This is why religion is not allowed in public schools

An Ohio public middle school teacher named John Freshwater is being accused of outwardly promoting religion in class and even burning crosses into his student’s arms. Oh, yes, you read that right. The case is actually about his unwillingness to remove his personal bible from his classroom desk. It is only incidental to the case that they mention the branding of students and, oh, yes, some religious healing. Did I mention this is what passes for a science teacher in Ohio?

As is typical of the religious, the Freshwater and his attorneys are dismissive of anything that doesn’t directly involve the single bible on his desk. They say that it is about his own personal beliefs being violated, rather than a case of a man in a secular school pushing his religion on his students. This line of thinking, though, is entirely dependent on ignoring the fact that the bible in question is just the last of many religious articles that have adorned the class. His refusal to remove the bible is noteworthy because he has already been forced to remove a poster of the Ten Commandments, several posters with bible verses and a shelf of bibles. And now he’s drawing a line in the sand for his personal beliefs, despite the fact that the already removed items indicate an extreme desire to use the classroom to proselytize his religion.

The best part is his “spokesman,” Dave Daubenmire, is a former London High School football coach who gained some notoriety back in ‘99 when his school district was sued because he led his players in prayer at games and practices. Furthermore, he tries to discredit the student-branding as “character assassination” because it’s an “old allegation” from waaayyyy back in December! Oh, my! You mean to tell me that these crazy liberals are bringing up something that first came to light 5 whole months ago?! Why, this poor man! And why is the allegation 5 months old? Because when the parents of one of the students complained about it, the school board did nothing.

The icing on the cake is that students are defending this faith-healing kid-brander. But what do you expect? This is Ohio we’re talking about.

The whole story can be read at the Columbus Dispatch.