So let’s talk about it.
BTW: He’s released a video explaining why it happened. You can see it here.
I’ve been a fan of Matt for a very long time, since back in the early days of the Atheist Experience and I do think, even to this day, that he’s an excellent debater and very knowledgeable about religion. Even though I’ve had my fair number of disagreements with some of his ideas, which you can find peppered throughout this blog, I’ve never had any actual animosity toward him as a person.
However, it’s been clear, for a long time now, that he’s had a lot of what I consider negative influence over the Atheist Experience and perhaps over the ACA as a whole. I can’t say because I have absolutely no contact with the ACA and since I don’t live in Austin or pay any interest whatsoever to its inner workings, that’s just a guess, but it’s really felt, for a while now, that he’s one of the ones at the top who have been pushing the ACA to being a more political organization.
Remember, the mission statement of the ACA is “The Atheist Community of Austin is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting positive atheism and the separation of religion and government.” That emphasis is theirs. Yet over the past couple of years at least, it has really started to lean into far-left political talking points, something which is a bit questionable, considering their tax-exempt status. I’m not involved in the laws regarding this, but it’s kind of jarring, especially recently.
Again, I don’t know the inner workings of the ACA, but it seems very telling that the moment that Matt and Arden started seeing each other, he went hard-core trans-rights, pro-trans, insisting on announcing pronouns for every caller (and making fun of any caller who didn’t want to go along), etc. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not remotely anti-trans, but as with everything else, there is a time and a place for things and a show called The Atheist Experience isn’t where trans-rights discussions belong. If it arises organically in the midst of a conversation, sure, that’s fine, but increasingly it started to be brought up by the hosts, particularly Matt, as a major talking point. This is just interjecting your personal life into places it doesn’t belong.
What’s worse, I think that Matt, either on purpose or through his presence, the other hosts across all of the ACA shows, started doing the same thing. I have no way of knowing if he insisted, or if they just followed suit, but he absolutely started the trend. I’m not blaming Arden for any of this because, generally speaking, I like Arden. The few times she’s been on the show, I liked her take on things. No, this all comes down to Matt, at least from appearances, although I certainly can’t know what’s going on behind the scenes.
Someone, somewhere mentioned when Tracie Harris left and if this might be something similar and again, we just don’t know. Tracie and a lot of other people left over the ACA’s piss-poor handling of the Stephen Woodford thing, which was stupid to begin with. Any argument based around “you’re using words in a way we don’t approve of” is just childish. I think Tracie saw the writing on the wall and headed for the hills. I think it was a wise choice.
Matt has said that he’ll talk about his reasons sometime, but I don’t think it really matters. This is a win-win for all involved. The shows don’t have to deal with his influence anymore and he gets to either get healthy, which I’m sure he needs, given all of the medical problems he’s had of late, or gets to focus on money-making debates, which I have no problem with. Nobody really loses from this.
So farewell Matt. Hope you have success in your future endeavors, but I’m really not going to miss you. Sure, you could be a bulldog on occasion, but more and more often, it’s been on topics I don’t care about, in a place where it’s inappropriate and the less of that I have to deal with, the better. Let’s try to get away from the woke nonsense and get back to trashing religion.
re: Let’s try to get away from the woke nonsense✔ and get back to trashing religion.✔
The greatest tyrannies are always perpetuated in the name of the noblest causes (religions).
I am not White but all this White Guilt pandemic currently afflicting the North American and West European nations –horsesh*t! Woke and cancel culture are both signs of mentally immature people. There will always be someone whose identity is wrapped up in being offended. Politics has gone from Right and Left to Left and Wrong –absurd!
Real healing begins in life, and real awakening starts to happen when we stop living through emotion (religion, woke-religion, et.al.) and start living through rationality and real love.
It turns out that this was all about his political views on LBGT. That’s hardly surprising, but as I said in the post, adios. This is supposed to be the Atheist Community of Austin, not the LGBT Community. The only people who should have a say about anything are members of the actual organization. Why in the world should non-members, perhaps not even atheists, have any say? I think I suggested that it was at least likely to be the case and I’m really not surprised that it was.
re: It turns out that this was all about his political views on LBGT. . . .In his statement, it didn’t seem too clear to me. -Too much dancing around. He seemed butt-hurt over communication, being ghosted, not getting enough respect, basically holding back tears in the end, et.al.
re: Why in the world should non-members, perhaps not even atheists, have any say?
Agree totally BUT that’s what happens when you have emotional woke guilt.
YouTube’s algorithms are some of the worst woke programming I have seen. Why show someone that their comment “posted” when only they can view it? The “YouTube Woke Community Guidelines” you’re inadvertently breaking aren’t even cogent. While you may think that your comment is innocent and unharmful, it is violating some hidden woke policies set by the woke video streaming AI algorithms that have morphed into taking multiple unknown offences.
Woke is functionally a new religion. It operates in the same way and fills similar needs.
Lots of psychotherapists, even Carl Jung, say you can claw your way out of one box but you are simply inside another box, that’s the human condition. Imagine leaving religions behind for something equally irrational and emotional.
The whole thing feels like a guilt trip. Matt used to be a somebody in the ACA. Today, he was just a volunteer host, just like everyone else. Nobody has to keep him informed because he doesn’t work for the organization. He really comes off like he’s butt-hurt because he’s not getting his way. He wanted some absurd groveling to take place from the ACA and the ACA told him to pound sand, as they should have IMO. I don’t really have any respect for the ACA to begin with, but here, from what I know at least, I figure they were right. Matt has been getting too big for his britches for a long time now and it’s just getting worse. I know that now he’s doing shows over on The Line, but I really have no interest in watching them, mostly because they don’t really cut the shows down into smaller chunks and I don’t have time to sit around watching 2 hour shows on YouTube. If this is the way that he’s going to operate, kicking and screaming until he gets his own way, then I have no interest in watching him anymore. He’s just not interesting. I’ve got better things to do.
re: not getting his way✔; demands groveling✔; kicking and screaming until he gets his own way💯✔.
Yeah, it certainly doesn’t lead to constructive outcomes.
I’m only interested in getting to those constructive outcomes and so many politically-active YouTubers aren’t interested in that. It’s all fee-fees over facts and… screw that.
May I offer a couple of books on topic?
Both are written by members of their respective protected classes. McWhorter is black and Ellis is gay.
“Woke Racism” by John McWhorter is probably the most intelligent discussion of the current social phenomenon of shunning and manipulation regarding minorities who do and do not toe the corporate line regarding their niche’s political stance that I have seen. He equates this way of thinking as a new religion and his arguments are strong and well-reasoned.
Bret Easton Ellis’s “White” does the same thing from a gay perspective.
I highly recommend both to anyone who, like me, sees the current arc of societal direction via internet manipulation as a disaster that is no longer waiting to happen. It’s here and now.
I’ve read the first one. Honestly, there are probably more minorty and gay voices that are not in favor of woke politics, just like the overwhelming majority of blacks are not in favor of defunding the police. It’s why so many blacks are moving to the right these days, right on the heels of tons of Hispanics.
Then again, both political parties have made it a mission to shoot themselves in the foot of late. None of them are all that bright.