I read the news stories. Wow. That is...sad. As in 'society is more messed up than I thought.'

What is the background against which he stands out as obnoxious and unnecessarily critical?

Around the same time as I was reading Dawkins, I was also reading "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. I can't say any of the arguments for God's existence convinced me, or held much weight at all really, but the tone of the book, and pretty much all of C.S. Lewis' books, was quite polite and respectful. Even of atheists.