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Stereotypes provide great fodder for comedy. They can also obstruct social progress.

Consider the stereotypes in this Onion news parody:

Why is the medicinal use of marijuana illegal in most states?  Blame a stupid stereotype.

It just happens that I am for both the legalization of marijuana and for the legalization of atheism.  But wait a minute, atheism is legal.  It is only human collective efforts that ban the overt expressions of it from some arenas of society.

If atheists wore neckties, said  sir and m’am and helped old ladies across the street, would the stupid stereotype that portrays us as sharp-toothed subversives go away?

Here’s the problem: We DO help old ladies across the street.  We just don’t link that to our lack of belief.  “Yah, Joe is such a good non-believer; he helps old ladies cross the street.” Kind of weird, isn’t it?

How do you combat a stupid stereotype?  I think the first step is for more people to openly identify themselves as members of an unfairly maligned group.  I taught psychology for a number of years and remember a landmark study.  The researchers found that the best way to combat racism was to get individuals from different groups to work together on a common goal.  If we don’t first identify ourselves as atheists or non-believers, how are intolerant believers to outgrow their prejudice?

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