On a warm Wednesday morning, as I exited the Letterman Building after recording my WCRD show, I was approached by an older gentleman passing out copies of the Bible. “Would you like to hear the word of God?” he asked me.
In my most civil voice, I let the man know that I was once religious, but no longer am, and wished him a good day regardless. The brief flicker of confusion on his face disappeared behind an equally civil “Thank you,” and we both went about our day.
Less than fifteen minutes later, as I entered the West Quad building to wait for class, I browsed the DN, like many people do. I’ve rarely, if ever, taken issue with anything the DN publishes. Heck, I’ve written for the news department a few times.
It took me all of ten seconds to read Austin Russell’s comic “Existentia Academica”. I reread it again and again to make sure I wasn’t misunderstanding some cleverly hidden subtext, but no. The words of an antagonistic atheist and a poor Christian trying to enjoy her religious reading are pretty clear.
The comic presents atheists in a stereotypical fashion: Smug, quick to judge, and hypocritical.
Wait...was I just describing the atheist stereotype, or the Christian stereotype?
Either way, both are completely unfair, incorrect assumptions, so why publish a comic that falsely portrays it as fact? Would you do the same for a religious person screaming at an atheist that they’re going to hell? Or a Muslim man scolding his wife for dressing “immodestly”?
Not only that, but a number of female friends I spoke to perceived the comic as stereotyping feminists. The aggressive character has short hair, and wears a giant female symbol on her shirt. She’s quick to jump on Indy for what she perceives as following the sheep herd, and implies that the only right way is her way. What kind of starved artist resorts to such clichés?
Under the college’s “Diversity at Ball State” webpage, Ball State claims to be “strongly committed to diversity” and that students’ “differing ideas and points of view they bring to the classroom are a big part of what makes Ball State such an interesting place.”
Is that still true? Or are we to perceive our differences as yet another barrier to overcome in the pursuit of a safe, successful education? Are we not a public college, funded by taxpayer dollars, and beholden to the ideal of separation of church and state?
I get it. It’s the opinion section, and the “does not necessarily reflect our views” disclaimer is plain as day, but the editorial team of the DN still made the final call to publish Russell’s comic — and it’s not even a good one. Does this mean that the people I used to work with wouldn’t respect me if I revealed my atheism to them? Would the thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours I spend working alongside them and other student media be for nothing due to a hostile, untrusting environment? Our SGA president just resigned for racist remarks he made on Twitter, so I don’t think it’s a stretch at all to believe that discrimination of any form can still come from our workplace superiors.
I implore the DN to review its ethics in choosing what material it publishes, if only so we can avoid creating a more hostile environment. I will be searching my own conscience for reasons to continue working alongside them, and I invite anyone, including Austin Russell, to speak to me or ask questions so we may all better understand one another. I’ve lost good friends over petty fights like these. I wouldn’t want to lose another.
In the British comedy show “Derek”, Ricky Gervais, a noted atheist, plays the titular character, a somewhat mentally challenged, socially anxious, yet incredibly kind nursing home caretaker.
When asked his opinion, he states: “I don’t think it matters if there is a god or not. I’ve met people who believe in God that are good and that are bad. And I’ve met people who don’t believe in God that are good and that are bad. So, just be good. I’m good. Not ‘cause I think I’ll go to heaven, but because when I do something bad, I feel bad. And when I do something good, I feel good.”
Have a good day, no matter who or what you are.
-Joseph Knoop
jdknoop@bsu.edu
