Often we use one of our other labels as a "polite" way of saying we're atheist. For some reason, using the word that best describes our position with regard to the existence of gods is considered in-your-face - rude. Some atheists use these other terms because they don't want to alarm the general public. While I can sympathize, it's clear that the general public wouldn't be so outraged by the word if we’d use it more freely.
While it’s frustrating to have atheism misunderstood and mischaracterized by the religious, to hear it maligned by fellow atheists is disheartening. Much of the trouble in which atheists find themselves can be laid at their own feet, it would seem. Too many insist that atheism requires an absolute certainty or belief that gods do not exist. They prefer the word agnostic, mistakenly thinking it describes a skeptic, a doubter, or a person who just doesn’t know.
The reality is that atheism is the only intellectually honest position a person can take - it is the only logical stance.
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