Metroplex Atheists
"If you're interested in us, we're interested in you!"

In the beginning, god made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards.

-- Mark Twain

On August 23, Metroplex Atheists distributes book covers with quotes from American Presidents next to Biblical instructions on treatment of slaves and keeping of wives as property.

Exodus 20:10 (New Revised Standard)
But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son
or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.

Exodus 20:17 (New Revised Standard)
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or
female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. .

Here's a quick summary of the drama so far. . .

1. Grand Prairie school board approves distribution of Ten Commandments book covers in schools.
2. Metroplex Atheists chairpeople decide to distribute their own book covers complete with American Atheists logo, a quote from Madalyn Murray O'Hair, and quotes from American Presidents supporting church-state separation.
3. Metroplex Atheists officially submits book covers.
4. Following their own policy, the book covers are turned down. There was no response after 24 hours, which district policy states is equivalent to rejection.
5. On channel 5 news, a member of the school board objects to the content and says that the covers "will have to be edited".
6. One day later, the board reverses its decision and approves the covers, claiming in on AM 820 news that the problem had to do with "distribution", not with the content of the covers. All that was required was to submit actual covers so they could verify that they were the same as the fax submitted. The covers were hand-delivered the same day.
7. The board approves the covers for distribution.
8. Several Metroplex Atheists members distribute covers in the schools.

Here's the cover that caused so much trouble. Click on it for a larger version so you can read the evil contained within!

Several people have asked us how to get book covers for themselves, to give their kids or to present to their own school boards as a warning of what they're getting into. You can now order some of our covers here. All proceeds go to Metroplex Atheists.

A group of Metroplex Atheist members, Randall Gorman, Brian McIntosh, David Penn, and John and Shelly Hattan, met at a local Denny’s restaurant to figure out the best game plan for distribution.

We each had 5 or 6 schools to distribute the covers. Grand Prairie Independent School District has over 15,000 students. There are 28 schools total in the district: 2 High Schools, 6 Middle Schools, and 18 Elementary Schools.

Our first drop was done at Grand Prairie High School. All five members attended the drop so we could show the procedure to our volunteers. Tawnell Hobbs of the Star Telegram met us in the school parking lot and asked us questions about the covers. A photographer met us at the door as we went into the school.

A Grand Prairie police officer greeted us at the door and escorted us to the principals office. Buddy Berry, came out of his office and met us outside his office. I presented him with the permission slip I received from the Assistant Superintendent, and he asked us to wait out in the hallway while he called to verify the letter. He came back out and asked me to leave the book covers with him. I told him that I would prefer to place the book covers next to the Ten Commandments book covers. He said that he would do it for us. I then told him I wanted the same access to the public area Ms. Weigman was afforded. He asked me, “You don't trust me?” I restated that I wanted the same access to the public distribution area in which Ms. Weigman was allowed. He then escorted me to the school library, cleared a space for our book covers and watched as we placed the covers on top of a low bookcase. I shook his hand and thanked him for his time.

We then proceeded out of the library and out of the school.

We then split up and each volunteer visited his or her assigned schools. John and I went to South Grand Prairie High and received a similar response. The Assistant principal insisted we leave the covers with him, and we insisted to be allowed to place the covers in the library ourselves. A teacher's aide was called in to escort us up to the library. Once we were in the library, the librarian showed us where the Ten Commandments book covers were located and we put our book covers right next to them. The principal showed up at this time, and helped us straighten up the area where the book covers were located. John started taking pictures, and the principal asked why. We told him that we were going to post the photos on our web site. He said the permission slip allowed us to distribute the book covers, but it did not allow us to take pictures inside the school. I asked if Ms. Weigman was allowed in the school with a camera crew in tow (as we saw her on one of the local television news stories) The principal stated that the camera crews were not allowed in his school and we were not allowed to use the photo without District approval.

All the District people handled us with great professionalism and courtesy. I spoke with all the volunteers and they had very little trouble distributing the book covers. We found out from one of the Assistant vice principals that a principals meeting was held the day before to discuss how to handle our arrival. Judging on the reception we received, the District really didn't properly follow their policy with Ms. Weigman as some principals said that they never had a “designated” area for non-school materials until recently. It appears that Ms. Weigman pretty-much got to dictate herself where the covers went, as every school had a different policy.

Looking back at all this, John & I never thought this issue would garner so much attention. We did this because we didn’t like the fact that our neighborhood schools were fostering an environment that encourages kids to separate into yet another sub-group. It's the “us verses them” mentality, which really doesn't foster a good learning environment.

So why does this bother me so much? Well, if there has been a common theme throughout the latest schoolyard shootings, it's that of exclusion. The shooters felt alienated in some fashion or another.

The school children of this country need safe and neutral places to learn. Let's keep the Ten Commandments out of our schools.

Now here's a scary bunch. At a local Denny's, the Evil Atheist Conspiracy figures out the latest methods for corrupting America's youth.

First stop was Grand Prairie High, the largest of the two high schools in the city. There we met with Tawnell Hobbs, a reporter for the Dallas Morning News who had been covering the story for a while. Once we got in the school, we met with Melissa Sterzick, a reporter for the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

First me met with principal Berry of Grand Prairie High. To call our reception chilly would be an understatement. It was clear that he didn't want us around. He did not want us to see where the Ten Commandments covers were, and he wanted us out ASAP. When Shelly made it clear that she wanted the same access as the person distributing the Ten Commandments covers, he complied, escorting us to the library.

Principal Berry reluctantly makes space for the Metroplex Atheists covers.

Brian and Shelly pose with a couple of the Ten Commandments covers that were available. Needless to say, the Commandments on the covers were edited a bit from the ones that appear in the Bible. The reference in the fourth commandment to giving your slave the day off was removed. Also, the reference to "wife" in the list of property in the tenth commandment (second after the house) was conspicuously absent.

The only other covers that were available in the schools were ones put together by the school itself. The ones in the high school had ads for local trade schools. The ones in the grade schools had ads for orthodontists.

After the Grand Prairie High adventure, the group split up. Randy, Brian, and David all headed out to different parts of the city to drop off covers. Shelly, John, and one reporter continued to the other high school in town.

The reception at South Grand Prairie was as chilly as the original. The vice-principal (pictured) shook his head the entire time, eventually calling a teaching assistant to escort us to the library.

Once we got to the library, we found the covers in boxes in the corner. There was no other place to put 'em, so we just dropped 'em on top of one stack. There were several other open boxes, so we figured nobody would think we were trying to restrict access to the other covers.

After we dropped off the covers here, the principal arrived. Strangely enough, he objected to us taking pictures.

This wasn't a very good picture, but we're putting it on the page anyway, just because the principal said we couldn't :)

Everybody got all the covers distributed. Shelly's last, and weirdest, stop was at Bonham Elementary. Once the secretary found out we were from Metroplex Atheists, she refused to say another word to us, gesturing out to the hall where the principal was talking to a student. Shelly spoke to the principal for a bit, and he was quite sympathetic. He understood why we were doing what we were doing, and he agreed that this kind of thing simply doesn't belong in schools. We'll see. . .