Sunday, March 18, 2012

A Sunday Atheist Meetup

The stars aligned for me today, so I was able to attend the Long Beach Atheist Meetup with 17 other local atheists. The two people pictured above, Henry and Yara, sat across from me. To be honest… I had a blast. The conversation was interesting and the people were gracious and caring. We talked politics and religion, but my favorite was when each person told the story of how and when they became an atheist. I got a few laughs when I admitted that I did not remember the specifics of my own story. Michael, the organizer, did a fine job building hosting. Thanks Michael.

I tried something different this meet. I left my gear at home. I normally have a good camera and a notepad. Instead of focusing on building a story for my blog, I focused on the stories of those around me. It worked too. Two hours passed without the urge to document my life with photos and stories.

Bruce Gleason of Backyard Skeptics attended the event. I managed to stay far away from the man. He’s at it again. He’s made the cover of the OC Weekly with a story called No Exist – Bruce Gleason wants to kill your god, one joke at a time. by Josh Dulaney. I’ll give it a read before I comment, but I’m already prejudiced by the title. I find myself in the unenviable position of explaining to my friends and family that I do not hold his views, nor do I think they helping my cause.

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