15 January 2010
Non-Believers Giving Aid: a religion-free way to help disaster victims
Spurred by the horrific suffering in Haiti, the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (RDFRS) has set up a dedicated bank account and PayPal facility to collect donations to non-religious relief organizations. This new account is in the new name of Non-Believers Giving Aid, with all of the money donated being distributed to disaster relief.
Clearly the immediate need is for the suffering people of Haiti, and all the money raised by this current appeal will go to that cause, but the new account will remain available for future emergencies too. There are, of course, many ways for you to donate to relief organizations already, but doing it through Non-Believers Giving Aid offers some advantages:
1. 100% of your donation will be go to these charities: not even the PayPal fees will be deducted from your donation, since Richard will personally donate a sum to cover the cost of these (capped at $10,000). This means that more of your money will reach the people in need.
2. When donating via Non-Believers Giving Aid, you are helping to counter the scandalous myth that only the religious care about their fellow-humans.
It goes without saying that your donations will only be passed on to aid organizations that do not have religious affiliations. In the case of Haiti, the two organizations we have chosen are:
You may stipulate using the dropdown menu which of these two organizations you want your donation to go to; otherwise, it will be divided equally between them.
Preachers and televangelists, mullahs and imams, often seem almost to gloat over natural disasters – presenting them as payback for human transgressions, or for ‘making a pact with the devil’. Earthquakes and tsunamis are caused not by ‘sin’ but by tectonic plate movements, and tectonic plates, like everything else in the physical world, are supremely indifferent to human affairs and sadly indifferent to human suffering. Those of us who understand this reality are sometimes accused of being indifferent to that suffering ourselves. Of course the very opposite is the truth: we do not hide behind the notion that earthly suffering will be rewarded in a heavenly paradise, nor do we expect a heavenly reward for our generosity: the understanding that this is the only life any of us have makes the need to alleviate suffering even more urgent. The myth that it is only the religious who truly care is sustained largely by the fact that they tend to donate not as individuals, but through their churches. Non-believers, by contrast, give as individuals: we have no church through which to give collectively, no church to rack up statistics of competitive generosity. Non-Believers Giving Aid is not a church (that’s putting it mildly) but it does provide an easy conduit for the non-religious to help those in desperate need, whilst simultaneously giving the lie to the canard that you need God to be good.
Whether you do it by clicking the PayPal button, or by cheque or by direct wire transfer (see below), please help us to help the suffering people of Haiti.
This is an interview with atheist rapper and and Iraq war veteran- Eddie Collins, also known as Greydon Square.
Alexander Blake: How did you come up with the name Greydon Square?
GreydonSquare: To be honest, on accident. I was sitting in class one day half ass paying attention, when I caught something the instructor was talking about. Something about the graydon square. I logged it in my memory and kept on doing what i was doing. Later on in the week when we took the quiz regarding that particular subject matter, i felt pretty confident that i knew the answer. So I answered it, “graydon square”. When I got my quiz back and saw the big red X I was pretty upset. I went back to my instructor and said, “Listen, I was paying attention when you said the answer, the graydon square right?” He said, “The graydon square, what the hell is that?” “I said the gradient squared” which was something totally different. I got an empty laugh and thought to myself, “Well Graydon Square sounds better anyway, wouldn’t that be a hot rap name?” So after a while, when I going through my transition from a young man into a man, I decided that it was time to turn over a new leaf. I wanted to step away from the dark overtone my previous name had. I quickly adopted an “E” instead of the phonetically correct “A” in graydon, and became Greydon Square. Ha, I wish I had a better story about where my name came from or what it means is: pay attention in class!
Alexander Blake: Who are your biggest musical influences?
GreydonSquare: Man thats a tough one, obviously off the top of my head some all time greats come to mind, Quincy Jones, Sting, Phil Collins. I love smooth Jazz and listened to alot of 94.7 the wave growing up. My hip hop influences however, remains a pretty short list, and in no particular order: Ice Cube, Public Enemy, Canibus, Eminem, and Will Smith. Alot of people laugh at the last one, but Will is dope, and can rap! I’ve always loved that he did his own thing.
Alexander Blake: Were you brought up as a Christian?
Greydon Square: If you want to call being brought up as christian, growing up in group homes with active religious indoctrination then yes. But to be honest, I spend most of my church time with the Episcopal church, then later the 7th day adventists. When i was young I used to watch Jack Van Impe, and TD jakes, the whole nine. I was really into it. In one group home I was referred to as the gospel gangster. My dumb ass was throwin up gang signs with one hand and carrying a bible in the other. I was very confused.
Alexander Blake: When did you become an atheist?
Greydon Square: I would say maybe a year before my first album. So lets say 2006, late. I had been in a troubled relationship, and the girl I was with at the time was a fundamentalist Christian. I was a believer so to speak, but always had an issue with organized religion. We would argue and fight about how petty God was or wasn’t. She had Crohn’s disease, and the foundation of her strength to battle this condition was her belief in God. The sicker she got the more she believed. It reminded me about my army days. I think I believed more when I was out in Iraq because I needed it more. I had a very narrow and dim view of the world and that belief was what kept me grounded. I didn’t understand what the belief rooted in. I didn’t realize that I didn’t need it at the time. Soon it got to the point where I asked her, “At what point do you hold God responsible for your condition?” She replied that God was not responsible, but that man was responsible and this was simply apart of the Divine Plan. I was furious; I couldn’t imagine how a God could not only do such a thing, but to do it to someone that would’ve believed regardless of much pain and suffering they were caused. I then asked her the first question I ever asked that I could say led to my shedding of religion and dogma, which was–”Had african american blacks NOT been a result of the slave trade, do you think that we would believe in God and religion that is not our own.” She replied, “this too was apart of the divine plan, and that those who were left behind, were not unlike those who will be left behind during the rapture.” At this point, I’m losing faith in Religion and God by the day. “Why had I not ever asked question this before” So I began to look for the origins of faith for African natives which happened to be from my research a traditional open polytheistic system with many gods that governed many things. So who was right? I want back to my girl and presented her my evidence. She told me, it doesn’t matter what evidence I provide, nothing will shake her faith. This was when I realized for the first time, that religion is a system of control. Its method to subdue the mind is fear. Suddenly things were pretty clear, I went through a brief period of agnosticism, but within 6 month of that whole ordeal I had already written “Extian” and on my way to become a full fledge skeptic.
Alexander Blake: Where and when did you serve in the military? GreydonSquare: I served with 582nd Maintenance Battalion out of Fort Riley. We were assigned to 82nd Airborne Infantry division when deployed during the Fall of 2003.
Alexander Blake: Being an atheist, did you have any problems with other service members in the military?
Greydon Square: I wasn’t an atheist in the army, but had I been, I could’ve told you that I would’ve had a problem or two. Some religious military people are like cult members. Knockin on your barracks door randomly to ask if you want to go to their meetups. I’m like “Man if you dont take your plaid button up shirt wearin ass on… Im trying to make some music in here! ”
Alexander Blake: What kind of response have you gotten from family or friends after hearing your music?
Greydon Square: Most of my family and friends love and support what I do. Then again you tend to gravitate towards like minded people. I dont think I would have a lot of theistic friends because of the reality and science I’m firmly entrenched in. I mean, you can’t be talkin about miracles and such and expect me not to ask questions. This is usually where things go bad.
Alexander Blake: I read somewhere that you are a physics major, how is that going for you?
Greydon Square: I was a physics major at one point. I may even go back in that field, but sadly at this moment I take a much lighter load of educational content because I’m still chasing the dream. Hip hop is something that calls to you, I’ve never known a point in my life where i didn’t want to make music. I feel like I have so much to say, because there is so much out there to read. I read more these days then i ever did when I was studying physics. These days I tend to take classes that are more practical to what I’m doing with hip hop. E-business, and software programming.
Alexander Blake: Do you want to continue with producing your own music or do you want to get signed?
Greydon Square: Oh I would stay doing it myself. My circle of producers and artists are more like friends. Like Traumah, thats my little brother. Even if we didn’t make music together, he’d still be my boy. I like that opposed to working with someone just because you’ve paid to. Or working with pre-selected producers that really don’t have you in mind when they create tracks. I’m preparing to do an album with this guy from Pakistan.. Adil Omar. I mean the industry doesnt really provide you that type of dynamic environment to evolve as an artist. I personally would almost never sign to a label, Major or otherwise. I just have too much freedom the way I work now. No one tells what i can and can’t talk about. Or what I hate the worst, is tell me I need a club song to help move the record. I’m like “Look, if you want a club record, there are plenty or rappers out there today that will give you that, why would you want someone who isn’t even a fan of that environment to represent it?” Not my style. Not my idea of a good time. No where else can i be a black atheist trekkie from Compton who loves physics and technology. I mean, I’m surprised that I even have a fan base that respects the fact that I talk about such things.
Alexander Blake: Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?
Greydon Square: Hopefully Doing the same thing I am now . Alive, healthy and making music that provokes thought. I’d like to be more established as an emcee, like Tech N9ne(dude is dope by the way). I mean, I dont question my abilities, I just dont want to be another rapper that has the audience to speak to, but doesn’t say anything worth listening to.
You can find him on facebook at www.facebook.com/greydonsquare
“In Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District, a group of parents of high-school students challenged a public school district requirement for teachers to present intelligent design in biology classes as an alternative “explanation of the origin of life”. U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III ruled that intelligent design is not science, that it “cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents”, and that the school district’s promotion of it therefore violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.” Read more »
My name is Alexander Blake, I am an atheist ex-mormon, photographer, graphics designer, web designer and developer, business owner, liberal, computer technician and a lover of learning.
Name: Alexander Blake Age: 20 Hometown: Tucson, AZ and Niles, Michigan Political Views: Liberal Independent Religious Views: Atheist Interests: Web design and development, graphics design, computers, learning, reading, writing.
