Recent photos provided by Amanda
Amanda Donaldson is a former employee of Eldorado Chiropractic, a “Christ-oriented office,” in McKinney, Texas. Her claim is that upon her employer’s discovery that she is an atheist he became discontent and immediately displayed animosity toward having an atheist working within his business. Soon after this information came to light Amanda had to take time off from work due to breast cancer surgery and rehabilitation. She further claims that on her first day back to work she was fired and the main cause behind it was her lack of belief. I spoke with her recently in regard to her departure from the office and in part two I’ll provide Dr. Dawson’s side of the story.
What was your overall experience like working at Eldorado Chiropractic?
I loved my job. I was even told by Dr. Dawson that I was the best employee he ever had. It was a great place to work, however the pressure to be part of his Christian fellowship was overwhelming. He pressured me daily to go to this workshop called “The Road.” It has a website, theroadadventure.com, but on the website it mentions nothing about God. Only by his pressure to attend did I learn that the last part of the workshop, which he teaches, is about how God can make you all better.
Did he tell you he was running a "Christ-oriented office" when you were hired?
No, he asked if him being a Christian was a problem for me and I stated that it was not.
Was Dr. Dawson aware of your position as an atheist and if not, how did he find out?
No, he was not aware that I am an atheist. I felt this was an inappropriate conversation for the workplace. I have been a quiet atheist as long as I can remember, but I respect other’s beliefs. I am not sure how he found out. He says that it was because of my husband’s blog, but due to the fact that I never told him about the website, I am unsure how he found it.
When did your employer first display animosity toward you and why?
3/26/09- He found a website that my husband had made for me, saveamanda.com, with a link to a blog that he is keeping. My employer did not agree with the anti-Christian opinions expressed within it and threatened to fire me that day if my husband did not take the blog down. We removed all the anti-Christian stuff but left it up anyway.
What happened between the day he found your husband's blog and the day you were fired?
The day that he found the blog he called me back into his office and explained to me that he could not have something with this view associated with his place of business. I explained that it’s the internet and the internet is huge, so the odds of one of his patients, potential or existing, finding it without being pointed to it were a million to one. He demanded the blog be removed and I refused. I explained to him that this was my husband’s blog and it was the only outlet he has for the emotions and opinions he was feeling and I would not tell him he had to remove it. After telling my husband what Dr. Dawson said he edited it so that there were no mentions of religion in it. He did this to try to save my job as I had already been threatened with termination due to the fact that I had cancer.
He had his patients pray over me, put their hands on me, and "cast out the demon" inside me. I actually had one woman command the cancer to come out of me and come back 10 minutes later and tell me, "I just wanted you to know that God just told me to tell you not to worry that you will live through this."
I never fought against the prayer, which is my fault, but I thought these people were just ignorant and didn’t know what else to do but close their eyes, talk to their fairy and wish really hard, but at least they were showing concern. I don’t tell people not to pray because that is all some of them know how to do. I was very tolerant and polite and never once laughed at them or made them feel stupid in any way.
What exactly happened the day you were terminated?
5/4/09- The day I was fired I was busy trying to straighten up the stuff he had just let pile up while I was recovering from my mastectomy. This included the front office/desk work, patient care and back office work as well as cleaning the office up (which I was not supposed to do due to the limitations in effect after the surgery. I needed to vacuum because he said, "Well you know I am not going to do it.") He had hardly spoken a word to me and I was all into getting things back in order for the afternoon. When he did start the casual how are you feeling conversation I told him I was hurting a little but I had some medicine in my purse I could take if it got too bad. He asked me about Brant, my husband, and I told him the good news about him finding a good job, 8-5, M-F with benefits.
He walked away and came back a short while later, approached me and said,
“I cannot have negativity toward God associated with this place (indicating his office), it’s all I have.”
He pressured me once again to attend his church, which I had previously done as a requirement for my job (I did get paid for it) and I said thanks for the invite but I think I am ok. I then told him I was never negative nor did I have an outspoken attitude about my beliefs within his office to which he replied,
"There is no place for your thoughts, opinions and beliefs on God in my office, please give me your key and leave.”
I then told him that no one but him even knew how I believed; I didn’t talk to the patients about it and never brought it up when the patients asked if they could pray for me. I told him that I had been very tolerant of his beliefs and those of the patients and asked why this was a problem. To this he replied,
“You're never here anyway!” (referring to my being gone for surgery.)
He then proceeded to scream and yell at me, while I was trying to get the key to his office off my keychain and gather my belongings, demanding that if I would accept Jesus I would be ok and telling me there was no point in my being there anyway, since I was never there. I then proceeded to walk the four miles to my house due to the fact that we are a single-car family and my husband had the car.
What action have you taken since your termination?
I have filed complaints with the EEOC, TWC, State Senator Shapiro, Rep Ken Paxton and spoken to several attorneys. They all say the same thing. State Labor Law is set up to protect small business. If there are under 15 employees there is nothing you can do about discrimination of any kind, racial, gender, age, religion or disability. I did however get the Senator’s office to submit a legislative suggestion to try to have the law changed to protect people who work for small businesses and I am supposed to schedule a time to go talk to them this summer. The senate is in session now so I have to wait. I have stated several times that I don’t want to sue him for his things, though I don’t know how we are going to survive now with me not having any income, I just want him and other small business owners to know that this is not right, it’s unconstitutional. I want the laws to be changed to protect others. I would like every one to know that this "good Christian man" they all think so highly of is not what he pretends to be.
Comments
That's bllsht. I got a lot of sht in basic training, and afterwards for people labeling me as a satanist, when I'm basically a nihilist with atheist views. An inverted cross tattooed on me didn't help haha. Religion is a comfort mechanism for those who cannot face death after death. This angers me, we should pillage or something.
Thanks Kaci for putting this all together. Really appreciate someone taking time to make sure this story is heard.
Thanks again.
This is a really awful story. Someone so bigoted should not be allowed to get away with such intolerant actions. If you are keeping your religion to yourself within your professional capacity, you should not be discriminated against for being an Atheist any more than for being a Muslim, Buddhist, or Jew. I can understand protecting small business owners, but this kind of discrimination is assinine.
I have faced religious discrimination too many times to count. Whenever I have a job interview, I always wait for the religion question, and 9 times out of ten, I get it. The ex mayor of our city, who definitely knew better wanted to know which church I belonged to and whether it would affect my ability to do my job. And she's considered a beacon of liberal thinking for this area!
Now that's royally messed up! Small business protection my butt, that's another lie. She can rip that man a new butthole, pour gas in it, and set it on fire! Just get the right lawyer who doesn't have a biased opinion. It's time to get paid... On a side note, a publicity stunt is also in order. Any public parking lots near the business? Call local news and picket it to hell! OOOOO, I would be so angry and want to do some spite work. GRRRRR. Shut da mudder pucker down!
The First Amendment protects you from any such discrimination. It does not matter what state or federal law says about small businesses, the First Amendment overrules it all! Sue that bastard for his stupid little business and everything else he has, such bigotry has no place in our society!!!
Easily one of the most angering stories I've read. And its incredibly sad that it happens. People in positions of power (i.e. employers, doctors, etc) shouldn't be allowed to have one ounce of ignorance left in their system. This is a story that needs to get out. Call the news stations. If they'll run stories about families finding their pets, they oughtta run this. People NEED to hear this... and they need to do something about it.
Speaking as a Christian, I just have to say that what she went through is awful and the man has no excuse for his actions.
Interesting comments. Set him on fire? Pillage? Wow. And we don't even know his side of the story.
Don't get me wrong, the story as told is all too believable. Some 'Christians', who claim to follow a man who hung out with prostitutes and touched the lepers, treat folks who simply disagree as if they were Satan in the flesh. It's inexcusable.
But, what we have here so far is one atheist reporter's take on another atheist's version of a certain turn of events. No mention of the Doc's side of things. It's to both the reporter's and Amanda's benefit to tell the story as it is. Maybe Amanda wasn't the model employee she portrays herself as. Maybe she wasn't so quiet about her unbelief. We don't really know.
I'm not claiming to know that she was or wasn't, I'm just saying we only have half the tale and that's not enough to hang the man from the gallows.
Doug (last commenter)- if you actually read the article you would know I am posting the other side of the story early next week. I have taken as unbiased of a stance on this as possible to make sure the story has integrity. Be sure to look for the second half.
I did read it and saw that a part two was coming but I did miss the blurb in the first paragraph that indicated that part 2 would include his side of things. I'm glad and thanks for pointing that out.
Still, I find the hatred spewed toward him inappropriate, especially since we don't have his side yet, and more than a little ironic.
I know what you mean, everyone is going to react differently for a variety of reasons. Luckily I would say (and you could probably agree) that I don't actually expect any of my readers to go out and burn his house down or something just as dumb, but it is a very frustrating situation that needs attention.
i agree, i really wish this would make the news. especially since i'm sure you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who was fired or looked down upon in the workplace for being a christian...and you can only imagine the uprising if that were to happen. something should be done to alleviate this kind of ignorance; the injustice is absolutely infuriating. the day i get fired for having common sense is the day i quit that career and become a lawyer.
Of course the chiropractor's actions were wrong, but I hold out little hope that they will be "righted." First, Sen. Shapiro is not going to openly oppose the religious freight train in Texas that recently added "under God" to the Texas Pledge of Allegiance (and keeps the ban against atheists holding public office in the Texas Bill of Rights - interesting place to deny a group equal rights). Second, any free thinker should not expect rational treatment from a chiropractor who touts subluxation, energy channels, body reflex points, acupuncture and other such quackery on his website. This chiropractor treated his former employee very badly, but he tricks, cons and cheats people daily - but probably because he is a true believer in more than one magical belief.
State labor law in Texas is an embarrassment. We're like a 2nd or 3rd world country in that regard. It's really cruel and unusual punishment toward workers. It's a sadistic institution dominated by sadistic minds like Dr. Dawson's. He should be thrown in prison.
I hope this quack of a "doctor" gets what is coming to him. I truly hope he loses his practice and patients over this. Unfortunately, I see people who share his beliefs undoubtably commending him for his actions in ridding his office of the "evil atheist presence," and doubt it will affect his clientele base.
This quack is a pathetic excuse for a human being. If people like him are the only ones who supposedly end up in his mythical Heaven, then I wouldn't want to end up there.
Would that the Bill of Rights applied to the workplace.
At least our political structures are free of religious influence!
*ahem*
To Joshua: FWIW, the First Amendment applies to the federal government, not to private businesses. There is nothing "unconstitutional" about discrimination by private businesses. That's what labor laws are for. And apparently, in Texas, small businesses are unprotected.
I'd like to say that I'd boycott the chiro because of this, but I wouldn't visit a chiropractor anyway. And Dawson's website shows that he's one of the bad kind - he refers to "subluxations" (which don't exist), practices acupuncture, and thinks acupuncture has something to do with "energy flow" and thinks it treats conditions like glaucoma, heart trouble, and blood pressure.
Amanda, this guy is doing a disservice to his patients. My advice is to cut your losses, but be glad that you're out from under him. Not only was his pressure in the office completely inappropriate for you, but his actions are harmful for his patients.
I hope someday you can look back on this and be glad that you got out.
Imagine the backlash if a Christian were fired for being religious! This is truly incredible.
I live in South Africa and, as it happens, I work for a trade union. Our labour laws protect ALL employees, no matter what their occupation is and how big the company they work for. Also, the Bill of Rights in our Constitution does not allow discrimination of any kind.
I sat here and carefully read both part's of Kacy's article. I am Canadian and it shocks me to say that I still get blown way when I find out that our neighbours still have such poor attitudes to people being different. Amanda was correct in keeping her beliefs out of the workplace, that is no place for these hot topics unless you are actually employed by the Catholic Church for an example. My hopes and thoughts are with both Amanda and her husband during this difficult time, I wish her well. One last thing, having been raised in an extremely religous family, I find what Dr. Dawson's attitudes and actions to be very UNCHRISTIAN! I now have my own thoughts on the spiritual that tend to lean more to the First Nations and pagan ideas... they work the best, love and appreciate all!
You don't own your job.
If a person owns a small private business they can pretty much hire and fire people as they please (or as they need), without government intervention.
A large business (over 15 people, as indicated in the article) falls under diffrent laws.
Small businesses get special treatment, for two reasons. The first is that our government simply does not have the resources to maintain oversight on every time someone who owns a small business says "pack you stuff and get out".
The second is the idea that, in a small business, these people have to actually be around eachother alot.
I'll relate an example:
If someone owns an apartment complex, they cannot descriminate as to who rents their apartments.
However, if you own a house with an extra room, you can pick and choose any person to move in or not move in for any reason you like. You can post an AD on craigslist that is a racist and sexist and generally bigoted as you please.
What I mean to say is that, if a plumber is looking for an assistant, and that plumber is a member of the KKK, its probably for the best that de doesn't hire a black man.
What i'm getting at here, is the diffremce between what a person SHOULD do, and what they should HAVE TO do.
An owner of a small business SHOULD be even minded and fair, but it isn't up to the government to say that he HAS TO be that way.
It also isn't up to the government to say that people offended by this HAVE TO boycott and protest and hand out fliers about this injustice, but they SHUOLD.
I would venture to guess that this Chiropractor office did not have one of those "Equal Opportunity Employer" posters up in their break room. Look for pieces of paper like that, they are actually pretty important.
All the best to Amanda, I hope that she finds a job with people that she will actually enjoy, and I hope that Dr. Dawson is shown the error of his ways in a measured and meaningfull way.
Although I'm a christian, I still believe that people have the right to their beliefs as long as they don't try to change mine.. As long as Amanda did not mention her employer in her blog or try to convert patients to atheisim the Dr. is totally wrong in the firing. I wish Amanda a full recovery with or without god's help.
As long as people value their religion and their non-existent god more than other people, this sort of behaviour is to be expected. As the Bible itself says: "Matthew 10:34 Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword. 10:35 For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, 10:36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household."
Mr Dawson is merely o
vogan2-
There's no such thing as converting people to atheism. Atheism is a descriptive word, not a religion. Most are atheists because they recognize evolution and all the discrepancies of the Bible and other religions and their texts, that happen to prove nothing at all about where the universe came from. Knowledge and acceptance of these things lead to atheism, no convincing is necessary.
Unfortunately this is no uncommon.
Amanda should jump for joy! She's free from working for a closed minded, delusional bible thumper!
I, too, worked for a famous pizza chain. After the management found that I was atheist I was treated poorly and given terrible sections of the restaurant. I was a star employee. It's their loss.
Who Say's Who Story Is True, But I will Say If Her Boss Did Do This,Then Shame On Him As A Christian, And He Will Have To Answer For It One Day, And I Thank God At My Job I Work With All Christians. Just Because one christian Did Something Wrong Does Not Mean That All Christians are like that and should not be judged for somone eles mistake. I thank god that he is my only judge and I dont care what others think !! Just because you are a christian does not mean that you are perfect and dont make
A god-believer AND a chiropractor? That guy's a double-quack
That last comment is absolutely hilarious.
To Amanda, My Heavenly Father is My Healer . Who Is Your Healer? God Can be your Healer to. I Have seen God Heal at first hand. My Bible tell me to put my Burdens on Him to take care of. Satan is the aurthor of confussion !!
Vickie,
Religion is synonymous with ignorance as evidenced by your unfamiliarity with proper english.
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