theism itself is oppressive. god everywhere, watching & keeping track.
theists can be nice people, or not so nice. i think the world's real problem is selfishness--though being self-deluded with a sense of religious righteousness tends to exacerbate this, for sure. same with political zealotry. i suppose any ideology can produce its torturers.
but i've gone from toleration, because everyone is entitled to their opinions, to active dislike, because it seems so much of the active harm people do, comes from trying to impose their beliefs on others--to an understanding that it's really about structuring your emotional life. everyone has symbols, rituals, & a feeling of relatedness to the world. even alienation is a feeling. i don't think these are all interchangeable, or equivalent, consequently; but i'm not going to try to argue another person out of it.
what the world needs is more cosmopolitanism--live & let live.
and solidarity. so i won't count people out, just because we don't have the same symbols in our heads.
(or because we experience the world differently, either.)
