As for normal atheists on TV (Salon article) you don’t see them for the same reason you didn’t see normal black people on TV until fairly recently. They are a novelty for most people, so it’s necessary to acclimate the religious public by stages. The first stage is the Amos ‘n Andy stage: caricatures. Then you can progress to barely acceptable (Rochester). The next step is almost normal but still off-key (Sanford and Son). Then you can arrive at the mythic stage (The Huxtables, who were as abnormal in their own way as Amos n’ Andy. One day you get to the simply normal and realistic (no current examples).
In a country where atheists rank at the bottom of people that might be elected President, it will take time to overcome that prejudice. And the first step is, like hitting the mule with a 2×4, to get the public’s attention.
AUTHOR: orin hollander
AUTHOR EMAIL: orin.hollander46@gmail.com
AUTHOR URL:
SUBJECT: [Kate Cohen] Contact
IP: 98.114.236.147
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[4_Comment] => As for normal atheists on TV (Salon article) you don’t see them for the same reason you didn’t see normal black people on TV until fairly recently. They are a novelty for most people, so it’s necessary to acclimate the religious public by stages. The first stage is the Amos ‘n Andy stage: caricatures. Then you can progress to barely acceptable (Rochester). The next step is almost normal but still off-key (Sanford and Son). Then you can arrive at the mythic stage (The Huxtables, who were as abnormal in their own way as Amos n’ Andy. One day you get to the simply normal and realistic (no current examples).
In a country where atheists rank at the bottom of people that might be elected President, it will take time to overcome that prejudice. And the first step is, like hitting the mule with a 2×4, to get the public’s attention.
)