I thought I saw an atheist
Among the kids at school
Who didn’t understand that, here,
The Christian bullies rule
You may call it “brave” or “foolish”
But she dared to show her face
I may have seen an atheist…
They put her in her place.
I thought I saw an atheist,
According to report,
Who thought she’d start a godless group
For mutual support
But no such group was needed—
This is how the story ends—
The local bullies threatened her,
Her family, her friends
I thought I saw an atheist
As hopeful as she’s brave
If such a girl surrenders,
Then the situation’s grave
She made the choice she had to make—
The threats were aimed at her—
I thought I saw an atheist
Show Christians what they were
I thought I saw a Christian town
Displaying Christian love
Who know they get morality
From heaven up above
With threats of harm directed at
Those different in their sight
Yes, by their acts we know them…
That’s Christian love, all right.
Via Hemant, the not-terribly-unexpected news (though saddening and maddening) that Canton, North Carolina will not be getting an atheist club in their school after all. Oh, it’s not that the town suddenly found a legal argument. No, they shut this one down the old-fashioned way, through bullying, intimidation, and threats to the 15-year-old girl who was looking to form the club, and to her family and friends.
I expect the good, tolerant christian folk of North Carolina to spring to her aid, identifying and denouncing the bullies… any century now.
The worst part in all of this is that the threats and maltreatment will not stop just because she dropped out. She’s a known Other in that community; she is established as a popular and acceptable target of malice; she affirmed when she dropped the issue that bullying can and does work. There’s absolutely no reason to think she’ll be left alone now.
The vice principal who first denied her brother’s request to start an SSA club, then hers, used to be the band teacher at my kids’ middle school before she transferred to Canton. With the Jesus-ey reputation she left behind at my kids’ school I am distinctly unsurprised that this was the way things went at Pisgah.
Then there’s the culture of the town of Canton itself, where things like this happen:
http://www.examiner.com/article/amazing-grace-baptist-church-canton-nc-will-have-book-burning-on-halloween
46 Christian churches listed for a population of 4100. *boggle*