When someone asks me who/what I am, I reply that I am the National Spokesperson for American Atheists. They are asking for what I DO for a LIVING, but I feel that the AA title best describes me.But what I do for a living is broker businesses. I find sellers and match them to buyers, and make a commission when the deal closes.So last December I went out to a prospective customer who turned out to be a religious Christian. After a long productive meeting my prospective customer took me to lunch with his wife. Before we ate he suggested we say grace, to which I replied “Oh sure, you can do that. Go ahead”. They did, and I sat silently. They noticed I did not say amen or even bow my head. I was sure this had put a bad taste in my client’s mouth, and was not surprised when I did not hear back from them.Well, he called me back this weekend, and we are getting ready to march forward. Turns out, he thinks God put us together to sell his business, and he is ready to rock. Not once during our hour-long conversation did he mention what I am sure he saw and remembers. He doesn’t appear to care.So perhaps the moral of the story is that religious Christians have a very bad reputation of being bigots, and perhaps it is OUR bigotry against THEIR stereotypes that sometimes gets in our way. Maybe if we spoke out a little more, we’d be pleasantly surprised a little more often.