Friday, 22 August 2014




So today we woke up to the insufferable twat Richard Dawkins forcing his opinions down our throats again.

Richard Dawkins, Our Lord, Our Saviour. Let him into your heart and he will show you the way. First man to reveal the secret that religion is sometimes oppressive. Shock horror.

I really love to hate Dawkins. I imagine that if I knew him in real life I would find his bluntness hilarious, and would just take his brash attitude with a pinch of salt.
But, alas, I don't.

You would think that by the age of 73 he would have learnt to consider that you can't just go around saying that date rape isn't quite as bad as rape at knife point. What about date rape at an under 18s disco? What if you're allergic to roofies?

Of course I'm over thinking it and we all know what he means. It's probably scarier at the time to be raped with a knife against your neck than to not realise it's happening. Probably. At that exact point in time.

What I mean to say is that for an intelligent man he just doesn't think. When you have a voice that reaches thousands of people, I think it's really important you don't just ridicule and make sweeping generalisations.
For example, before tweeting a view such as his aforementioned opinions about rape, he should think about the wider picture. Each individual copes with trauma and suffering differently, and it is quite possible and probable that the fear of not knowing your attacker makes daily life more of a struggle. The two types of rape, in my opinion, are equally as abhorrent.

Today he shocked us with yet another thoughtless statement: when a woman tweeted that she would have difficulty in deciding the right course of action if she was to become pregnant with a Down's syndrome baby, Dawkins replied, 'Abort it and try again.'

I'm sorry, what?
Another middle class white male telling women what to do with their bodies? (I heard you all groan: sorry, not sorry)

'It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice.'

"If your morality is based, as mine is, on a desire to increase the sum of happiness and reduce suffering, the decision to deliberately give birth to a Down's baby, when you have the choice to abort it early in the pregnancy, might actually be immoral from the point of view of the child's own welfare."

Of course there are arguments for the abortion of Down's Syndrome babies, I'm not arguing otherwise, but to imply that people with Down's syndrome cannot have a life worth living is judgemental and incorrect. His argument for utilitarian values has little weight, as we all know that the life of someone with Down's syndrome can be happy and fulfilling, and the happiness generated can outweigh the suffering of those around them. It also undermines all the efforts of families and friends of people with Down's syndrome, as if they are cruel and immoral for letting their child live, which is certainly something that they do not deserve.

It's about choice and personal opinion, which should not be dictated by Richard Dawkins.


However, I really recommend you watch this. Particularly if you think that deeply religious Americans are one of the best forms of entertainment. I really hope this blog ends up in one of his videos!

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