Hey, guess what? Atheists are the real terrorists!

[Act_of_Reparation]

6. It's a bald-faced example of religious privilege.

As a white guy, I never have to apologize for what other white guys do. A bunch of coked up dipshits destroy a small midwestern town after a Dave Matthews concert? No big deal. No one expects an apology or commentary from me. And if by some remote chance someone actually does, I'll just say, "Hey, I don't know those assholes. And Dave Matthews blows."

A few angry black protesters destroy a CVS in Baltimore, on the other hand, and the only thing the VERY SERIOUS PEOPLE want to know is whether or not black civil rights leaders condemn the destruction of property.

Religious affiliation works the same way. If some asshole burns a bunch of people alive in Syria, the narrative in the United States is "Why aren't Muslims condemning this". Meanwhile, the narrative in Saudi Arabia is, "He's not a real Muslim". The majority always has a No-True-Scotsman-shaped escape hatch to conveniently distance themselves from any association with the more unsavory types hidden away in their ranks.

Some may disagree with me on this, but I'm generally of the idea that religious people are so diverse in their beliefs that there's little logic in trying to hold them to account for the actions of others who may only nominally share their faith. I'm more concerned with religions themselves. Their institutions, their collected texts, traditions, and practices, and whether or not the ideas incubated therein can be considered, in the aggregate, good or bad for society.

And people say I lack nuance.