Josh sends us this latest nugget of nastiness for all of us to choke on. Paula Zahn, a CNN anchor, headlines an issue driven show aptly named Paula Zahn Now. On a recent show, Zahn covered the story of an Atheist family in a small Mississippi town that complained to their son’s public elementary school about class time devoted to bible study and prayer.
What follows is simply astonishing. The panel of “experts” on CNN consists of a Jew and two Christians. With the exception of one panel member, they openly assaulted the Atheist family in a most degrading fashion. What I find most amusing is that the two people who are attacking the Atheists are both female and one is a Jew and the other a black. Both of these groups have suffered in recent history, yet it appears that neither remember. It’s truly sad.
If you would like to submit feedback to the show, do so here.
Related posts:
- Dawkins Defending Atheism On CNN
- An Atheist’s Worst Nightmare
- Martin Thinks Atheists Are That Bad
- Atheists Aren’t That Bad
- Viva Las Vegas
February 6th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
The report didnt seem to bad, but they REALLY should have picked a better panel.
February 6th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Haha, I couldn’t help but laugh through that whole thing, especially at the women. The black fella seems to have his head screwed on straight. Those other two were just completely clueless. I can only guess that they were on that panel for the comedy value.
February 6th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Geez, those women were pretty stupid, especially the black one. The black guy, though, was the nicest of them.
I wish they would have had an atheist there to at least voice his opinion, as all 4 of those people (and probably all of the management) were probably biased.
February 6th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Why in Zeus’s name is there a sports announcer on the panel? Could they find even less qualified people to comment on this subject? Why again should we trust in God?
Paula Zahn is a grade-A moron.
February 6th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Oh you guys got that too? And I thought my society was bad… Go figure.
Even we don’t have public prayers in school(I hope i’m not giving my moslem townsmen ideas here) for god/allah/jehova/christ/mohammed’s sake! if you wanna pray do it in your own time. you wanna go to church on saturday that’s fine, you got that day free to do _whatever_ you want! Same for mosques and other temples too.
Of course we do have a minority of people here who do pray one or two of the total 5 prayers at the mosque, but they do it during the break, or else skip a lesson.
Wanna learn more about religion? That’s fine, do so. But school ain’t got funds to cover the 100000+ religions we know(not even enough to cover all the different aspects of Christianity)
A fact that these guys will have to deal with is that freedom for everybody also means that we atheists have the right not to do what you guys think is right(tm)
By the way, I don’t give a shit about God on the dollar or some kind of text, it actually adds some nice metaphorical meaning sometimes i think. Still, if you guys want me to swear something you better let me swear by the laws of quantum physics…
Wow that felt good:D I need to vent off more often.
February 6th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
I don’t know what surprises me more. That they actually had a SPORTS COMMENTATOR talking about political issues or that he was the most reasonable one there. He still wasn’t very reasonable, but that’s cable news for you.
February 6th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
This is terrible, but I have one comment about the write-up. “Black” in adjective or an abstract noun, not a common noun. Calling someone “a black” makes no more sense than calling them “a Jewish” or “a Judaism”.
February 6th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Well the money saying “In God we Trust” doesn’t bother me honestly. I don’t pay attention to it. The thing that gets me is the pledge. I have two kids (one who claims to be an atheist, but I don’t put that on her. I don’t think she’s old enough to decide such a thing) and at their school we say the pledge everyday.
I find it sad that in the middle of this pledge to the flag an my country, I am expected to say something I wholeheartedly disagree with.
February 6th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
So many times on this site do I get the follwing thought and with this post it’s no different. I can’t help but think, “Oh Canada”. But then again are we that much better? Sometimes I tell myself most of the moderate Christians I grew up with are probably atheists now too but don’t talk about it. Then again we barely talk about religion in public so it’s hard to tell. And I do feel as though if I were to tell my Christian friends I was atheist they’d probably stop talking to me. I guess there’s just one way to find out.
We did have Richard Dawkins come to speak for his new book last year. The tickets were sold out so I imagine atheists are all around….. what a comforting thought :).
February 7th, 2007 at 12:47 am
Gah what a mess.
February 7th, 2007 at 1:12 am
Absurd to not have a well educated atheist on that panel. I bet they asked around the office who wanted to debate 5 minutes before taping.
February 7th, 2007 at 1:52 am
“Absurd to not have a well educated atheist on that panel. I bet they asked around the office who wanted to debate 5 minutes before taping”
So you noticed that, and you never noticed it when they talk about Islam, you never find Muslim to defend or give his opinion, it’s always Christian or Jewish.
February 7th, 2007 at 2:04 am
CNN has always been a poor network like that.
February 7th, 2007 at 2:07 am
What a worry… but as disturbing as the two women were I think that can be chalked up to the fact that they are close-minded hypocrites (i.e. just about everything the christian woman said could have been reversed from an atheist point of view).
Is America seriously that theist? 97%?! In Australia the last figures I saw put atheism closer to 25%.
February 7th, 2007 at 2:54 am
“Atheists are week, and that’s a good thing.”
Sister, you have no clue how strong we can be. Lalla Ward and Richard Dawkins said it well, organizing atheists is like hearding cats, but get enough cats together, and they can make a lot of noise that can’t be ignored!
February 7th, 2007 at 2:59 am
I had to laugh about the “one nation under god” thing, seeing how it was only added in the 50’s.
(the thing on the coin was added in about the same time)
the woman are obviously morons, they’re contradicting themselves constantly. the black guy is the only one who’s being openminded and makes sense. That closing statement, to her i’d like to say “you’re welcome to come over here and open your eyes for a change”
Is the “We’re the best, it’s us against the rest of you” attitude really that strong in the USA?
February 7th, 2007 at 3:03 am
also, agnostic
It sounds about right, there being ” at least 3 million” atheists (a bit more, between 9 and 25 million. 3 million makes it 1%)
9 million in 300 million makes 3% atheists, so naturally the remaining 97% believes in some kind of god.
I’m really glad I don’t live in Retardia.
February 7th, 2007 at 3:37 am
Hey, as bad as our country is sometimes other nations (especially members of the EU) have no say in how we run things.
Last time I checked we stomped religious fanatics before they torched entire countries.
February 7th, 2007 at 6:28 am
Haha. Revlic you are absolutely right, and because of that, the US will soon have no say in how we (Europe) run things. Who do you think will be the looser in such future?
If anything you should embrace whatever help we would offer you, but every time Europe tries to help you out, the US either ignore, ridicule or manipulate the effort. So keep creating enemies, alienate all those who wish to help you, you might succeed in digging the deepest hole ever created by man.
February 7th, 2007 at 7:57 am
Ah…. this makes me so angry. How can anyone make the statement that the USA is a christian nation. The whole point of freedom of religion is that we are not a christian nation, it’s that the government itself is supposed to be secular and thus putting god in the pledge or on the money is hypocritical. I don’t think i will ever understand peoples need for god. It has always seemed like a waste of time, energy and money.
February 7th, 2007 at 8:32 am
I am speechless at how completely off-base that whole “report” was. They picked an unattractive group that poorly represented the atheist viewpoint, then picked an attractive group with no connection to reality that did nothing but rant like mad. The only shred of sense I heard was the one gentleman supporting the right to believe or not believe as the individual sees fit.
They are right about one thing: we are on the offensive against unreason. As long as there are people who devote their lives to unfounded beliefs at the detriment to others, atheism will continue to be a movement.
February 7th, 2007 at 10:54 am
I see a lot of USA bashing in this thread and that bothers me, we are not THE most religious country in the world by far, I am pretty sure most moslem countries take that race. As for the most christian? I am going to be completely blunt, most of the jacklegs here that claim to be christian arent. They “believe” the bible. Its a big facade, they don’t live the life. I am willing to bet most of them are agnostic and don’t know it, and a lot are atheist but wont admit it. Hate on us all you want, even with our flaws I feel my country is the best in the world. You can’t have a flawless system of government once you add people into the mix.
Oh and to the guy up there that said his friends wouldn’t talk to him if he told them he is an atheist: Guess what? They aren’t your friends in that case. If your non belief would keep them from talking to you when they find out, they are just acquaintances.
February 7th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Hello Michael,
I don’t think our European and Australian (any others?) friends are insulting us Americans. I think they are more sympathizing, or at worst pitying us because of the level of religiosity that we have to put up with.
I do agree with you, however, that most Christians in this country are only nominally so. Most call them selves Christian though, but never seriously think about spirituality and rarely attend church. In fact, I wrote an article some months ago that addressed this topic. Towards the beginning of that article, I lay out the argument that America is a secular nation. You can follow the links in that article to see the stats that support this.
The panel on the CNN clip only referred to America as “a Christian nation, no doubt about that” out of shear ignorance on the topic. The big toe on my left foot knows more about religion in America than all three of those talking heads combined.
February 7th, 2007 at 11:58 am
“So you noticed that, and you never noticed it when they talk about Islam, you never find Muslim to defend or give his opinion, it’s always Christian or Jewish.”
Considering I do not have cable TV, and this is the only clip I’ve seen of CNN in who knows how long, no I have not ever noticed the lack of Muslim debaters :P
February 7th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
The film itself was quite fair, I think, but the panel needed an atheist. I would have thought that it was obvious to have one given that’s what they were talking about.
As for the money, I’d like to see them print “it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” on it.
February 7th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
That panel was a joke. Here was shown a story of how a family was run out of town because of their beliefs, and the panel, mainly those female jerks on the panel, blame the victims. I’m losing more and more respect for Paula for airing this kind of crap.
February 7th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
So I submitted a comment, and this was the response.
“Dear I-Reporter,
On behalf of CNN, please accept our sincere thanks for your I-Report submission during our memorial coverage of the tragic death of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin. Thanks to the many submissions from our viewers, our coverage carried the personal touch that came from his vast and personal outreach to his many fans. Our programming effort was a huge success, and you are part of the reason for that.
Again, we sincerely thank you and hope you will continue to send relevant submissions to us at http://www.cnn.com/exchange/ireports/topics/
Best wishes,
CNN Public Information”
I really think I’ve made a difference.
February 7th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
Wow…number 15 …you sound like a 5 year old defending your tree house code of honor…
Atheist’s should be allowed to practice their anti-positive overly independent beliefs whenever and however they want…The fact is,everyone knows that people are going to “rebel” against any form of rules or set standards.
So honestly, If our country was a “Vegan” country, then right now there would be 10 million Vegans running around expressing their Anti-vegan beliefs just for the sake of having the right to go against it. Not even for the sake of actually liking meat. I think that’s how far Atheist’s are willing to go. It’s ridiculous.
This country was founded and constructed due to our strong beliefs. Without them, We would not be the country we are today. Whether its Christianity or Jewish or Muslim or whatever else. Having your faith in something bigger is what makes us human. It is what separates us from the animals. You are so caught up in the whole anti perspective, that you don’t even have time to see that Christianity and all the other religions are not here to condemn you, They are here to spread love, peace, and Joy. I don’t think I have heard an Atheist speak positive about anything. I don’t recall an Atheist contributing anything positive or useful to mankind.
Nope.
But just know. I still love Atheist because you are human, and God loves them even more.
and as far as the whole panel thing goes, I definitely know where you guys are coming from. I don’t think that the panel did any justice really.
February 7th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
The panel is retarded; just because I’m an athiest means I don’t believe in anything? That’s nihilism you idiot. I have plenty of beliefs and faith as an athiest, it’s just that none of them involve a magical, mysterious supernatural force. As intolerant as it is, I feel about nihilists as some of the panelists do about athiests. Someone who believes life has no purpose scares me, and maybe that’s the reason for this massive fear of athieism, people confusing it with nihlism.
The black guy (did it say ESPN analyst?, heh) was also getting to an important point, that it’s irrelevant
who’s levelling charges at government about things like public prayer in school, it’s against the USC, therefore, illegal. The women make it seem like it would be OK to go kill a bunch of homosexuals because “it’s a Christian nation.”
February 7th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
@Josia
I am somewhat passionate about the issues you raised - so I hope you will do me the courtesy of reading this reply properly. It is not intended to be a flame, but rather an honest expression of my reaction to your words.
This country was founded and constructed due to our strong beliefs.
Absolutely. Belief in freedom. Including freedom from religious tests - i.e. freedom from having to be religious
Check your constitution - how many times does it mention freedom? How many times does it mention christ?
Do you really have a deep understanding of what your *country* is founded on, or do you only know what your *local church* is founded on? How much time do you spend in church compared to the rest of your great nation? How much of your country have you seen? How many states have you spend time in?
Having your faith in something bigger is what makes us human. It is what separates us from the animals.
Well you would like Richard Dawkins then. He is an athiest and describes himself as deeply religious about the things he believes in. I am an athiest, yet I would be surprised if you give more time and money to charity and the wellbeing of other people as I do.
I resent the assertion that because I don’t believe in a particular randomly-chosen book of fairy tales that I don’t care about my fellow humans, about you, about my country, my friends, my family. I believe in people. Are you really saying that if you took away your religious instruction, you would have no feeling for your fellow man? For me? For your neighbours, friends, family.
I don’t think so. I think you are better than that.
I don’t recall an Atheist contributing anything positive or useful to mankind.
Yep, because lord knows, Abraham Lincoln never lifted a finger for anyone. And Albert Einstein never added anything to human civilisation.
http://www.wonderfulatheistsofcfl.org/Quotes.htm
P.S. - if you are trolling, props to you, I just got pwned….
February 8th, 2007 at 12:32 am
So… I have to say that atheism is a stupid belief set… More problematic, anyway, than a theist view. That said, people should have the right to hold idiotic beliefs no matter how illogical or epistemically unjustified.
I guess the reason I say atheism is stupid is that an assertion that there is no god is as unverified as the claim that there is. The most you could claim is an agnostic tautological position Pv-P.
As far as Dawkins’ claim that we are all atheists about pink unicorns, this is obviously false. We simply don’t consider pink unicorns. We are a-epistemic as to pink unicorns but agnostic as to pink unicorns metaphysically.
Anyway, that is my philosophical rant/mostly agreement with what you have said.
February 8th, 2007 at 2:02 am
@Josiah
Hello and welcome.
I agree with a lot of what you said, with one exception - I’d replace “religion” with “morality.” Atheism to me is finding a moral code without religion.
There are only two main differences between religion and atheism - atheists believe that there is no god; and atheists do not accept religious doctrine on faith.
There is often confusion between religion and ethics - while some Atheists do not have a moral code (Nihilists, as Nick said above), almost all do. My moral code is mainly based on humanism.
I find it interesting to apply my moral code to religious institutions. It is hard for me to decide on whether religion is morally good or bad - while they can inspire good works and provide social and financial support; they can also be insular, remove freedoms, and sometimes - as shown in this clip - encourage hatred.
To answer one of your other points, I would suggest that it is empathy and intelligence that make us human. If it were a belief in something bigger, then by that definition atheists would not be or act as humans. I do not agree with that, and I would hope you don’t either.
Also, as you can probably tell from this post, the issue for me is not one of rebellion.
Anyway, thanks for your post Josiah. If I’ve proved anything it is that an Atheist can be just as self-righteous as some Christians :D
February 8th, 2007 at 2:19 am
@Nathan Zimmerman
“People should have the right to hold idiotic beliefs” - I agree with that!
As for atheism vs agnosticism, it all depends how you define it. As I understand it,
* strong atheism is the belief that there is no god
* weak atheism is a lack of belief that there is a god
* agnosticism is the belief that the existence of god is unknown.
Agnosticism includes weak atheism but also many theists who believe in god, but do not know for certain that there is a god.
February 8th, 2007 at 7:57 am
No complaints from me on this one. I should clarify that I am a-theistic, as in I am not theistic. I hold what you said above true ~ and when someone comes waving another random book and telling me they know *exactly* what the answers are because… well… um… ah… that is…. because…… SHUT UP YOU ATHIEST!, I find it very difficult to take seriously the claim that *this* particular individual has solved the conundrum you pose above, and their continuous asertions that they have seems, well, somewhat delusional.
February 8th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Are these people mad? “This is a christian country”? Says who? It was also a white people’s country (blacks weren’t people, were merchandise). “They need to shut up”? That woman is forgetting her “color” and her gender… She should know better than this. The sanest one seem to be the man… Religion is going to destroy our civilization, who fears an atomic bomb or biological attack when things between neighbours are getting like this in everyday life? Now who doesn’t believe in the same fairy tale as the majority is a lesser citizen and a bad person?!
February 8th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
I remember saying the pledge in elementary school. I don’t think that it’s really taken very seriously by kids. I know the idea is that if they keep repeating it over and over they get indoctrinated, but I’m not convinced. We said it first thing in the morning and here is what I remember it sounding like:
I plg legnce to mumble of mumble America, YAWWWWWWWWWWWN one somethin under mumble justice for uhh.
I don’t think any of us got a whole lot out of it. And the only part of the money that the kids care about is the number. They care little about “Novus Ordo Seclorum,” “In God We Trust,” or “Federal Reserve Note.”
February 8th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
February 8th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
FYI, apparently CNN got the message on how ridiculous their piece was. They will be revisiting it tonight @8PM EST.
I should have a recording of it up shortly after for anyone without a TV ;)
gasmonso
February 8th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
@Kiwi Mike
Man, I love it. If they weren’t stupid AND violent, that bumper sticker would so be on my car right now.
…which is why they like being violent. They are just bullies really.
February 8th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
Josiah is loved your statements are completely unreasonable and uncalled for. As someone said before our country was founded on strong values but not religious values. Lots of important people are atheistic (Susan B Anthony, Abe Lincoln, ect.)
PS some one post the follow up I can’t watch it and would like to see it.
PPS both the women are bitches.
February 8th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
“”Christianity and all the other religions are not here to condemn you, They are here to spread love, peace, and Joy.”"
So people keep telling me, but I don’t see anything to back up this claim.
“”I don’t think I have heard an Atheist speak positive about anything. I don’t recall an Atheist contributing anything positive or useful to mankind.”"
Refuted plenty, and these statements alone are reason enough not to react to anything you say, as your brain is obviously not function, or at least not fast enough the prevent your fingers from typing absolute nonsense
February 8th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Rescheduled for Monday.
“Dear Paula Zahn Now Viewer,
Please be advised that due to breaking news coverage of the death of Anna Nicole Smith, the program “Out in the Open: What happened to love thy neighbor” scheduled to air this evening on Paula Zahn Now has been rescheduled for Monday night, February 12. Thank you for your interested, and for being our valued viewer.
Regards,
CNN Public Information”
February 8th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Heh,I wonder if “Josiah is loved” feels dumb yet?
February 9th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
Dear god,
Please save me from your followers
February 9th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
@fett
Damn, I was looking forward to that tonight. Dawkins needs to put that bitch in her place.
February 12th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
[…] the debacle that was the previous show on Atheism, CNN received an enormous amount of criticism. As a result, […]
March 9th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
That second video is a bad joke. There’s not a single atheist on the discussion panel. The one guy arguing for the atheist view keeps saying “I don’t agree with them but…”
You might as well have a bunch of KKK members debating racism.
September 7th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
“They all need to shut-up.”
I do take offense.