When my eleven year old
daughter got home from middle school on the afternoon of May 28,
she looked rather perplexed, and was holding something Orange. She
then told me, “When I was leaving school today there were these two
old men stopping kids and giving them these Bibles.” Now as we
have taught her to avoid strangers trying to give her things this
concerned me. She told me that they basically would block the
sidewalk in front of their chosen targets and would not leave them
alone until they took one of the proffered New Testaments. Well,
needless to say I was immediately both angry and deeply concerned. I
called the police, strapped on some hardware and got ready to head up
there, and called the school. I was amazed to find the school knew
all about these people as they had been warned in advance they would
be there.
Now, I was doubly
angry. The school claims that they sent warning e-mails to parents,
I check my e-mail 3-5 times every day and I never got one. They also
claim that they warned students over the PA system at school, my
daughter never heard it. These people were members of the Gideons
International, the people who place Bibles in your hotel room. Yet
the school did not see fit to have someone out observing these
people. Recently there have been several cases of people handing our
biblical literature and then kidnapping children down south, and
knowing these people were going to be there, I find it unconscionable
that the school did not send out some adult to watch, and protect the
kids knowing these people would be there.
What do the Gideons
think they are doing accosting children outside their schools? This
is sick, wrong, dangerous, and immoral as can be. Parents and
schools spend years drilling stranger danger into our kids, we do our
best to train kids to avoid adults they do not know, and never to
take anything from them, and this organization thinks it is apropos
to intimidate children into taking their religious literature? Worse
yet our school system, knowing these people would be there doing this
damaging act do not see fit to send an observer. I am really, really
angry and will be contacting our prosecutor to see if there are any
possible charges that can be brought. I will also be contacting the
Gideons, more than the e-mail I have already sent, and I am still
waiting for the Assistant Principle from her school to call me back.
I will be contacting our superintendent tomorrow about these policies
as well.
I also contacted the
Midland Daily News and told them what had happened. They never
contacted me back either. I am sure that is because their Editor,
Jack Telfer, who seems to think his role is to save our souls and
convert us to his brand of Christianity rather than to deliver the
news, probably thinks this is a great idea by the Gideons anyway.
I am really, really
angry about this.