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• See also: May Our Great Atheist Squirrel God Bless You! Ken Hark

From: "Ken Hark"
To: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
Subject: Positive_Atheism_Letters_Section
Date: Monday, July 24, 2000 5:33 PM

Hi Cliff,

I just discovered you today. A friend from California sent me an article about your "Positive Atheism." One of the first things I read was about the Meeks -- mail from the Meeks family who had been discriminated against because they're nonbelievers. I just had to answer it.

Could please correct my spelling and grammar? I've had the computer two months, and still haven't learned to make corrections.

I do plan to get a check off to you for the "Positive Atheism "magazine.

Thank you for the good work,
Ken Hark

From: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
To: "Ken Hark"
Subject: Re: Positive_Atheism_Letters_Section
Date: Monday, July 24, 2000 5:48 PM

Sure! Fire away!

The only times I fail to correct the grammar is when the writer is arrogant or when the writer claims to have had a formal education but you couldn't tell from the writing such as when the writer is making sophisticated scientific claims. Occasionally I leave the grammar the way it is because it's not that bad (that is, it's readable) and occasionally I leave it as it is (even though it's barely readable) simply because it comes off better (such as a letter from somebody overseas who does not speak English very well). I have been correcting more grammar than I once did, and usually correct the spelling if I'm not too lazy.

Cliff Walker
"Positive Atheism" Magazine

From: "Ken Hark"
To: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
Subject: Lets meet. WebMaster:_Positive_Atheism_Index
Date: Monday, July 24, 2000 1:07 PM

This in answer to the problem the Meeks family had in the Eugene-Springfield area. I live in Florence and I'm also a non-believer. The U.S.A. is a lonely place for us. I think it may a good idea if we formed small local support cells. We could discuss our concerns and at least be able bitch and laugh with fellow pagans -- perhaps meet at predesignated place all wearing blue t-shirts. The word could be "I believe in squirrels." This is what I say when they ask me what I believe in. I really do believe, in that I've see them, heard them, fed them, and been bitten by them. That's more than I can say about other beliefs. Please pass along ideas of how we and others my safely meet.

Ken Hark

From: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
To: "Ken Hark"
Subject: Re: Lets meet. WebMaster:_Positive_Atheism_Index
Date: Wednesday, July 26, 2000 3:35 PM

I like your idea about parks and squirrels and blue T-shirts. It reminds me of the story of some freethinking students, mostly Irish-American, who resented the rule requiring church attendance once a week. (This was 1957.) One of them got ordained by the Universal Life Church (who will ordain anybody) and they formed the Reformed Druids of North America. As a protest (and as a joke) they announced that they were Druids and that groves were their churches, wherein they repaired to these wooded sanctuaries to drink Irish Mist and exchange Gaelic lessons (and, I hear, occasionally get naked and paint themselves blue). Maybe your park idea would inspire more atheists to get together and (perhaps) even laugh about what is really a scary situation.

If you would read the last sections of the Meeks Family file you will note that the Meeks's are happy members of the Corvallis Secular Society and Eugene Atheists & Freethinkers. This is the usual way to meet with fellow atheists for the purpose of meeting with fellow atheists. (I, for one, don't care what someone's religious belief is, and never use that to judge who I will hang with -- so I really have no need for atheist groups.) If you want to meet the Meeks, you might want to contact the Corvallis Secular Society or the Eugene Atheists and Freethinkers.

Cliff Walker
"Positive Atheism" Magazine

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