There, I Said It!
Thursday, June 17th, 2010
I am *officially* “out”. My family has known for a long time that I don’t believe in God, but the only time the word “atheist” has been used is when my mom asked me once about some atheist articles she’d seen I had written. But in the car tonight, I said I was an atheist. “You mean agnostic, right?” asked my brother. “Nope, I am an angry, bitter atheist!” I announced gleefully.
Silence. Apparently, I was the only one who found my “angry, bitter atheist” comment humorous.
Well, at least it’s been said. Say it once, it gets easier. While I wasn’t hiding anything, I have been very unoffensive. I don’t feel like I don’t have to downplay a major part of me anymore. (And for me in the southern half of the US, atheism is a big part of who I am. What I hope is that someday, it doesn’t have to be a big part of anybody’s life. If that makes sense.) It’s nice to feel like you can be yourself. I even made fun of Sarah Palin. In retrospect, maybe I shouldn’t have done both in the space of five minutes.
Tags: atheist
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June 17th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
That was a very brave thing to do…(says someone who hasn’t said it out loud…and is getting a job in Texas, so he’ll wait for tenure before saying it..)
June 17th, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Tip o’ the hat to you.
Reminds me of Julia Sweeny’s mom… not believing in god was one thing, but being an atheist! Oh!
June 17th, 2010 at 6:10 pm
Good for you. My mom still gets creeped out at the A word, and my dad recently told me he pleads the blood of Jesus on a portrait of me daily, while praying for the holy spirit to “kick my ass”.
Seriously, though, people will accept it. Even in the South. Best of luck!
June 17th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
That’s great – congrats! I did it a few years ago and still revel in that feeling of freedom. My life changed in so many ways.
June 17th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
Congratulations, from a like minded chap in London who wishes you well !
June 17th, 2010 at 6:56 pm
FWIW, you can always make atheism seem like the better choice. If you tell people, for example, that you talked for a long time with a friend who tried to convince you to convert to Islam and that, while you considered it, you decided after all to stick to atheism they’ll be so relieved they won’t want to bug you any more!
June 17th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Oh yay! I wish I had your bravery!
June 17th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
I find it interesting that your brother seemed to think that being an agnostic was somehow preferable to being an atheist. I call myself an agnostic, but my reasons for rejecting God and theism tend to be exactly the same as those of most atheists.
June 17th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
Go Laura! Proud of you!
June 18th, 2010 at 12:13 am
Congrats! LOL Uhm…the Sarah Palin bit…nice way to drive it home! /applauds
Who with any amount of intelligence WOULDN’T make fun of Palin? I would be PROUD of my children for showing their recognition of idiocy at it’s absolute pinnacle.
June 18th, 2010 at 2:23 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Global Atheist, Reverend Evolution. Reverend Evolution said: There, I Said It!: I am *officially* “out”. My family has known for a long time that I don’t believe in God, but t… http://bit.ly/bN0jQW [...]
June 18th, 2010 at 5:46 am
Congratulations!
Very brave of you.
Looking forward to hearing more!
June 18th, 2010 at 6:30 am
Yey! Well done you
June 18th, 2010 at 6:48 am
You are a brave girl! I’m not sure I have the guts to ever say it (even though I’m more agnostic) in front of my parents, or friends, or parents-in-law. I am very thankful for my husband who not only feels the same way I do, but doesn’t judge me
It’s too bad that we have to feel this way in front of the people who supposedly love us. I don’t judge their religious views, so why should they judge mine?
June 18th, 2010 at 8:07 am
**“Nope, I am an angry, bitter atheist!” I announced gleefully.**
I like this! It’s a mystery and a paradox, just like God.
June 18th, 2010 at 9:19 am
I find such delight in your stories, particularly when they turn out well. You have a wonderful capacity for capturing moments between people and of expressing your own state of mind without becoming dreary or overstating your case. I hope you keep writing.
June 18th, 2010 at 9:41 am
I was lucky. My parents were, I think, a bit disturbed to discover that I don’t believe in God, but I never felt like I couldn’t (or shouldn’t) tell them. They never gave me any grief about it, either.
But then, I was coming out of a much more moderate version of Christianity.
June 18th, 2010 at 11:59 am
Good luck to you. In my hazy recollection, the first year was the hardest for my family.
June 18th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
Congratz
I went through this two years ago and it felt really great. Many of my relatives stopped talking to me, and I couldn’t care less. My parents, however, were really understanding, and this made it a lot easier for me.
The only negative thing is that, since I’m Lebanese and living in Lebanon, I can never be too careful because you never when you might face some sort of aggressive behavior from fundies (especially Muslim extremists).
Best of luck…
June 19th, 2010 at 8:24 pm
[...] There, I Said It! (redheadedskeptic.com) [...]
June 26th, 2010 at 10:44 am
Yea so I’ve not done this yet. My parents, my family, my friends have no clue that I’ve “crossed over to the dark side.” I don’t know if and when I will tell them, I’m still getting used to me new views and ideas myself. But congrats to you, that was brave.