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American
Atheists:
AA NEWS
#1213
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7/8/06
http://www.atheists.org
http://www.americanatheist.org
http://www.atheistviewpoint.tv
From the
AA NEWS Editor:
Below, we are reproducing, "as is" and un-edited, the
account circulating on the internet and the democraticunderground.com
web site penned by Chester Smalkowski and aptly titled
"Just Another Salem."
It is his personal story about the ordeal he and has family have
been swept up in after their daughter, Nadia, refused to join a
prayer circle during a basketball game at their local high
school. Nadia, instead, recited the "godless"
Pledge of Allegiance.
[Note: The minister who wrote the Pledge did not mention
religion or a deity so that we would have a tribute to the flag
that belonged to the flag alone. That was changed when, during
the Eisenhower administration, the Knights of Columbus
insisted "under God" be added to the Pledge and
"E Pluribus Unum" be replaced with "In God We
Trust" on our coinage. -Steve]
From there, events went out of control. Chester Smalkowski
and family members attempted to hold a conversation with the
high school principal. That turned into a physical
altercation, Mr. Smalkowski was arrested under a battery of
charges, and the authorities offered to dismiss the case if the
Atheist family fled the state.
American Atheists joined in the subsequent criminal case, and
Chester Smalkowski -- battling incredible "Bible Belt"
odds in the courtroom -- was found innocent of the charges.
News of that can be found on the American Atheists web site at http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/smalko1.htm
.
Edwin Kagin (ekagin@atheists.org),
National Legal Director for American Atheists, is preparing a
federal action which will touch on a number of issues in the
Smalkowski case including violations of this Atheist family's
civil rights.
Chester Smalkowski vented his thoughts about this experience on
a blog. AANEWS is reproducing this story for the benefit
of our readers, unedited and in its original format. This
conveys the honest, emotional, "from the heart"
sentiments of Mr. Smalkowski, and constitutes one man's
recollection of an agonizing experience due to religious
intolerance and fanaticism.
American Atheists welcomes support so that we may continue our
efforts on behalf of Chester Smalkowski and his family.
There are lessons to be learned. Perhaps the most
important, though, is that "it can happen here," in
America, in the year 2006.
-- Conrad Goeringer,
AANEWS - American Atheists
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&
forum= 173&topic_id=1263&mesg_id=1790
The bailiff took the piece of paper from the foreman of the jury
and handed it to the Judge. He opened the paper and while
staring at it he nodded. The courtroom was silent and the
jury stared straight ahead.
I have been in many situations where my life or limb were on the
line but I was still in the game and had a hand to play.
But not here, here I just sat waiting for the verdict.
Though I worried about being sent away for five years on bogus
charges, my dread was the Christian mob. They knew I must
be found guilty in order to slow or stop the civil case being
filed in Federal court. Since the start of my daughter's
stand against the public schools disregard for the law of the
land, it was imperative to run us out of the county to make any
civil action non valid. With me in jail for five years
running my family out would be a whole lot easier, or so they
might have thought.
The courtroom was packed, for it is the Bible belt; there was no
love in this courtroom.
The loving Christians brought their children to hear the
verdict. They brought the town. They brought
ministers. I even saw another Judge in the back of the
room, the Judge who in an earlier hearing while slapping an inch
thick stack of papers on his bench saying with a list of
witnesses this big you had better be a good boy. It was
lies then, it was lies now and the DA knew it! (She was
later forced to hand over a written statement she denied for
over a year existed!) People prayed openly for a
conviction. Many holding their bibles. During the
trial the Prosecutions side of the courtroom was packed.
Only my son and Edwin Kagin's wife, Helen sat behind me, but now
there was not enough room in the whole courtroom.
Yet now for the so-called victim ... the 325 pound ex-Marine ...
hurrahs were nowhere to be found. Neither was the woman
assistant district attorney anywhere to be found. The
woman whose vindictive, bogus case this was from the start.
What sort of place is this?
Well this is not the place for a little debate in a coffee shop
with the sweet salt air rolling up from San Francisco bay.
This is a place where the children write on their schoolbooks
"the south will rise again." This is a place
where they say that black people caused slavery! Where
they burn rock CD's. Mormons are the tools of Satan.
That my daughter is "gay," because only homosexuals
vote for Kerry and Christians vote for Bush. Atheists
worship Satan! Where religious fanaticism is fused with
political rhetoric and political leaders pander to this
madness. This place has a sickness, a malignant disease
and it is spreading. Edwin saw it first hand.
There have not been many trials with a Not Guilty verdict in
this county in some years. The head DA is good friends
with the self-righteous in the courtroom and greets them all by
name. You know the type.
Many old women in the courtroom are taking notes. Others
have been taking notes at every hearing for the past year and a
half! They strain to listen, not wanting to miss one juicy
word. With pen and pad, they write continuously; the pads
shaking with every push of the pen, even writing down what my
children spoke amongst themselves.
Blue-gray-haired old Christian spinsters bitter for wasting all
those fruitful years now just waiting for those pearly
gates. These are truly the wicked. You have seen
them before. With their bogus self-righteousness they
strut and sneer. How far we have not come.
Others had walked out into the hall and warned a police witness,
saying that justice must be served, that justice better
be served. The judge called a hearing on the threat.
He warned the crowd that if it happens one more time he would
have no choice but to throw out the case. He was between a
rock and a hard place. He knows my lawyers are watching
and the loving Christians are out for my blood, and they are
watching too. The law, elections and politics were all in
play. The Judge left the court for his chambers and stayed
away for a quite awhile.
The Christians, the loving Christians! Praying to a God
whose wings man has dipped in the blood of innocent men, woman
and children down through the ages. Truly hypocrisy is one
of their commandments and the blood of the innocent one of their
sacraments!
Christian against Christian, Christian against Moslem, Christian
against Mormon. Basically, Christian against anyone or
anything that challenges their pathetic little fairy tale.
Go to any Indian reservation and see the lies and broken
promises by a country with "Under God" in their
pledge.
I assume I need not explain about the loving hymns sung in
church on Sunday, and then the beatings of black slaves on
Monday. But on Monday night the good old Master has a
little tippy-toe over to slave huts for a little "brown
sugar" while the queen of the manor is in the master
bedroom passed out on an opium tonic. Praise the Lord!
Well, that was then, but now the court was about to hear the
verdict. There was a feeding frenzy about to begin with
the dirty little atheist and his family put in their place, with
him in jail and the family run out of town. Like the
teacher told my daughter, "This is a Christian country and
if you don't like it get out!"
I could hear my heart beat in my ears and I dreaded the cheers
from the righteous mob that were about to begin. The pain
of having my family being in the front row to witness this
swirling cesspool of hatred come to its inevitable end with my
head on a pike, sucked the air right out of my lungs.
It was truly just another Salem. Different time, different
place, same characters, new names. Oh, no gallows or big
oak tree this time. But if they could they surely
would. How far we have not come. I know, I already
said that, but do you really understand what a tragedy it
is? The whole universe is ours if we want it, but instead
we must grovel in the dirt to debate the obvious.
I have been standing against injustice most of my life. It
is my nature. I am a child of the 60's and proud of
it. But what of my poor family? They stood so proud
and strong. They are tougher than I will ever be. I
had told them don't cry, don't give these bastards any
satisfaction. I told my wife, "if I see you cry I
will surely loose it." I said, "it's in the
Federal courts we will set things right and send that wall
higher than it has ever been." On the wall behind us
was a painting of the signing of the Declaration. The
judge handed the verdict to the clerk. The only sound was
the paper. The paper in the clerk's hands with the hand
written words that spelled my doom, my family's fate and the
inevitable cheers from the Christian mob.
With my guts in my throat and no air to breathe. The court
clerk read the decision of the jury.
"We the jury find the defendant, on the charge of
Aggravated Assault and Battery, 'Not Guilty!'
"On the charge of Assault and Battery, 'Not Guilty!'
"On the charge of Assault, 'Not Guilty!'
"On the charge of Battery, 'Not Guilty!'"
Not a word, not a sound.
The lynching had been cancelled. I took my first free
breath in almost two years. I looked at the jury and
mouthed the words, "thank you." I gazed at the
floor as floodgates opened, I dared not move my head that others
might see. Charley don't cry, but free air has its
effects. With all their praying, lies, crooked cops,
warning that justice better be done, packing the courthouse with
their followers; even a teacher on the jury who had taught at
the Hardesty School (our motion to take her off the jury
denied), "Not Guilty" was still the outcome. The
evidence was obvious. This was a bad case. And
12 men and women had the guts.
From the start of this legal fight my lawyers said Atheism must
be kept out. That it was a no go in the Bible belt.
I was just adamant that Atheism be brought in, for it is the
reason. It was the motive for all the lies and hate.
I felt it was about time that this dirty little secret of hate,
persecution, Christian madness and hypocrisy is brought out into
the light of day. When I told my lawyers this they all
gave me the same bewildered stare.
So one by one, I dropped one lawyer, then two. Then I had
a hard time in finding another one. My third lawyer was
still trying to convince me to keep my atheism out even up till
the day of the trial. I still said no. Somewhere
along the line I talked to the ACLU out of San Francisco, who
let me know my first civil lawyer was not telling me the whole
story. I was advised by them and many others to complain
to the Bar about him.
You see, he never told me that the prayer in itself is illegal,
or that the schools in this area were not following the state
and federal funding guidelines. When I asked him after
finding out from the ACLU, he said, yes, it is against the law.
I told him I want to have it stopped. He told me he would
not for he was a Christian and he believed there should be
school prayer. His statement floored me for it bordered on
madness. I said what you believe and what you do for a
client is two different things and that you took an oath.
He still refused. It did not matter to him that I had
already given him $10,000 dollars. He knows we are not
rich. So I wrote a letter to him to complain about his
refusing to take my daughter's civil case where it should have
gone from the start. And I asked for my money back.
He sent me a bill for another $5,000 saying it was the charge
for reading my letter and wasting his time.
In my search for a civil attorney it became clear that no one
would touch this case. In all of Oklahoma I could not find
an attorney. My criminal attorney said he would look at it
but only after I paid him his $15,000 for the criminal
case. He sent me a letter that the funds for the criminal
were coming too slow and suggested that I seek other counsel for
the civil matter. But even after he got his $15,000 he
would only take it if I paid him more. (Now that I have
won the criminal case he wants on the civil case. Suffice
it to say he is off the civil case!)
Eventually I contacted the American Atheist, which was referred
to me by Edward Tabash, who was referred to me by a Mr. Robert
Tierman. I told them my problem in finding an attorney
willing to take a church and state case in which the people are
blatantly breaking the law. Yet no one will take it.
American Atheist, being out of another state, could not refer me
to anyone. But they said they would try to help. The
ACLU out of Oklahoma City refused. They sent me some
standard letter. It really hurt that I did not even rate a
return call or a reason. I felt betrayed, lost and
confused. Was this the United States? Where freedom
reigns?
The whole family was under constant stress. Police trying
to get search warrants to the property by having ex-employees
file false statements, other cops trying to hire ex-cons to beat
me up .. the whole town knows of it! The Sheriff trying to
have my bond pulled by the bail bondsman when there was no legal
way to do it; my kids have been out of school since November;
the Principal's son asking, should he get a gun when he sees my
daughter and my son. The DA has yet to reply to our
concerns. The Department of Human Services comes to my
place saying they received a complaint that I starve my
kids. It was even obvious to them the charge was bogus.
We have become very good at using back roads. The police
follow us around. Traffic tickets that when challenged
were dropped in court. Not to mention the stares and
whispers, the betrayal from employees, one of my healthy dogs
dying. Brush fires starting up upwind.
An FBI agent even said, "You aren't kidding," when it
was obvious someone followed us and was watching our meeting out
in the middle of nowhere. I was told about a few
things. All I can say is that some of the crooks out here
now charged with crimes wore badges and guns! But he could
not help my family and me. Not without witnesses willing
to come forward. One scared witness left the state.
The last words she spoke to me were, Chuck I don't want to end
up dead in a ditch!
Just what you would expect life to be like out here in the Bible
belt!
The roller coaster of emotions we went through every minute,
every day. It was truly a hell. There were days we
spoke little. Other days we spoke late into the
night. You get to a point you become numb, but it doesn't
last. For it is "all aboard," and you are on the
roller coaster again.
My poor family. They were standing tall. But they
would not even be in this place if it were not for me and my
bright idea about centralizing our business. We all missed
the desert. The free open Mojave Desert. My family
did not ask for this. They deserved better. I saw
them all suffering. Many a night I would sit in the barn
alone with a pint of scotch and look at the high beams and the
rope on the wall.
Then out of the blue my wife received a call from Ellen Johnson
who said they had a lawyer that can help us, an Edwin Kagin who
is their legal director. Well, I called him up, and our
civil case is up and running.
Edwin Kagin, also by my request, came to my criminal case for
the two cases are obviously interrelated. There were also
other reasons.
Simply stated without Edwin Kagin, Ellen Johnson and American
Atheist I would be in jail now, or worse. Without them, we
would have no federal case on separation of church and state.
The only group, the only lawyer that would stand with my family
and me to protect the wall and not cringe at me wanting to put
atheism as part of my defense.
In Edwin's opening statement American Atheist magazine was
shown. The crowd almost rioted. He explained that
Atheism was not a dirty word and that it was a conclusion.
That my family and I are not devil worshippers. We just have no
Gods. It was the basis of the case. It was the
danger. It was the truth. Yet the only lawyer to go
there freely was Edwin Kagin.
In a world where superstition is the norm and those who seek
another path are ridiculed or worse, being an atheist takes
guts; freedom is never freely given. The good fight is
always there.
Oh, you can hide yourself in the latest sitcom, or have one or
two more scotches and water, but the good fight is still there.
You can run to your malls and buy yourself crazy with credit
card frenzy, but the good fight is still there. You can look
away and deny allegiance, but the good fight is still
there. These are the times that try men's courage.
You can debate till you're blue in the face. It will not
change a damn thing.
Our forefathers are on our side in this fight. Trust me. From
Adams to Madison to Jefferson and Paine, they all knew the
dangers of a theocracy. They wrote the Constitution to assure
it. And within the federal courts we can protect this nation
from becoming a theocracy.
The wall between the church and state must stand. But the
wall is being battered and cracks now appear. The
Christians are at the gate attempting to breach the wall and
send us back down the road to an age of darkness, bloodshed and
fear. My family and myself are willing to stand and fight
the good fight. If we lose some skin, so be it, we have no
more else to give, we are financially done. Thanks to
American Atheist, Ellen Johnson and Edwin Kagin, for the first
time we do not fight alone.
Please stand together with us and fight the good fight, the
fight that our forefathers began. Let's make the wall so
high between Church and State that they who wish to tear it down
will know better and be content with staying in their churches.
Freedom has never been free! There can be no freedom for
all if the wall does not stand.
The wall must stand.
--Chuck, Nadia, Nicole, Czeslaw and Bridgette Smalkowski
(AANEWS
encourages reproduction and distribution of this essay.
Readers may also wish to discuss this at the NoGodBlog (http://www.nogodblog.com)
and other boards, blogs and lists)
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