What does persecution by Christians look like? Let Damon Fowler and his brother Jerrett tell you.
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.
The Bastrop Enterprise quotes one of the teachers at Damon’s High School, a Ms. Mitzi Quinn
Mitzi Quinn has been on the staff at BHS for almost 25 years, much of that time as a senior advisor. 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.”
Throughout her time working with the student, Quinn said they never expressed their personal beliefs or that they had any problems with other students’ Christian faiths.
“And what’s even more sad is this is a student who really hasn’t contributed anything to graduation or to their classmates,” Quinn said.
What is sad is the Ms. Quinn does not recognize Damon’s action against prayer as probably the hardest, and biggest contribution that any student has made at that school! Most students do what is easy, Damon did what was RIGHT. And was vilified for it.
Thursday night (May 19) was the graduation rehersal. The graduation is (I believe) Friday, May 20. During the rehersal the student valedictorian, a Christian, decided to do as she pleased instead of following the law. She was soundly cheered by other students who don’t understand how this is wrong. You can see a recording here.
Damon’s brother, Jerrett said this about Damon:
As far as his spirits are concerned, he sounded scared. Really scared, actually. He sounded as if he was about to cry on the phone with me, although I’m not sure if it was because of all the support here or because he’s scared. He has gotten death threats already and threats of bodily harm if he shows up to graduation. We’re still assessing if it is safe enough for him to be there. The only way we can ensure his safety is to grow this to the national level. I’d love to see CNN, BBC, TheDailyShow, Richard Dawkins, and Colbert get on this story. I can’t provide safety alone.
That’s right. Some of the Christians of Bastrop High School have threated to beat Damon up, or kill him, if he shows up to his graduation. No word about any other Christians at BHS pointing out how un-Christian this is, or perhaps offering to shield Damon from harm.
If you would like to show your support for Damon – do so by becoming a fan of him on Facebook.
Atheists around the country are eager to do what they can for Damon. His mother has disowned him and cut him off financially. Damon is going to live in Texas with his brother Jerrett, who will try to put Damon through college. The FFRF has already pledged $1,000 toward Damon’s college fund. If you would also like to help Damon and Jerrett, you can donate through The Friendly Atheist.
But in the short term the best way to help Damon is to spread the word. Talk to local news agencies about this. Let’s get a spotlight of attention focused on Bastrop High School so the intolerant there won’t have the darkness they need to act against Damon.
