Episode 49: No Quarter Asked, None Given

Author's Note/Disclaimer: After having read the articles from various sites, I have elected to post my own blog on this matter. This particular event is the type that does get under my skin and inspires me from time to time to actually put something on record about it. Comments are welcome, however, Freedom of Speech is limited to Adults who can act like Civil Adults. Should you decide that namecalling or ad hominem attacks on other posters is something that you're more into, proceed no further and leave now. If I read snark or any other type of negativity in a post, implied or otherwise, it will be deleted upon first contact. Post your own blog elsewhere if that's what you want. Simply put, I will let you post and discuss but nothing more. There will not be a war here.

Cruising through Facebook on my phone earlier tonight when I had a spare moment, I came across a blurb written about a fellow Louisianian who decided to shake some trees and rock some boats.

Damon Fowler, if you Google his name is being hailed as an "Atheist Hero" for standing up for his own beliefs.

The story here is that Fowler was about to graduate high school and, prior to the graduation ceremony that takes place at the end of every child's permanent end of his adult-imposed academic career, threatened to have the ACLU file suit on his behalf if the prayer was not taken out of said ceremony. This event happened in none other than Bastrop, Louisiana. Since then, there have been claims that students have threatened him with physical violence, he was supposedly belittled by a teacher and his parents have disowned him.

So what happened? Well the Atheist community stepped in and took "poor" Damon in, welcoming him with open arms. Now, they hail him as a hero.

*Insert Record Scratch Noise Here*

...not so fast.

First, let me list my own qualifications. Formerly from Louisiana having been removed for only two and a half years, I can honestly say that I know where Damon is coming from. I can identify with the guy but before I go there, allow me to say that I was actually part of the status quo at the time. I grew up Catholic, later converted into a Baptist Church. During that time, I was osctracized by my fellow students and some teachers because of three huge, glaring facts. I grew my hair out, I wore black because I still, to this day don't want to spend my time wondering what color shirts match X Color pants or shoes and I committed the huge no-nos of playing Dungeons & Dragons, listening to Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax. I too have been threatened with physical violence and sometimes, it wasn't just idle threats. I went through my own period of my musical tastes becoming darker and darker as well as my perceived sense of style. I lived in a town far smaller than Bastrop and played with fire, figuratively speaking, by openly wearing baphomet t-shirts on a regular basis. I've been in some pretty hard knock-down, drag-'em-out fights that bordered on Deadly.

I could ask where my articles were hailing me a hero for the disenfranchised or the different but I'm willing to concede that I was, most likely, a victim of my own time period when the internet and social media weren't as pervasive as they are today.

The point...well, it's the same point Denis Leary once made when he said, "Hey, life sucks! Get a fuckin' helmet!"

Let's go for a minute on this unconstitutional train of thought for a minute, shall we? As most who know me know, I actually worked in a state prison for the better part of a decade. We had one Atheist officer there who regularly would converse with me. Not because I was Atheist myself but because, unlike most, I was an Asatru Pagan. That's Norse Mythology for the uninitiated (i.e. Odin, Thor, Loki, Fenris). During roll call one evening, our Captain decided to lead us all in prayer. The Atheist officer became infuriated. He addressed it with our Captain at the time and decided to drop my name into the mix. Those I could trust with my spirituality, I did with the understanding that it was kept amongst ourselves. No outsider knowledge. Kept us all very polite on the job and kept a mutual respect going. I hope you've been paying attention because this will come up again. If not, read this last paragraph carefully before moving on.

That night, The Captain did make an apology toward me, bringing up that he had spoken with this Atheist and that he felt as though he may have offended me. I found the idea humorous and assured him that there was no offense taken on my part. Carry on, El Capitan, I'm all good.

The Atheist made repeated calls to my station that night. At first it was urging me to join in on his petition. Toward the end of the night, it bordered harrassment. I lost a lot of respect for the man that night. I didn't feel slighted in any way, shape or form. During the prayer of the Christians, I noted that perhaps they might have felt as though one god was enough but I was calling in reinforcements of my own. As far as I was concerned, we were going in and I would definitely need Odin and Thor's help that night. I may have very well been right. As far as I was concerned he had no right speaking for me. I have a mouth. I have a mind. Both of them are mind and I am able to make them function in unison. I had no qualms about telling him he was on his own and had been since he dropped my name rather than approach me with a rational argument first.

He won on his little petition and found himself working towers or the front gate because no one wanted to work with him. In an environment such as the one a prison presents, respect is everything. I may not like the person I have to work with but if I don't respect him, then I'm losing valuable support in a time of crisis and vice versa.

Seems like I'm digressing? I'm not. Patience young Skywalker.

So, I've suffered backlash as did the officer with whom I worked and young Fowler here.

Remember when I mentioned Baphomet T-shirts? Sounds kinda odd for a Norse Pagan doesn't it? Well that's because later, I converted into the LaVeyan form of Satanism. I followed those teaching pretty closely. I mean it was pretty easy to do. It was Atheism Roleplaying with Archetypes. Secular humanism live action roleplay is what I've come to call it, in grim retrospect. I also had the angry attitude that went with it.

The point here is that none of the above helped my situation at all. Keep in mind, once it's locked into the minds of small town folk that you're up to something, the old saying of "where there's smoke, there's fire" applies whether it's true or not.

Now, in my current age, I find myself a little more level-headed than before. Since I've moved out of Louisiana and out to a somewhat more populated area, I find that I can still dress the same way and no one dares bat an eyelash at it because there are people here dressed in more extremes than I'll ever have the want or desire to meet. In fact, here, I'm normal. When I tell my story, I get more laughter than ever. The comment that draws the most laughter is when I call that small town Darwin's Waiting Room.

So now that I've fully qualified myself on matters of religion and standing your ground, I have this to offer.

Damon Fowler is no hero. Not at all. I know that you may applaud him and I am one to encourage anyone to stand up for what they believe in or don't but allow me to appeal to the mind of a rational thinker.

We can sit here and argue right and wrong until we're all black and white and red all over. We can duke it out verbally and it won't change a single thing.

When it comes to nature and the law of natural selection, we can always see one thing ringing true without controversy. That one thing can be summed up in seven simple words.

Being Right Is Not A Bulletproof Vest.

Damon felt that he was right to stand up and point out what was actually codified law and I can concede that but Damon overlooked something more important that propagating this species. Damon, did you bother taking into consideration your survival?

If you subscribe to the thought process that Damon sacrificed everything he had for what was right and true then I have this to offer.

First, five years out of high school, no one gives a care in the world what you've done or haven't done unless it made you a sports celebrity.

Second, the whole thing might have taken five minutes and then everyone could have gone on with their lives

Third, No one ever stated that anyone had to join in the prayer. You'd have been well within your rights to admire a nearby bird if it caught your eye.

Fourth, it's pretty obvious that, if God truly does not exist (or a multitude thereof) then these people were happy to make fools of themselves for a moment praying to the air in the sky. Is that really that painful?

Fifth, Look around. If you can honestly say that you didn't expect this type of backlash in the Buckle of The Bible Belt then your perception of your environment was so heavily skewed from the beginning. The only one suffering from that delusion is you.

I will concede that the reaction to this event may not be right but have a little observational awareness here. Certainly, any rational person wouldn't march themselves into a minefield without any type of training and not expect to get blown up. If you're of the mind that the mines shouldn't blow up when you begin stepping on them, you don't deserve my pity and you certainly won't get me hailing you a hero. Any rational, thinking human being would have simply grown up and let it go, take it to court later or just take it to court. No kid's games of, "I'm gonna tell!"

Why do I refuse to call him a hero? Look, don't get me wrong, I respect that he believes he did what he thought was right but I'm not about to genuflect here. Simply put, if he is surprised at the blowback, then obviously this wasn't very well thought out in the least.

I back anyone's right to do as they see fit. If you see a wrong and you wish to right it, by all means, go for it and go for broke but look at your environment and ask yourself if it might not be a little more wise to formulate another plan of attack. If you choose to run into the minefield with no training, go for it, young man but don't count on me to come pull your legless shell from the field when one of those things explodes...you're on your own.

Let's go back to where it seemed like I was digressing. Was I well within my rights to openly flaunt my alternative beliefs at the time? Yep! Should I be able to do that without harrassment, Oh yeah, absolutely! Was Damon right in the legal sense? Yep. Should the school have simply backed down gracefully and realized that Damon had them in a legal checkmate? You bet. Did any of what we did help our respective situations at all? No. Not saying it's right but it's one of those things that both of us should have been thinking about. We set about on paths when we're young and stupid and we don't think of the consequences. Kid, sorry about your damn luck but hey, join the club. You don't whine about your station and I damn sure don't see any groups coming after me to bang down my door making retroactive reparations or even paying lip service to my former plight. You did this in Louisiana. You made your bed. It might suck but you'll have to sleep there.

As Carlin once put it, we all have a basic survival instinct and this survival instinct is far more important than procreation. Just like when a Gazelle runs like a PCP-feuled funny car driven by Cruz Pedragon on a NASCAR speedway when a lion is chasing it, it's not shameful to take stock of your situation. Don't take my word for it, read up on Sun Tzu sometime or Myamoto Musashi for a little insight on survival. No one ever intentionally puts themselves in harm's way unless they know there's a higher than likely chance upon which their lifestyle will be infringed.

In the case of my former hometown of Natural Selection Waiting To Happen, Louisiana, I rolled the dice and left. I took a huge risk and yes, it was thought out and calculated. It was also called crazy but it happened. Now I fly a middle finger in their faces proudly as the East Coast accepted me with open arms. Still, if it's one thing I know it's that I'll just leave the mutants living there to their business; no quarter asked, and certainly none given.