I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten emails or comments on the site saying I was being needlessly offensive, and I should go out of my way to avoid hurting the feelings of others. These messages have even come from other atheists who disapprove of my use of strong language or mockery. Here, Phillip Pullman (author of “The Golden Compass”) echoes how I usually respond to these accusations: no one has the right to not be offended, and I’ll say what I want to say, regardless of the objection of others. My own right to speak my mind shouldn’t be compromised simply because a few cry baby assholes feel I’m being “mean” or offensive. Religious folks don’t have to read any of our shit if they don’t like it, and can keep on believing in their fairytale bullshit if they so chose. Stop going around crying foul every time someone disagrees with your unsupported and generally childish worldview, morons!
Tag Archives: secularism
National Secular Society goes after NHS chaplains
I have to admire the tenacity and boldness of Britain’s NSS. These guys are always looking for ways to untangle the church and state, and their battle recently has been to get the National Health Service to stop spending money on chaplain services. According to their report, the state spends close to 32 million pounds on these guys, which is an expense the NSS feels should be absorbed by the church.
Personally, I couldn’t agree more. Already religious organizations benefit from not paying any taxes. With that extra cash, the state could afford to hire 1,300 new nurses. That’s a lot of extra hands to help provide care to people who will actually make a difference in their health service. I’m guessing, of course, that the policy won’t change. If there’s one thing that is predictable in any bureaucracy, it’s that nothing ever gets done.
I’m not implying chaplain services aren’t appreciated by religious people who do get ill, but why the hell can’t the church contribute their services for free? The fact these institutions pay no tax represents a huge loss of tax revenues. Is it too much to ask that they stop suckling at our collective teat and start contributing more to society than their useless chants and dogmatic advice?