Here's the setting. I go to a small public school in rural Kansas filled with religious people in a town with around 300 people in it. my friends recently reported our science teacher to the freedom from religion group for teaching creationism in our science classroom, and our school was asked to address it. 1 month following this event, the science teacher has decided to resign because she is unable to teach this. Even though I had nothing to do with this, every one in our school has suspicion that I'm responsible for reporting her, due to my lack of participation in the FCA group at our school (Fellowship Christian Athletes) and that I put evolutionary biologist on my job interests. I feel guilty, and I have no idea why. I'm scared and I feel like persecution is imminent. Not only does this happen, but a group in the community has decided to form a protest group with goals of adding creationism into public schools, and eliminating separation of church and state (bat **** crazy am I right?). Everyone in our school is trying to find the culprits for reporting her, and I don't know what to do. Please give any and all advice you possibly can. I appreciate everything.
Subscription Note:
Choosing to subscribe to this topic will automatically register you for email notifications for comments and updates on this thread.
Email notifications will be sent out daily by default unless specified otherwise on your account which you can edit by going to your userpage here and clicking on the subscriptions tab.
PROTIP GET THE HELL OUT! THE SCHOOL, NO THE TOWN YOUR IN IS FD BEYOND BELIFE. I don't want to see a news report claiming that a person in Kansas was stoned to death in a few weeks. Get.Out.Now, or else you may fall prey to something far worse then persecution. If shit starts heating up rapidly, bail. Cause once shit really hits the fan, it will be too late. Be safe, my freind.
Getting out may not be an option, to do that one must be independent first.
Talk to your friends who reported the teacher in the first place. Why aren't they backing you up as a group?!
Contact the Freedom From Religion Foundation
http://ffrf.org/
Contact local Atheist groups:
http://www.kcatheists.org/
http://www.kcfreethought.org/
Contact American Atheist groups:
http://atheistallianceamerica.org/contact/
http://atheists.org/
Call them, ask for help!
Go public! Contact news media and tell the truth about what has happened, about being scared, about ending up in what essentially sounds like a witch hunt.
Prag, I feel like an idiot for not thinking about that now.
It's the first impulse, an emotional reaction. It's quite understandable. I've done the same thing myself.
I think most people can't uproot their entire life and leave. Even if they have a completed education, even if they don't have children, it means leaving anything and everything resembling a social network. It might mean complete isolation.
I commend you on how you humbly reconsidered your position. It's a good sign of an open and honest mind. The world is in desperate need of more such minds.
Thank you. It feels good know that someone else can see it in me. And no, I'm not bragging.
And I do think the old saying "it takes one to know one" is correct.
The person who reported the teacher is not a "culprit" any more than a citizen reporting a crime to the police is a "snitch". Only wrongdoers are culprits or snitches.
Sometimes it's hard to do the right thing, (easy for me to say).
I face somewhat the same situation. A house on my cul-de-sac had a teenager selling drugs. I stood vigil and called the police every time a deal went down. Eventually they moved. I was the "bad guy" because the parents were well liked. I didn't care because to me the safety of my neighborhood and street are more important than popularity. Many times in one's life we are faced with tough choices. Those that condem you for your convictions are not worthy of your freindship or attention.
Truer words have never been spoken.
Truer words have never been spoken.
I had a teacher in high school who is still an inspiration to me. I found out years after graduation that he was a conservative republican type. In class he projected the image of a diehard Eugene Debs socialist in order to spur honest debate. If you had an opinion he was sure to test its structural integrity. Long story now shorter: The school held a drug addiction prevention assembly (for all us potheads I guess). The speaker was nothing but a fire and brimstone baptist preacher who kept repeating " The Supreme Court will not let me say his name , but you can...." and the students would yell out "Jesus". My favorite teacher turned to me and said "I can't walk out in protest but you can." So , I did. Maybe you have a teacher like that . Maybe that good soul turned that creationist in.
When I first got out of the military I found a job selling bookkeeping. My boss was a staunch conservative. Many of our morning sales meetings were political debates where I was the only one pro liberal. My boss kept things civil and made sure that everyone's opinion was respected. He also was very good at separating fact from opinion. Consequently I usual won most of the daily arguments. He respected my ability which he said is the reason he hired me in the first place. I could present a point of view and back it with facts that could not be refuted.
You feel guilty because you are immersed in a culture that disdains non-conformity. Small towns can be both very forgiving and very condemning depending on whether the community likes and respects the family you come from. Gossip and being judgmental is a favorite pastime in a community where everyone knows everyone else's business. If the people there all attend the same church and it's controlled by a fundamentalist nut case, you probably have a right to be worried about being ostracized and talked about. Worrying about any kind of open persecution is a little extreme, though. I assume you are high school age. The world is a big place and although what happens in your life at this moment seems terribly consequential, in the long run it's another life experience that will inform your thought and actions as you mature. The world is a big place and when you get out in it, you'll discover that you're not all that different. It's just more difficult to be different in a small community where thought conformity is valued. Read, pay attention, and keep seeking the truth.