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Tennessee after-school Satan club holds first meeting despite protests (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 8 months ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to c/news@lemmy.world

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[-] osarusan@kbin.social 215 points 8 months ago

What infuriates me about articles like this is that it really should just say that the school Satanic Club had its first meeting, the kids had a great time, here's everything they did and what they plan to do for the year, and here are some kids' reactions and quotes about the club.

Instead, it says the kids had "a great time" and then moves on to the protesters, offering them several paragraphs to spew their vile hate speech, repeating the garbage that their hate-filled signs say, and then even quoting two people. And then it follows that with basically an advertisement for "the Good News club, a Christian evangelical Bible club that meets before school hours."

It's a sign of how biased society is towards religion that an article about a non-theistic after school club gives half of the article to a handful of religious bigots to let them spew their hate speech and then promotes their own Christian school club.

[-] ObsidianNebula@sh.itjust.works 11 points 8 months ago

On one hand, I agree that the story could and should contain more info about the positives of the club to really show people what it's like. I've read similar articles about other school districts that have the club, and they often give few details about the actual club, which is frustrating. On the other hand, I understand why the author chose to focus on what they did. If this club was established and everyone was cool with it, it likely wouldn't receive an article in a national publication because that's not very noteworthy. The news story in this case isn't about the club being formed; it's about the backlash to the club being formed, and that's what they're going to focus on. I'm not saying it should be that way (I like having a more complete picture of what's going on), but focusing on one aspect of a story and ignoring others is often how it appears to be when reading news.

[-] osarusan@kbin.social 11 points 8 months ago

I get where you're going with this, but I'm not following along.

Pointing out that there were protesters and explaining what they were doing there/why they were there is one thing. And that's important news. But this article went way way beyond that. They interviewed the protestors, put their names in the paper, and published their bigoted message along with it. They gave them fame and a platform, and helped them spout their hatred.

When there's a terrorist attack, responsible news agencies are careful to avoid giving unnecessary publicity to the terrorists, such as publishing their name and manifesto, and instead they focus on the victims. That's the attitude that should have been taken here. Mention the protestors, but don't platform them. Focus on the kids who are being harassed by these bigots, and show them in the positive light they deserve.

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[-] FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world 101 points 8 months ago

"RELIGIOUS FREEDO-No, not like that!"

[-] mastefetri@infosec.pub 36 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

You have the freedom to be a Christian, but anything else and you're not a Real American ^TM.^

ps: And if you're the wrong variety of Christian we'll be watching you.

[-] grue@lemmy.world 24 points 8 months ago

At this point, Christians aren't Real Americans. Those protestors are traitors who hate the Constitution and the rule of law.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 94 points 8 months ago

Those kids are very brave. School bullying is no joke. My daughter was bullied so harshly in her middle school that we had to pull her out of school and put her in online school. The school administration did nothing for her and they'll do even less than nothing for kids in this club that get bullied by religious students. I feel really bad for them in that regard and I hope they make it through without too much scarring.

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 46 points 8 months ago

The school administration did nothing for her and they’ll do even less than nothing for kids in this club that get bullied by religious students.

I think part of the purpose of the club is to create a sense of shared identity and form a collective defense mechanism against bullying by aggressive students and administrators.

Of course, this gives the administration one big target to smash rather than a bunch of little targets. But that's the nature of organizing in defiance of a violent and oppressive authority.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 20 points 8 months ago

Maybe, but as kids found out who formed a Gay-Straight Alliance group in my high school back in the 90s, being united doesn't really stop the bullying.

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 29 points 8 months ago

The Gay-Straight Alliances formed back in the 90s were critical to establishing the LGBT population as a real and recognizable social cohort in need of a distinct codified set of legal rights. Prior to the formation of these groups, it was entirely too common for kids to be taught in school that gay relationships were a sign of physical and sexual abuse, a mental illness, and a moral perversion. Having a community in the school of out-kids who could testify to the contrary made a huge difference in how the subsequent generation of students (and their parents - I got to watch in real time family friends go from implicit bigots to LGBT advocates) perceived of the LGBT population.

Being united doesn't stop the bullying immediately. But it brings bullying into sharp relief and turns it into a conflict between groups rather than a social stigma against individuals.

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[-] toiletobserver@lemmy.world 93 points 8 months ago

https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/about-us

I highly recommend reading the tenets. Good stuff.

[-] TimLovesTech@badatbeing.social 62 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Always amusing that people protest this stuff based on some made up fear of their "soul", that can only be "saved" by preaching HATE for others different than you, instead of inclusion like the Temple. Hopefully these kids see the protesters for what they are and go on to have a more positive impact on society instead of trying to bring us all backwards.

Edit - Holy who taught me how to spell Batman!?

[-] kautau@lemmy.world 22 points 8 months ago

Idk seems like you spelled Batman fine

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[-] PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.works 49 points 8 months ago

Meanwhile, another protester, Samantha Harmon, said, “There is no reason that Memphis should have ever allowed an after-school Satan club to come in. It’s time to revise policy and it’s time for parents to get on their post and pray and protect their kids.”

Speaking to WMC, ASSC’s national campaign director pushed back against criticisms, saying: “We don’t go to a school unless there is another religious club operating.”

Oof. Nice rebuttal. I wonder how many kids attended; being in elementary school, I would imagine a lot of parents told their kids they couldn’t go. I’m glad it was successful but I’m honestly surprised they had any kids attend, given Tennessee and all.

[-] osarusan@kbin.social 32 points 8 months ago

being in elementary school

Consider, too, how tragic it is that this has to be in an elementary school.

Nobody was willing to step in and protect these kids from indoctrination and abuse until the Satanic Temple came along. It's depressing to even think about how commonplace this is across the country.

[-] grue@lemmy.world 24 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Meanwhile, another protester, Samantha Harmon, ~~said, “There is no reason that Memphis should have ever allowed an after-school Satan club to come in.~~ told on herself about her seditious, anti-American attitudes and ignorance of the First Amendment.

FTFY, article writer.

[-] butterflyattack@lemmy.world 17 points 8 months ago

It's after school, which is a smart move - there are probably some working single parents who are delighted to have a couple of hours of free child care.

[-] Blackhole@sh.itjust.works 11 points 8 months ago

It's Memphis, right? There a probably tens of thousands of atheists in Memphis, and basically any big city. Not every person in Tennessee is a Maga christofacist.

[-] Jank@literature.cafe 38 points 8 months ago

It's crazy how these Satanists are indoctrinating children. It's not like a child just naturally chooses to be a Satanist- their parents put them up to it.

Ain't gonna have none of that shit in our home- we take them to church every weekend and make sure they believe exactly what we believe or I'll tan their hides.

My eyes are so far apart...

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[-] Wahots@pawb.social 19 points 8 months ago

I love A.S.S meetings so much, haha. Go Satanists!

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[-] TheJims@lemmy.world 16 points 8 months ago

Not today Jesus, not today

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this post was submitted on 12 Jan 2024

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