In a little while, I'll be heading down to NYU's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts to see my great and good friend Dorian Devins, chanteuse and Secret Science Club goddess (one of a pantheon of two) interview Richard Dawkins. One of the friends I am meeting downtown is a total Dawkins fanboy, while another of them is, like me, a total Dorian Devins fanboy. While I appreciate the good that Dawkins has done as a populizer of science, I do recognize that he is oblivious to his straight white male privilege. I am looking forward to an evening of spirited discourse, followed by a trip to Mamoun's Falafel Restaurant.
I'll put up a post about the evening tomorrow. It's going to be an interesting evening, to be sure!
You can't fall into the trap of wanting all people who put reason above 'faith' to be uniform in their goodness or their personalities. One of the things that is at least generally true of rational thinkers and those who reject mythology and religious doctrine is that they tend to be smart. Beyond that, they are flawed humans, just like everyone else. Dawkins, Harris, Hitchins, ME - what we have in common is the willingness to reject the cultural indoctrination and attempt to bring the light of scientific reason to the fore. Beyond that, any expectations are no our responsibility...
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