Freshwater case creates hostile student body

Previously, I had commented on the John Freshwater case at Mount Vernon Middle School in Ohio. Briefly, Mr. Freshwater, a science teacher, had a Bible on his desk, was asked to remove it by the administration, and refused. Members of the community came out in support of him. His refusal may seem innocuous, but later on, we found out that Mr. Freshwater also posted the Ten Commandments, proselytized to his students, and branded (1) his students with the sign of the cross.

As if Mr. Freshwater hasn't been causing enough trouble with his behavior, his refusal to back down is exposing the extreme religious intolerance of some members of the Mount Vernon student body:

"My daughter Arie told me about a Jewish child who brought his Torah to school when other students brought Bibles in support of Freshwater,” [Beth Murdoch] continued. “He thought he was supporting freedom of religious expression, and the other kids just ripped him apart. ‘What are you doing?’ they asked. ‘You can’t support Mr. Freshwater, you’re Jewish.’ So they don’t get it.

“I don’t think people realize the depth of what’s going on between the students. It’s a mob mentality right now. It’s peer pressure. To not wear a T-shirt and to not bring your Bible when they say bring your Bible and wear a T-shirt, you’re asking for trouble.”

Murdoch said one of Arie’s friends wore a T-shirt to school that read, “I don’t need to wear a special T-shirt to be a Christian.” That individual was reportedly pushed into the lockers and called a “stupid atheist b****.”

Love thy neighbor indeed.

Certainly this isn't Mr. Freshwater's fault; his case simply brought a bubbling torrent of anger to the surface. It would be all too easy to blame this intolerance on the Christian religion; but that would be as crazy as, say, blaming Darwin for the Holocaust. The students responsible for such behavior are not doing it because of their religion, but in spite of their religion.

Nevertheless, the anger is there; and I think we know from whence it comes.

(1) Yes, branded. Hot metal, human flesh. That sort of branding.