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The First Freethinkers Meet Up: I Was There!

Atheists, Agnostics, Deists and Secular Humanists having coffee

This will probably go down as one of the most successful freethinkers event ever – which is really good considering this is the first one! I arrived ten minutes before the call time, but there were already six people at the venue. Considering that it took all of one week to organize this, I think our main mover Ryan, deserves all the credit. Thanks to his efforts and perseverance, twenty-six (26!) freethinkers from various philosophical backgrounds – atheism, agnosticism, secular humanism, deism and those who would rather not label themselves — were able to meet and share their philosophical journeys and experiences. The original guest list was actually closed after it reached 20 so it was such a surprise to see six other people in the event.

Carl didn't know when to stop. haha

Carl: It’s all this guy’s fault!

As expected, freethinkers love to talk. In fact, I took a back seat during this event and just enjoyed being a silent observer for most of the time, throwing one liners to perk up the discussion every now and then. I invited two friends (Dustin and Carl) who were really into it! I wasn’t expecting them to be that passionate. I was really proud to be a part of this gathering. Words won’t do justice the way I feel about the unexpected turnout.

Bloggers were well represented – from grand daddies John and  Heathen Dan to younglings like myself, Tess,  Mike, Patrick, Max, Lalon, Tania and Ryan. There will be more events in the future so if you think you’ll enjoy expressing your free thought  in a friendly and non-threatening environment, you are welcome to join us. There will be more events like this in the future.

It was great to see Tess and Lalon again. There are a lot atheists/agnostics in the mainstream blogging community but most are apathetic to the value of forwarding secularism. Some of them are even downright hostile to people to speak up against the hegemony. It was refreshing that these two had the time to pitch their two cents in a  big group like this.

I’ve been exchanging comments with Max, Mike and Dan through this blog and e-mail so it was great to finally meet them! And just as I had suspected, they are older.

The other people who attended were those who I’ve met on Plurk, the Pinoy Atheists’ mailing list and lurkers from various freethinker blogs.

I am so proud. :)

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This was written by benj. Posted on Monday, February 2, 2009, at 9:29 am. Filed under atheism, free thought. Bookmark the permalink. Follow comments here with the RSS feed. Post a comment or leave a trackback.

21 Comments

  • At 2009.02.02 11:25, Ryan Tani said:

    Congratulations to us all :D

    [Reply]
    • At 2009.02.02 11:57, Danny said:

      Grand daddy? Di naman ah! I’m barely thirty years young. You young’uns are mean! Hidoi!

      [Reply]
      • At 2009.02.02 12:24, jake said:

        may this be a good start. congratulations to us indeed.

        [Reply]
        • At 2009.02.02 12:45, Teen Atheist said:

          I’M SO SORRY T____T

          God, I was home the whole day. Had no ideaaaaa.

          [Reply]
          • At 2009.02.02 13:01, almostChristian said:

            were there cebuanos there? i don’t know a lot of freethinkers here in cebu :(

            [Reply]
            • At 2009.02.02 13:06, benj said:

              Teen Atheist PHAIL

              almostChristian: there was at least one. ;)

              [Reply]
              • At 2009.02.02 13:56, joma said:

                wow!

                [Reply]
                • At 2009.02.02 14:04, joyfulchicken said:

                  Glad to know that it went well. Did it really go on for 3 hours?

                  [Reply]
                  • At 2009.02.02 14:15, benj said:

                    Josh: almost 5? I actually had dinner with two other attendees. The separation anxiety was intense. haha

                    [Reply]
                    • At 2009.02.02 14:56, missingpoints said:

                      Wah! 30 ka lang Danny? Eh di mas matanda pa kami ni micketymoc? (nandamay pa ko)

                      I feel old. :(

                      [Reply]
                      • At 2009.02.02 15:49, Onotheo said:

                        Looks so much fun. I wish there’s something like this from where I am. Lots of Filipino freethinkers, I used to think there might be fewer than this ^-^

                        [Reply]
                        • At 2009.02.02 17:05, dodie said:

                          There were two Cebuanos there: The one shooting the pics and Margot

                          [Reply]
                          • At 2009.02.02 17:17, dodie said:

                            How many were agnostics and how many were atheists yesterday? I shudda taken the proportion.

                            [Reply]
                            • At 2009.02.02 18:50, Lalon said:

                              Thanks for having me there. It was great to see you again (and the others) too. ;)

                              Congrats to everyone! It was indeed, a success. ^_^

                              [Reply]
                              • At 2009.02.02 21:08, jake said:

                                hi benj, do you sell shirts like the one you’re wearing yesterday?

                                [Reply]
                                • At 2009.02.02 23:06, benj said:

                                  Actually, I don’t. You’re free to make versions of your own. :)

                                  [Reply]
                                  • At 2009.02.02 23:48, Philippine Atheists » Blog Archive » First Filipino Freethinkers Meet-up, February 1, 2009 said:

                                    [...] meet-up was very successful with 26 people attending. You can check out the participant write-ups here (Benj), here (Danny), here (Max), here (Mike), and here (Rence). You can check all the photos in [...]

                                    [Reply]
                                    • At 2009.02.03 10:11, magnabash said:

                                      The place looks familiar to me.

                                      Is the place was in Shangri-la Mall?

                                      [Reply]
                                      • At 2009.02.03 22:36, Francis said:

                                        Wow. This sounds great. Wish I could be there the next time around :) I’ll stay posted for the next events :)

                                        [Reply]
                                        • At 2009.02.16 23:09, Atheista › Filipino Freethinkers: The First Forum said:

                                          [...] a very successful first meeting and a slew of weekly meet ups, the Filipino Freethinkers are now about to celebrate their one month [...]

                                          [Reply]
                                          • At 2009.05.11 22:33, jigs said:

                                            will this be a regular event?:)

                                            [Reply]
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