National Atheist Awareness Day

A couple of atheists would like to designate September 6^th as a day for atheists to wear the A symbol and show others that we exist:

Showing your support will only require a blank shirt and a red marker. We won’t have to go out and force our beliefs on others, we will simply wear a shirt. The atheist community isn’t as small as people think and many people walk in silence because they feel they are alone, many more feel that one person can’t make a difference. This will be an opportunity to show people they aren’t alone and encourage them to join the fight to keep church and state separate. It will show people that many in their community are atheists and help remove some of the stigmas related to atheism…

“WEAR YOUR ‘A’ FOR A DAY AND LET AMERICA KNOW THAT WE DO EXIST”

I understand not everyone can “show off their atheism” at work (for example), but for most people, this should be a simple and meaningful gesture.

The Facebook event page is here if you’d like to participate!

(Thanks to Scarlette for the link!)

Riz S

I think the concept is great, but there’s a problem: Everyone and his or her dog is making “atheist awareness days” and if we keep this up, every day will be “Atheist awareness day”. (for example, the second annual “Atheist Solidarity Day” is fast approaching)

While I’m sure most people would say “What’s wrong with that?”, the problem is it just makes us look like whiners: “Pay attention to us, dammit!”

In a way obviously that is exactly what we need… attention. But I’m not sure having 18 unofficial “days” a year to express that fact is really the way to go. I think it makes us look scattered and disorganized, which frankly we are compared to our opposition.
AJ

I guess I’ve read “The Scarlet Letter” too recently, but I really dislike the idea of wearing a red A on my chest.
Jeremy Wells

I am the person that originally came up with this idea. I think it is an excellent way to raise awareness for secular rights. I agree that we don’t need an excessive amount of days because they will begin to lose effectiveness. We have decided to make this event coincide with “A” Week during the last week of March. Thank you Hermant for supporting this idea, it means a lot to me and I hope that this event helps bring change to our government policy. I truly believe that if we join together we can see a secular America.
Potco

That’s my birthday, perfect day to do this. 🙂
Eileen

Great idea – I am an atheist, and september 6 is my birthday, couldn’t be happier with having Atheist Awareness Day on my birthday.
Anonymous

Say it loud, say it proud. Say it over and over, in solidarity for those who cannot come out for fear of intimidation, retribution, and/or violence.
Josh

I agree with AJ. Why a red ‘A’?

I think more people will be confused by the logo, thinking we’re adulterers.
Rich Wilson

Like @Riz S, this is something I’ve been pondering. I’m of the firm belief that our main problem is that we are perceived as fringe. It’s easier to think Atheists are Satanists if you don’t know any.

I have a particular ‘low key’ (pro gay rights, Bible isn’t literal) Christian co-worker/friend I talk to a lot about religion. He jokes about how I bring up religion more often anyone else. Sure. And lately he’s been griping about how hateful the online atheist comments can be. Again, sure. You go online you see all kinds of shit. He seems to think it’s worse from atheists, or at least the volume is not consistent with the number of atheists out there. He even sent me this:

2. Atheists are the most fervent commenters on matters religious.

from CNN

Again, I’m thinking, ooookay, and? So the state of religion in this county bothers us more, so we complain more, and?

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the only significant thing he can say about atheists is that we make more than ‘our share’ of noise.

I’m not about to stop making noise, but I sadly think we have a long ways to go from being noticed to being heard.
anon

I think the red A with a black circle around it is kinda taken already, it looks like a variation of the famous socialist anarchist symbol, that is, a white/red/black “A” with a white/red/black Circle around it, depending on the color of the background.

Bakunin would be proud 😛
Teri

In addition to changing my profile picture to a picture of a red A during Atheist Awareness Week, I wore a red A on my shirt for the week and also passed them out at school. 🙂 I like this idea.
daakujc

Like I said in the previous thread, just a letter ‘A’ is not the most efficient way to get the point across.

Why I think people prefer wearing/displaying letter A is because they do not want (unconsciously?) other people to get offended easily.

Christians do not wear ‘C’ or Muslims ‘M’.

For FSM’s sake ppl, you have to do it in a more obvious way!
Anonymous

No; you wear (post/whatever) the letter A, people ask you what it means, and you begin a conversation! Fancy that. Bonus points for discussing “The Scarlet Letter” and Puritans.
Rich Samuels

Are there any atheist graphic designers in America?
Not only is the red A ineffective at putting its meaning across but its also used in ineffective ways and its just ugly. The word Atheist is the smallest text on that badge. When its reduced even further, as in Jeremy’s avatar, the text is unreadable and I’m left wondering why he has a picture of a step-ladder in a circle.
The idea of the day is great but there needs to be more cohesion in the ranks and much better marketing and promotional resources available. If it were me I’d drop the red A in this instance and just go for the word Atheist in as large a text that the space available will allow.
keddaw

I may just be cranky on a Monday morning, but couldn’t this also be read as: “Everyone Else Is An Idiot Day”?

Not that that would necessarily be a bad thing, but I don’t believe it’s the message most people want to present.
daakujc

No; you wear (post/whatever) the letter A, people ask you what it means, and you begin a conversation!

May be 1 out of 100 people you meet that day will ask you. And even that single person will be your closest friend.
Drew

I’m proud to be an atheist and all, but I really despise the “A” logo (and the FSM, while I’m at it). Ridiculous. I refuse to display it. One would think that such a clever lot could come up with something better.
Cap

I don’t like the symbol. A good logo really ought to be easy to draw and distinctive. The A isn’t easy to draw (I need a specific colour to draw it, otherwise it’s just any old A), and it’s not distinctive (it’s just an A. The letter A is used everywhere. There’s even a publishing house that uses an italicized red A as their logo).

I also think the “standard version” is just ugly, being too thin and too curvy looking. Needs a better typeface.
Andromedabv

I agree with those that don’t like the scarlet A. I am partial to the Invisible Pink Unicorn symbol.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/atheist6.htm

I think the IPU symbol is unique, and makes more of a statement than just a scarlet A that’s reminiscent of adultery.
Alex

Holy geez, do atheists ever need a new graphic design team. Between that very ugly tattoo yesterday and this logo today things are looking pretty bad.