Austin Cline is a Hypocrite

The lead of the atheism section on About.com is a man named Austin Cline.  He regularly posts articles on a wide variety of topics and people can comment.  I followed his blog for a few weeks, even commented on a few articles here and there - being very careful to be respectful, civil and backing up any comment with facts and a valid argument.

Eventually I stopped posting, not because there wasn't a point to be made, but because he started (without any warning) blocking my posts and refusing to let them appear.  Now, to be fair, I don't care all that much, it's his blog and he can do what he wants with it... but I believe in civil discourse among people who don't always agree. 

When you let Reason have its day, both parties are often the better for a full throated debate of the issues.  You often get to something closer to the truth, as long as both parties are honest and open minded.

In a recent article, he talked about a recent Christmas parade in Texas, where a group of atheists joined in the march, playing "Jingle Bells" on vuvuzelas.  Their stated purpose wasn't to protest the parade, but rather to announce that they are part of this community.

The title of his article was, "Christians Disgusted that Atheists Dare Show Faces in Public."

Apparently, at least one of the local residents wasn't in favor of this and said so, which prompted the virulent reponse from Mr. Cline. 

Austin's article is here: http://atheism.about.com/b/2010/12/13/christians-disgusted-that-atheists-dare-show-faces-in-public.htm

The source article can be found here: KBTX TV

A couple of interesting things here:

- Only one person was quoted as being bothered by this, and it seems clear that she wasn't bothered by the atheist group doing something publicly, it was that they chose a Christmas Parade
- The head of the event was quoted as saying that they felt Jesus would have welcomed the atheists to the parade and they hoped their community would do the same (left out of the article on about.com)
- In the comments Mr. Cline was extremely aggressive with people who didn't agree with his take, or felt that he wasn't representing the situation fairly.  Mr. Cline attacked this person fairly ruthlessly, and then told them that their comments would not be allowed to be seen anymore in direct censorship
- One of the comments compared the situation to people in black face marching in a civil right's parade and asked if that would be ok, this was attacked as well

The actual issue at hand is the rightful limit of free speech in the public forum.  On one side we have a marvelous freedom to speak about issues publicly... on the other we have a responsibility to not yell, "fire" in a crowded place that might result in someone being harmed.

In that evaluation I have to come down on the side of the atheists being allowed to play and march.  They paid the fee, weren't doing anything directly disrespectful of the parade or the community and in America, folks can believe or refuse to believe whatever they want.

Was it in poor taste?  Of course it was.  Yes, they would be allowed to be in the parade, but "should" they be in the parade?  I have to come down on the side that this isn't the best place for even a passive protest. 

The problem with the comment about Martin Luther King Jr., and a float of people in blackface, wasn't that they didn't have a point, it was that the analogy wasn't a very good one.

Imagine a group like Exodus (who counsel and help people who want to leave a homosexual lifestyle), without commentary, trying to get into the Gay Pride parade.  Their point would be to "just let people know that they are still around."  Think they would be allowed to be a part?  Should they be allowed to be a part if they wanted to be?

To ask if they should be allowed into the parade is a valid question.  Would their presence, given their stated beliefs as anti-thetical to the gay agenda infringe upon the free speech / right of assembly of the parade's gathering?  I think you could make the case that it might.  And I think that this was the heart of Tina Corgey's concern about the Christmas Parade.

Ultimately, I disagree with her, but on reflection I think her concern might be valid, at least in part.

For Mr. Austin Cline's part, I have no sympather whatsoever.  The title of his article is both inflammatory and inaccurate.  He leaves out key information to make the situation look much worse than it actually was.  And to top it off, he actively attacks and then proceeds to censor comments that disagree with his point of view.

We're not talking about spamming, or active trolling here, but what looked like an honest commenter disagreeing with him. 

But do you see the problem?  He rails against a group that is "disgusted" by someone merely showing their face in public that doesn't agree with them - while at the same time, mocking, treating unfairly and ultimately censoring a voice that disagrees with his own.

If you want to hold a standard of free speech in the public forum being important, then you can't punish and censor those who disagree.  That is hypocrital behavior and, unfortunately for thinking people everywhere, it is par for the course in the atheism blog at about.com.
 
No one cares if atheists show their faces, or their blogs in public.  But when someone is dishonest in their rhetorical method and when people block honest discussion, only to further their own agenda, someone should call them on it.

So this blog will do that, on a semi-regular basis.  If people want to respond / comment, you are free to do so, I only ask that you keep things civil as far as possible.  The only reason I will ever censor comments on this blog is when they are disrespectful to the point of being harmful to the open exchange of ideas.