Interview with an Atheist
Dateline: April 29, 1999
Part 2:
*What was the initial reaction of other students? people in the community? (feel free to quote liberally from newspapers, private conversations, etc.)
The initial reaction of the students was anger and fear. These were generally the two emotions that i saw people have towards the club. The classic "Burn in hell" was written on an Atheist Club sign. I was passed a note which said "Atheists are faggots." One teacher likened the formation of the club to the formation of an aryan nation club in front of her class. One girl cried when she realized i was the one who started the club. Another student was so frightened by the fact i was an atheist, he told me a few weeks ago that he was originally afraid to look at me. Prior the atheist club formation, i wore atheist shirts, that i made myself, such as "god is dead" etc. A good friend me mine now, told me that when he first saw the shirt it scared him horribly.
The reaction of the bible study members was little or nothing, since most of them were already aware the club was forming. I challenged the president of the bible study to a debate, and he turned me down because he didn't want to have people lose faith. But other than that, they have tried to ignore me. Some of the more fundamentalist kids handed out crazy christian literature. Asking for people to be saved etc.
The reaction of teachers has been to ignore the fact i started the club. Only teachers that i am friendly with have ever even mentioned the atheist club in front of me. A lot of teachers discussed the club with their class, and there were many class debates in various classes. However, none have talked to me.
*I take it that doing this is very unusual - debating the formation of a club with classes in which the topic probably isn't relevant. How do you feel about that? Any idea how those debates went?
I only worry about those students who may support the club but must deal with teachers who come out openly against the atheist club. Teachers should have been objective in such situations, learned the facts, and then discussed it with the class. But since i was never approached by any teacher trying to find out the real story, and have heard many bad stories about teachers and their comment's, i can only assume that many were extremely biased.
There are students in the school who think what i did was cool. I have had people tell me they thought it was awesome, and although they couldn't come to the club, they hoped it would succeed.
Community reaction is hard to measure. Most people in my dad's work have been encouraging. However there are those people who hate what i have done. Attached is the electronic version of an anonymous letter my friend received after being in the newspaper with me. I also received a call from a concerned christian. I talked to her for about thirty minutes mainly because she was the clearest example of disgusting christianity. She was a former-drug user who is now a Pentacostal christian that "speaks in tongues." She told me she was "concerned for my soul" and that i should worry about the Marilyn Manson fans because if they came to the club they would pray to satan and he would pull me over to the evil side. She also told me about a time she saw demons come out of her bedroom door. I think she was crazy.
All in all i find that most people are afraid to argue with me, and mostly talk about me behind my back. Many a friend has related conversations they have had about me to me.
*So, you don't anticipate any reprisals, like at work? That has occasionally happened, but appears to not be a problem here...
No, he hasn't had any troubles at work.
*But do you have any personal fears?
Not anymore.
*How many members do you have? All atheists? Have many others "come out of the closet" since you went public?
We have about 5 to 6 members. I have cemented at least one junior's atheism personally, but he hasn't "come out of the closet." . Most members either don't want people to know, or were already telling people. There is a lot of social stigmatism against the atheist club, and it is understandable that people don't want to deal with it. The student who's atheism i cemented was asked repeatedly, after appearing in a newspaper article with me, whether he was an atheist. His mother was told at work that she should invite a priest over to bring her son back to god. And when he told her he didn't know if he believed in god, she broke down in tears. Most students cannot handle that type of reaction, so they either quietly support the club, or attend and not tell people that they do so.
*Have members been able to be like a "support group" for others like the one you discuss above?
The club hasn't served that purpose yet.
*What do you actually do in a meeting, anyway? Debate? Plan? Sacrifice small animals? :)
We are still trying to figure out what we should be doing in meetings. Basically i'll pass out a topic beforehand, along with papers about it, and we will discuss the topic at the meeting. We also try to plan what the club should do in the future, and sometimes entertain comments by angry students from outside the club. I have been unable to find any student willing to debate me in front of the club, including the most active bible club members, which i find dissapointing.
*Why on earth would you bother with such a thing? What do you hope to accomplish?
Well, i hope to accomplish a couple things. First i hope to make people realize that separation of church and state, and equal access is completely ignored in at least one part of the country. I wanted to point out, through the difficulty i had, that religious fundamentalism is slowly taking away our freedoms. The law in this case was clear cut, and yet i couldn't form the club, until i got a lawyer. Second i wanted to use my experiences to help other students who want to form high school clubs. I will be doing this by working for Campus Freethought Alliance. Third i want to show that atheism is a completely rational and defendable philosophy. And even in the heart of Grand Blanc Michigan, not a single christian student has won any debate against atheism with me. Students know that i am always ready to argue a point, i have made my intentions to debate about god clear and open, and none have taken the opportunity, and those i have asked have said no. That, in my mind, is the biggest rip on christianity, that it cannot even be defended intellectually by christians. Also, I hope to be a defender of some of the other things that are being rejected by fundamentlists, specifically evolution and rationalism. And finally i wanted to open up some public debate and force people to question their beliefs. And this too has happened, there are still letters to the editor about atheism in the local paper.
*What sort of aid/assistance have you gotten from any local/national organizations? Have they been helpful, or have they been at a loss as to what to do with you?
Americans United for Separation of Church and State supplied my a lawyer named Ayesha Khan who was extremely supportive and kind. She spent a lot of time working with me, and is the main, if not only, reason i have the club today.
American Atheists president Ellen Johnson gave me a phone call of support, and we are affiliated with their group. Also they sent materials
Council for Secular Humanism has sent me materials and i am in contact with Amanda Chesworth now. I plan on helping them with their YFA (Young Freethinkers Alliance) and will be at the conference in Chicago from May 13-16.
I find that there is no real formal well thought out organization which supports atheist clubs. However i think the YFA will change all that, and i'll be working with them to launch their program.
Well, that's the end of the interview - as we can see, Micah has had to struggle with quite a bit in starting his club, but he's managed to be successful anyway. We should all do what we can to help such clubs get off the ground in our local areas. If you want to help Micah, be sure to visit his website. If you want to try and help other youth groups, contact the groups mentioned above!
Don't miss the other section:
Part 1: Starting the Club
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