I don’t know how many have been paying attention, but david Silverman is trying to make a comeback of sorts – attempting to resuscitate his career in atheism, I guess. I don’;t know exactly why, because during the worst times of the schism, he was relatively silent. In fact, if anything he supported the tactics of what is now referred to those considered woke. I first noticed when he did this long, extremely cringeworthy interview recently with Atheist Republic. I could only get to the one-hour point, although I did go back and attempt to watch more. I believe everyone should have a chance, a voice, especially when they’re trying to resore a reputation that may have been damaged by false accusations.
I think it was this tweet though that set me off a bit, and after some days thinking about it, I’ve decided to respond here, for the most part. Here’s the contents of the tweet itself:
Also on the subject of #internationalblasphemyday Fuck also the religion of Wokeness. Women can lie about sexual assault, men have legitimate things to say about feminism, deplatforming is anti skepticism, and reveling in someone’s destruction is disgusting and anti- humanist.
As others have chimed in, like my friend David Osorio, too bad he waited until now to recognize the damage that was done to atheism and skepticism, at least in the United States, under his purview as president of American Atheists. Now that he has been accused of improprieties and essentially deplatformed, he seems to now “see the light”. Funny that.
Remember, when all the problems started concerning sexual harassment and atheist and skrtic conference, how organizers made attendees sign a pledge to not sexually harass other attendees? American Atheists was one of the first to implement this. I personally thought all of this was silly, and it was implemented, across the board, because of a few runors by a few of those same woke people that Silverman used to laud. Although I had never (and still haven’t) been to a conference, I knew of people who did regularly attend one or two of these a year and none had ever heard, while at a conference, of any issues. Of course, that doesn’t mean there weren’t, but it does appear to be a bit of an over reaction to a problem that may not have actually existed.
Even so, Silverman was very aware of all of this and should never have placed himself in any situation that may be interpreted otherwise. He was reckless. Note in the interview, he doesn’t deny the allegations, just the context. Seriously. That he now finds the same crowd he vocally supported in the past for reveling in someone’s destruction (his), as disgusting is not surprising so much as it is a disappointment that he never recognized this before. The woke, social justice crowd always eventually eat their own and for him to even think that somehow he wouldn’t be vulnerable to the same is well, someone walking around living in some sort of bubble.
I don’t have a problem with second chances. I do have a problem with those that have no concept of self realization and that sometimes, the monster you helped to create, may come back and bite you.
Conservative Skeptic 
Guess I haven’t been paying much attention to AA for more than a few years, as I had no idea who this fellow is, nor of any controversy. Did I miss much?
Oh, yes, the damage done to atheism and skepticism….by people behaving as human beings. Words of wisdom from the restaurant owner in the Muppet Movie, “Peoples is peoples.”
Nothing is changed. Whenever large groups of people flock together over some philosophy/religion/cause/politics all the best and the worst comes out as representative of the whole, which it isn’t, of course, because…”Peoples is peoples.”
That is enough hard thinking for today. I know I am getting my grandson’s cold…
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As an atheist, I would say I feel sorry for David, but I don’t. This is not an atheistic issue, this is an issue of people in power abusing the power of their office. Secularism, humanism, atheism, and religions are not prerequisites for authoritarian sex cults. Has nothing to do with a belief or non-belief. When it comes to struggling with charges of misogyny, sexism, sexual harassment, & misappropriations of funds, elite politicians, elite christians, elite jews, & elite muslims are guilty of it. And now so is an atheist.
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Silverman made plenty of mistakes during the infiltration of movement atheism by the SJWs. At the same time, I’m not sure what else he could have done as president of AA. Had he taken a stand against them, he would have been booted from this position much sooner. The organization would not have been able to tolerate being perceived as anything other than inclusive, and we have seen how SJWs treat their enemies. He would have been labeled racist, misogynistic, etc. It seems like he had little choice but to try to strike a balance between putting up with their nonsense and continuing to promote the mission of AA. I was never crazy about how he stuck this balance, but I won’t pretend I would have any more successful. It was always a no-win situation.
They eventually turned on him, just as pretty much everyone expected. I’m all for second chances and for people learning from their mistakes. In this case, Silverman still seems to be so upset by the whole ordeal that it is hard to tell what he’s learned. I hope he emerges on the other side stronger for having gone through the experience, but I suppose time will tell.
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I have been so puzzled by this whole thing. I am suspicious that when Amer Atheists said he was mixing up finances and he says he was not, that the cause of the firing was clearly his sexual carelessness. I thought it was pathetic that he described an after party in the Presidential Suite with all kinds of witnesses and people watching all this nonsense play out. He should have behaved professionally and he made the whole organization look like some of the accusations were true all along about conferences. I believe these were consensual engagements, but he shouldn’t have been doing that at a work conference. Imagine any other businessperson organizing a conference and then behaving so unprofessionally while there. It wouldn’t be tolerated anywhere. I don’t see much hope for his lawsuits. I hope he can move on and find employment and I’m sorry he couldn’t be more self-aware. I’m not sure all these interviews are helping him. I saw him on Sargon and one hosted by a woman famous as an MRA as well as the Atheist Republic interview and they’re all just rather bizarre.
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In 2012 or 2013 when all the “sexual harassment” at conferences was heating up, I saw a video (YouTube) of.a woman that claimed to have been raped in a hospitality room at some conference. The guy pushed her to the floor and…well you get it. Now here’s the strange part, as she struggled and screamed, there were other people in the room! Several! No one did anything apparently. Of course I found this claim to be unbelievable, but there it is. Yes, IMO Silverman should have acted as the professional he was hired to be, not some drunken college student at Spring Break,
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