TheAmazingAtheist

{{bronze}}[[File:AmazingAtheist.jpg|thumb|right|165px|A [[man]] ravaged by "foot-in-mouth disease".]] [[File:TJ Kirk Variance.jpeg|thumb|right|165px|Although one would like to believe his existence was defined "pre-banana" and "post-banana"; there were, in fact, multiple epochs for historians to explore.]] {{youtubenav}}
{{cquote|I don't hate any race of people to be honest with you.  I mean, except for the Eskimos.  What the fuck were you thinking when you created Eskimos?  . . . Uh, living in weird little ice huts and eatin' blubber.  You know, that's my worst nightmare 'cause what if they see me, mistake me for like a baby seal or summin and start carving out my fucking fat stores?  I don't need that shit . . .|||TJ being TJ<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e19DYf2lRIw God Judges The Amazing Atheist] on YouTube.</ref>}}

{{cquote|I don't know my opinion on any of this shit. Um, I'm just gonna ramble and stumble upon some wisdom or idiocy as I might. . . . Um, I'm basically your average everyday person, I guess. Except for the insanity and actual IQ. . . . And I've even seen some people more arrogant—you know, just all-around bastards—than I am. So I figure if these people can actually get halfway liked on Youtube, I have a chance too. Probably not, because I'm probably more arrogant than I even realize I am.|||TJ introducing himself in his first video<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmKwg-Zxd0g TJ's first video]</ref>}}


James Tiberius Kirk
 '''Thomas James "TJ" Kirk III''' (also known as '''TheAmazingAtheist''' and formerly by the pseudonym '''Terroja Lee Kincaid''') is an [[atheist]] [[YouTube]] personality known for his aggressive style, incendiary comments about rape,<ref group=note>Kirk has, in the style of an inflammatory [[edgelord]], spewed forth comments interpreted as rape threats and criticizing rape survivors, e.g. {{quotebox|You're not a survivor just because you got a dick when you didn't want it.}}</ref> and harsh criticism of [[feminism]]. He has attacked [[creationist]] arguments with toxicity that people on ''both'' sides of the debate [[asshole|found objectionable]]. He has adopted an unremittingly [[Anti-feminism|anti-feminist]] stance in his social criticism, seeing feminism as somehow being [[Manufactroversy|a great danger and harmful to society]]. His views and character, such as whining about "[[SJW]]s," are often defended by [[Neoreactionary movement|reactionary assholes]] and [[MRA|Men's Rights Activists]], although he calls these groups "retarded". He has harshly criticized [[Republicans]] and [[conservative]] social commentators such as [[Ben Shapiro]], [[Jordan Peterson]], and [[Hunter Avallone]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zw0JDq72Pk Shillkot,] TJdoeslife on [[YouTube]], 14 September 2018.</ref> He used to have over a million subscribers, but not anymore, and probably lost out on having more than he did because he would troll their social media accounts and insult them about their beliefs, including other atheists.

==Early life==
TJ was born in Pasadena, California, being raised as a Louisianan. His father was {{wpl|James Kirk diploma mills|Thomas James Kirk, Jr.}} (July 1, 1946 – January 3, 2008), who operated several fraudulent higher education organizations and served three years in U.S. federal prison and died in 2008. At the age of sixteen, TJ dropped out of high school with dreams of becoming an author (a dream that would come true). However, before TJ wrote any books, he began posting videos on YouTube in November 2006. His younger brother, Scotty, assisted with his YouTube content-making.<ref name=wikipedia>{{wpa|TJ Kirk}}</ref>

==On politics==
{{cquote|I'm an extremist on both sides, apparently.  I love it.|||The Amazing Atheist<ref>[https://twitter.com/amazingatheist/status/1044827721854005252 The Amazing Atheist] on Twitter.</ref>}}

TJ previously espoused [[libertarian]] doctrines such as "[[Rugged individualism|personal responsibility]]"; however, after his father died in January 2008 and he saw people queuing for the emergency room, he began to shift to [[liberalism]], believing that social programs are sometimes necessary to help the needy. The focus of his videos gradually expanded to address political and social issues. He has also deleted some of the older videos from his libertarian period because YouTube's change in policymaking made it easier for his videos to be flagged.<ref>https://youtu.be/23HppqkAZp4?t=4624</ref>

TJ has spoken out virulently against the idea of [[white guilt]] as perpetrated by modern conservatives.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0wI-4599k0</ref> TJ also trashed the shitfest over Star Wars VII's featuring a black character, which racists decried as [[white genocide]].<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmgp6fUrMAA</ref> 

In 2012, TJ launched a campaign to raise funds for an organization that works to bring clean water to those who need it.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTpbIfkICM0</ref> He set out to reach a goal of $10,000; in total, the campaign raised $12,765.<ref>http://mycharitywater.org/p/campaign?campaign_id=32753</ref>

TJ doesn't like "[[SJW]]s". He argues that they killed nuance,<ref name="SJW-rant">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFjndBbLDZc</ref> which led to some humor.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/BestOfOutrageCulture/comments/47mfzg/we_apparently_killed_a_concept/</ref>

In a conversation with the socialist streamer, Vaush, TJ reflected on the anti-SJW genre of videos on YouTube. He claimed that he was the primary popularizer of anti-SJW content with his video "It's Only Sexist When Men Do It." He also criticized how the Anti-SJW community went from being anti-reactionary to reactionary in and of itself.<ref>https://youtu.be/e1gPUiCDMQo</ref>{{cquote|What started to me as a critique of outrage culture has in of itself become an outrage culture. Which is, you know, now you have it to the point where, you know, every artistic decision that you know, someone in the film industry made is being loudly screamed about by these man-babies who, you know, can't handle diversity in a fucking video game.}}

TJ supported Bernie Sanders during the [[2016 Democratic Party presidential nomination|2016 Democratic Primary]],<ref> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVJOl-7ig5k Bernie or Bust]</ref> opposing Hillary Clinton as a corrupt insider who lies about everything.<ref> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQINZ7N1Ses A Plea to Hillary Voters.. Please Don't] </ref> In July of 2016, TJ announced his support of Gary Johnson,<ref>https://twitter.com/amazingatheist/status/757080515421896704</ref> hoping to see him run on the Democratic ticket.<ref>https://twitter.com/amazingatheist/status/757082186310881280</ref> He confessed to actually preferring [[Jill Stein]], yet still deciding to feel the Johnson anyways, as long as the more viable Johnson stayed ahead of Stein in the polls.<ref>https://twitter.com/amazingatheist/status/757081752217280513</ref> A few days later, he backpedaled on Johnson, exclaiming "Fuck. Jill Stein 2016. I'm waiting for her to sell out now so I can just stay home."<ref>https://twitter.com/amazingatheist/status/758204600495120384</ref>

In September of 2016, TJ produced a video in which he explained why his viewers might want to consider voting for Trump.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MufUzn_xZH4</ref> This created confusion in those who believed he genuinely supported Trump. In November of 2016, TJ released a similar video — but this time, on Hillary — in which he clarified that both the Trump and Clinton videos were satirical in their endorsements of both candidates, his actual stance being that "[Trump and Hillary] are both symptoms of the same disease".<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNp19krSPr8</ref>

In the 2020 election, after Bernie Sanders dropped out, TJ advocated for the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, as he saw Biden as the lesser of two evils.<ref>https://twitter.com/amazingatheist/status/1289414061952839681</ref>

In August 2018, he was briefly suspended on Twitter<ref>[https://twitter.com/amazingatheist/status/1029419976195801088 I'm baaaack. Big thanks to @hallcyon @KyleKulinski @JaclynGlenn @paulsego @ggreenwald @KaiserScoopy @StefanMolyneux and the countless others who spoke out at Twitter to reverse my completely baseless suspension from their platform. You have my deep and sincere appreciation.] @amazingatheist on Twitter. August 14, 2018.</ref> for a tweet in which he jokingly said white people are a disease (referencing the backlash to ''[[The New York Times]]'' hiring Sarah Jeong<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45052534 Sarah Jeong: NY Times stands by 'racist tweets' reporter]. BBC News. August 2, 2018.</ref>):

{{quotebox|WHITE PEOPLE ARE A DISEASE! THEY ARE AIDS! THEY ARE A POX UPON THE EARTH AND EVERY STINKING CRACKER ONE OF THEM SHOULD DIE OF EVERY DISEASE AT ONCE! 

So . . . @nytimes . . . how's about a lucrative job at your paper? I think I have demonstrated the qualifications.<ref name="suspended-tweet">[https://archive.is/https://twitter.com/amazingatheist/status/1026369711934787584 Archived tweet]. @amazingatheist on Twitter. August 6, 2018.</ref>}}

At the advent of the 2020 George Floyd protests, TJ's political stance became more evident with his sympathy for the protestors, resulting in backlash from the right-wing anti-SJW segment of his fanbase and a sense of purification. This is also led to [[Styxhexenhammer666]], who is basically just 2006 TJ in terms of ideology, to send a Twitter message that TJ interpreted as a death threat.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w--twe6HiYY</ref> This was very spooky because Styx is into esoteric imagery and could put a black magic hex on TJ's ass.

In a video titled "TJ on LEFTISM (2020)" TJ stated that he identifies as a leftist. And in the same video, he also advocated for the abolition of capitalism.<ref>https://youtu.be/g_SYXBdwKME</ref>{{cquote|Capitalism should perish from this earth. It turns everything into a commodity. Healthcare should be a human right, but instead, it's a product. Another scheme to part you with the meager sum of money you get paid at your exploitative job.}}

On 08 August 2022, TJ was suspended again from Twitter for what he called, "criticizing a racist Facebook post." He appealed the suspension but was rejected, so the "AmazingAtheist" handle on Twitter is done.<ref>https://twitter.com/TJDoesHealth/status/1556763189597052937</ref> TJ still has another Twitter account with the handle "TJdoesHealth," used to chronicle his attempts to eat healthier and lose weight.

==On society==
{{cquote|So, Weight Watchers dropped weight from its name, and now Dunkin Donuts (almost as if in response) is dropping donuts from its name. What the hell is going on? What's next? McDonalds drops Donald from it's [sic] name to protest Trump and just become Mcs?|||TJ in contemplation of our civilization<ref>[https://twitter.com/amazingatheist/status/1044669101652803587 The Amazing Atheist] on Twitter.</ref>}}

TJ really doesn't like [[otherkin]], or other people for that matter. But especially otherkin.<ref> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suSfNzAdNBU& Otherkin are fucking crazy]</ref><ref> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABSyCmvq4IY WTF is an Otherkin?]</ref>

===Bullying===
One controversial video is "Bullies," uploaded in 2010, where he expressed the view that "being a [[Bullying|bully]] doesn't make you a monster, and being bullied doesn't make you a victim," and called [[suicide|suicidal]] bullying victims "weak."<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c1sOqW50i0 Bullies]</ref> This led to a very mixed reaction amongst his audience; he responded to the intense criticism with a follow-up video, "Macho Trolling."<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFre1BXJ7C8 Macho Trolling]</ref>

This controversial attitude was again revealed in his view of the story of Amanda Todd, a teenage girl who committed suicide in October 2012, not long after posting a video on Youtube detailing her story of being subjected to a sustained campaign of blackmail, stalking, and bullying.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOHXGNx-E7E&feature=plcp</ref><ref>http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/amanda-todd-teenager-commits-suicide-1376976</ref> Upon hearing of Amanda's suicide, TJ posted a picture on his Tumblr blog of him holding a sign, similar to how Amanda Todd did in her video, saying "[[not as bad as|I am the other hundreds of thousands of people who died today other than Amanda fucking Todd]]."<ref>http://amazingatheist.tumblr.com/post/33484072757</ref> A subsequent post had him dismissing her in light of unnamed people who died in "[[Fatwa envy|far worse]]" situations:<ref>http://amazingatheist.tumblr.com/post/33499413430/why-do-you-suddenly-feel-more-important-than-amanda</ref>

{{quotebox|And unlike Amanda, ... these people died against their will. They fought with their last ounce of courage to survive, and they still died. I find their deaths more worthy of tribute than some spoiled teenage girl that offed herself at the first sign of adversity.}}

That said, in TJ posted a video in June 2013<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTxtYJrCOA8</ref> in defense of Coy Mathis, a [[transgender]] girl who was being bullied online by conservative websites for having won a court case giving her [[Transphobia and public restrooms|the right to use the girl's bathroom]]. This suggests TJ's position is nuanced. Although he also dated a trans man for a few years, possibly indicating that it was specific instead of general sympathy for bullying victims.

===Vegetarianism===
TJ dislikes [[vegetarianism]] and has devoted several videos to criticizing it.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW87pxhOik1iUsewZmcEkatVi4uvcwXQe&feature=mh_lolz] playlist of TJ's vids on vegetarianism</ref> He has stated that a [[naturalistic fallacy|morality that does not account for human nature is flawed]],<ref>[http://amazingatheist.tumblr.com/post/48555814909/your-arguments-for-defending-meat-eaters-are-piss-poor] Tumblr post on the morality of vegetarianism</ref> and has expressed annoyance at "the way that a simple dietary choice is elevated to this great moral decision".<ref>http://amazingatheist.tumblr.com/post/1269255070/why-does-vegetarianism-veganism-bother-you-so-much</ref> He has gone as far as to accuse most vegans of feigning their ideology to appear unique and holier-than-thou.<ref>[http://amazingatheist.tumblr.com/post/32953198894/i-agree-vegans-are-pussies-if-they-want-to-save-an] Tumblr post on vegans</ref>

Contrary to his previous beliefs, by June 16, 2015, he had become a vegetarian, in his own words, "to impress a girl".<ref>http://amazingatheist.tumblr.com/post/121654540376/whyd-you-go-vegetarian</ref><ref>http://amazingatheist.tumblr.com/post/121702551416/are-you-planning-on-being-vegetarian-forever-it</ref>

By 2016 he has announced that he is no longer a vegetarian and that he didn't enjoy it.

===On upskirt photography===
The "Sex" segment of TJ's book ''Scumbag: Musings of a Subhuman'' closes with the chapter "Tits vs. Ass: The Final Showdown," which features a helpful comparison chart of pros and cons, with such charming observations as tits being "hard to stare at without the girl noticing," while "you can take a picture [of her ass] and she won't be any the wiser."<sup><ref>[http://www.scribd.com/doc/27500455/Scumbag-Musings-of-a-Subhuman ''Scumbag: Musings of a Subhuman''], page 96.</ref></sup> We can only hope that this ''was indeed'' the final showdown of this subject.

===On doxing=== 	
TJ Kirk has been an outspoken anti-doxxer and has spoken out opposing other atheists who do it.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN4-5K9qpU8</ref>

==Feminism==
TJ "believe[s] in equality between men and women legally and in all ways. Every opportunity a man has a woman should have."<ref>https://youtu.be/AVQfJKg4EIY?t=598</ref> That said, he really ''really'' doesn't like feminism.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPNumWFhxH8</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP2XTYQHdOY</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nihBhgYHDVk</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlSh6wBXePM</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KQQ1bzQn0k</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOqXQ_MVXUo</ref> Examples:

*He argued that [[female supremacy]] is feminism's real agenda,<ref>[http://ljarvz.tumblr.com/post/593558678/the-amazing-atheist-feminism-sucks-first-off Some criticism of TJ's views on feminism]</ref> which stems from the recent wave of new-age feminism that many have found to focus more on playing the role of a victim and aggressive attacks towards those who challenge them. 
*He once compared feminism to the [[KKK]], suggesting that it had regressed into something pathetic, much like the KKK, and then apologized... to the KKK.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNuAOfPQLDU TheAmazingAtheist compares feminists to the Ku Klux Klan]</ref> In this, he falls into the predictable [[MRA]] trap of decrying feminism as a big, scary movement that is simultaneously (and paradoxically) ineffectual and lame.
*TJ characterizes the feminist movement as overly [[politically correct]], insensitive to men, and believes that [[Tumblr]] represents some gigantic central hub of the feminist hivemind.<ref>[http://youtu.be/RSLMQZKy0No?t=10m45s A Q&A video from November 28th, 2013, where he explains his views on feminism]. [http://youtu.be/RSLMQZKy0No?t=15m23s Further in, he talks a bit about misandry].</ref>
*TJ uploaded a video called "There's No Rape Culture"<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KQQ1bzQn0k There's No Rape Culture]</ref>, where he did a point-by-point "rebuttal" of [[RationalWiki]]'s [[rape culture]] article. Said rebuttal consisted entirely of personal anecdotes, insults against feminists as a group, and the MRA [[strawman]] of false rape accusers. Ironically, he described how rape culture actually works almost perfectly in his follow-up video, but damn if he's ever going to let those hairy feminists be right.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBgSfdfJQqk The End of Rape]</ref>
*He also made exact duplicates of [[Thunderf00t/Criticism_of_Tropes_vs._Women|Thunderf00t's criticisms of Anita Sarkeesian]], complete with the same overtone of "women really ''are'' weak".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfkS9YS_T0k "Who's the Damsel Now?"], where he somehow thinks YouTube comments count as reasoned debate, and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25o0EZiogw0 "REFUTING ANITA SARKEESIAN's "Damsel in Distress: Part 2"], where he even trots out ''ye olde'' "be thankful us MEN rescue your ungrateful ass".</ref>
*TJ also believes that women are less funny than men, because [[Christopher Hitchens]].<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2NmbJ5iftM&t=213</ref>

TJ instead claims to support [[egalitarianism]]. He has made numerous videos claiming much of modern society is biased against men, often via tenuous-at-best examples.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXYH0DYUxF4 Sexism Against Men DOES Exist!], which is just an example of a legal oversight without specific oppressive intent.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JA4EPRbWhQ It's Only Sexist When Men Do It], where he claims men are not allowed to joke about violence against women while ignoring that men like [[Rush Limbaugh]] and [[Glenn Beck]] say horrifying things without even a token attempt at dark comedy. Context is important for any incident.</ref> TJ was a frequent commenter on the MensRights [[Reddit|subreddit]] for years and was lined up to speak at [[A Voice for Men]]'s 2014 conference, though it fell through at the last moment.<ref>[https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=709461975786774&id=123652427701068]; [[:File:TheAmazingAtheist at A Voice For Men screenshot.png|screenshot]].</ref>

TJ, in his video "Why ARE Anti-Feminist Videos So Popular?" corrected a past misconception he had of feminism, that there is one feminist movement and ideology, when there are actually, in fact, multiple. Some versions of feminism he doesn't have a problem with. <ref>https://youtu.be/zfp4ieiRERs</ref>

===Rape isn't fatal===
As an example of his respect and care for his fellow humans, in his pompous and self-indulgent e-book with a self-aware title ''Scumbag: Musings of a Subhuman'' (2007), TJ writes:<ref>[http://www.scribd.com/doc/27500455/Scumbag-Musings-of-a-Subhuman ''Scumbag: Musings of a Subhuman''], page 90.</ref>

{{quotebox|Rape isn't fatal. So imagine my indignation when I saw a chatroom called "Rape Survivors." Is this supposed to impress me? Someone fucked you when you didn't want to be fucked and you're amazed that you survived? Unless he used a chainsaw instead of his dick, [[Rape apology|what's the big deal?]] I don’t mean to be horrendously offensive and insensitive here, but everyone survives rape. The word survivor applies to people who are alive after being stabbed 73 times with an ice pick or mauled by rabid wolverines, not to a woman who gets dick when she doesn't want it. Just because you got raped, you have to rape the English language? You vindictive bitch! Also, don't you ever get tired of being the victim? How many failed relationships are you going to blame on a single violation of your personal space?}}

In his video "Rape, Feminism, and the Amazing Atheist", TJ attempts to explain his rationale behind writing this:<ref>[https://youtu.be/K6ys-OklTOA?t=947]</ref>

{{quotebox|This was a piece designed to motivate rape victims to not allow their victimhood to oppress them - to encourage them not to dwell on past events and move on with their lives. Why is it worded so offensively? Because when I wrote it I was a stupid twenty-two-year-old who had at this point only ever socialized with other people on online message boards, where this was simply how we talked. Not to mention it's supposed to be a humorous piece, in the same vein of shock humor as Bill Maher's party costume. In retrospect, I too find the piece overly callous and I would not write it today. But I did write it, and I don't apologize for it. It was how I felt at the time, and I really don't think the message of moving on from trauma is a negative one. I've been told by several rape victims that this piece actually motivated them to move on with their lives. I have yet to be told by one victim that it increased their trauma.}}

In the following section, TJ recalls a female acquaintance who rejected and mocked a guy for his small [[penis]] size. The anecdote culminates in TJ's hilarious punchline:<ref> [http://www.scribd.com/doc/27500455/Scumbag-Musings-of-a-Subhuman ''Scumbag: Musings of a Subhuman''], page 93.</ref>

{{quotebox|I told her, "You’re lucky it wasn't me. I’d have busted your fucking nose and raped you."}}

===Reddit meltdown===
In February 2012, in a thread on the [[Men's rights movement|MensRights]] [[Reddit|subreddit]] about a distasteful username on a feminist board, he made a "joke" about how he wanted to violently rape one of its users. When he was informed the person in question was an actual rape victim and called out by the said person for his abusive language and lack of respect for people with [[post-traumatic stress disorder]], he complained about the very concept of trigger warnings. He posted further graphic descriptions of how he would rape her again in a deliberate attempt to make her relive her trauma.

Choice statements include "I will make you a rape victim if you don't fuck off." and "I think we should give the guy who raped you a medal. I hope you fucking drown in rape semen, you ugly, mean-spirited cow."<ref name="rape semen">[http://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/pfejx/i_love_how_the_whiny_feminist_morality_brigade/c3p2osy?context=8 I love how the whiny feminist morality brigade upvotes a user named "ICumWhenIKillMen."] [http://i.imgur.com/v8q0J.png Screencap]</ref><ref>PZ Myers, [http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2012/02/08/the-not-so-amazing-atheist-self-immolates/ "Not-So-Amazing Atheist Implodes"]</ref>

Supposedly this was some sort of clever satire of... something.<ref>[http://thatfatatheist.com/post/17271767283/pz-liars?ref=nf "PZ Liars"], by that Fat Atheist.</ref> He was taken to task by [[PZ Myers]] and others for his [[misogyny]].<ref>[http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2012/02/08/the-not-so-amazing-atheist-self-immolates The not-so-Amazing Atheist self-immolates]</ref><ref>[http://freethoughtblogs.com/axp/2012/02/08/horrible-people-dont-realize-theyre-horrible/ Horrible people don’t realize they’re horrible]. This includes links to screen-caps of material that has been taken down in many places.</ref><ref>[http://manboobz.com/2012/02/08/theamazingatheists-misogynist-meltdown/ TheAmazingAtheist’s Misogynist Meltdown]</ref>

TJ made the following private apology (emphasis added).<ref>[http://yetanotheratheist.com/2012/02/we-dont-need-you-as-an-atheist-spokesperson-tj/ We Don’t Need You as an Atheist Spokesperson, TJ], yetanotheratheist.com</ref> However, he returned to a belittling tone when asked to apologize publicly. He did this on YouTube much later.<ref>[https://youtu.be/K6ys-OklTOA?t=14m40s Youtube apology.]</ref>

{{quotebox|'''TJ:''' My comments to you were wrong and I regret them, not just because I’m getting shit for them but because they were genuinely out of line. <u>I was angry and I said stupid things, thinking I was making a point. I realize now that the point I was trying to make was totally overridden by the crudeness and the cruelty with which I expressed myself.</u> For my behavior, I apologize. I realize that you probably will not believe the sincerity of my, or will not accept it, but I apologize nonetheless.

<u>To TJ:</u> I’d be more willing to accept your apology if you were willing to post it in a public space, on your tumblr or on your Facebook page or as a response to the video you made complaining about us. I do not, at this point, forgive you in any way, shape or form. <u>If you are truly remorseful I would encourage you to make a public apology not only to me, but to the others that you might have hurt with your graphic descriptions of rape.</u> Your comments were cruel, it’s true, but you have a chance to make things a little bit better by pointing out to your fanbase that what you did was unacceptable.

'''TJ:''' <u>I don’t normally let other people bully me into doing what they want.</u> Sorry, but a private apology is the best I’m willing to do. I have already publicly stated that what I said was wrong.}}

===Anti-misogyny===
Kirk has produced several videos criticizing misogynists Jefferson Bethke,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv2SSGSJrB4 Jesus Marriage?] The Amazing Atheist on YouTube, 29 January 2012.</ref> {{wpl|Jesse Lee Peterson||,}}<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8GM_OF_2ng Jesse Peterson: Worst Person Ever?!] The Amazing Atheist on YouTube, 24 May 2012.</ref> and [[Todd Akin]],<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6EcZGfSO98 Akin For The Truth.] The Amazing Atheist on YouTube, 21 August 2012.</ref> and ran a fundraiser for The International Women's Health Coalition. This effort raised over $120K, though the wording of the fundraiser page (such as "daring to actually help women" and "bringing true feminism to woman [sic] and girls who suffer actual oppression and inequality") suggests this was at least partially motivated by spite towards feminists such as [[Anita Sarkeesian]] who focus on gender within popular culture.<ref>[https://www.crowdrise.com/extraordinary-people-daring-to-actually-help-women- Extraordinary people: Daring to actually help women.] crowdwise.com.</ref>

===Abortion===
TJ has said he's "vehemently pro-abortion", but his motivation as he's expressed it seems to have nothing to do with women's rights and more with the perceived problem of [[overpopulation]]. <ref>https://youtu.be/uRZ_V_78DuA</ref> When speaking about women who bring babies with them on a plane not having a choice in the matter he points out that they could have chosen to abort the baby so that they wouldn't be in a situation where they have to inconvenience other people with a loud crying baby. <ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_rEcw8KqWg</ref>

==Nutpicking victim==
{{main|Nutpicking}}
TheAmazingAtheist is perceived as the walking embodiment of an impacted tooth, both by the atheist community and by religious conservatives looking for convenient examples of famous atheists being assholes.<ref>[http://fosterdisbelief.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/the-amazing-atheist-suicide-bombs-himself/ The “Amazing” Atheist Suicide Bombs Himself]</ref><ref>[http://freethoughtblogs.com/camelswithhammers/2012/02/08/the-amazing-rape-promoting-atheist/ The Amazing Rape-Celebrating Atheist]</ref> In addition to the blunders quoted above, he is equally tactless toward his debate opponents: other notable cases include his attacks on DonExodus2, a then-Christian who defended the [[evolution|theory of evolution]], and Coughlan666, who said the atheists might "come around" to NightVisionPhantom while he was having a difficult time of his life, which TJ misinterpreted as an attempt to use NightVisionPhantom's vulnerability to deconvert him to atheism.{{fact}}

For a while, TJ made videos on the internet commentary site [http://www.thatguywiththeglasses.com That Guy With the Glasses] under the name of "Distressed Watcher." He wasn't exactly welcomed by the community with open arms, who petitioned to remove him as soon as he was announced. He caused some in-fighting over the promotion of his videos, where he publicly claimed that his videos were usually at the bottom of the new videos list if even listed at all. After his video "The Top Ten Gayest Music Videos" was rejected for publication on the site, he half-assed his content and missed a couple deadlines until he was ultimately let go.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rQFaSCc8uQ His video] and [http://tgwtgrumours.tumblr.com/post/17714852659/distressed-watcher-leaves-tgwtg this Tumblr post], which goes to show how much of a non-event this all was.</ref> The site has since [[Pwned|erased all his content]], and none of its contributors have maintained any ties with him.

==E-begging and scams==
TJ is an e-beggar,<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgNHwHM3bhw#t=2m39</ref> and some of his e-begging campaigns have been widely deemed scams.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQIK8tiCBsA</ref><ref group=note>By the way, scamming runs in the family: {{wpl|James Kirk diploma mills|TJ's dad was one of the most notorious}} [[diploma mill]] operators of the '80s and early '90s.</ref>

*'''Creationist Roadtrip:''' In 2008, TJ made many YouTube videos in which he asked for money for a roadtrip, during which he would meet and interview famous atheists and creationists and produce a documentary.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAdc131dy7E&t=158</ref> TJ took thousands of dollars in donations over several months. The trip never materialized. TJ has outright denied memory of plans for this road-trip.<ref>http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/kf9bc/im_theamazingatheist_ama/c2jxgcf</ref> The old version (visible through the Wayback Machine) includes now-deleted embedded videos about the roadtrip, a manifesto, donation buttons, a photoshoot, and various banners.<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20090302095358/http://www.myspace.com/motherfuckermanifesto</ref>

*'''FreeSpeechVids:''' In 2009, TJ proposed a website called FreeSpeechVids -- supposed to compete with YouTube, albeit with more lax restrictions. TJ ran a BlogTV session, in which he and friends asked for donations, and received thousands of dollars. In the session, people were kicked out of the room for donating but not quite donating "enough"; more problematically, one of TJ's friends threatened to shoot himself (unless they got more donations), threatened to cut himself with a knife (unless they got more donations), and actually cut himself on camera (unless they got more donations). Yes, really.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeiIpHPdgzc</ref> TJ did not know his friend was being serious (he had suicidal tendencies), and thought it was a stunt to get money. FSV ''did'' materialize, and was online for 16 months. However, it fell far short due to low bandwidth, lack of a dedicated server, and a lack of sufficient security. Upon the site's closure, TJ called all its members "fags"<ref>https://encyclopediadramatica.rs/File:ScreenShot003.gif</ref> and made no attempt to refund donation money. Both LodeRunner, a developer of the site,<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=xOGqsxbjWq4 tj is incompetent.... he takes all the money for himself. He doesn't know how to properly make a good video site for people, and he never bought enough bandwidth. He・ｿ also never bought a dedicated server. He also never thought to get a security system from the beginning so he wouldn't be hacked....]</ref> and TJ's best friend accused TJ of misappropriating the donations.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud4pV9roNJ8</ref> TJ later stated:<ref name=NP>https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/not-productive#/</ref> 

{{quotebox|I don’t know how this notion began that Free Speech Vids never happened. Free Speech Vids was an active and fully operational website for more than a year. It closed down because we just couldn’t make it work. It failed because it simply wasn’t a good business model. Instead of focusing on entertaining content and a high quality website, it was focused on free expression. Unfortunately, most of the people who freely expressed themselves on it just weren’t very much fun to watch.}}

*'''Not Productive:''' In August 2011, TJ reported he had started work on "Not Productive", another video hosting site, due to launch later that month.<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20110807045254/http://thatfatatheist.com/bio/</ref> In early 2012 TJ started a big donation drive, explaining that the idea was to showcase quality video makers that get "buried under all the YouTube crap". NP was to host its videos on Blip or YouTube and the comments on Facebook.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTdMZPLokIo</ref> TJ set a donation goal of $20,000; in the end, it received over $17,000.<ref name=NP /> In January 2013, 1.5 years after the planned launch date, the site became publicly accessible for approximately 2 weeks. However, it was plagued with various glitches, was very basic in design, and all of its video makers were already popular. As of June 2013, almost 2 years past the planned launch date, the site was not up in any official capacity. The webpage now redirects to a YouTube channel,<ref>notproductive.com</ref> which TJ claimed was the first phase of the plan all along.<ref>http://amazingatheist.tumblr.com/post/53726425086/youre-the-only-person-ive-seen-who-does-these-videos]</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/user/NotProductive</ref><ref>https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/not-productive#/updates</ref> It is extremely doubtful that TJ spent more than $17,000 on a website that was up for less than a month.  However, TJ claims to have a legitimate excuse for this one.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNLbvhyeXD0&t=119m25s</ref>

==MGTOW==
On January 10, 2016, TJ made a video where he answered several questions from his audience, including his opinion on [[MGTOW]]. While in a typical TJ fashion, using the opportunity to decry feminism, which he claimed largely "hates men", TJ condemned the MGTOW movement as "dumb", "silly", and "stupid". TJ announced that most women were okay and declared that MGTOW baselessly saw women as a threat.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEl1U8D51O4</ref>

==On this very article==
In 2012, TJ wrote this little comment about [[Essay:I_thought_this_was_supposed_to_be_RATIONALWiki|the bias inherent in our system]]:<ref>http://amazingatheist.tumblr.com/post/25118662907/why-is-your-rationalwiki-article-so-vile-and</ref>

{{quotebox|['''Q:'''] "Why is your 'RationalWiki' article so vile and slanderous towards you?"

['''A:'''] Because it used to be really nice and complimentary, so some trolls found it and trashed it. Henceforth, they’ve prevented anyone from fixing it, and because trolls tend to have twice the dedication of fans, they win all such encounters.}}

As you can tell from the above quote, he seems to hold the popular belief that we were "infiltrated" by SJWs at some point.<ref group="note">Which prompts the question: [[Burden_of_proof|When exactly did this happen]]?</ref>

==Weird relationship with school attacks==
After Columbine happened, TJ's school counselor interrogated him because he had worn a [[Marilyn Manson]] shirt and spoke about being a vampire,<ref>https://vloggest.com/watch/what-happened-after-columbine-1076203075/</ref> that story allowing for some comedy.  

In 2007, however, TJ made a warning video about the mental instability of Finnish 18-year-old Pekka-Eric Auvinen, but nobody listened, Auvinen going on to commit the {{wpl|Jokela school shooting}} and killing nine people.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIKUWgsIncg</ref><ref>https://www.wired.com/2007/11/youtuber-warned/</ref> Several months before the shooting, TJ had called for the authorities to investigate accounts with content on school shootings, including one used by Auvinen. A person named "Robin McVeigh" later organized a small but vocal community of online individuals who idolized mass killers (such as Auvinen) into slandering TJ, claiming he had bullied Auvinen, despite multiple attempts on TJ's part to reach out to Auvinen for emotional support.

Later in 2015, the media mentioned TJ's name when they found out the perpetrator of the Trollhättan school sword attack was found to be a fan of Kirk and other similar YouTubers.<ref name="wikipedia" />

== See also ==
*[[Michael Savage]], who is to conservatives what TJ is to atheism
*[[Thunderf00t]]
*[[Sargon Of Akkad]]
*[[Kyle Kulinski]]
*[[Jaclyn Glenn]] 
*[[DarkMatter2525]]

==External links==
* [http://www.youtube.com/user/Theamazingatheist TJ's YouTube channel]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Antifeminism]]
[[Category:Atheists]]
[[Category:Authors]]
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[[Category:Gamergate]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:Liberals]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Men's rights movement]]
[[Category:Pissed at us]]
[[Category:Political pundits]]
[[Category:Rape culture]]
[[Category:Sexists]]
[[Category:Shysters]]
[[Category:Skeptics]]
[[Category:YouTube]]

Categories: Antifeminism, Atheists, Authors, Entertainers, Gamergate, Internet, LGBTQ people, Liberals, Living people, Men's rights movement, Pissed at us, Political pundits, Rape culture, Sexists, Shysters, Skeptics, YouTube