Damon Fowler, a graduating senior at Bastrop High School in Louisiana, has become an atheist hero and an internet sensation after news of his courage in the face of an angry Christian majority went viral Thursday afternoon.
Earlier this week, Damon pointed out to the Superintendent of Morehouse Parish Schools that the sectarian prayer planned for his high school graduation ceremony was illegal and a violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The prayer was cancelled and replaced with a moment of silence.
As one might expect, cancellation of the graduation prayer angered many. Damon shared his story Thursday on the popular Internet site Reddit:
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 sh**storm 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.
Many believe Damon did the right thing. Yet despite words of admiration pouring in from across the country and around the globe, Fowler is under attack by fellow classmates, town members and even teachers.
One teacher at Bastrop High School, Mitzi Quinn, even went so far as to speak to the press about Fowler, saying:
This is a student who really hasn’t contributed anything to graduation or to their classmates.
Not surprising, there is now a Facebook page entitled Fire Mitzi Quinn. Indeed, several Facebook pages have sprouted in support of Damon Fowler, including Support Damon, with over 2500 members in less that 12 hours.
Yet even with the Facebook support and other Internet well wishers, it seems many are determined to use the public schools to force their religious convictions upon freethinkers and others who do not share the Christian faith.
It is unconstitutional for public schools to sponsor prayer at graduation ceremonies or other school events. School districts and their employees, including teachers, need to remain neutral toward religion. Ms. Mitzi Quinn's statements to the Bastrop Daily Enterprise are inappropriate and derogatory remarks towards a student who is protecting his constitutional rights. We want the school district to take all appropriate steps to make graduation a celebration for all students, including Damon.
This girl used prayer as a weapon to separate the Good Christians from The Others. To alienate. To shun. To mock. And even more disgustingly, the community cheers along like a pack of warriors who have defeated their enemy, and laugh condescendingly at the mention of a moment of silence.
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