free of that for a few days. [...]

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