what happens when ur atheist walks into a bank this is particularly fascinating
David Silverman is with us
is the president American atheists the website is
atheists dot or give the Twitter is at American Atheists
and David welcome to the program hey thanks for having me on again Tom
great to have you with us and by the way you've got a convention coming up
we do I we have our national convention coming up as it's a fun thing to say
it's the American Idiot National Convention
on Easter weekend in Salt Lake City and just let that sink in for a second HTTPS
convention
Easter weekend Salt Lake City just is perfect great
the yet is it it's perfect and we're really looking forward to having it
and I hope everybody comes out to sea and we're it's only three weeks away we
have fantastic speakers
we've gotta dance we've got a costume ball we've got our show we've got comedy
it's gonna be fantastic out everybody comes
wonderful now I i understand you are a bank
and a notary said sorry I'm not going to notarize your papers which was for
different atheist groups around this in a state group run the country that were
presumably incorporating or something and now it was for us it was for
American Atheists Ryan and one other things that we as a national
organization have to do is we have to register our organization in every state
haha and and we'll we register our organization and every state we keep it
right above
I know that's what we have to do and we've been at this bank several times
and they notarize our stuff of time but this time
this person look at our stuff said what do you do
we said where an atheist organization we do this we we are a non-profit
organization previous and she said I'll
well for personal reasons and then refused to do this I'm allowed to do
this this is bank policy I'm allowed to do this
for she said I it's not business it's not a bank policy that
that were refusing US me I'm allowed to do this because of a notary public
let me see if there's someone else who can do this now legally
she could not have done that if you're black right if she's issue sir that your
skin color is a reason why she wasn't doing it well legally
I don't believe she was able to do anyways because Jersey has a law against
discrimination for everything
okay that's where I was going with missus is be a race
and then religion might here she said I'm not gonna sign anything for jewish
organization should be thrown out
fired immediately right I so us and so here's the conundrum:
why don't you guys assert because I I'm guessing or defect her defense would be
she's not a big against her you know a
on religious grounds because you're asserting no religion what you guys
assert 8 the ISM
as a religion because not a religion the absence of religion well
highlighted that sequesters -ism we've had this conversation before it was we
we want to stick to the truth here
are we could try and do that but it's not true
I atheism is not a religion is the absence of religion to religious
position
and according to the supreme court we do have all the rights that religions
do trite have to assert ourselves as a religion we have a religious position
and the Supreme Court is set
we have all the rights other religion religion cabbie
to put above us right so there has been a crime committed but we're not asking
for her head
we're not asking for to be fired although she would be fired if she said
the same thing about Jews or Muslims
she did just as anybody else he be fired for Christian rap can you imagine that
she did to a Christian should be a should be
Bill O'Reilly's guest tonight exactly exactly infection may still be
discrimination
safety is amiss still okay in this country which is why American Atheists
exists and that's why we fight
to discrimination against ATS still rampant still prevalent but it's not
okay
and it deserves to be fought and deserves to be fought hard and at its
source
so what we're doing is we're asking the bank to correct the employees and just
to you know apologize at that's all we're asking for
unfortunately the bank has refused to do that so far has come back saying
all she just needed help with the form
so she went to get somebody else so they're certainly didn't happen the way
that you're certain
happened yeah armed airlines gonna
says it's ridiculous joining the bank why in the world would a notary
have a problem notarizing a signature I
why would she say why would she do it after she asked us about our
organization and then
the second person that she brought in we talk to about it
and he said you know we we said exactly this we said if this had been done to
which you are most should be fired
and he said well she has the right to do this and then he said
I this was amazing he said as he would not arise in our stuff he said
she has the right to do this and by the way that's why there are a lot of
other banks if you don't like the way we have handle ourselves here
well other pics yeah join in the bank Jersey
but join name the bank yeah I was TV back
TD Bank supposed to possibly the one is all about diversity
as TD Bank here in in New Jersey and A&M
it I'm beside myself a little bit yeah because
here in New Jersey's 2014 and we're not supposed to have to cut a problem well
why not why not actually bring a legal action against the bank I mean it's
this is the this is the way that you establish
for for future bigots a
that that is not acceptable behavior
it's not a question it's not a question I
admittedly I damages here pretty minimal we got some we got it signed
you know trying to bring in somebody else we'd we were served I
it was just a matter of sitting here and saying all well this person
doesn't do your kind let's find somebody who will
lowered himself herself to do that right
and it was so backwards itself
itself so 1950s I
and that for the bank well in a way it's also so 2014 because the religion wars
are really
full-tilt boogie I mean this is this is this is Foxx is this whole thing you
know that the war on Christmas oh my god people are being Christian enough
the 80 s Irwin and and have we noticed now that
that bigotry and discrimination is actually coming back
in fold because religion is defending it in pushing it all of a sudden my point
bowling is
is bad unless it's for religious reasons then it's okay
alright I'll discrimination is bad unless it's for religious reasons
then it's okay it's not okay bigotry and discrimination
isn't okay stupid I i agree whether it's against the
you know our religion like a policy is a more or religion like eight the ISM is
there a
a nag and National Association agnostics
now agnostics are atheist they don't like the word but agnostics are
atheist are with almost a 100 percent shot
I remember atheism is simply the absent other active police anecdotes
a the ISM right and alien
mean is mean you know else without first ran
yeah a in Latin you know everything in the universe a dusty we don't have we
don't
we don't stand up and say we're 100 percent sure there is no unicorns are
there are no
cards we say that given all of the evidence
there's no does nothing to make us believe some evidence shows up we're all
gonna change our minds
but until that time are where easiest and suspicion
and I don't think it's gonna dangers to speak on behalf of all atheists
I am yes you're probably right money just to talk about the majority of ATS
I think I majority of ATS I would say
all good skeptics yeah all good skeptics I can say
I if you show them evidence still believe it
as long as it's good evidence is long but I can I would sign it but it's
I would assert for example these people the consuls climates skeptics
in that that if they that this is a belief system
you know I but a I just did seems to me like it should be considered a religion
what climate scepticism well you know I think that that's a bizarre religion
frankly a except for the people who are doing it because they're paid to do it
of allow it but but you know basically on you know
all these things are bar assertions have belief systems this is this is my
this is my understanding of how these universe works
and if you're if you're universe has if you're understanding has
fine typically valid group behind it you can be skeptical
to hold that I'll and that's what makes stuff with the different is between a
skeptic anti-religion
because skeptic need fireproof
to believe what you believe well yeah maybe I mean there's there's a skeptic's
organization thats
pretty fundamentals to any David Silverman