Socratic Berean
Occasional thinker, perpetual seeker
Yes, Sayf. I was trying to focus attention back to the exact passage that I initially focused on. I appreciate your input on my initial post. I'll try to be more clear upfront in the future.
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Richard Dawkins’s response to his de-platforming in Berkeley
- Thread starter Sunstone
- Start date
Socratic Berean
Occasional thinker, perpetual seeker
Columbus - I'm not interested in debating symantics. He clearly says, "Mock them!" not "Mock their ideas!" He says, "Ridicule them! In public!" not "Ridicule their ideas! In public!" Mayhaps Dawkins was just imprecise with his language here, but this really isn't worth arguing over, and he clearly attacks people, not ideas, in many of his other comments (like his claims about how Down Syndrome children should be killed in the womb).
Sayf_ibn_Umar
New Member
Socratic Bean: Is Dawkins, in this quote, saying that the people or the claims of religion need to be ridiculed with contempt?
Here's another very unfair representation of Dawkins' views from you:
To that he mockingly said "But that's their culture" and then later said "to hell with their culture". So he was basically saying that the oppression of women can't be excused by it being someone's culture.
How is that remotely supposed to be "hate speech"? Don't you agree that we shouldn't excuse practices like forcing women to wear a burqa by saying that it's "their culture"?
Socratic Berean, did you find those quotes yourself or did you find them on a list somewhere on the internet?
Here's another very unfair representation of Dawkins' views from you:
Here you can see the interview in which he said this. He was answering a question about "forcing" women to wear "a beekeeper's suite in the hot sun all day".Socratic Berean said:
To that he mockingly said "But that's their culture" and then later said "to hell with their culture". So he was basically saying that the oppression of women can't be excused by it being someone's culture.
How is that remotely supposed to be "hate speech"? Don't you agree that we shouldn't excuse practices like forcing women to wear a burqa by saying that it's "their culture"?
Socratic Berean, did you find those quotes yourself or did you find them on a list somewhere on the internet?
Notanumber
A Free Man
This proves that you don’t need to be a posh speaker to talk a lot of sense.
Notanumber
A Free Man
Is Kevin J. Johnston the Canadian equivalent of Britain’s Tommy Robinson?
Does anyone know the facts?
Does anyone know the facts?
Dawkins has said some stuff I don't agree with. But when it comes to his criticisms of religion and specific religions, he's not hateful nor crazy, nor is it BS.
This is of relevance.
Largest gathering of ex-Muslims in history – Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain
Resolution on Richard Dawkins
The International Conference on Free Expression and Conscience in London, the largest gathering of ex-Muslims in history, is concerned that Richard Dawkins, an invited speaker at the conference, has been de-platformed by the radio station KPFA in Berkeley, California because of his alleged “hurtful” comments on Islam.
Professor Dawkins is a well known critic of all religions, whose long-standing attacks on Christianity have never resulted in anything approaching de-platforming. Indeed he has aired his views on KPFA itself. Belatedly, KPFA seems to have noticed that Islam is not exempt from his criticism. They have applied a hypocritical double standard in cancelling his appearance in Berkeley, and have disappointed the large numbers of people who had bought tickets to hear him.
Given that most of the speakers and delegates at our conference are Islam’s apostates, many from countries where the legal penalty for apostasy is death, we find it necessary to remind KPFA that criticism of Islam is no different from criticism of Christianity or Judaism. Also, criticism of Islamism is no different from criticism of the Christian-Right, Jewish-Right or Hindu-Right. Criticism of religious ideas as well as violent religious political movements isn’t bigotry but integral to free conscience and expression and vital for human progress.
We call on those – like KPFA – who should be our natural allies and ‘progressives’ whose freedoms and rights are largely the result of the fight against the church and Christianity not to betray or deny the same right to Islam’s critics, non believers, and dissenters.
Progressive politics means fighting on many fronts, including against bigotry, xenophobia, the far-Right, which includes Islamism, and for freedom of conscience and expression.
CEMB’s work is founded on universal human rights: the right to freedom of religion or belief and the right to free expression. Laws against homosexuality, blasphemy and apostasy and the terror associated with them are grave violations of human rights. Human rights do not advance unless perpetrators are named. Defending human rights: the right to life, the right to love and the right to free speech do not incite hatred. They constitute opposition to the politics of hate and fear.
Islamists use accusations of ‘Islamophobia’ to deceptively conflate criticism of a set of beliefs (Islam) and the religious-right (Islamism) with bigotry against a group of people (Muslims) in order to silence dissent. But we will not be silenced. We will continue to fight on several fronts: against racism and anti-Muslim hate and homophobia, for the rights of migrants and refugees, while simultaneously defending the right to apostasy and blasphemy.
Largest gathering of ex-Muslims in history – Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain
Resolution on Richard Dawkins
The International Conference on Free Expression and Conscience in London, the largest gathering of ex-Muslims in history, is concerned that Richard Dawkins, an invited speaker at the conference, has been de-platformed by the radio station KPFA in Berkeley, California because of his alleged “hurtful” comments on Islam.
Professor Dawkins is a well known critic of all religions, whose long-standing attacks on Christianity have never resulted in anything approaching de-platforming. Indeed he has aired his views on KPFA itself. Belatedly, KPFA seems to have noticed that Islam is not exempt from his criticism. They have applied a hypocritical double standard in cancelling his appearance in Berkeley, and have disappointed the large numbers of people who had bought tickets to hear him.
Given that most of the speakers and delegates at our conference are Islam’s apostates, many from countries where the legal penalty for apostasy is death, we find it necessary to remind KPFA that criticism of Islam is no different from criticism of Christianity or Judaism. Also, criticism of Islamism is no different from criticism of the Christian-Right, Jewish-Right or Hindu-Right. Criticism of religious ideas as well as violent religious political movements isn’t bigotry but integral to free conscience and expression and vital for human progress.
We call on those – like KPFA – who should be our natural allies and ‘progressives’ whose freedoms and rights are largely the result of the fight against the church and Christianity not to betray or deny the same right to Islam’s critics, non believers, and dissenters.
Progressive politics means fighting on many fronts, including against bigotry, xenophobia, the far-Right, which includes Islamism, and for freedom of conscience and expression.
CEMB’s work is founded on universal human rights: the right to freedom of religion or belief and the right to free expression. Laws against homosexuality, blasphemy and apostasy and the terror associated with them are grave violations of human rights. Human rights do not advance unless perpetrators are named. Defending human rights: the right to life, the right to love and the right to free speech do not incite hatred. They constitute opposition to the politics of hate and fear.
Islamists use accusations of ‘Islamophobia’ to deceptively conflate criticism of a set of beliefs (Islam) and the religious-right (Islamism) with bigotry against a group of people (Muslims) in order to silence dissent. But we will not be silenced. We will continue to fight on several fronts: against racism and anti-Muslim hate and homophobia, for the rights of migrants and refugees, while simultaneously defending the right to apostasy and blasphemy.
Notanumber
A Free Man
The truth hurts!
A rational man.
What a disappointment for those that had their tickets returned.
A rational man.
What a disappointment for those that had their tickets returned.
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