In an interview a few years back with The Sun magazine, atheist bigwig Sam Harris had this to say about the comparable (de)merits of religion and rape:
If I could wave a magic wand and get rid of either rape or religion, I would not hesitate to get rid of religion.
You can read the whole interview starting here.
And some people wonder why so many atheists have broken with Harris and the rest of the Old School New Atheist Boys Club to start Atheism Plus.
EDITED TO ADD: Hadn’t noticed that the interview was from 2006, so maybe this is old news to a lot of atheists. Still horrible.
wow, I’m speechless. Just fucking speechless
it’s almost as though privileged, thoughtless intellectuals don’t give a shit about anything that doesn’t affect them directly.
Hmm.
Why did he even think it was necessary to say this?
He is an asshole. But I’m sure he feels soooooo oppressed as a white male atheist. We just don’t know his pain.
I really wish dudes would stop talking about rape (unless they’re a survivor). They’re not helping.
Grrraaaaah. Must… not… hit self in head with brick…
I am not a violent person, but I hope Sam Harris, while walking barefoot, steps on a bunch of Legos, and then while trying to get away runs into a dark room where the floor is littered with thumbtacks, and once he finally gets outside he gets stung by a wasp.
Too much? I am kind of a crankypants right now. But tomorrow I am going to Disneyland with my favorite 6-year old, so I think that will cheer me up.
I’m so mad right now that I’m going to go make myself a second cup of hot cocoa to make me happy again. Seriously though, Sam Harris is a douche. The douchiest of douches. He is Captain McDoucheson of the SS Douchecanoe, powered fully by douchenozzle douchethrusters. He sails the sea of douche in search of people to be a douche to.
So right after this was posted, someone told me the date the interview took place. :-/ Old interview is old.
Still, I hadn’t heard of it all these years, and I’ve been into the atheism movement since high school. It gives me another reason to hate Sam Harris other than his blind spots to certain woo and his own ego.
@cloudiah
Yay Disneyland! I was there last weekend. It should be in full Christmas mode by now.
If I could get rid of something that is unlikely to affect me personally, or something that effects me personally, I’m going to go with the former. Way to take one for the team fuckneck.
It’s like one has a page marked “Sam Harris, Scumbag” and hits Refresh every so often.
Gah.
That’s it. Just ‘gah’.
I hope a large pack of Labradors eats spicy chili and shits all over his house.
@ cloudiah
Definitely not too much. I was rooting for several wasps myself.
And a white-tailed spider bite. Not fatal but serious pain.
Hound dogs make better plops.
I would like to amend my curse to include several wasps, Hippodameia’s labradors-with-chili-runs suggestion, and a white-tailed spider bite. Perhaps not all at once, but spread out over the course of a month. And maybe at the very end he could trip and fall into a pit full of porcupines. (NOTE: No porcupines would be harmed during the fulfillment of this curse.)
I hope Sam Harris gets squirrels in his attic, can’t find them and they keep him from sleeping well for a month.
I hope Sam Harris makes a pot of coffee only to discover that it’s decaf and he doesn’t have any regular coffee in the house.
I hope Sam Harris gets an itchy rash on his butt and when he goes to the doctor for it, they tell him that there’s nothing wrong with him.
Have fun at Disneyland, cloudiah!
I move for him to get shut in a closet for hours, and then at the end realize that it wasn’t locked.
Sorry y’all but I’m gonna go with the cruelest option so far stated:
I hope that in time, it dawns on Sam Harris just how badly he represented himself and his cause, and how futile his actions were. I hope he comes to realize that those who criticized him were right, and his efforts to uplift the things he believes in damaged the cause more than religion ever could have.
I hope Sam Harris comes to understand — deeply, comprehensively, and irrevocably — what his impact on the world really was.
Squirrels in the attic? That’s just cruel!
–the guy who lives in an attic
I’m no fan of Sam Harris anyway, but this is beyond ridiculous. Being atheist myself, and if I had to choose only one, I would gladly get rid of rape. I’m no fan of religion, but I’d rather see rape go away first. Between Sam and The Absolute Asshole, I mean, Amazing Atheist (in his own mind), they’re not doing much for the rest of us everyday atheists. We don’t all look up to these douche-buckets. š
Hmmm, if I could get rid of something that is real, tangible, measurable, and harms countless people daily and does absolutely no good for anyone, anywhere OR something I consider to be a delusion, but doesn’t always lead to harm… Gosh, what a dilemma. For a douchebag.
Inurashii wins, of course.
But I hope he gets attacked by a hamster and then at the emergency room they laugh at him.
I heard him give a talk on PBS years ago and his argument was reasoned and so I bought his book. His argument was not reasoned in the book. That was the point when I realized he is yet another con man. There sure are a surfeit of those d00dz.