Outreach Booth

05/31/2026

Atheisting in the park... yet again 😛 Another fun day. Even though most of it was slow. We still had some of "those" conversations. If you can all it that. OK, so the first guy that approached us asked, or rather said "You won't know if you are truly an atheist until two seconds from death." I did tell him I need to move the goalposts slightly. And talk about times I thought there was a possibility of death. He said that wasn't the same. I got tired of going back and forth. And flat out asked "So, lets say you a right. Two seconds before death, I say I believe in god. SO WHAT? He never did answer that.
A guy from India told us about his story. The fun part for me, and surprising part for him was when I brought up Ashoka and how he became Buddhist. Not all Americans are ignorant of the rest of the world. And what was funnier to me was, shortly after that a guy recognized the Faravahar symbol on my shirt. So we talked about Zoroastrianism for a while. The guy was also well educated on the founding fathers and their beliefs.
Later in the day this nice 19 year old kid was talking to us. He was in the process of deconstructing. We were have a pleasant conversation. When this hardcore nit-wit comes over and starts complaining about us. We are the bad guys and shouldn't be so negative. It was him being negative, The guy starts shouting "If there is not god. Then you can do anything you want. Needless to say, he wasn't interested in anything we had to say.
A young man from Brazil was interesting to talk to. Told us about ho he became atheist and the people that helped along the way.
Two other guys came up. Only one of them asked questions. Said he never talked to an atheist before (he was the second person that said that today.) And asked for a definition. Chad said "Lack of belief in any gods." Apparently that confused the guy. So we explained several different ways. Then he asked "What would spark your belief in god?" (this is me bragging 😛 ) While everyone give their view. He couldn't make sense if it. So I told him "If god told everyone on the planet at the same time in their own language. So there are no interpretation problems. Then god said "I am creating a fruit that only children 12 and under can eat. It grows anyplace children are. Adults can't eat it. Children shouldn't suffer because adults are idiots." God explains "I am not omnipresence. But I am back now. I am benevolent. Which is why I am doing this. Sorry, I have been gone so long." The fellow we were talking to liked that answer (yay me 😛 )
Had plenty of friendlies From all over the world. I like that.
From Carlos- "Regardless of what happens at the booth it’s always fun. Really slow for me, got there a little late and all my convos were short. Also, a lot of positivity, even a high five, for us representing atheism. Funny that the same questions keep coming… How did we get here? What happens after we die? What is atheism? Why are we there? Each of us always try answer respectfully and cordial, unless otherwise occurs. One guy started with “what does atheism mean to you guys?” We all answered in some form. Rob got real detailed. A good 10-15 mins later he asks the same question because he said we never answered. I’m like, were you not listening? We also got a couple drive-bys, they definitely have slowed down, we don’t hear it as often these days. All in all, beautiful sunny day to be outside in SD."
From Wes D. - "Had a younger guy today talking to us about why we were here and got around to discussing if we got rid of all religion would the world be better off. Neither Wayne nor myself thought it would. That lead into a discussion about tribalism and had a good question, this is the closest I could write down:
How would secular humanism channel our tribalism?"
We did get a lot of people commenting on the question. When they asked? I replied with- the question is to get people to think. You obviously were thinking. Or you wouldn't have asked a question. So it is a win"

05/24/2026

Atheisting in the park: I love that we get so many people coming up just to tell us how happy they are to see us there.
Starting the day off nicely. with a navy chap that asked me about being an atheist. I told him how I was raised non-religious. Did a lot of reading on religions, mythology, history, etc.
A gentleman and his wife asked about humanism. The simple version- it takes the supernatural out of the picture. Treats all humans as humans. And tries to make the world a better place. And we talked about Sri Lanka (his shirt)
One of the funnier things that happened. A lady walks up to us. Identifies as atheist. And then apologizes for her husband (he was standing far away) as he did not want to be near us.
Ok, some people are just annoying to talk to. When they keep interrupting because they are (incorrectly) anticipating what I am going to say. Instead of listening. He kept saying 'blanket' things. When I called him on it, he denied he said that. And what usually happens is they accuse me of what they are doing. I had to repeat myself, and had to say "I didn't say that" a lot. Wesley joined the conversation. And said the same thing I did about what is known about the origin of the universe. No one know beyond the singularity. Then we discussed the Epicurean and Euthyphro arguments. The guy gave up at the point and ran away.
John and I, and Carlos, had an amusing conversation with a couple of LDS. They said they were from Finland. So I showed them the asl sign for Finland.
From Carlos: "As always, sunny, beautiful day at the booth. Got there late. I was meeting an old friend and her son that I haven’t seen in over 25+ years. It was so amazing to see her again. I was their tour guide around the park. And we talked a lot. So awesome to see that she had the same worldview as us. She really fit well into the group. Didn’t have as many conversations as I wanted, so I just listened to smart guys talk, Rob and John. Heard some discussion of NDE’s, that always fascinates me. People so want to believe in them. I always just say, our brain can do weird things. Afterwards, had a couple beers with these great friends. Love the booth!"
Had more marks on the board then I thought than we would get.
Still having a great time. Wish you all could join us. 🙂

05/17/2026

Atheisting in the park... again 😉
Overcast, but it didn't rain. So I was happy about that.
Early on we had a deaf guy with a cute little doggo stop by. So I was able to communicate with him. We talked more about his doggo than anything else. Those sign language lessons finally paid off 😛
A couple from Seattle stopped by. It is always nice to talk to people from out of town.
Talked with a guy from Georgia. First thing he did was thank us for trying to 'convince' him of anything. What was interesting was that he did not claim to be Christian. But did go to Church. Because of loneliness. Living in Georgia if you want to be with people? Church is pretty much all you have. At one point he asked about why I am here. Then he says "Let me guess." And he totally nailed it. 🙂 There were way more things we agreed with than disagreed about. Pleasant conversation.
Bunches of teens running around all dressed up for prom. Tow ladies stopped by. One asked what happens after you die? I replied "Nothing. Life goes on as it has. My view on death is it is like sleeping without dreaming- you don't know you are doing it. So, being unalive? I won't even know it." She liked that answer and thanked me.
The kid with the angry parents, his mother was not happy he talked to us either. I asked him about his belief in the Bible. Circular reasoning of course. So I asked "Do you care if your beliefs are true or not?" He said yes. Then explained the outsiders test of faith. And my go to is the flood story. So I gave him a quick lesson in geology. He was surprisingly receptive. I am hoping that I planted the curiosity seed.
From Carlos- "Today, I was at the booth all day and love when that happens. We set up and sat for a few hours with nobody approaching us. Then, a young xtian lady came to talk to us. She basically just wanted to proselytize and tell us about her experience with her god. But yet, didn’t answer our question or acknowledge the topics we brought up. Then we got hit pretty hard with several different groups approaching. Most of us engaged in some discussion. A father and son wanted to understand where we come from and seemed genuine. The father ended up being an a-hole. The son was decent, at least he attempted to answer some basic questions. Let Rob take over and they had a good convo. A nice xtian family walked up and said some really nice things about us. That always makes us feel appreciated. Another fun day, prom and college grads were all over the park."
Had a few interesting conversations from the QOTD.
A young lady from the Philippines that marked yes on the board talked to us for almost an hour. Unfortunately, she was not interested in having a conversation. Only proselytizing. She would not answer any of our questions. Only prattle on about her experience with God. And the funny part? A Christian family that has talked to us before. Was telling her that we are good people. We did feel for her. She said because she changed from Catholic to Pentecostal (I think) Her parents and siblings/ friends all disowned her. That was just sad.
One other guy that marked yes was a panentheist. Kind of a goofy fellow. I asked him about how you look into information. And suggested two books. I was very happy when he had me write down the names so he could read them.
How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age. by Theodore Schick; Lewis Vaughn and
How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life by Thomas Gilovich
And a funny part was when Daniel said he needed to read both of them 🙂
Well, that is all I can remember. So if all goes well? You'll hear from me next week.

05/10/2026

Atheisting in the park: Relatively a slow day. But we still get in good conversations. Lots of friendlies stopping by saying how good it is to see us there. That we are their favorite booth. We appreciate that.
A group called 'Armor of God' filmed Doug and myself. That didn't go as well as they thought it would. I let Doug go at them for a while. Then hit them with the history stuff. I don't think they were prepared for people capable of answering their questions. Gish gallop did not work as planned. 😛 So, when the guy that was doing the interview started talking to Carlos, I talked to the cameraman. He was easier to talk to. Not as closeminded. The first guy we talked to really couldn't comprehend much outside his belief-zone. His entire world was Jesus Christ.
Had a nice conversation with a kid, David, that was into philosophy. He talked to Carlos first. Then I talked to him for a while. I got really annoyed at myself because I couldn't remember Epicurus name. David mentioned it. In a weird sort of way. But I knew what he was talking about. So explained the entire argument. Earlier in the conversation he was talking about Euthyphro's dilemma. So we discussed that too. (Sure glad we have a information source at hand. Our phone.)
Thom and Deng stopped by again. Not as annoying this time. But, I didn't talk to them much. Deng is from Somalia (I think) Last week I asked him if he thought A&E were real people and he answered yes. So, I really didn't have much to say to him.
Carlos was talking to another kid, I joined in later in the conversation. It was one of those annoying conversations because the guy was very ignorant of, well, of pretty much everything. And was very sure of his beliefs. He is one of those kinds of people that will ask irrelevant question in the middle of a conversation. And then kept repeating the same set of questions over and over. When I asked him how he answered any of those questions it was always Jesus Christ. Ugh. 🤦
I got tired of his nonsense and talked to his lady friend. She was very sweet. We had a nice conversation. She had a few questions. But was actually interested in the answers.
From Carlos: "Arrived late today, woke up feeling poopy, but can’t miss the booth. Sat down and the gang said it’s been a quiet morning. Two approach, one with a small mic in hand, the other with a phone camera. Told us they were from Armor Of god or something like that. Guy didn’t want to “argue” so instead he just regurgitated all the weak apologetic topics. Rob took care of him though. The guy went from subject to subject. Went from wanting to talk about heaven and hell, to govt lies to us, to science lies to us. I whispered in Robs ear, “he’s gonna do the something from nothing argument”. Lo and behold, he says it. Rob and Doug had him stumbling because they answered the barrage of questions he was throwing. Gish galloping like most them theists. I talked a little with him, but kinda told him off. Dude was pretty clueless…..
A possible new guy, David came by and talked to us, fellow atheist, but really knowledgeable with philosophy. Good convo and then Rob talked to him. Hope he comes back……
It ended with a young xtian guy. At first, he seemed honest and genuine, but after he didn’t like some of my answers and responses, he started pulling some passive aggressive snarkiness. I’m still not sure if he was doing it on purpose or if he was really that way because he was so willingly ignorant with major cognitive dissonance. I was getting really frustrated with him so I let Rob take over. Same BS with him too, but Rob explains it better and more intellectually. It’s funny how that kid tried to say that I seem so angry, I was frustrated and if he kept going, I would’ve been angry. Both me and Rob called him an as***le, and we both didn’t know the other said it. Kid was a punk. Anyways, fun day as usual."
A lot of people liked our question. But we really didn't get much in the way of comments 🙂

05/03/2026

Atheisting at the park again 🙂 A little cool, but it didn't rain. So I am happy about that. Thank Chaac 😉
The first guy was a friendly. You think I'd be used to people being 'on our side'? But I still am thankful that so many support us.
A Baptist stops by and says "I don't think we'd agree on anything."
Wes replies "I disagree." Everyone laughed. It wasn't until after he said it that he realized what he said. The gut asked a few more questions. I don't think he liked the answers. Still, it was a friendly conversation.
I talked to an interesting fellow. Gave me some homework. I have to look up 'Virgin Mary apparition Zeitoun Egypt 1968.
The conversation was a little different than usual. He had both his arms amputated (we did not discuss that) But he did tell me how he was raised Catholic, became atheist. Then to Christian. Unfortunately he had to leave. So we didn't get to finish the conversation. I really do hope he comes back.
A good friend Jim came by to give us Anti- Christian nationalist & pro-science buttons. If all Christians acted like him? What a better world it would be. We had a great conversation. We talked a lot about the misinterpretations in the Bible.
Thom and Den stopped by. Even when Thom is on his meds he is difficult to talk to. When they say they things the Eve & Adam story are factual. I have difficulty talking to them. Fortunately for me, I had Chad step in and help me out. He changed the direction of the conversation. They talked about "sin." What does it mean and how to deal with it. Some people you just cannot get to answer a yes/ no question. I did get to ask Thom if he remembers us having a conversation about 'how smart "I" think I am? And that I gave him a compliment. He is smarter than me when it come to electronics. Of course he said "no." So I reminded him. I'm not very smart. But I do have a lot of knowledge on one subject.
from Carlos- "As people know, we do a QOTD (question of the day) and we used mine. Makes me feel proud and appreciated. Little slow day, but as usual, super fun. I even turned down an invite to go to the international food fair in another part of the park. Great food and my mom used to be very involved also. But I’d rather be at the booth. I got there and everybody was having a cordial convo with a diehard Xtian. We ended up talking for bit. He was nice. We agreed to disagree. Even though he was wrong. Haha!
Tried to speak Spanish to a nice couple with Maritza’s daughter. The couple did their best to speak English and their questions were good. Then it was pretty quiet again.
Tom showed up but I just let Rob and Chad handle him. Lastly, a lady approached on her scooter and just asked, “if you don’t believe in god, why are you here?”, but in a snarky, condescending tone. I jokingly said “so you’re saying we have to believe in a god, to have tent?”. Don’t think she liked that. I tried to stay calm and reserved but it was inevitable. She did the typical claim, “I used to be an atheist” garbage. When I asked her to define it, she got it completely wrong. She really just wanted to proselytize. She attempted the gotcha questions too. I was a little rude to her, but she kinda deserved it. Another diehard Xtian, but not the nice kind. Always fun at the booth!!!"

Got a few comments about the question. Most people just chuckled.

04/27/2026

Thanks Mark Nay (Y)

04/27/2026

04/26/2026

cloudy, but no rain atheisting in the park: Most of the day was fairly slow. But got exciting at the end of the day. See below
The day started with a wonderful conversation with an elderly lady. It was her birthday. She was curious as to why we were there and what we believed. I concentrated the conversation on the similarities we had. She was like most believers- lets try to get along with each other.
Later, a young lady stopped by. Said she didn't believe in god. I asked her "How did you come to that conclusion?" She never thought about that before. So was intrigued by the question. After thinking about it for a bit. She told us her story. Grew up in the south. Gave it a lot of thought. And decided that gods don't exist.
Had a guy from N. Carolina sit with us for most of the day. He lead freethought groups in his home town. I know he had a good time hanging out with us.
Several irregulars (people that stop by occasionally) stopped by and chatted with us. It's always nice to see friendly faces.
We setup next to a Muslim tent. I asked one of the guys where his family is from. He said India. So I asked where? Him- the south. Me- Tamil? That surprised him. But he said- no. on the west coast. So I said- oh the Portuguese said? That really surprised him. The we talked about the history of the area. I always enjoy those kinds of conversations.
Thom was really set off by our question. He said it was stupid because it didn't matter. The started yelling at us that we are not as smart as we think we are. I told him "I disagree. I am as smart as "I" think I am. (note, he never asked me how smart I think I am. I do not think I am all that smart) Thom is telling Alex that he knows nothing about science. Alex has a PhD in physics. 🤷 He also brought up Steven Myers as a good scientist. I tried to explain why he wasn't. Then he pulls the 'your opinion is no different than mine' argument. Things he was saying were all over the place. Changing mid sentence. It was impossible to understand what he was talking about. Did you know that 'how you treat your family is science'? I didn't either. And this is from a guy that says we don't know logic. But he does.
A Christian friend stopped by to talk to me. She is sweet. I love talking to her. She even commented that not all Christians are like that. She asks a lot of questions on a variety of subjects. I answer as best I can. But some of the stuff is outside my expertise.
From Carlos: We get so much love at the booth. Seems like more and more people appreciate and glad to be represented. I got there late but still had some great conversations. Had a new friend we met last week come back, hope she becomes a regular. Rob and I want more women and younger generations to be involved. Spoke to a young man that believed in a “general” god. I think he meant Jesus/Yahweh but didn’t want to admit it, which tends to happen often. He was genuinely asking questions to learn. We talked about the LGBTQ+ community and he honestly stated being gay was a choice, yet he was okay with them doing and loving whomever they want. I asked one simple question that he’s never heard “when did you choose to be straight?” He said he never thought about it that way and was going to reevaluate his understanding. Made me feel great to help someone think critically.
Unfortunately, Tom arrived and just triggered me. I was pretty obnoxious towards him, but I think he deserves it. He went after pretty much everyone at the booth. I don’t really like to call anyone mentally ill, especially because I’m no doctor, but he needs help. As much as I despise him, he does teach us how a theist should never be. What’s funny is afterwards, a bunch of us went to dinner to celebrate Crystal’s Bday. And about 75% of the time, we talked about Tom. Despite him showing up, yet another great day at the booth. We may try to get some video of Tom and post it, just to show people how he treats us.
I am disappointed that more believers didn't mark the board.

04/19/2026

(EDITED) Atheisting in the park- again 😉 I agree with Carlos, it is nice to live here. We are spoiled.
Had several friendlies stop and say "Hi." I love that. Considering that when we first set up, 90% of the comments were negative. Now 90% are positive.
A guy in a UCLA hat walked by and gave us the 'nods up' of approval. That made me chuckle.
These two gentlemen approached us. They identified themselves a 'born again Christians.' Said they were exploring all the booths in Balboa park to try to understand others POV. They were very polite and receptive to what we had to say. Wes and I sort of dominated the conversation. It started on evolution and why it didn't make sense to them. I think they have a better understanding now. They also discussed computers. (not my field) Then moved to my area, history. Both of them thought the NT was history. I gave some reasons why we could/ should doubt the NT claims. Then I had to ask them- "What tools do you use for your beliefs?" They said "Personal testimony." I suggested they read some E. Loftus (she wrote the book on testimony and why it fails) Then explained that I am using critical thinking, reason, skepticism, and science. Accumulated knowledge. Then pointed out problems if we allow for the supernatural. My go to is- Apollonius of Tyana. We are looking at what is said, not who said it. If we allow for the supernatural, then there is no way tell one from then other. So both are valid. The gentlemen stayed for quite some time. Very enjoyable conversation for both parties. It was nice, I didn't have to raise my voice even once 😛
Right after they left, I went to get something to eat. So I missed the next guest. He starts by asking Daniel "DO you have a spose?" Daniel- "No." So he asked Maritza- "Do you have a spose?" She asked him- "Why are you asking that question?" He said some nonsense and left. Probably a good thing I wasn't there.
As Carlos points out below, we got a new recruit. Lovely young lady. She was a delight to talk to. I hope she comes back and joins us again. BTW, she had cool green hair.
Andy sat with us for half the day. We talked about proselytizing a bit. We had different definitions. So some clarification was needed. We do our best not to recruit. I do not want to be like the religious people at the park. If you change your position. I want it to be because you thought about it. I tell people "I don't care if you believe in a god or not. Just be a decent human being, and we're good 👍 I usually get it reciprocated.
We also talked about beer and the current political situation.
We had a very busy day. It was nice. I love it when I look around and everyone is in a conversation.
From Daniel: "I remember that guy that came up and asked if we had a spouse. If we trust our spouse is like trusting in god. We told him that it was a week argument. Then he just said god bless and walked away."

From Carlos: ""Once again, a beautiful day in San Diego. We were talking amongst ourselves and how spoiled we are to live here. This was one of the funnest (?) days we’ve had in a while. At one point, pretty much everyone at the booth was talking to someone or a small group. Spoke to a nice lady. She stated that we, as society, want and need religion. I went the Hitchen’s route and told her religion was harmful and poisonous. She was a little surprised I said that and she wanted to talk more. Gave her some more reasons, and she actually liked and understood what I had to say. Very cordial conversation. But didn’t get to read her Mark 16: 15-18, like I wanted. My most favoritist convo was a young lady. We connected on music and video games. She ended up staying for a couple hours as she spoke with others that approached the booth. Very smart girl. Rob and I were jokingly trying to recruit her. We need more youth and women’s perspective. She may be a new regular and I hope she is. A cute couple walked up and said they loved my shirt (Protect Trans Kids). We discussed how scary it is nowadays in this political climate that wants to basically eliminate trans folk. They were gems to talk to. A bunch of us went to dinner afterwards for Wesley’s early bday. We laughed and had a great time. Little Gigi is becoming more social. I love my Secular Humanist family!!!!""
We did have to explain the QOTD a few times. Understandable as it is not exactly clear. 🙂 I think it is a logical conclusion and predictable using critical thinking.

04/11/2026

BTW, we are not setting up the Outreach booth tomorrow. I am staying home to take care of Mom.