Christopher Hitchens to Receive Richard Dawkins Award

The Atheist Alliance of America (AAA) convention is going to be held in Texas this October 7^th-9^th.

One of the highlights each year the the presentation of the Richard Dawkins Award — and this happens to be a year in which Dawkins will be on hand to make the presentation.

The Richard Dawkins Award has been presented annually since 2003 to notable individuals for their work on behalf of promoting atheism and freethought around the world. Past recipients include Susan Jacoby, Bill Maher, Penn and Teller, Julia Sweeney, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Daniel Dennett, Ann Druyan, and James Randi.

They are announcing this morning that the 2011 recipient will be a (very deserving) Christopher Hitchens.

Will he accept in person? If he’s able.

Let’s hope he is.

Nick Lee, President of Atheist Alliance of America said, ”The Atheist Alliance of America is proud to recognize Mr. Hitchens for his prominent role in the public debate over the impact of religion in modern society.”

I was surprised Hitchens hadn’t received the award already, but there’s no better time than now to give it to him.

Dave

This was the one that went to Bill Maher last year, right? Anyone fancy comparing the responses to Maher’s obnoxious beliefs on science to Hitchens’ obnoxious attitudes about women?

Don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for Hitchens, and if Maher deserved the award last year he deserves it a billion times more, but what with the issue of women in atheism being such a hot topic at the moment, it’d be nice to hear the praise going his way be a little more qualified…
Darwin’s Dagger

They should have called it the Christopher Hitchens Award and one day gotten around to giving it to Richard Dawkins.
Ron in Houston

Does this mean you’ll be getting the PZ Meyer award?
AteoAbsurdo

Sounds almost like an insult to Christopher Hitchens…
Zipper

What are Hitchens’ obnoxious views on women? And Maher’s obnoxious views on science?
Rich Wilson

Bill Maher: “If u get a swine flu shot ur an idiot”

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/bill-maher-vs-the-flu-vaccine/

Christopher Hitchens: “They’re called the gentle sex for a reason”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpA7pfR0FIc
Zipper

I just watched the Hitchens video. Is that it? He says that women don’t *have* to work if they don’t want to – but that they can if they want to. That seems OK. Presumably the same goes for men. I don’t know what to make of the “gentler sex” comment. Seems like shaky ground for concluding that his views on women are obnoxious. Is there more evidence?

Now I’ll move on to Maher…
Zipper

The transcript of Maher’s comments seem a lot more damning. I can’t watch the video right now though. Later…
hoverfrog

It’s a good call. Hitchins has done an awful lot to promote atheism and freethought.

Bill Maher: “If u get a swine flu shot ur an idiot”

I don’t have time to watch the video but I was unlucky enough to catch swine flu two years. A vaccine could have prevented three weeks of unpleasant symptoms and the first blemish on my sickness record in more than five years. I would have felt an idiot if I’d had the opportunity for a vaccine, turned it down and then fallen ill.