Atheists for Liberty News - Issue #1

February 2022

, and

Feb 17

President's Message

As an educational nonprofit organization, we want to ensure that all of our members and supporters receive the most up-to-date information about Atheists for Liberty’s activities, and are involved in what is happening throughout the culture war. Protecting free speech and our freedoms both for and from religion involves having an informed base of free-thinkers, using knowledge at their disposal to fight back against theocrats and wokeists who want to tear this nation apart. The more you know, the better you will be.

- Thomas Sheedy

Feature Article

The Fake Hate Crime You Haven't Heard About

It’s worse than Jussie Smollett…

In April 2021, an anonymous Instagram account “gowhitebear” made racist threats against several African American students at White Bear Lake High School in Minnesota. One target of these messages, a female Black Excellence Club member, blamed a fellow student, Avery Severson, who was trying to form a Turning Point USA chapter at White Bear Lake High. Severson, who is white, denied sending the messages and produced an alibi. Students staged a walkout to protest the messages. School officials met with Severson and told her to say nothing about the case. Interpreting Severson’s silence to be an admission of guilt, students demanded Severson be expelled.

White Bear Lake Police and the FBI discovered the black female accuser actually created the “gowhitebear” Instagram account. Severson was innocent. Yet school officials told Severson she should not publicly state she had been exonerated. Severson then went to the press with her story.

White Bear Lake High Superintendent Wayne Kazmierczak publicly admitted: “The original messages were found to be a hoax sent under false pretense by an Instagram account that was created by a student.” He did not name the actual hoaxer or mention her race but said she had “taken responsibility.”

Days later Kazmierczak apologized for using the word “hoax,” which he said “minimize[d] the impact that racism or racist acts has on students and families who have been marginalized throughout history and in White Bear Lake Area Schools.” Kazmierczak added the phony threats were meant “to raise awareness of social and racial injustice.”

“We commit to doing better in the future, as we realize the heartfelt pain that families have shared after reading [my] statement [about a hoax],” Kazmierczak groveled.

The black student who falsely accused Severson will face no charges or discipline. This student admits the “gowhitebear” account was indeed created on her personal device but denies she did it or sent the racist messages. (The FBI could not determine if additional people were involved.)

16-year-old Severson told the press she has endured threats and harassment and needed to be escorted to and from class. Severson’s enrollment status at White Bear Lake High School is unknown.

Superintendent Wayne Kazmierczak was named the 2021 Minnesota Superintendent of the Year by the Minnesota Association of School Administrators. He competes for the national award in February 2022.

Sources: police report (via Scribd); The Pioneer Press; Newsweek; The Minnesota Sun; KSTP; CBSLocal; Bring Me the News; isd624.org.

Music Review - The Sound of Atheism

Endless Forms Most Beautiful, from Finnish Symphonic Metal band Nightwish, is a bombastic celebration of the complexity and awesomeness of the universe. The album features spoken word sections by prominent atheist and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins on the songs "Shudder Before the Beautiful" and the closing track, "The Greatest Show on Earth". Dawkins recorded his parts specifically for this collaboration. The aforementioned songs praise the evolutionary process, while other tracks, such as “Weak Fantasy” and “Yours Is an Empty Hope”, highlight the evils of organized religion. Great listening for any atheist or science minded individual!