Saturday 21 May 2016

"I'm actually an atheist"

I hope nobody minds about a controversial post from yours truly. Yesterday was the third anniversary of the Moore tornado in Oklahoma. It was a tragedy that happened far away, yet one uplifting, heart warming story caught my attention and the one of many Godless heathens like me. Journalist Wolf Blitzer interviewed one of the survivors, a mother of one who had left her house just before it got destroyed by the tornado with her toddler son. Blitzer asked then a very silly question about thanking the lord, as if it was anybody's business, to which the mother replied: "I'm actually an atheist." The interview went viral, Christian fundamentalists got offended (as they often do) and Rebecca Vitsmun became a sensation and a heroine for many atheists in the US and elsewhere. Three years ago, I blogged about her. I did not know her name then, but she earned my respect and admiration. it takes resilience and luck to survive a natural disaster of this scale. It takes even more courage when pressured to say a thundering platitude on national TV, in a country and a state that is deeply devout, often backwardly so, you come out of the closet as an unbeliever. Her story, during and after the tornado, is an admirable one. I have uploaded here a video where she tells it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I certainly believe in free speech and to each his own opinion and belief ,, if the people who follow the church are allowed to their opinion and speak openly of their beliefs all people of all beliefs have the same rights and no one should be surprised or offended,
religion is a private matter and I think should be kept that way, so much war has been waged on religion through history such a touchy subject.The person that interviewed this woman you spoke of lack good taste in saying what they did.I admire her for her honesty.