Atheist...or Christian? You Decide!

tundranaut · 28th March 2008, 09:48 PM

Maybe some of you can help me.

I'm baffled today by an encounter at my place of work.

In a nutshell: Long after most people had cleared out of the office, I printed out one or two political pieces by Christopher Hitchens on the office printer, and also a couple of pieces very critical of Hitchens (whom I love) and Sam Harris, who I know very little about. And for fun, I printed out a Jon Ronson story on dog-sledding (all to occupy my attention on my long, boring bus ride home.)

It wasn't a big output --- 15 pages max.

But, during the printing, a middle-aged woman sitting a few seats away from me --- whom I didn't recognize at all; it's a huge office --- printed out a couple of pages of her own (probably some recipe for pie or whatever).

Anyway, she got up to retrieve her items from the printer and I noticed she was sifting through the papers much longer than probably necessary. It seemed like she was examining the items I printed, or perhaps I was just being paranoid.

"Sorry about hogging the printer," I politely offered, which was greeted by icy silence.

After a few more moments, I threw one more "Yeah, sorry" in there for added effect.

Her semi-angry sounding response: "That's OK, I'm not offended by atheists. I finally found my two pages in your 99-page stack."

I was instantly puzzled. "OK," I kindly replied.

See, the pages I printed were diverse enough in viewpoint that, to the average bystander, it would have been unclear as to whether I was a Christian or an atheist. (I'm the latter, by the way, but I enjoy reading dissenting points of view.)

Regardless, the woman scowled at me, icily said "Have fun!" and walked away huffing and puffing (or so it seemed).

Now --- aside from the etiquette issue of keeping the workplace "free" of political/religious discourse that might offend co-workers --- and getting past the notion that you "shouldn't" print personal items on office equipment; I have simply one question for JREFers...

Was this woman a devout Christian who was offended by news articles that simply mention the word atheist? Or...was she an atheist, annoyed that I printed a couple of articles that lashed out against Hitchens, a noted atheist?

The easy answer is to say "Christian!" immediately, but I live in a very liberal city, and the woman could've just as easily been a crusty, hardened atheist. It was impossible to tell where she stood based on her appearance --- she looked like she'd be equally at home at a church bakesale OR standing outside of Walmart screaming about "Stopping! Corporate! Fascism!"

Anyway, give me your take, JREFers.

My judgmental gut feeling is that --- regardless of her "spiritual" persuasion, this woman was simply an angry, lonely, unhappy person looking for any excuse to be a b-i-t-c-h.

But, when I inevitably get reprimanded on Monday for poisoning the workplace with religious and/or political thought, I will be very curious as to where the little wench stands on all of this.

Chime in, por favor.

Hokulele · 28th March 2008, 09:51 PM

She was probably a member of PETA.

vexed · 28th March 2008, 10:12 PM

You should have told her atheists don't bother you either.

Meadmaker · 28th March 2008, 10:57 PM

Insufficient data to judge, but my guess, based on what little you provided, is that she is someone who doesn't like to discuss politics and religion. That probably means Christian, but not devout.

Kopji · 28th March 2008, 11:24 PM

Actually, it sounds like she knew that Hitchens and/or Harris was an atheist and that's who she was referring to, not you.

And not to make you paranoid, but many businesses keep print logs of the number of pages printed, who printed, and source/title of what was printed. These kind of records can serve as written support for termination, if they ever decide to well, can you.

schlitt · 29th March 2008, 12:09 AM

Too hard to tell, but i would guess at a Christian. Mainly because of the "I'm not offended by atheists" line. Which to me could translate to "I know the real truth and do not care if those sinners burn in hell, it does not effect me".

In my experience a lot of the Christian world is anti the very idea of reading any material produced by secular individuals on the subject of religion. Many would see it as inspired by demonic forces to seem so brilliant and convincing that even reading it is a danger to your soul. You should just have faith, and continue in your faith unwavering, and should therefore never be required to read a counter viewpoint. After all, the bible is the inerrant word of god.

wahrheit · 29th March 2008, 07:10 AM

My first impression was that she is one of those people for whom atheist is an inherently bad word. Like in that famous quote from Julia Sweeney's mother (if I remember correctly), "Not believing in God is one thing, but an atheist?!"

MG1962 · 29th March 2008, 01:56 PM

Well the first thing to stand out, for your court appearence on Monday lol - She raised the issue, not you. I think her real concern was that YOU interupted HER printing efforts. And you could mention that you thought it odd she was printing of copies of verses from the Koran LOL

sophia8 · 29th March 2008, 02:21 PM

Quote:

But, during the printing, a middle-aged woman sitting a few seats away from me --- whom I didn't recognize at all; it's a huge office --- printed out a couple of pages of her own (probably some recipe for pie or whatever).

You evidently had no idea of what she was printing out, you admit you don't even know her. But you instantly made a negative value judgement of her ("just some middle-aged woman printing out recipes or somesuch, nothing of importance, not like my stuff on Hitchens"). She then gets slightly huffy with you for hogging the printer and you assume she's the one doing the judging!
One of you has a problem, but I don't think it's her....

Skeptic Ginger · 29th March 2008, 02:22 PM

Ask her what offended her or quit worrying about it, that would be my suggestion. I'd say Christian, though if I had to guess.

qayak · 30th March 2008, 11:44 AM

Wait until the end of the next business day and print out some pages that show beyond doubt that you are an atheist. If she becomes even colder toward you, she is a christian. If she becomes warmer, she is also an atheist who was simply upset that you printed some religious crap last time.

If she is middle aged, ask if she has an attractive single daughter. After all, if she was printing recipes, she probably knows how to cook and there is a good chance she passed that skill onto her daughter.

Best case scenario: You get a date with a hot chick who can cook.

Worst case: You get fired when she complains about your behaviour. Of course, you are going to get fired for printing personal items on the company printer anyway, so what have you got to lose?

tundranaut · 3rd April 2008, 08:25 PM

Originally Posted by sophia8

You evidently had no idea of what she was printing out, you admit you don't even know her. But you instantly made a negative value judgement of her ("just some middle-aged woman printing out recipes or somesuch....

I take offense to that. I would never make a negative value judgment of pie or anyone associated with it. It's an exquisite food.

Ladewig · 4th April 2008, 05:20 AM

Insufficient data. There are many possible reasons why she was snippy. Trying to guess which was most likely is pure speculation.

If you really want to know, then ask her. If you are not that concerning with knowing, then let it go.

28th March 2008, 09:48 PM	#1
tundranaut Student Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 35	Atheist...or Christian? You Decide! Maybe some of you can help me. I'm baffled today by an encounter at my place of work. In a nutshell: Long after most people had cleared out of the office, I printed out one or two political pieces by Christopher Hitchens on the office printer, and also a couple of pieces very critical of Hitchens (whom I love) and Sam Harris, who I know very little about. And for fun, I printed out a Jon Ronson story on dog-sledding (all to occupy my attention on my long, boring bus ride home.) It wasn't a big output --- 15 pages max. But, during the printing, a middle-aged woman sitting a few seats away from me --- whom I didn't recognize at all; it's a huge office --- printed out a couple of pages of her own (probably some recipe for pie or whatever). Anyway, she got up to retrieve her items from the printer and I noticed she was sifting through the papers much longer than probably necessary. It seemed like she was examining the items I printed, or perhaps I was just being paranoid. "Sorry about hogging the printer," I politely offered, which was greeted by icy silence. After a few more moments, I threw one more "Yeah, sorry" in there for added effect. Her semi-angry sounding response: "That's OK, I'm not offended by atheists. I finally found my two pages in your 99-page stack." I was instantly puzzled. "OK," I kindly replied. See, the pages I printed were diverse enough in viewpoint that, to the average bystander, it would have been unclear as to whether I was a Christian or an atheist. (I'm the latter, by the way, but I enjoy reading dissenting points of view.) Regardless, the woman scowled at me, icily said "Have fun!" and walked away huffing and puffing (or so it seemed). Now --- aside from the etiquette issue of keeping the workplace "free" of political/religious discourse that might offend co-workers --- and getting past the notion that you "shouldn't" print personal items on office equipment; I have simply one question for JREFers... Was this woman a devout Christian who was offended by news articles that simply mention the word atheist? Or...was she an atheist, annoyed that I printed a couple of articles that lashed out against Hitchens, a noted atheist? The easy answer is to say "Christian!" immediately, but I live in a very liberal city, and the woman could've just as easily been a crusty, hardened atheist. It was impossible to tell where she stood based on her appearance --- she looked like she'd be equally at home at a church bakesale OR standing outside of Walmart screaming about "Stopping! Corporate! Fascism!" Anyway, give me your take, JREFers. My judgmental gut feeling is that --- regardless of her "spiritual" persuasion, this woman was simply an angry, lonely, unhappy person looking for any excuse to be a b-i-t-c-h. But, when I inevitably get reprimanded on Monday for poisoning the workplace with religious and/or political thought, I will be very curious as to where the little wench stands on all of this. Chime in, por favor.
tundranaut Student Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 35	Last edited by tundranaut; 28th March 2008 at 10:03 PM. Reason: cleanin' up

28th March 2008, 09:51 PM	#2
Hokulele Official Nemesis TLA Dictatrix Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Heck with subtlety, off to Redmond to unleash the MS-DOS UI developers! Posts: 23,669	She was probably a member of PETA.
	__________________ I'm ranged and my mana's being replaced with...rage or fury or something. - slingblade

28th March 2008, 10:12 PM	#3
vexed Critical Thinker Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Earth Posts: 299	You should have told her atheists don't bother you either.
	__________________ "Thinking critically is a chore. It does not come naturally or easily. And if the fruits of such efforts are not carefully displayed to young minds, then they will not harvest them. Every school child must be implanted with the wonder of the atom, not the thrall of magic." - Perry DeAngelis

28th March 2008, 10:57 PM	#4
Meadmaker Philosopher Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Detroit suburbs Posts: 8,881	Insufficient data to judge, but my guess, based on what little you provided, is that she is someone who doesn't like to discuss politics and religion. That probably means Christian, but not devout.
	__________________ Dave

28th March 2008, 11:24 PM	#5
Kopji Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Mogollon Rim Posts: 6,457	Actually, it sounds like she knew that Hitchens and/or Harris was an atheist and that's who she was referring to, not you. And not to make you paranoid, but many businesses keep print logs of the number of pages printed, who printed, and source/title of what was printed. These kind of records can serve as written support for termination, if they ever decide to well, can you.
	__________________ Space for rent

29th March 2008, 12:09 AM	#6
schlitt Graduate Poster Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 1,081	Too hard to tell, but i would guess at a Christian. Mainly because of the "I'm not offended by atheists" line. Which to me could translate to "I know the real truth and do not care if those sinners burn in hell, it does not effect me". In my experience a lot of the Christian world is anti the very idea of reading any material produced by secular individuals on the subject of religion. Many would see it as inspired by demonic forces to seem so brilliant and convincing that even reading it is a danger to your soul. You should just have faith, and continue in your faith unwavering, and should therefore never be required to read a counter viewpoint. After all, the bible is the inerrant word of god.
schlitt Graduate Poster Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 1,081	Last edited by schlitt; 29th March 2008 at 12:12 AM.

29th March 2008, 07:10 AM	#7
wahrheit Pac-Man Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 5,589	My first impression was that she is one of those people for whom atheist is an inherently bad word. Like in that famous quote from Julia Sweeney's mother (if I remember correctly), "Not believing in God is one thing, but an atheist?!"
wahrheit Pac-Man Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 5,589	__________________ For a moment, nothing happened. Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen. D. Adams -- THHGTTG You're a sick man. The Atheist

29th March 2008, 01:56 PM	#8
MG1962 Philosopher Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 5,236	Well the first thing to stand out, for your court appearence on Monday lol - She raised the issue, not you. I think her real concern was that YOU interupted HER printing efforts. And you could mention that you thought it odd she was printing of copies of verses from the Koran LOL
MG1962 Philosopher Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 5,236

29th March 2008, 02:21 PM	#9
sophia8 Graduate Poster Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Scottishland Posts: 1,715	Quote: But, during the printing, a middle-aged woman sitting a few seats away from me --- whom I didn't recognize at all; it's a huge office --- printed out a couple of pages of her own (probably some recipe for pie or whatever). You evidently had no idea of what she was printing out, you admit you don't even know her. But you instantly made a negative value judgement of her ("just some middle-aged woman printing out recipes or somesuch, nothing of importance, not like my stuff on Hitchens"). She then gets slightly huffy with you for hogging the printer and you assume she's the one doing the judging! One of you has a problem, but I don't think it's her....
	__________________ "The fact that time will continue after we die does not negate the time that we were alive. We are alive now, and nothing can erase that." - Greta Christina "You will find me if you want me in the garden. Unless it's pouring down with rain" - Einsturzende Neubauten

29th March 2008, 02:22 PM	#10
Skeptic Ginger formerly skeptigirl Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: In the sunny woods once again. Posts: 21,738	Ask her what offended her or quit worrying about it, that would be my suggestion. I'd say Christian, though if I had to guess.
	__________________ Sk'p' 'el (Tired of continuing to hear the "Democrat Party" repeatedly I've decided to adopt the name, Republic Party, in response.) (*Tired of the current Republican talking point of naming everything after Pelosi, Reid &/or Obama, I've decided to start adding Republican names to their fault fiascos.)

30th March 2008, 11:44 AM	#11
qayak Illuminator Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 4,829	Wait until the end of the next business day and print out some pages that show beyond doubt that you are an atheist. If she becomes even colder toward you, she is a christian. If she becomes warmer, she is also an atheist who was simply upset that you printed some religious crap last time. If she is middle aged, ask if she has an attractive single daughter. After all, if she was printing recipes, she probably knows how to cook and there is a good chance she passed that skill onto her daughter. Best case scenario: You get a date with a hot chick who can cook. Worst case: You get fired when she complains about your behaviour. Of course, you are going to get fired for printing personal items on the company printer anyway, so what have you got to lose?
qayak Illuminator Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 4,829	__________________ "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." (Mark Twain)

3rd April 2008, 08:25 PM	#12
tundranaut Student Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 35	Originally Posted by sophia8 You evidently had no idea of what she was printing out, you admit you don't even know her. But you instantly made a negative value judgement of her ("just some middle-aged woman printing out recipes or somesuch.... I take offense to that. I would never make a negative value judgment of pie or anyone associated with it. It's an exquisite food.
tundranaut Student Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 35

4th April 2008, 05:20 AM	#13
Ladewig Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: USA Posts: 10,244	Insufficient data. There are many possible reasons why she was snippy. Trying to guess which was most likely is pure speculation. If you really want to know, then ask her. If you are not that concerning with knowing, then let it go.
	__________________ When I see all the kooky things posted on the JREF forums, I can't help but think of Max Bialystock's lament: "They come here, they all come here, how do they find us?" Last edited by Ladewig; 4th April 2008 at 05:28 AM.