Finally Figured It Out

I realized today what it is about Christopher Hitchens that bothers me so much.

It's not that he is an atheist. I'm fine with people being atheists. I find it a little silly to be a dogmatic atheist, but then, I find it silly that people like to drink coffee too, so what's the difference.

Sometimes, I suppose, Christopher Hitchens says things that make sense. I can't remember an instance of that right now, but I'm sure I've agreed with him before. The thing is, in recent years, he's become something of a Chrissy One-Note.

And I've discovered what it is about the way he denigrates religion that bugs me so much. It's that I get the distinct feeling that Christopher Hitchens doesn't like me and has no respect for me, without even having met me. I feel like I've been dismissed without getting a chance. If we were at the same party, and he heard from someone else who I was (or perhaps more specifically, what I do) he would go out of his way to avoid meeting me. Because he would be convinced that he wouldn't like me.

There are other writers who are pretty hostile to religion that I still would like to try to be friends with. Katha Pollitt comes to mind. I think she might find me pretty okay for a pastor, though it might take some convincing. But CH just doesn't seem like he would even give me a chance.

The point here is not that I'm taking personal offense. I don't care a lot if Christopher Hitchens doesn't like me. The point is that I'm pretty sure this is how bigotry is defined -- dismissing a whole group of people without seeing them as individuals. And I find that offensive, and not particularly humanist. (Wonder if he thinks humanists are crazy too?)