Some of the most important work in promoting science and skepticism happens at the grassroots level. There are regional skeptical organizations all over the world that serve their local communities, and we like to regularly shine the spotlight on some of them.
The Atlanta Skeptics have one of the most active communities of critical thinkers in the United States. Atlanta is home to Dragon*Con's bustling Skeptrack every year, and the Atlanta Skeptics regularly host speakers, social events, and activism projects.
I spoke with my friend Christian Walters from the Atlanta Skeptics about what makes his grassroots organization tick.
Brian: Why do you think Atlanta has such a thriving community of skeptics?
Christian: Although we're stuck in the middle of the Bible Belt, Atlanta itself is fairly cosmopolitan. We've got a lot of engineers and scientists around. Georgia Tech is right in the middle of town, Kennesaw State University and Southern Polytechnic State University are in the burbs, and the University of Georgia and Auburn University are less than a two-hour drive. Atlanta has attracted a lot of big business and a lot of immigrant yankees who have finally decided to stop pretending to like snow.
But our state and local governments are slow to catch up. We just recently overturned the blue laws about Sunday alcohol sales. A biology teacher who gives evolution a fair shake will end up monitoring pushups in the gym instead. This causes some stress and friction, and I think people want to get together to socialize, organize, or vent.
Brian: Are there any examples of non-skeptical thinking that are particularly prevalent in your area?
Christian: In Newt Gingrich's former stomping grounds? In the first major state capital where the governor tried to end a drought through prayer? How dare you suggest such a thing.
I'm not sure how much of what we experience is more prevalent or unique to the area. Atlanta's grown big enough that we have our share of anti-vaxxers, homeopaths, country music, crooked televangelists and general anti-science nonsense. I think in general we are more global-warming-denialist than most cities of this size, but that's become more of a political issue than a scientific one.
Despite the changes over the last 10-15 years, parts of Atlanta are still old school. We have a long history of racial tension that persists today, and it's not like we've built a moat to keep the Bible Belters out. The one non-football issue that's been the most hotly contested since I've lived here is the whole Confederate Flag thing, which is more than a little embarrassing. There are still people who run for office on a platform of returning the confederate symbol to the Georgia state flag, even though it's been off since 2001 (and wasn't added originally until 1956).
I don't know if that qualifies as a real issue for skeptics, but it does show that we still have work to do in promoting critical thinking.
Brian: Of the activism projects in which the Atlanta Skeptics have been involved, which is your favorite?
Christian: The highest-profile things we've done have been the vax clinic and the Star Party during Dragon*Con. Those are maybe a little different from what most people think when they think of activism. More educational and persuasive than getting together on the governor's lawn waiting for the dogs to turn the hoses on us or something. (Both of those were the brainchildren of Maria the Skepchick.)
Of the more traditional activism we've done, I think the counter-protests to the Westboro Baptist Church visits are the most fun with the signs and the policemen laughing along with us. The WBC does more to bring us together with one pathetic half-hour demonstration at a high school than a month's worth of videos of babies with whooping cough.
Brian: What frustrations do you think people can expect when forming their own grassroots groups, and how would you suggest handling them?
Christian: We struggle sometimes to find topics to present at our meetings. At least I do. We meet monthly, and unless we get lucky on timing, any current events will have been dissected down to purely theoretical particles on blogs and podcasts before we have a chance with them.
I'd recommend not sweating the current stuff. Get people willing to get up in front of a crowd and talk about an issue or discovery for which they have passion, even if it's the Viking probes to Mars in the 70s. For example, at our last meeting, I gave a talk about the Mann Gulch fire from 1949, because it's interesting to me and I think it's a solid example of the benefits of understanding the way the world works -- in that case, the obscure science of fire behavior.
Allow that passion in your speakers to inspire others to do the same. Then maybe take some time before or after the talk to run through any current issues relating to skepticism that have come up since the last meeting. The important part is building the community, not presenting a thesis worthy of a doctoral defense.
Brian: How can people find out more about the Atlanta Skeptics?
Christian: Right now, the best way is to hook up with us on meetup.com, then come to a meeting. We have a web site at atlantaskeptics.com, but it's been a little quiet lately. We're working on retooling the way we do things, which should happen soon.