Recently, Shaun McGonigal (the Philadelphia Reason & Religion Examiner) took a trip to the South with his girlfriend.
Shaun normally wears atheist t-shirts while in Philadelphia, but he thought he’d continue wearing them during his trip. He wondered what differences he’d find. Would the reactions be that much worse in the South?
Turns out things weren’t so bad:
Yes, I got looks, double-takes, and even a few people becoming less hospitable after reading them. But surprisingly few actual comments or questions from people arose…
I guess the fact that we spent most of our time in or around cities meant that we ran into either more tolerant people or people who were more used to seeing things like that. Either that or they were just being polite in not asking questions or commenting. I did have at least two people comment that hey liked my shirts. I thanked them with a smile. I had one bartender warn me that wearing such things may not be a good idea. Maybe I just got lucky.
Maybe things are looking up for atheists. There is an exception or two in Shaun’s case, but mostly, the reactions were positive or non-existent. I wonder if that’s the case for other people…
Have any of you had a horrible response — especially in the South — to atheist -message clothing you were wearing?