Can I post a small petty rant?

[Kali]

Not sure if I have ever posted here, though I have reccd a few when they pop up on the latest page.

My rant: I was recently hospitalized and then got stuck going to a local nursing home for a week (somewhat against my will). It turned out to be a religious place run by Lutherans or something. OK I can deal for a few days though the daily homilies and stupid artwork everywhere got on my nerves ("spread god's love, not influenza" as an example in the restroom hand-washing poster)

Now, here is my little gripe. At the requisite interrogation of my religious preferences, I made a point to explain my choice was "NONE," not "no preference", I explained that it might seem odd to some people but being in this particular "last" minority in this country it was something I felt somewhat strongly about. I was not religious with no affiliation, but am A-RELIGIOUs - athiest. without religion. NO religion. NONE. Is that so hard for people to grasp? really?

I was reading my discharge papers because they fucked up a number of things besides what I am ranting about here and I see that the idiot wrote "unknown" for my religious preference. WTFingF???!!! Nice little old passive aggressive lady actually wrote "unknown" after I explained about NONE?

OK, petty I know, (and I have some much more serious complaints about the place in terms of paperwork and lack of communication) but can I get some sympathy in here?

[djean111]

1. Did they take good care of you? That's the important part!

Maybe, for the purposes of the questionnaire, and the person asking questions, it is just incomprehensible that you have no religion.
Hey, today I got another visit from a lovely woman who is a Jehovah's Witness, she knows I am atheist, but has seen me stressed out due to family problems, so she just stops and says hi, how ya doing. And tells me her problems, too.
Anyway, today she invited me to a big meeting at the USF Sun Dome, about how the world should have One Ruler.
Not going to go, of course, but will be looking into whether she is a Dominionist or something. Yikes!

[Kali]

3. as is often the case, the lower "status" workers did a great job

but the higher up the food chain we go the incompetence seems to increase and be multiplied.

no, they released me with incomplete orders and I have been waiting almost a week now for medical equipment that I should have had the day of release. The facility was responsible for sending a prescription/order for this and it had not been done as of yesterday.

I intend to file a mild complaint at some point after I am no longer subject to their influence. (after I get the equipment)

edit to add - complaint will be about the med orders, not about my rant here, though I might verbally include it if the opportunity arises - I am not militant, but it does get on my nerves that atheists are so rarely acknowledged to even exist.

[Arkansas Granny]

11. They don't acknowledge that atheists exist because they are so sure that at the last moment,

when we see the bright light in the tunnel, that we'll come to our senses and renounce our evil ways which will mean that we weren't really atheists after all, just misguided souls. It's kinda like when they say there's no atheists in foxholes.

[Lordquinton]

14. If this happened to a Jewish person and they put down Catholic

you can bet they would make a huge stink about it. Don't feel bad about making sure people use the terms you prefer. It's not rude to correct people when they intentionally mislabel you, in fact it's quite rude to mislabel someone after they make their preference clear.

[Kali]

25. I was thinking of that sort of example

what if PALOL (passive aggressive little old lady) got labeled LDS instead of Lutheran or whatever HER preference is?

[Curmudgeoness]

17. "I am not militant".....

That was always me too, but the more the religious people try to control everything about our lives, the more vocal I have become. It was easy to not be militant when religion was kept mostly in the churches and the family. The more I pay attention, the more it bothers me.

[Kali]

26. arriving late for public meetings where I know there is going to be not only flag worship, but

prayers too is my main "activism"

[onager]

2. Yes, but please post large petty rants...

...in the Religion forum.



That's sort of an inside joke here in A/A, which you'll understand if you've read some of the rants here in our "safe haven."

Now that you've posted, I hope you'll stick around and do so more often.

As to your post...I just dunno. Some religious people seem to flatly refuse atheists exist, and maybe Nice Little Old Passive-Aggressive Lady was one of those.

Or despite your explanation, she really didn't understand, threw up her hands and followed her usual bureaucratic procedure. "Hmmm....not Lutheran, Other Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, or Muslim. Insists on 'none' but everybody has some religious belief. So...probably some Off-Brand Religion. Mark 'unknown.' Done."

Your "no preference" language got my attention. When I was in the Marine Corps many years ago, "atheist" was not yet allowed on dogtags and personnel records. The closest option was "No Pref," which I chose.

[Kali]

6. heh!

I mostly avoid that place.

get called to jury there pretty often and sometimes see things on the latest page or via the hosts forum or MIRT.

that was kind of my point with the conversation - if they don't have a specific atheist checkbox, then NONE should be an option.

[Warpy]

12. Or maybe "nice little old passive-aggressive lady" knew

Kali was headed to God Botherer Hell for rehab and wanted to smooth the way by pretending s/he was incapable of answering the question on admission, like s/he was unconscious or something.

Probably half the patients at my last job put "none" in the religion blank. I think it's because they wanted to avoid the pastoral visits and the church prayer groups, they just wanted to get the op over with and they'd deal with the god stuff after they got home.

[trotsky]

4. This is a perfect place to vent!

If not here, where?

And the thing is, I totally understand why she put "unknown." Because a lot of believers truly don't understand. They simply cannot grasp what it means to lack religious beliefs.

But the thing expected from us non-believers that isn't expected from any other group: we're supposed to just let it slide. Let the religious enjoy their privilege. Don't call them on it. Don't point it out. Don't be confrontational. Be a good little atheist!

Frustrating as hell.

[Kali]

8. I can deal with being non-confrontational in the larger public sphere, though yes it is frustrating

but in terms of personal information and my own descriptions/labels for myself, I do resent not having my choice available or respected.

would little old passive aggressive lady like to have her religious preference mislabeled?

[JNelson6563]

5. You have my sympathy Kali!

Sounds like you've been through an unpleasant experience! I hope you are feeling better in spite of that. Get your equipment and then write a letter about mutual respect and that sort of thin.

Healing hugs.

Julie

[Kali]

9. thanks!

I am doing good, actually - aside from having had the woundvac on only 7.5 days out of what? 19 now
ironically, the longest stretch it was on was while I was the nursing home.

[mr blur]

7. Welcome here...

We understand your gripe - even those of us who don't live in the U.S. and are not constantly bombarded with Jebus.

[Kali]

10. thanks!

yeah we are crazy here. and seem to be getting worse.

[AtheistCrusader]

13. It's so they can violate your rights and do invocations or last rites or some other mumbo

jumbo over you if your health takes a turn for the worse.


Because honestly, when shit hits the fan, that's all they are capable of.

[Kali]

21. good point

place needs to work on administration rather than ministration, if you ask me

I had to get on the phone and follow up AGAIN today on something that should have been done lase Wednesday.

[kdmorris]

15. Same thing happened to me when I gave birth last year

I filled out the registration with Atheist. When I left the hospital, both I and my sons were listed as "religion: unknown".

I wasn't sure at the time if they just didn't have an actual Atheist category or if they were being jerks, but given that my first week home with newborn twins was a whirlwind, I said nothing about it!

Glad you are on the mend!!

[Kali]

22. you filled it out yourself and they still didn't copy it?

aarrggghhhh!!!!

[kdmorris]

27. Nope

I was just too tired to follow up.

[Kali]

30. with twins I sure don't blame you!

so how many years to go before you can start to get caught up on sleep?

[kdmorris]

33. 24 years, I'm thinking :) n/t

[onager]

31. Twins?

Any chance you will become an atheist who believes in demons?

My elderly Mom works at a pre-school part time. Last year, along with 8 other kids, her class had TWO sets of twins - one pair of girls and one set of boys. 4 year olds.

Her school year was...interesting.

[kdmorris]

32. Yes, they are 13 months old

"Interesting"... good word

Things got really "interesting" when they learned to walk. Technically, we are not outnumbered, but it sure feels like it some days!!

LOL - no I'll probably still not believe in demons. They are good little boys - they are just active and wear us out sometimes

[Kali]

34. the good kids are even harder!

enjoy them, it does go by fast

[Curmudgeoness]

16. You will get a ton of sympathy from me.

That is outrageous and I would be pissed too. You are right, it isn't the worst of things that can happen, but it is completely disrespectful.

I guess that the woman just could not wrap her mind around "atheist", so she assumed that you just didn't know what religion you were---"Unknown".

So, since that is behind you, and you probably have more to worry about than this, let's laugh about it---because I think that the bathroom poster is hilarious. And I hope you have a better choice if you ever need to go into another facility...or at least you don't explain shit to them and just tell them your "religion" is "atheist"...period. Say it like it is a religion, because we all know that they are convinced we are a "religion". Damn them to hell.

[Kali]

23. you know - that is the bottom line

it is totally disrespectful. and I resent it, having spent my entire life trying to be respectful of them and others that don't share my point of view. bah!

yeah, I kind of wanted that poster - it was just missing the kind of corny chick-tract sort of "art" and had a lame clip art image of flowers instead of better symbolism.

[BlueJazz]

18. Well obviously Kali...you're going straight to hell

Actually, I'd be rather pissed about the whole thing also.
When I tell people I'm an atheist, there's usually a pause like I just said "I eat babies every chance I get"
Oh well...

[Kali]

24. I usually temper even that by just saying I am not religious.

I rarely inflict the scary word "atheist" on anybody.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

19. Keep the rants coming - we get it!

Imagine the shits that would be thrown if, as Lord Quinton suggested above, they documented someone as Jewish instead of Catholic.

[Kali]

28. exactly!

[defacto7]

20. Rant on!

I hear ya. She probably felt that if she wrote "none" she would be sentencing you to hell and she feared for her own eternal soul all that weeping and gnashing of teeth stuff. It scared her shitless.

[Kali]

29. I doubt they get many atheists there, that is for sure

I will do my utmost to never return (more for administrative screw-ups than this, but this is the cherry on top)

[Rainforestgoddess]

35. Maybe she thought her pen would catch fire.

seriously, I agree, it was disrespectful.