Just because we are atheists/agnostics, doesn't mean that we are saints! (every pun intended)
These are hostile times. There is a whole lot of unmasking going on right now. Sometimes hostility is necessary but mostly always as a last resort. In times like these however, the low road has becomes a matter of necessity.

Sorry, i thought i was being openly hostile to trolls, fools, and scam artists....

It's quite simple. Let me first point out that the percentage of people possessing the willingness to consider other ideas or to disagree in an agreeable fashion is somewhat higher here than in many other places, but we must also bear in mind that we represent a microcosm of our civilization and it is to be expected that our cross section will, in all likelihood, not differ greatly from Earth's population as a whole.

I think you might be endowing all those on here with traits that are not necessarily present.

Not believing in god(s), does not automatically make someone intelligent and educated.

Many folks are both on social media, and out in public, just itching to get into a confrontation, or get all offended by the slightest upset.

In all fairness, I feel no responsibility to be accepting of dangerous, exploitative beliefs. I have no problem answering hate with more hate if necessary, because polite acceptance of bad ideas for the sake of civil discourse is not a sound option. If that means I am a "know-it-all atheist" then I will wear that t-shirt with pride. And please, give me a condescending title for being an antitheist as well while we are at it, that would be swell.

Everyone is offended and hateful when it comes to politics. Myself, I just don't understand stupid. If a policy only benefits the few then it is not good for everyone. Pretty simple really.

If the "different outlook or attitude" you are referring too happens to be god and/or theism, then I think we are justified in being a bit hostile, especially considering how hostile theism and theists are to "open minded people" and "atheists, agnostics, and skeptics". How would you interact with an adult who wanted to have a serious discussion about mermaids, leprechauns, dragons, santa, fairies with pixie dust as something that is real and affects our lives on a personal level and encroaches on our government, laws and public education?

Points of view or beliefs have real consequences. People act upon their beliefs. If you support the removal of regulations that protect humans from the pollution consequences of much of industrial civilization. we have a problem. Trumps policies are an ecological disaster-hint. this means the air, water and food get dirtier,He talks about clean coal-that is stupendously stupid. There is no such thing. Where does he think much of the mercury pollution come from? IF you tell me this is OK, when shocker of shocks, I believe that mercury is a poison and you vote for a moron who promotes clean coal, I will be very angry and tell you so. If I came into your house and poured mercury into the water that you and your family drink, would you let me?

Tolerance of intolerance is cowardice.

I'm not so sure about that. I have seen plenty of close minded people on here. I don't think generalizing either theists or non-theists is an accurate way to assess their intelligence and education. I think people in general are tribal when it comes to beliefs and defense mechanisms. There have been some studies done that seem to suggest that non-theists are on average more intelligent than theists, but it doesn't mean that non-theists can't be tribal or close minded about things especially when they are being challenged.

Where there are people involved there will always be dissonance.
For example, There are hundreds of sects of Christianity, so even they can't all agree.
The only thing that Atheists, Agnostics, freethinkers, etc. have in common is they all (for the most part) don't believe in a god, or gods.
We all have vastly different ideas about every other aspect of life and the universe.
Same as believers.

To say that we ( Atheists, Agnostics, freethinkers, etc) are more educated, and intelligent is just silly, and historically inaccurate.
For example; Isaac newton, Micheal Faraday, Gallileo, and many other very intelligent and giants in their field were all devout Christians.
Even today there are believers, albeit a minority, of elite Scientists that are tops of their fields. Francis Collins for one, Kennith R Miller another. plus many more.

In all honesty I am glad there is an amount of some sort of dissonance even here on this site.
Life would be fucking boring if every one believed and thought the same about everything.

Yes it's been hard. I'm pretty used to science-minded non-woo folks who are willing to have civil discourse on a topic.

Watching people freak out about the simplest things is just hard.
Granted FB was worse.

Valuing someone's opinion and respecting an opposing point of view is one thing. But tolerating the stupidity that is turning our country into a fascist state is quite another.

I haven’t been on the site for a week, It started feeling like Facebook with its subtle intolerance... I’m hanging out on the fringe and will filter back in but I have learned that just because people don’t believe in a god it does not automatically make them critical thinkers. Everyone says they are but I can see past the end of my nose and I’m currently a bit off-put... that said, I have found a handful of awesome people here, perhaps I have been thwarted by my own expectations? I was hoping for a somewhat more enlightened community.

You over-generalize. There are stupid atheists among us. Typically, most do not st;stay on this site long before they realize that they are very different from the rest of us in too many ways. Atheism is simply the absence of religious belief, not a sign of intelligence.

It's the militants and know-it-alls, who know me better than I know myself, who love to put words in my mouth or spin and twist things for their agenda that I can not stand.
It seems they are spoiling for a confrontation, that's why I shy away from the political posts.
It also makes me wonder if they will be that antagonistic if we were face-to-face instead of hiding behind a keyboard.

I would say there is less of that here than many other sites I've visited.

When you became an agnostic or atheist was your asshole removed? No? Like assholes, everyone has opinions and it doesn't matter if a person is more or less intelligent or educated, they still have opinions.

Can you give an example of an outlook or attitude that people are openly hostile toward but should instead be accepting of?

This is why I tend to avoid 'discussions' on here. There is a lot of aggression lurking. If I see a question that even suggests anger, I stay away. I didn't join to do battle. I have yet to find any cause worth fighting over. (Reply with antagonistic comments....... Now.)

You have a point there, however I have found that some people cannot discuss anything without getting angry because you have a different attitude. Those seems to happen usually with people from the US. I have also visited there several times and found that it is almost impossible to discuss US foreign policy and how it affects the rest of the world. People want to punch you if you don't agree with them. Sad really. Other countries do not act that way.

In my experience, tolerance can be as difficult for skeptics to develop as it is for many religious fundamentalists.

Your pain is felt here. Unfortunately, since people who reject gods and theologies have different motivations for doing so, we still end up a mixed bag.

There are non-believers who are fiercely independent in their formations of beliefs and opinions but others who are moved to rejection over such simplicities as prefering the scientific method for 'faith' or simply disliking evangelists or disagreeing with this or that so-called morally based rule for living.

Reason often has no bearing on a state of non-belief. It's best evidenced by political sycophants who cling to party 'chapter, verse and preachings' as tenaciously as any back woods Baptist does to a Bible that he/she doesn't understand either.

Consequently, we still find ourselves 'grouped' as though monolithic, yet as diverse as any (often used comparison) herd of cats.

I look at it like this... if I understood it, I'd be standing in line with them to do what they do. I'm happy not to and if you don't bother me, we'll both be happier.

Don't let open hostility discourage you from expressing what you believe to be true. Confirmation bias usually prevents a person from changing his/her mind when first encountering the truth. Repeated exposure to the truth can unconsciously affect a person over time. At least thats the way it works for me.
Repeated exposure to a conflicting idea can motivate me to investigate further its verasity. Sometimes that investigation results in a change in my position.