The "Moment of Silence" Sham

[paft.livejournal.com]

Damon Fowler, a graduating senior at Bastrop High School in Louisiana, recently took a principled stand on the school’s consistent flouting of the law:

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.

School authorities and a local paper fed that hostility. The Bastrop Enterprise covered the issue in a biased article which included the following quote from a teacher.

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.'

'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.

Well, you see Ms. Quinn, the fact that you, a school official, personally attacked the student in a local paper, and the fact that the student is now concerned about his physical safety if he attends his own graduation might be one reason atheists, agnostics, and other non-Christians “didn’t say anything” in the past. This young man is legally and morally in the right. His biggest crime here is naivete about the level of venom he was likely to face.

Here’s a video of the “moment of silence” held at Bastrop High School’s “Class Night” after the controversy broke. It illustrates the cynical sham that is the "moment of silence" in public schools:

Student speaker:

I was recently informed that I would be leading the moment of silence. However, before I fulfill my obligation, I would like to say that I am of the Christian faith. And I respect those who do not share the same beliefs as I do. But at this time I would like to give thanks to the God who has made the class of 2011 a great success.” [cheers] “For those of you who share in the same beliefs as I do, I ask that you please bow your heads as I pray. Our Heavenly Father, we come to you in thankfulness and a grateful heart for the friendships and the memories that you have given us as the class of 2011…In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

And those who don’t “share the same beliefs” as she does? Any atheists, Jews, or Muslims who might be attending? She’s not really talking to them. They’re not included.

After seeing what’s happened to a student who complains, you can bet they’ll know to button their lips and sit meekly in silence, whatever they might really think about being forced to attend sectarian prayers at a public school function.

Crossposted from Thoughtcrimes

Comments

[a-new-machine.livejournal.com]

The kid and his family have posted a bit about it on Reddit (http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/hed7y/threatened_to_contact_aclu_for_prayer_at/) (follow-up (http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/hed7y/threatened_to_contact_aclu_for_prayer_at/c1uut0n)).

[rasilio.livejournal.com]

Help me know, four years from now
I won't believe in you anyhow
And I'll mope around the campus
And I'll feel betrayed
All those guilty summers I stayed
But then I'll laugh
That I fell for the lure
Of the pain of desire to feel so pure
And I'll bear all the burdens
Of my little daily crimes
Wish I had a God for such cynical times


Lets face it, 90% of those kids cheering don't really believe in god either. Fact is they never put much thought into the matter and are just mouthing the words they were told to say.

Sure, most of them will go on and grow up and come to really believe it but that's only because the aren't likely to ever be exposed to anything but a culture where such belief is considered mandatory.

On the other hand the ones who go away to school, by the time they hit 22 will probably have changed religions 3 or 4 times and even if they end up settling back into Christianity it won't be anything like what they were told to believe back in their teen years. (http://www.stlyrics.com/songs/d/darwilliams1000/teenforgod1037825.html)

[a-new-machine.livejournal.com]

Lets face it, 90% of those kids cheering don't really believe in god either. Fact is they never put much thought into the matter and are just mouthing the words they were told to say.

Even so, they've got a lot invested in the Christian identity, even if they don't actually understand or buy into it. Thus the hostile reaction to dissent.

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure how this addresses the issue of discrimination. OK, many of those kids may be parroting words. So? What happened is still a fact.

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

atheist, agnostic and other non-Christian religions

Um, WAT...

[bex.livejournal.com]

You don't go to the invisible temple every Friday night and worship our beloved Atheista, goddess of all that is good and pure? Heretic. I hope I don't see you at the Agnostic Church's invisible all-u-can-eat fish fry tomorrow.

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

I've always liked the rebuttal that goes "Atheism is a religion the way not collecting stamps is a hobby."

[3fgburner.livejournal.com]

The millennium has, indeed, come.

I'm agreeing with paft.

[luzribeiro.livejournal.com]

I thought the millennium had come 11 years ago but what do I know!

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

I like the way the school decided to do a prayer anyway, Christians being the tolerant bunch they are...

I hope they get sued but honestly, it sounds like everyone from the kid's mom to the local teachers are all idiots so he's best rid of the place.

[paft.livejournal.com]

As someone from that area, my own take is -- It's his home. He should not have to choose between speaking out, and living in his community.

[bex.livejournal.com]

You should be puzzled. You misunderstood the information.

It's not a university, it's a publicly-funded high school. Kids don't normally have much say in where they go to high school, unless their parents can afford to move to another district or put them in a private school. The fact that this is a state-funded institution means there should be a separation of church and state - it should not have a "religious bent" to it at all.

[paft.livejournal.com]

The state does not ban the saying of prayers in public schools. It bans school officials like teachers or speakers LEADING prayers. If individual students want to pray on their own, nobody is stopping them, so long as they don't disrupt classes and school functions.

The reasoning behind the ban is illustrated by this case. School-led prayers single out students who don't participate, and the result is quite frequently harassment.

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

You're right, they should've conducted a Christian prayer, then a Muslim prayer, then a Jewish prayer, then a Buddhist prayer and then maybe a Discordian jamboree, and then proceeded with their education activities.

/tic

[bex.livejournal.com]

So wait. They used to have a prayer, it was pointed out that that was inappropriate, so this chick was told to lead a moment of silence instead. Rather than do that, she gets up there and leads a prayer anyway, all while emphasizing how tolerant she is of other religions and then stating "for those of you who share my beliefs" and excluding everyone who doesn't?

Damn. Just... damn.

[paft.livejournal.com]

As someone who attended public high school in the Arklamiss, I can tell you that the "moment of silence" in the Bible Belt is a cynical joke. If you don't bow your head, lower your eyes, and mime prayer during it, you're quite likely to get singled out by a student or teacher.

[paedraggaidin.livejournal.com]

Bible Belt SOP. The Religious Right, of course, will be screaming in anguish at the actions of what they see as one mean little anti-religious nutjob and the hated Satanic evil that is the ACLU, ruining the good old quasi-religious ceremony that is public school graduation in the Bible Belt. (Of course, the ACLU defends Christians as vehemently as it defends non-Christians, (http://www.aclufightsforchristians.com/) but you'd never know that from listening to the likes of Fox News. Full disclosure: I am a dues-paying, card-carrying member of the ACLU).

The thing is, to certain people public schools have always been a medium for the indoctrination of youth with good, solid Protestant religious values. The "public" in the name merely means they are funded and run by government, not that are, or should ever be, secular spaces where children are or should be free from religious instruction of any sort. It all comes down to a polar opposed view of religion's role in public life and the meaning of the Establishment Clause. These two views can be summed up as:

1. The schools are an arm of the State, and the State has at its core a generic, non-denomination specific Protestant Christianity as a de facto state religion, which encircles and enriches our government at all levels, from prayers opening local city council meetings to the quasi-religious atmosphere of Presidential inaugurations. The Founders, being good Christian men all, intended it to be thus, and if various people don't like it, too bad! They live in a Protestant Christian country, they should expect to have to endure Protestant Christianity in their daily lives.

2. The Founders, being enlightened men naturally wary of state religion, having seen the persecutions and politics that pervaded established churches over the centuries of American colonization, intended our government to be secular, not in the sense of being anti-religious or free from all religious influence, but rather being free from interference by religious bodies and being prevented from interfering in the private religious beliefs and practices of the people. Having official prayer in public schools, even under the guise of moments of silence, is in direct contravention to this secular purpose.

It's obvious which camp I belong to, but I can understand those who are in the other; I used to be myself, actually. Not having prayer in schools, taking the Ten Commandments out of public spaces, and isolated cases where it seems the Bible has been banned in schools (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._H._v._Oliva_et_al.) seem to them like a direct attack on their religious beliefs in violation of the Free Exercise Clause. I may disagree, but I can see where they're coming from.

I doubt that these issues will ever be resolved.

[paft.livejournal.com]

They're coming from an overwhelming sense of entitlement. I've frequently heard the need for prayer in public schools justified by Bible Belt apologists on the grounds that they want to see who's praying and WHO'S NOT PRAYING. It's a vehicle for harassment they consider very valuable.

[new-wave-witch.livejournal.com]

I can, in a way, understand this kind of behavior coming from the students. It's pretty common for adolescents to work up this sense of comradery and self-righteous team warfare - which, from the story and video, is how this situation comes off to me. But you have a whole town of adults turning against this boy and his family, and his OWN TEACHERS. What is the goal in their minds in going after him like this? I really have to wonder.

You have to wonder?

[montecristo.livejournal.com]

When education is determined by government it is determined by politics, where the views of the victors in the political arena can force-feed their views to the children of the losers. This makes for acrimony.

"Education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed."
— Joseph Stalin

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Jon Stewart recently had right wing scholar David Barton on his show dealing with this issue. (http://www.theblaze.com/stories/founders-scholar-david-barton-vs-jon-stewart-boom-winning/) But this week, Richard Beeman cleared up a lot of what Barton said. (http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-may-18-2011/richard-beeman) The Beeman interview was pretty fascinating (if you can call a discussion about constitutional law "fascinating" ;)

[a-new-machine.livejournal.com]

Beeman did a really good job of saying "He's correct on the facts, but he's still wrong." I really enjoyed the extended interview.

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

I'm just a little curious... How do you manage to find all these curious and scandalous stories?

[debergerac.livejournal.com]

the power of prayer?

[dreadfulpenny81.livejournal.com]

Just as Damon has every right to argue his case to the superintendent, the teacher (Ms. Quinn) has every right to voice HER opinions. You can't stand on your soap box and cheer one person acting on their rights while admonishing another person for acting on theirs.

...in a biased article... - I had to laugh when I read this because ALL your posts are biased.

I don't think Jerrett has any place turning Damon's actions into his own anti-religion crusade.

Moral of the story: though the opposition may be great, majority doesn't necessarily mean right. - No, but it definitely means you'll be outnumbered when the chips fall. Considering the lackluster results of other "campaigns" by atheists, I doubt this will be more than a week's worth of reporting for the 24-hour news cycle. Not that I don't appreciate their effort.

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

The teacher was being an ass - making quips about how that student "hadn't contributed to the graduation", etc. Maybe if people with public jobs could learn to keep their religion private we'd have fewer problems like this.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Honestly, my state's asstards are only less well-known because Texas and Mississippi's are more flamboyant. My parish is actually debating on whether or not to rescind integration of public schools and there's been people ignoring Supreme Court rulings treating interracial marriage is a right. Because our asstards are less flamboyant they get away with more.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Oh, and:

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

^What he said.

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

It seems like we should apply the same solution here as was suggested for dealing with political correctness: if you don't like it, move.

[new-wave-witch.livejournal.com]

How cowardly.

[headhouse.livejournal.com]

Well, you see Ms. Quinn, the fact that you, a school official, personally attacked the student in a local paper

Did you link that? I didn't see the attack.

and the fact that the student is now concerned about his physical safety if he attends his own graduation

After seeing what’s happened to a student who complains

Wait, has something happened to him? I didn't see that anywhere either.

This young man is legally and morally in the right.

You saying that they're morally wrong is exactly equivalent to them saying that you're morally wrong.

[ccr1138.livejournal.com]

If we have freedom of speech in this country, why can't students be allowed to talk about their faith at graduation? I'd rather see other religions given equal time than quash all faith speech.

Also, people who feel left out because they're not included in 100% of everything that happens should get over themselves. So what if Christians pray at a public gathering? Why does that bother you? If you think they're a bunch of morons for believing in the big fuzzy guy in the sky, then smirk as they do their irrational little ritual. Don't go crying to Big Brother like a toddler. Sheesh.

[montanaisaleg.livejournal.com]

Can you imagine the outcry if, say, this school's valedictorian was an atheist who included something like this in his speech: "I for one am very happy that god doesn't exist. Our morals are in no way defined by such a mythical being, and if a being such as the one described in the Christian bible existed, the world would be a much worse place than it is."

Anyone who tried to say that in front of an auditorium of graduating rural Alabamians probably would be shouted down before getting halfway through the second sentence. They'd "cry to Big Brother" that they were having someone else's beliefs forced on them. It could easily be a big national news story for a few days at least.

Also (and more importantly), this isn't just a freedom of speech issue. It's a church-and-state issue too. Students can talk about their religion in their speeches. The problem comes when a someone acting in an official capacity for a public school leads everyone in a religious ritual.