Religious Trolls

Some recent, but by no means unprecedented, activity on the University of Texas campus has sparked discussion regarding how to respond to people that present their fiery-brimstoney (and arguably hateful, that is another post for another day) opinions in an aggressive manner. I want to offer a view on how to approach this.
 
First, let’s cover some hard (and I hope obvious) limits on either end for what constitutes a reasonable level of confrontation. You should never touch these people, or their belongings, unless they leave you no other reasonable option. Do not take their signs. Do not push them. Do not throw your coffee at them. If they physically block your way, then I see no problem with the kind of physical contact you might normally have in navigating a crowded bar, concert, or hallway. And, of course, if they attack you, then you can defend yourself (though I don’t think I should have to point out unlikely it is that it will come to that). One exception might be that if they give you permission, you could do something nice like give them a hug.


On the other end of the confrontation spectrum, you should not shy away from saying what you think, or doing what you want around these people in a calm, reasoned manner, if your only concern is that you might offend them. These people obviously have no problem putting forth unpopular and largely offensive opinions in public. Again, I hope it’s obvious, but offending people that spend all day waving offensive signs should not be a major concern of ours.


Within these bounds, we need to decide what our goal is before we can come up with an effective response. This is a step that I feel is often neglected. Some people seem to be interested in “getting back at them” or just want to yell at them as a way to blow off steam and feel better about it. Surely we can think bigger than that. Other people think they should debate them and show how much smarter we are than they are. And, some people just want to make them look stupid. There are two things to notice before we choose a tactic: Everyone already thinks they look stupid, and a debate in this context is mainly on their terms (another topic for another time).
 
One of the best things that these people do for us is to offer a backdrop for us to display ourselves as the very calm, reasonable, open-minded, and caring people that we are. Other groups have offered hugs, encouragement, or scientific literature. Another possibility is to just be there, be friendly and calm, and label ourselves as an alternative to religious zealots. One more tact is to focus on using reason rather than dogma. We can offer a place to sit and discuss matters, with strictly enforced rules that everyone listen to each other, be polite, and avoid unjustified claims. These are, of course, all tactics we would use as a club.


If you are on your own, then how should you respond? If you do manage to engage them in an actual discussion, then just keep your cool, listen to them, and consider what they are saying. Obviously, you’re likely to disagree with them, but you never know until you listen. If other people are listening to you, your goal should be to convince the audience that your position is reasonable. If you are on your own, then you may be wasting time, but you could use it as an opportunity to practice for when you do have an audience, or maybe try your luck at convincing them that their methods are unlikely to be successful (it is unlikely that calling people whores will convince them to accept Jesus Christ as their personal lord and savior).

If there are no discussions to be had, then you could try a miniature version of the suggestions for a group effort. Apart from that, I am at a loss. It might be best to just walk past, and ignore them. Perhaps someone else has an idea. The main thing is, whatever you do, keep your cool, and focus on this as an opportunity to show people what our worldview has to offer. We do not need to encourage any stereotypes of militant atheists.

-Rick