The internet is a religious war field, lol. But in real life, if you even encountered an atheist in real life that is, what was it like?
I'd say it's about 50/50, honestly. 50% of the time it's like meeting a normal person, the other 50% of the time it's like coming in contact with the most evangelically-leaning Christian you can imagine. Missionaries for atheism. I had an atheist "street preacher" stop me in southern Utah last summer, as I was touring Zion National Park, to ask my religion. I told him that I was a Jew, and he went off of the most meth-fueled, insane diatribe about how Judaism brought the fall of homo sapiens into the world. I ended up walking off. I'm cool with the atheists that don't say shit to me when finding out that I am a religious person. I only have a problem with the ones who act like my own personal faith is bringing about the ruination of their shallow little worlds. A theist who keeps their mouth shut about their beliefs? Cool with me. An atheist who keeps their mouth shut about their beliefs? Cool with me. A theist or atheist who immediately starts proselytizing? Yeah fuck off.
I've had religious debates with people, I'm not really an atheist, but I'm not into religion, i believe there's somethin out there i haven't had any problems with people thus far
I think the main distinguisher with atheists is how "new" they are into their atheism. The one's who are just leaving behind religious modalities and picking up an atheist world view are far more likely to be vitriolic than the older, more mature atheist who recognizes that atheism is a worldview that works for him, but might not necessarily work for others. I'd say the same can be concluded about a religious person, as well. Eventually, with anything new, we all lose our zealotry.
An atheist is, usually, a person of superior morality (and intellect) and posses greater mental freedom than theists. He knows how it feels to be rejected and not tolerated in a fundamentally religious society, for the same reasons, they don't bash individual theists. If anything, the atheist pity the theist for being forever condemned to his oppressive religious nature, the rejection of his own human nature and self delusion. But he also recognizes the danger, dysfunction and ignorance that organized religion is willing to impose on society for the benefits of its agenda. For this reason, the atheist despises and opposes religion whenever he can, wherever he can. He knows that there is no greater evil than religion on this earth and he came to this conclusion after years of travelling a path of self discovery, growth, reflection and intellectual honesty. That, is one noble human being. The Guardians of Truth.
Did you even read the thread title? The question wasn't "why do you think atheists are better" but "what are your encounters with atheists like in real life."
Did you ignore the main idea of my post, which was my answer to this question? I can say it rightly so, because I was a theist once, and was never bothered by atheists. And now I am an atheist and I treat theists like how I was treated as a theist, with indifference to my beliefs. That's how I treat theists, because once you realize that they live in a world of self delusion, you know you can't let your self be affected by them, less so, by their beliefs. Live and Let live.
I most definitely didn't ignore it. I just enjoy how your answer to the OP's question is one sentence long, and every other sentence is lauding the exalted nature of the atheist mindset. You conclude that it is only the person who, after "years of travelling a path of self discovery, growth, reflection and intellectual honesty," becomes an atheist and is a "noble human being." You seem to have retained the "us vs. them" mentality so prevalent in theistic modalities, but to a greater extreme: only atheists are noble human beings, and all those who don't see the world as you now do are contributing to the greatest evil on earth. So much like a theist, yet you can't see it. This is exact what I mean when I allude to an "atheist evangelical," even if you're not shouting your atheism from the roof tops. You clearly think atheists are better than everybody else on the earth. More intellectual, more "noble," and more capable of shrugging off delusion.
I don't really think I adhere to any religion per se, perhaps Catholicism since I was raised it and all but then again I never really go to church and my ideas on some things are deviated to that really I just believe in God. That being said I know plenty of atheists and I have plenty of atheist friends, for me its like cookiecrisp said, 50/50 really. I've seen some who will try to berate you for being religious but they are few and in between. Mostly they just don't talk about the subject unless something provokes it and even then it's just for discussion sake. Especially if I get high with an atheist, they can make some good discussions.