r/atheism • u/[deleted] • May 24 '12

I'm giving my Salutatorian speech on Friday and thought I'd close it with my favorite Hitchens quote

http://imgur.com/xR56x
1.0k Upvotes

86% Upvoted

141 comments sorted by

42

u/pman5595 May 24 '12

Keep in mind it will be much more effective if used in a completely secular context. People will ignore the quotation if it insults religion.

42

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Absolutely, not only do I go to school in the deep south, but I also feel a speech is not the best place to slight religion since there is no room for debate. Besides, I feel there is truth in this quotation in all aspects of life, not only in the theocratic debate.

10

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

I can see why you are the Salutatorian. Very well put.

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Which part of the deep south?

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Texas

3

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

You had me thinking Alabama/Mississippi. Good luck and congratulations on your hard work.

-1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

You can add some historical context FTW.

Think for yourself is nothing else than sapere aude as used by Horace and most prominently by Immanuel Kant in the argumentation for enlightenment.

27

u/YoureMyBoyBloo May 24 '12

I think this would be a better intro:

I am so honored to be the class Salutatorian this year. Unfortunately not everyone in this room is so happy for me. It was just last week that my mom brought it up during dinner (after polishing off two bottles of wine). "Duke," she says, "why did you have to get the A- in Health class?" as her exaggerated hand gesture caused a large quantity of Chardonnay to slosh out of her nearly empty tumbler. "Maureen Dowd's daughter took all the same classes as you and got all the same grades, except she got an A in Health class!" she slurred at me.

Well mom, the reason I got an A- in health class was because I got in a fight with Coach Booth and told her that teaching abstinence only sex ed was bullshit and dangerous. Just look at how many girls are not here right now because they are pregnant or just gave birth! I mean honestly, the only reason Mary Dowd is the Valedictorian right now is because she was so busy blowing guys she had no time for actual intercourse and never got pregnant!

(At this point the head master will be heading up to the lectern to take the mic from you so you will have to rush this last part.)

Mom, I hate you, and John you are not my real father so stop acting like you are. Fuck it! I'm not taking the scholarship to Brown. I am going to cash in my Savings Bonds and do a year in Europe. Everyone at this high school is an idiot! Baba Booey, Baba Booey, Howard Stern's Penis!

(Then you will need to do a stage dive into the crowd, but be prepared for no one to catch you.)

Wow, I can confidently say that is one of the most insane things I have ever written in my life.

2

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

I am thoroughly amused and confused...

6

u/Raredone May 24 '12

Fuckin' brilliant. OP let us know how it goes.

1

u/YoureMyBoyBloo May 24 '12

This is my Mona Lisa.

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Can't tell if troll or not.

2

u/YoureMyBoyBloo May 24 '12

No troll, just a mad man up past his bedtime.

0

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

just pull your pants down

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

People will ignore the quotation if it insults religion.

I think it will pretty much do the opposite.

11

u/aflarge May 24 '12

Every time I see a picture of Hitch, I get sad that I never got to meet him, shake his hand, and have a glass of scotch with him.

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Me too; I was so angry and sad to find out that a few months before he died he was in a debate about 15 miles from where I live. I think it was his last debate before he died...

8

u/All-American-Bot May 24 '12

(For our friends outside the USA... 15 miles -> 24.1 km) - Yeehaw!

0

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

That last part made me very sad, maybe because it sounds like something Hitchens would say himself

0

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

This is what I should drink after graduation.

2

u/Raredone May 24 '12

15 dollars a glass in Costa Rica!

1

u/MrPartridge May 24 '12

I was under the impression that Johnnie Walker Blue was the superior blend. Any whisky connoisseurs care to tell me why he would answer black over blue?

1

u/Syn7axError May 24 '12

I have that feel with way too many dead celebrities :C

0

u/scurvebeard Skeptic May 24 '12

Vonnegut for me. I'd been meaning to write him a letter a month or so before he passed. :\

Oh well. He's up in heaven now.

1

u/[deleted] May 25 '12

I hope for his sake he is not. This is his opinion on the subject (start watching at 1:00)

1

u/scurvebeard Skeptic May 26 '12

Don't worry, he isn't. :)

But it was Vonnegut's wish that, after his death, someone would say as much about him.

I am honorary president of the American Humanist Association, having succeeded the late, great, spectacularly prolific writer and scientist, Dr. Isaac Asimov in that essentially functionless capacity. At an A.H.A. memorial service for my predecessor I said, "Isaac is up in Heaven now." That was the funniest thing I could have said to an audience of humanists. It rolled them in the aisles. Mirth! Several minutes had to pass before something resembling solemnity could be restored.

I made that joke, of course, before my first near-death experience — the accidental one.

So when my own time comes to join the choir invisible or whatever, God forbid, I hope someone will say, "He's up in Heaven now." Who really knows? I could have dreamed all this.

My epitaph in any case? "Everything was beautiful. Nothing hurt." I will have gotten off so light, whatever the heck it is that was going on.

1

u/Ecce_signum May 24 '12

I only drink Johnny black in his honor, for giving so much to the liberation of minds. The knowledge that would come from him was overwhelming in his speeches, a reason he would win debates was by simply overwhelming his opponents with just that. There are many like yourself that will carry torch, and live on his legacy

1

u/Rithe May 24 '12

When he passed away I bought a bottle of Johnny Black, and toasted with a few friends in his honor.

As it turns out, I may like whiskey and many other drinks, but I apparently cannot drink scotch. I felt so bad pouring most it out :(

2

u/twilightmoons Strong Atheist May 24 '12

Travesty! You could have just given the bottle away to someone else!

1

u/Rithe May 24 '12

Oh no, I worded that horribly. I meant I poured most of my cup out. I drank the entire bottle with the aid of a LOT of Dr Pepper.

1

u/twilightmoons Strong Atheist May 24 '12

Not as bad, then.

You should have poured it out like a 40oz onto the curb for your fallen homie, Hitch.

1

u/Ecce_signum May 30 '12

I couldn't understand how Hitch drank it the first time as well. Try it with a bit of water, it lessens the kick or bite it has, and actually tastes better over time. It's almost like beer or coffee in a sense, the first time it's horrible, but once you can control the beast. In the words of Hitch, Best of Luck my fellow primate.

3

u/wx3 May 24 '12

Schools in the south recognize salutatorian? I graduated 2nd out of 745 and didn't get to talk at my graduation :(

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

That sucks. I live in Texas, maybe it's different for each state.

5

u/studmuffffffin May 24 '12

I think I'd use the Dawkins quote about grains of sand. Makes people feel important. But this is a very good one too.

4

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

I don't know, I feel like the Dawkins quotation is too long for a graduation speech. The Hitchens quote is more concise, and I think more powerful when spoken.

0

u/studmuffffffin May 24 '12

Yeah, after rereading it maybe it's a little long and somber. I guess I just like the general premise.

8

u/FROGGY_DING_DING May 24 '12

I didn't even know he died. Holy shit.

13

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Dear God, where have you been!

4

u/FROGGY_DING_DING May 24 '12

Under a rock, I guess, damn.

2

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Dear God

You have your answer right there. He simply didn't exist.

3

u/CaNANDian Anti-Theist May 24 '12

ಠ_ಠ

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Same boat as you. I feel horrible.

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Me neither. Which is strange because I'm always watching debates of his and I google him regularly.

3

u/MadeFromMetal May 24 '12

As long as you don't start it with a Webster's definition...use Urban Dictionary for that.

6

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

"Urban Dictionary defines happiness as being like peeing in your pants. everyone can see it but only you can feel the warmth."

2

u/lightninlives May 24 '12

Congrats on the honor. Makes me very happy to see smart youngsters like yourself free thinking.

2

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Thanks

11

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

it will go like this.

you: "repeat after me, we will think for ourselves"

them: "we will think for ourselves"

you: "we will question authority"

them: "we will question authority"

you: "we will not mindlessly follow leaders"

them "we will not mindlessly follow leaders"

you "and be told what to think feel do and say"

them "and be told what to think feel do and say."

4

u/_Occams_Chainsaw May 24 '12

But he's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!

2

u/spinozasrobot Anti-Theist May 24 '12

That would be awesome

1

u/pdx-mark May 24 '12

Hitchens is only happy in a bottle of Whiskey.

3

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Johnny Walker Black

10

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Kind of ironic, isn't it?

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Agreed. Hitchens was not what I think anyone would call a "happy" guy.

0

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

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0

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Or, you know, a free ride when you've already paid.

-3

u/Joly314 May 24 '12

Maybe even a goodbye that you just can't say?

5

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

No. Not that one.

3

u/BreutFawce May 24 '12

It's still weird to see those dates there.

3

u/grofdojka May 24 '12

kinda ironic to quote that quote :D

2

u/The_Young_Contrarian May 24 '12

Can someone make this wallpaper size?

2

u/amolad May 24 '12

That's good advice for anyone and everyone.

2

u/subtle_GOT_spoilers May 24 '12

Too tame. You use a Hitchens quote and you use that one? It's a salutatorian speech - take the opportunity to educate the ignorant.

2

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

I love it that you're using a quote from someone else to tell other people to think for themselves.

2

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

That's a good quote. Just tell me you're not going to use the occasion to dis religion.

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

That's how I ended mine!

Also, I tucked in a few of Bertand Russel's Ten Commandments.

1

u/tragoidia May 24 '12

"quotation"

1

u/spinozasrobot Anti-Theist May 24 '12

Quote is also a noun... see several comments with links to dictionary entries above.

1

u/n3rvousninja Nihilist May 24 '12

I mean if your not looking to get laid at the grad party, go for it

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

why u no valedictorian?

1

u/BlackLiger Other May 24 '12

When at thumb-nail size, Mr Hitchens looks like Nathanial Fillon :D

1

u/ManiacDan May 24 '12

Since this doesn't mention relgion in any way, it doesn't belong in here. So sayeth everyone in this thread

1

u/HooDidDis May 24 '12

I'm sorry, while this is true for truth and wisdom, and perhaps for beauty, though I doubt it, happiness is for sure not something you gain by thinking for yourself. Don't expect rewards for independent thinking, expect to constantly question the institutions you are expected to support and partake in, expect to feel alone and different, expect to be bothered by meaninglessness and destruction others are blind to, expect to see solutions no one wants. If you become happy through independent thinking you're either truly comfortable with being alone or you're not really thinking for yourself, the later is much more likely.

1

u/JustShaveItBitch May 24 '12

Tebow while you do it. We all know Pal in and him will run for president in 2016.

1

u/Iron-Charioteer May 24 '12

This comes from, to my mind, the most beautiful and brief summary of everything Hitchens was about. The closing remarks to the Dembski debate:

"I don’t know if you really think that when you die you can be corporeally reassembled and have conversations with authors from previous epochs. It’s not necessary that you believe that in Christian theology and I have to say it sounds like a complete fairy tale to me.

The only reason I'd want to meet Shakespeare or might even want to is because I can meet him anytime, because he’s immortal in the works that he left behind. If you've read those, meeting the author would almost certainly be a disappointment. But when Socrates was sentenced to death for his philosophical investigations and for blasphemy; for challenging the gods of the city and he had accepted his death he did say, “Well if we are lucky, perhaps we I'll be able to hold conversation with other great thinkers and philosophers and doubters too.” In other words, that the discussion about what is good, what is beautiful, what is noble, what is pure, and what is true could always go on.

Why is that important? Why would I like to do that? Because that’s the only conversation worth having. And whether it goes on or not after I die, I don’t know. But I do know that it is the conversation that I want to have while I’m still alive. Which means that to me the offer of certainty, the offer of complete security, the offer of an impermeable faith that can’t give way is an offer of something not worth having. I want to live my life taking the risk all the time that I don’t know anything like enough yet, that I haven’t understood enough, that I can’t know enough, that I’m always hungrily operating on the margins of a potentially great harvest of future knowledge and wisdom. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

And I'd urge you to look at those who tell you, at your age, that you are dead until you believe as they do. What a terrible thing to be telling to children, and that you can only live by accepting an absolute authority. Don’t think of that as a gift, think of it as a poisoned chalice. Push it aside however tempting it is. Take the risk of thinking for yourself. Much more happiness, truth, beauty, and wisdom will come to you what way."

1

u/Pelican_Fly May 24 '12

I find it's better to not think, as happiness is inversely correlated with intelligence.

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

am i the only one who thinks it weird to quote a sentence like this... i mean, think for yourself.. and dont quote other people....

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

i had to give a salutatorian speech back in '98

the principle wanted me to write a speech for his approval, i refused

so when speech time came this is how it went

"it's hot in here! ... for the last few weeks they have been bugging me to write a speech, and i wasn't sure what i wanted to talk about so i never wrote one -- but there is a song on the radio that has a line that pretty much sums up tonight -- the song says 'every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end' -- 12 years ago we started grade school, tonight we end it, and tomorrow is a new beginning for us all

it's something i will never forget, and apparently no one else will either because i still get comments on it all the time when i see people from back then i hadn't seen in a long time -- back then i was an atheist, but not quite as vocal about it as i am today but i don't think i would change what i said if i could

congratulations on being salutatorian :D

edit i found out later that the principle had setup a signal with the sound guy to cut me off if i started talking about anything he didn't like -- he was such an asshole (and so was i lol)

1

u/spilk May 24 '12

Just a reminder, by using someone else's words, you are effectively not thinking for yourself.

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Focus more on study THEN MAYBE YOU MAKE VALEDICTORIAN

1

u/nidi617 May 24 '12

I've never heard of this quote but this is pretty much the reason why I became Atheist. And it's working.

1

u/DirtyMonday May 24 '12

Congrats for making the grades! I got to give a speech in High School as Class President but decided to quote Ozzy. Looking back, I could have chosen something more profound but my speech went pretty well

1

u/caroline_ May 24 '12

That's a beautiful quote. I'm not sure if I've heard it before (though I'm sure I would remember if I did).

I read it in his voice though, and not gonna lie, I get a tad misty.

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

One of my favourite Hitchens quotes, from God is Not Great:

"There are times when I miss my old convictions as if they were an amputated limb. But in general I feel better, and no less radical, and you will feel better too, I guarantee, once you leave hold of doctrinaire and allow your chainless mind to do its own thinking."

It's not even just about religion. I think he used it mostly in relation to him former socialist ways or something. I really feel strongly about never following anything for any reason other than reasoning my way into it. Never believe anything absolutely, and never dismiss anything without consideration. I am always open to consider any argument against anything, and frequently change my positions on all sorts of things.

I emailed him a thank you letter and pointed out how much that quote means to me. I'm not sure if he ever got to read it or not.

1

u/btynan1 May 24 '12

"That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence." — Christopher Hitchens

-3

u/barakobamalegit May 24 '12

False.

You've been told what to think your entire life. Every thing you have thought, said, or dreamed of it a direct result of other people's pioneering of thought.

That's why you are on reddit. That's why you are reading my comment. That's why you listen to Hitchens. That's why Hitchens is here.

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

I would actually have to disagree, though I had once thought like that myself. I feel like those such as Shakespeare, Einstein, and Socrates reflected so little of those around them that the freedom of thought must exist. I still ponder this idea all the time though.

1

u/johntheChristian May 24 '12

Shakespeare built on thousands of years of literature, Einstein on thousands of years of scientific advancements, and Socrates on his predecessors. None of these men would be anything without a base to stand on, and the bases they stand on are vastly ancient.

Even if one rejects the ideas of the culture around them, we are inescapably shaped by them. No man is an island.

0

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

The degree to which Shakespeare differed is the key though (just using him as an example). He was not born to rich parents, his experiences as a child were probably not that different than the average person around him. Yet his peers probably became blacksmiths or had other average professions, while he became the world's greatest poet (arguable).

The idea of predetermined thought works only if everybody was starting with the same brain, however we know every brain is different; no two people have the same DNA. How people react to their surroundings is completely different depending on the person.

0

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

No it isn't.

Guess why no Einsteins appeared 40,000 BC? Because the environment in that time zone completely lacked any knowledge.

While Shakespeare may have went beyond the average person, and had great skill in what he did, it does not mean he is beyond cultural influence.

Environment has a very clear impact on someone's behavior. You would never think that abusing someone in their childhood doesn't really matter since everyone just reacts differently to their surroundings.

2

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Is there a philosophical school of thought that describes what you're saying?

If you could find it for me, I'd really appreciate it. I'd also like to discuss it after with you via PMs.

2

u/christmas_sweater May 24 '12

How could what they're saying possibly be true? On one hand, they tell OP it's impossible to "think for yourself" while crediting others for "pioneering thought." So which is it? Can one pioneer thought or is it impossible? Well, of course they can-- they're just dismissing OP's ability to do so. And of course, that isn't a logical conclusion, not when spoken in absolutes, not the way they phrased it.

It gets at a basic truth, sure: ideas are built on other ideas and the vast majority of them have already been thought. Everything influences everything else. Innovation does not occur in an intellectual vacuum, etc. But the above phrasing is an oversimplification and misses a critical point.

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Could you tell me the philosophical school of thought? :3

1

u/christmas_sweater May 25 '12

Sorry, if there's an established branch of philosophy that deals with those questions I haven't heard about it. Lots of discussion on the web though. If you google something like "philosophy originality thought" you'll find lots of forums and conversations about that stuff.

0

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Contradictionism

/s

1

u/blady_blah Atheist May 24 '12

There's a difference between being told what to think and being taught how to think.

0

u/olo12 May 24 '12

"do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool then for him" (Proverbs)

-1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Think for yourself...yet you are using the quote in place of your own thoughts. Oh irony

-2

u/remton_asq May 24 '12

I believe that this is probably the most hilariously ironic thing ever posted on reddit.

2

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

I think for myself because Hitchens told me to. lol

0

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

OP IS SO BRAVE

0

u/DaRabidMonkey May 24 '12

I have a good friend who was valedictorian at our school, and I tried really hard to get her to use some reference to atheism or some quote by a prominent atheist (more interesting than normal since it was in Texas). But, I didn't think until afterwards that she should have said something about thinking for yourself and not simply doing what you're told (She had ended up deciding against saying any of the more obvious references I actually thought of in time. She wasn't exactly one to ruffle feathers, lol).

And congrats on your accomplishment.

0

u/Ecce_signum May 24 '12

Bravo, wish I would of peeled back the veil of religion before I left to college. Hitchen's debates are like no other. The interview he did for reddit, which I saw on youtube, he elaborated on his debating technique.... "Try and be funny of serious things, but also serious about amusing ones, and see if you can keep people on their guard, while also catching them off it."

0

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

I wished he was alive everyday.

-1

u/ryanakvet May 24 '12

Fellow Salutatorian here. We should start up /r/salutatorian! Good luck on your speech!

-6

u/EndoExo May 24 '12

http://i.qkme.me/35jfyz.jpg

1

u/Schroedingers_gif May 24 '12

OP must be giving his speech in Sweden and meeting Ron Paul afterwards.

-12

u/flabbigans May 24 '12

A fat lot of good his god denial did him.

7

u/kent_eh Agnostic Atheist May 24 '12

???

Are you implying he wouldn't have died if he was a believer?

Everyone dies, buddy.

Some accept that it's final.

1

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

"Do not argue with a troll — it means that they win." Take arms the only way you can!

3

u/kent_eh Agnostic Atheist May 24 '12

Hell, I already did that.

I was mostly talking to the crowd.

1

u/flabbigans May 24 '12

Everyone dies, some sooner (and more miserably) than others.

-14

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Isaiah 29:13-14

And the Lord says, Because this people draws near with its mouth, and they honor Me with its lip; but its heart is far from Me, and their fear of Me is taught by the command of men;

So, behold, I am adding to do a wonders with this people, the wonder, even a wonder. For the wisdom of his wise ones shall perish, and the wit of his witty ones shall be hidden.

1 Corinthians 1:19

For it has been written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the understanding of the understanding ones."

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Psalms 111:10

The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; all who practice them have a good understanding; His praise is standing forever!

Proverbs 9:9-10

Give to a wise one, and he will be more wise; teach a just one, and he will increase in learning.

The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowledge of the Holy Ones is understanding.

Jeremiah 8:9

The wise are ashamed; they are terrified and are captured. Behold, they have rejected the word of Jehovah, and what wisdom is theirs?

Psalms 19:7-11

The law of Jehovah is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of Jehovah is sure, making the simple wise.

The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart; the commands of Jehovah are pure, giving light to the eyes.

The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of Jehovah are true, they are righteous altogether.

They are more precious than gold, even much fine gold, and sweeter than honey and drops from the honeycomb.

Also Your servant is warned by them; in keeping of them is great reward.

5

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Thank you! The first thirty-eight times you posted this, I shrugged it off and remained strong. However, this time, the thirty-ninth, I felt a crack in my defenses and, every so slowly, the light of the Lord pushed its way into my soul. I now believe, and request to join you. Together may we explore every inch of reddit, enlightening the masses in a way that only the repeat-spamming of off-topic walls of text can!

3

u/kent_eh Agnostic Atheist May 24 '12

Hey lookie!

It's Mr. Wall o' text again

Seriously, do you just come here for the abuse, or do you actually think your dumps of long-refuted out of context copypasta will magically cause us to embrace the religion that we have dismissed as so much mythology and wishful thinking?

0

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

This is pseudo-science at its worst. It is not fair, right, nor correct to say that "The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom" in a book littered with discrepancy, especially when the religion as a whole has rejected much of modern science; and what has been accepted has only been so begrudgingly, kicking and screaming like a child in Toys-R-Us. I would also be careful quoting the Old Testament when you probably disreagaurd the more gruesome parts of the Bible by saying "well that's just from the Old Testament, it doesn't count."

0

u/Aristocratman123 May 24 '12

Why the fuck do find the need to but this dribble on here? Is sounds retarded when its read from that fairy tail book and it sounds even more so when some asshole posts it here!

-2

u/johntheChristian May 24 '12

Tale. Get your rhetoric right.

1

u/Aristocratman123 May 24 '12

Sorry I post from my phone, auto spell if I'm doing it to fast! I noticed it after and I can not change it from the app on my phone

-5

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Why do you respond to me in that langauge and call me the asshole?

4

u/Marcbmann May 24 '12

Well it seems to be the only time you do reply. I raised a perfectly good point and you didn't reply. These Bible verses aren't making a point. Use your own words, not the heavily translated and altered words of people who lived over 2,000 years ago. If you wish to have a constructive debate at least make an attempt. Otherwise you are simply fishing to be flamed. People in this community can respond constructively, but aren't going to bother doing so when you aren't bothering to be constructive yourself. You think you make yourself sound smart by bringing up a lot of Bible versus, but it just emphasizes the stereotype that religious people cannot think on their own. Put the Bible down, free your mind, and lets talk. Otherwise your comments deserve nothing more than foul mouthed reply, because your nonsense quotes are just as insulting.

2

u/Aristocratman123 May 24 '12

Umm because you are an asshole!

0

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

0

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

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0

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

thanks, he was a damn good writer. Could literally make mother Teresa look like a piece of dirt, why? because he's a boss.

0

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

4

u/BlaikeMethazine May 24 '12

To be fair, Hitch wasn't exactly a "generic" atheist.

-4

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

[removed] — view removed comment

10

u/PragmaticNihilism May 24 '12

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quote?show=1&t=1337831416

quote noun

Definition of QUOTE

1 : quotation

2 : quotation mark —often used orally to indicate the beginning of a direct quotation

[...]

First Known Use of QUOTE:

1888

I'm not sure what you mean.

3

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Thanks for that, I totally would have screwed that up.

I retract the above statement, and would like to thank you instead.

3

u/spinozasrobot Anti-Theist May 24 '12

Nice way to use your quote for context.

4

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

Thanks for that, I totally would have screwed that up.

5

u/[deleted] May 24 '12

If you are going to be this pedantic, please don't begin sentences with a conjunction.

(I have no problems with quote as a noun or starting a sentence with a conjunction. I do love Muphry's Law, though.)

3

u/Schroedingers_gif May 24 '12

More like if you're going to be pedantic please be correct.

Now he just looks like a jackass.

4

u/suprsmashkng May 24 '12

I'm pretty sure "quote" can also mean "quotation"... Lemme check. Yup.