Originally posted by FMF What proportion of the electorate in your country are atheists? What proportion of them vote in elections? What is the significance of what this small number of people "tend to prefer to vote for"?
Does your third question reveal your first question as rhetorical or did your train of thought leave the station before all of the passengers were able to board?
Originally posted by lemon lime Does your third question render your first question rhetorical or did your train of thought leave the station before all of the passengers were able to board?
No, all three questions get to the very heart of whodey's often trotted-out set piece about atheists' voting tendencies in the U.S.
Perhaps he is using the word "atheist" to refer to "theists" he disagrees with, who knows?
Generalizing about people is a bit dodgy at the best of times but generalizing about such a relatively small and diverse number of people as atheists in the U.S. seems a bit silly.
Originally posted by FMF No, all three questions get to the very heart of whodey's often trotted-out set piece about atheists' voting tendencies in the U.S.
Perhaps he is using the word "atheist" to refer to "theists" he disagrees with, who knows?
Generalizing about people is a bit dodgy at the best of times but generalizing about such a relatively small and diverse number of people as atheists in the U.S. seems a bit silly.
We shall see what he says.
So your answer is no, your first question is not rhetorical?
Originally posted by lemon lime So your answer is no, your first question is not rhetorical?
My answer is exactly as I stated in my previous post. whodey may happen to think the number of atheists in the U.S. is large, whereas I don't think it is, relatively speaking. My questions reflect both possibilities whilst inviting him to clarify what he thinks the significance of their number and their voting preferences actually is.
Originally posted by FMF My answer is exactly as I stated in my previous post. whodey may happen to think the number of atheists in the U.S. is large, whereas I don't think it is, relatively speaking. My questions reflect both possibilities whilst inviting him to clarify what he thinks the significance of their number and their voting preferences actually are.
He expressed his opinion about most atheists. Saying most atheists is not the same as saying most people.
If atheists are 5% of the population then most atheists would mean less than 5% of the population. If atheists are 40% of the population then most atheists would mean less than 40% of the popuation. Most of something simply means more than half (but less than all) of that something... that's all it means.
Originally posted by lemon lime He expressed his opinion about most atheists. Saying most atheists is not the same as saying most people.
If atheists are 5% of the population then most atheists would mean less than 5% of the population. If atheists are 40% of the population then most atheists would mean less than 40% of the popuation.
You clearly haven't understood my questions to whodey and you're now fumbling. 😉
Originally posted by lemon lime Show me where whodey said or made any indication as to how many atheists he was talking about.
Ha ha. You are floundering. Look again at the three questions of mine you were responding to at the top of this page (6). I am asking whodey if he knows how many atheists he is actually talking about. If he answers my question, then we will have an "indication as to how many atheists he was talking about", won't we? That is, after all, what I was asking him and why.
Originally posted by FMF You clearly haven't understood my questions to whodey and you're now fumbling. 😉
One doesn't really need to "understand" your questions to know that you are the one fumbling.
And for the love of God, can you stop with the smileys when you attack someone? It's altogether reminiscent of the greasy used-car salesman politician-wannabes in cheap suits that one finds in the local bar 15 minutes before closing time, still hoping to "get lucky".
Originally posted by Suzianne One doesn't really need to "understand" your questions to know that you are the one fumbling.
How so? What significance do you think whodey is attaching to what the small number of atheists in the U.S. electorate "tend to prefer to vote for"? 😉
Originally posted by Suzianne And for the love of God, can you stop with the smileys when you attack someone? It's altogether reminiscent of the greasy used-car salesman politician-wannabes in cheap suits that one finds in the local bar 15 minutes before closing time, still hoping to "get lucky".
Struth! If you get all this kind of thing filling your mind because of smileys, no wonder you read so much into 3-4 thumbs up or down! 😛
Originally posted by FMF How so? What significance do you think whodey is attaching to what the small number of atheists in the U.S. electorate "tend to prefer to vote for"? 😉
"What?"
No, really.... What? I can't make heads or tails out of that mishmash you probably call a sentence.
Originally posted by FMF Struth! If you get all this kind of thing filling your mind because of smileys, no wonder you read so much into 3-4 thumbs up or down! 😛
More misrepresentation.
You know, calling the kettle black doesn't work so well when you're the pot. Even more so when the kettle isn't even black.
Aaaannd, now the tongue. You're worse than Peter Lorre.
No, really.... What? I can't make heads or tails out of that mishmash you probably call a sentence.
Perhaps you tried to land your "you are the one fumbling" cuff to my chin before you had actually read the conversation about the significance of what whodey thinks atheists tend to vote for. That'd explain the "What?" above.
Originally posted by Suzianne More misrepresentation..
Suzianne, it's you who claimed that smileys make you think of things like "greasy used-car salesman politician-wannabes in cheap suits that one finds in the local bar 15 minutes before closing time, still hoping to get lucky", not me.
27 Sep '16 07:591 edit
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