Being a Reindeer is okay

This meme seems to have a positive message and ends with a cute joke. What’s not to like?

A lot.

I see this meme as essentially making an argument in three parts.

Part one:

Being an atheist is okay.

Being an atheist who shames religions and spirituality as stupid and unreal is not okay.

The statement “being an atheist is okay” doesn't bother me, but then it goes on to say something that does. I want to agree with it because it seems to be saying that it’s not okay to act like a dick, and I certainly agree with that, but there’s an insidious message hidden in the nice rhetoric.

It’s saying it’s not okay to question beliefs.

It’s important to question beliefs, opinions, ideologies. It’s why we have free speech laws. Not only is it okay to question beliefs, we should question them. The second statement wraps a very dangerous idea, “don’t question beliefs,” in a very nice sentiment, “don’t be a jerk.”

It’s clever, but disingenuous. Your can't shame religion and spirituality. People feel shame. Religion and spirituality don't feel shame. Ideas and beliefs don't feel shame.

It's okay to question beliefs, but if you shame the people who hold them, then you're not a very nice person. I’d be in agreement with the first part if it said this:

Being an atheist is okay.

Being an atheist who points out that religion and spirituality are probably not real is okay, but being a dick about it is not.

Part two:

Being a Christian is okay.

Being a Christian who is homophobic, misogynistic, racist, or otherwise hateful in the name of Christianity is not okay.

Here, the author has specifically defined the type of Christian that it’s okay to be, and implies that it’s not okay to be the other kind. So what’s not to like?

A lot, actually.

Taken by itself, it would be hard to take issue with this message. The problem is that it’s not taken by itself, and it’s not meant to be. The meme is equating the first part about atheism with the second part about Christianity and that’s a false equivalency.

It’s equating an atheist who says, "it's stupid to believe in God!" with a Christian who says, "you're going to burn in hell, faggot!"

That’s not the same thing at all.

People can choose their beliefs. They cannot choose their sexual orientation, gender, or skin color. Shaming someone for their beliefs or calling them stupid for believing is not the same as hating someone for the way they were born.

To do the former just makes you a dick. To do the latter is heinous. By equating the two, the author is either ignorant of this fact or intentionally lying to support their Christian beliefs. Either way, it's fucked up.

Part three:

Being is a reindeer is okay.

Being a reindeer who bullies and excludes another reindeer because he has a shiny red nose is not okay.

What’s not to like about a simple anti-bullying message wrapped in a cute joke?

Again, a lot. The last of part of the message is perhaps the cleverest and most insidious of all. It reinforces the false equivalency already claimed and leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling, which encourages you to propagate the meme.

That’s why this is a dangerous meme. It encourages impaired thinking.