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Collimator

(2,024 posts)
10. Wish I had the ovum to be a bitch.
Sun Oct 5, 2025, 03:07 PM
Oct 5

Unfortunately, I have "Resting Librarian Face", or maybe "Resting Customer Service Face"' people are always turning to me for help or answers, or just to chat to pass the time.

I'm probably more in the Agnostics camp, but I will sometimes tell people that I'm an Atheist if they mention god in a conversation because it usually puts them off and then they leave me alone. It didn't work a week ago with a guy at McDonald's, though. Instead, he actually drew in his breath and uttered the opening salvo of, "Well, the way I see it is. . . ", as if I had invited him to start a philosophical discourse.

Since I hadn't ordered my food yet, my knee-jerk response was to say, "No, no-- You know what--" (I was really talking to myself out loud), and then I walked out. And thanks to decades of social conditioning, I felt like I had been rude and had to work through vague feelings of guilt.

I finally decided that I had been hangry and the guy should have known better than to try chatting up somebody waiting for food. (He was also an idiot for ignoring my earlier social cues indicating that I Did Not Want To Talk.)

To get back to the main question, as long as I am well fed there is a 50/50 chance that I can keep my mouth shut when religion rears its head in public. Thanks to years of socialization and customer service training, I know how to be gracious and accommodating. . . Also thanks to years of working in customer service, I have prematurely run out of fucks to give.

I may not have the courage to be a bitch, but cracks are appearing in my benign personality and hints of bitch are seeping through, often to be patched over with a thin layer of Catholic Guilt. . . Even as I write this I can see how contradictory I am being-- I probably just need something to eat.

Recommendations

5 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

I am polite and respectful. My family is also. Srkdqltr Oct 5 #1
Out as an atheist. joshdawg Oct 5 #2
I certainly respect your view. I'm not there myself, but I respect it. NNadir Oct 5 #6
I say I'm not religious, I'm philosophical about my morals Nigrum Cattus Oct 5 #3
My family was also seriously catholic buzzycrumbhunger Oct 5 #4
"... the easter bunny left me a book with tarot cards in my basket..." CrispyQ Oct 5 #9
LOL at that last toon! Bayard Oct 5 #17
Darn... GiqueCee Friday #58
Yeah, I set my images to delete in 2 weeks, but here you go. CrispyQ Friday #61
THANKS! GiqueCee Friday #63
Wish I had the ovum to be a bitch. Collimator Oct 5 #10
I think being female adds another layer... buzzycrumbhunger Oct 5 #22
Standing up for yourself isn't "bitchy" IbogaProject Oct 6 #41
Over the course of my life every Atheist I have met BigmanPigman Oct 6 #45
In some certian circumstances i will show respect gay texan Oct 5 #5
I certainly am not "closeted" with complete strangers. I'll do it to avoid pain for people I love. NNadir Oct 5 #8
Yes..... gay texan Oct 5 #25
I used to work with a Sikh. The Madcap Friday #53
All of them were so very kind gay texan Friday #64
I am pretty much where you are rurallib Oct 6 #40
exactly!! samnsara Friday #50
If you really want to get them fired up The Madcap Friday #51
Seems only other heathens would be aware that you didn't bow your head. CrispyQ Oct 5 #7
I do a fair amount of woodworking for churches. Woodwizard Oct 5 #11
"When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called a twodogsbarking Oct 5 #12
I like that locution. Hopefully you will not be offended if I steal it regularly. NNadir Oct 5 #13
Epicurean paradox is another zinger IbogaProject Oct 6 #42
I am out as an agnostic NewHendoLib Oct 5 #14
I feel safely out with professional colleagues, but very closeted with family. Religion strong on both sides of the tree eppur_se_muova Oct 5 #15
I suspect that Thomas Jefferson was an atheist. I also believe, although he clearly was changed by the Civil War... NNadir Oct 5 #19
with TFG... NewLarry Oct 5 #36
Closeted. I'm afraid if MAGA and the crappy fundies. AllyCat Oct 5 #16
I am an out Atheist. Eko Oct 5 #18
Closeted agnostic anciano Oct 5 #20
utterly out mike_c Oct 5 #21
Unapologetic atheist. no_hypocrisy Oct 5 #23
An interesting story. Your father could accept your atheism just so long as you weren't Muslim. NNadir Oct 5 #24
Oh, there's more. I "came out" to my mother. no_hypocrisy Oct 5 #26
I consider myself agnostic Skittles Oct 5 #27
That's pretty close to where I'm at. n/t. NNadir Oct 5 #31
I was closeted when my parents were alive. Girard442 Oct 5 #28
If they are obnoxious in my place, they cannot do what animals do. GreenWave Oct 5 #29
If ask I often say I'm a Red Letter Christian. multigraincracker Oct 5 #30
There is a blogger known as "Captain Cassidy". . . Collimator Friday #55
I openly admit I'm an Atheist LogDog75 Oct 5 #32
Out. sinkingfeeling Oct 5 #33
Open atheist. tblue37 Oct 5 #34
Closeted church musician atheist oberle Oct 5 #35
Every Christmas, my wife and I travel up to Bethlehem, PA for the Lehigh University Christmas Vespers. NNadir Oct 5 #37
I'm respectful to others, but... wysimdnwyg Oct 5 #38
Yep I don't seek it out but I will participate if I go IbogaProject Oct 6 #39
It's rather amazing that our experience is so similar. NNadir Oct 6 #44
I am out because I want to normalize non-believers Envirogal Oct 6 #43
" Atheists are very feared. . ." Collimator Friday #57
Proudly Open Faux pas Oct 7 #46
very much out Brainstormy Oct 10 #47
I am much more out now than I was 20 years ago. Cuthbert Allgood Oct 20 #48
nope! There are folks I dont flaunt it in front of because I respect their beliefs... samnsara Thursday #49
Been 'open' since I was a teen... MiHale Friday #52
I don't flaunt it... buzzycrumbhunger Friday #54
I think that we don't proselytise with our atheism because we are not... NNadir Friday #56
I've always referred to myself... GiqueCee Friday #59
I've been an open (and sometimes loud) atheist since '75 -misanthroptimist Friday #60
I will tell people I'm a non-believer, but will be respectful of their rituals. sinkingfeeling Friday #62
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