Good Morning America

Along with many other atheists, I watched Good Morning America this morning in anticipation of Bill Weir's retraction of his insulting statement a few weeks ago that, "There are no atheists in foxholes and hurricanes". Mr. Weir stated that there are more than 30 million atheists in America, and they are helping with different aspects of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. He retracted his statement by saying, "I stand corrected."

I have not spoken with my fellow atheists yet to get their opinion on the matter. I can forsee one possible negative comment that will arise. That is the fact that Mr. Weir didn't say, "I apologize" or "I'm sorry". If this does come up, I will have to point out that in a letter to Dave Silverman (NoGodBlog.com), Mr. Weir said that he will retract his statement, not that he would apologize for it. Mr. Weir kept his word and retracted the statement.

I extend my thanks to Mr. Weir for his retraction. In the overall negative view of atheists by the American public, he has been a small help in softening the harsh criticisms that we face. In may not be a lot, but it does matter. Mr. Weir displayed class and I respect him for it.

I have sent a note to Good Morning America through a web form at their site. In it, I thanked Mr. Weir and asked them to consider a human interest story about various atheists who have been helping the hurricane victims. I think it would be a nice supporting story for Mr. Weir's retraction. My guess is that this will not happen because it doesn't equate to good ratings. I hope I am wrong.