Student harassed over graduation prayer

[VirtualStranger]

Via Pharyngula:

File this under "religion unites people". Sure it does. It unites them to harass unbelievers. Damon Fowler of Bastrop, Louisiana asked his school to obey the law and not impose sectarian prayer on his high school graduation, and for that he's being ostracized.

My graduation from high school is this Friday. I live in the Bible Belt of the United States. The school was going to perform a prayer at graduation, but due to me sending the superintendent an email stating it was against Louisiana state law and that I would be forced to contact the ACLU if they ignored me, they ceased it. The school backed down, but that's when the shitstorm rolled in. Everyone is trying to get it back in the ceremony now. I'm not worried about it, but everyone hates me... kind of worried about attending graduation now. It's attracted more hostility than I thought.

My reasoning behind it is that it's emotionally stressing on anyone who isn't Christian. No one else wanted to stand up for their constitutional right of having freedom of and FROM religion. I was also hoping to encourage other atheists to come out and be heard. I'm one of maybe three atheists in this town that I currently know of. One of the others is afraid to come out of the (atheist) closet.

Though I've caused my classmates to hate me, I feel like I've done the right thing. Regardless of their thoughts on it, basically saying I am ruining their fun and their lives, I feel like I've helped someone out there. I didn't do this for me or just atheists, but anyone who doesn't believe in their god that prayer to Yahweh may affect.

Moral of the story: though the opposition may be great, majority doesn't necessarily mean right. Thank you for reading. Wish me luck at graduation.

EDIT: Well, it hit the fan a couple hours ago. They've already assembled a group of supporters at a local church and called in the newspaper. I've had to deactivate my Facebook account and I can't reason with any of them. They refuse to listen. The whole town hates me, aside from a few closet atheists that are silently supporting, which I don't blame them looking at what I've incited here. Thanks for the support though.

If anyone would like to offer support, the superintendent is who I emailed and the school's website is mpsb.us

Thanks for the support. It's really helping. This has just gotten sickening.

Edit: I've had requests for my Facebook info... I don't mind giving that out at all. Damon Fowler - Bastrop, LA. I could use all of the support I can get. Not sure if this link will work: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001146281052

EDIT: Back from Class Night... www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaD8iQFaw7I&feature=youtube_gdata_player Dealt with people staring at me, calling me names, talking about me behind my back (even teachers). I'll walk across that stage tomorrow, whether they want me to or not.

If you want to give Damon some support, here are the administrator emails and school board emails. They need to have the law patiently explained to them. They also need to learn that this is not a restriction on their right to pray — they can sit in the auditorium and pray up a storm (non-disruptively, of course) throughout the entire ceremony. The point is that they don't get to tell other people to pray to their weird and cultish little god.

Bastrop High School promised to obey the law against school-led prayer at official events, although they were also petty and mean about it, and have been making life hellish for the young man who complained. Now here's the surprise (not): in an official function called Senior Night, they announced a moment of silence…and then said a Christian prayer anyway, to the cheers of the Christian majority. Never mind that it was illegal, never mind that they broke their agreement; religious sanctimony trumps all.

And we have video.



I suspect that at the official graduation ceremony tomorrow, they'll also manage to get someone up there to lead the school in sectarian proselytization and social pressure, and they won't even care that it's discriminatory.

I do hope they get sued.

Reddit
Pharyngula
update

[Thejebusfire]

Doesn't their bible say not to pray loudly in public places because it makes you look like a hypocrite?

[Dragon Zachski]

Yyyyeah, I applaud him for this, and I'm not going to say he shouldn't have done it, but... he would have made his life a whole lot easier if he didn't.

But he probably knew that, so kudos to him anyways.

That being said, there's not enough cluebats in the universe...

[Her3tiK]

May 19, 2011 23:57:34 GMT -5 Thejebusfire said:

Doesn't their bible say not to pray loudly in public places because it makes you look like a hypocrite?

Pfft. What does the bible have to do with being a Good Christian? All you need to know is that God hates them commie-Jew-atheist-Muslim-fags so it's okay if you do too.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Much easier to not attend the graduation ceremony and just pick up your diploma later.

[catanon]

May 20, 2011 0:53:45 GMT -5 Napoleon the Clown said:

Much easier to not attend the graduation ceremony and just pick up your diploma later.

I think he wanted to go to the graduation more upon principle than anything else as well as a Take That against those who ridiculed him.

Really, the school is doing something illegal. If the school itself doesn't realize that it's breaking its own laws, then what the hell is the world coming to.

I like the part where the little bigot girl starts with "I respect other beliefs...BUT" and basically continues with:

"I want everyone to pray to MY god so everyone who isn't a Christian should shut up and put up."

Not a direct quote, but the intent was clear.

[Bluefinger]

May 20, 2011 0:53:45 GMT -5 Napoleon the Clown said:

Much easier to not attend the graduation ceremony and just pick up your diploma later.

Because taking the easy way out is better than doing the right thing, gotcha.

[erictheblue]

While I understand why the kid focuses on atheists in his comments, I kind of wish he had mentioned other religions, especially Judaism. (Because it is relatively accepted among most Christians. Not because I think Jews are better than anyone else.) It would really point out that his stand is not anti-religion, but is simply pointing out that an obviously Christian prayer at a government function violates the Constitution.

Great on this kid for taking a stand though

[dakotabob]

Hopefully that school has a shit-ton of money, 'cos I smell LAWSUIT.

[katz]

I'd show up and then when they started the prayer, I'd bust out the prayer mat and loudly sing Islamic verses.

[foolishwisdom]

So, because a prayer would alienate students, on a very special day no less; and not to mention it's illegal, he did the right thing by telling the superintendent that prayer is out of the question.
Now, this has caused hostility from not only his peers (I guess it made the students feel less special by not being able to pray at the ceremony), but the whole damn town as well (God "forbad" they can't do something at a secular ceremony, that they can do in the privacy on their homes and church).
But here's where they put salt in the wounds: They pretty much hated his guts for not allowing prayer...which they went ahead and did anyway! So at this point, he's pretty much being hated for nothing!
But what may be the real insult to injury: the town'll still probably hate him for trying to stop something they did anyway. Illegally to boot.

Edit: There's a more detailed, bulletin of this story on the Friendly Atheist: friendlyatheist.com/2011/05/20/this-district-is-about-to-get-sued/

[Iosa the Invincible]

If the person on Reddit claiming to be Damon's brother really is his brother, then his mother has cut off all contact with him as well.

The real irony, though, is this comment from a teacher:

In the past, Quinn said there have been students who were atheist, agnostic and other non-Christian religions who “had no problems” with the prayer.“They respected the majority of their classmates and didn’t say anything,” Quinn said. “We’ve never had this come up before. Never.”

Gee, doesn't this seem an awful lot like a certain highly popular chain video/story going around on facebook? The one that Christians love to put in their statuses as a statement of faith? The one about a Christian student who stood up to his rude atheist teacher when his faith was belittled, even though all other Christians past and present said nothing? You know, the one with the chalk?

[tgrwulf]

May 20, 2011 0:25:33 GMT -5 Dragon Zachski said:

That being said, there's not enough cluebats in the universe...

My thoughts exactly.

Also, the school is breaking the law and he stood up for himself and didn't back down, which I appluad him for. The townspeople are just idiots.

[shadowpanther]

May 20, 2011 8:41:48 GMT -5 katz said:

I'd show up and then when they started the prayer, I'd bust out the prayer mat and loudly sing Islamic verses.

I'd cut the throat of the person standing next to me and loudly exult Khorne.

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAcough, cough. Oh that's tiring.

[VirtualStranger]

I hope the prayer was worth it, because if a successful lawsuit goes through, the district (and by extension, the taxpayers) is going to be paying this kid a hefty scholarship.

Not to mention all of the donations he's already getting.