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Hello friends of the Norman Naturalism Group,
There's a tempest in a teapot brewing in Ponca City. Local religious zealots there have been harassing and threatening the business hosting one of our fellow Meetup.com groups, the Northern Oklahoma Freethinkers. The NOKF has been meeting there since April at the business of the organizers, David and Janna Broome, The Daily Grind coffee shop and deli. I went last month with Damion of AOK and had a great time.
Here's their web site:
An article appeared in the Ponca City News publicizing the group in early June. Then a letter to the editor critical of NOKF appeared on 6/28 followed by a firestorm of contoversial letters, including a chastising editorial by the publisher. It's worthy of Atticus Finch.
I received the e-mail below (at bottom) from David Broome on 7/2, in which he states they were planning to stop hosting the NOKF to save their business. However, since that time they have received additional support from the community and are planning to continue hosting NOKF at The Daily Grind.
Feel free to write a letter to the paper or the publisher expressing your opinion or thanking the paper for taking a strong stand on this issue.
Also, you can e-mail your support to David Broome at: supergeek@...
Oh, the next NOKF meetup is tomorrow, Tuesday, so if you can make it up there, I'm sure they'd appreciate the support.
Best Regards to all,
David Wheelock
The following article and series of letters will get you up to date on the controversy. They are all from the Ponca City News:
6/28 Letter to the editor that started controversy
7/5 Other letters, from a variety of viewpoints.
7/5 Editorial by the publisher of the PCNews in which he gives the townspeople a good verbal spanking for their behavior.
If you wish to thank Mr. Tom Muchmore, publisher of the PCNews, you can contact him at tmuch@...
7/5 Letter by Janna Broome, co-owner of The Daily Grind stating resolve to continue hosting NOKF.
----- Original Message -----
From: david broome
Sent: Thursday, July 02, 2009 3:21 PM
Subject: [The-Northern-Oklahoma-Freethinkers-Meetup-Group] New Meetup: July Meetup
What: July Meetup
When: July 7, 2009 7:00 PM
Where:
The Daily Grind
202 East Grand Avenue
Ponca City, OK 74601
5807625594
Friends,
I'm afraid I have some bad news. As some of you may know, there has been a firestorm of controversy ignited in our small town by a letter sent to the editor of the Ponca City News. This letter, from a 16 year old girl, took exception to my practice of providing beverages and snacks free of charge to members of the meetup group. In addition, the letter went on to equate our group with "Satan getting ahold of our city". And, best of all, in closing the letter called for "Christians to use their voice and their power of the purse" to boycott our establishment. While not entirely unexpected, the outright bigotry, intolerance, and hateful tone of the letter did come as a shock.
This letter appeared in the Sunday paper. Since then, we have recieved numerous calls, visits, and emails expressing sympathy and support for us and our business. However, the negative responses have also been numerous, with rumors and foreboding spreading around town like wildfire. A conversation with the paper's editor was also rather ominous, in that he expressed his opinion that "we had it coming", and that "churches were organizing against us". We have already lost some customers, with surely more to come.
So, after much discussion and thought, we have decided this is a battle that we cannot win. While the overall national trend is certainly headed in a secular direction, it seems it was too much, too soon for little old Ponca City to handle. The very real possibilty of ruined businesses, lost jobs, and hardship are simply not worth the risk at this time.
With that being said, I have decided to no longer host the NOKF at the Grind, and step down as the group organizer. I feel this is a necessary step to try to regain some distance between the group and the Grind. I would also advise every member to weigh the risks of being publicly affiliated with the group. The level of sheer intolerance and fear that we have experienced has been a real eye opener, to say the least. As important as I feel it is to be true to your own beliefs, you also have to think of food, family, and your livelihood. Perhaps discretion, and living to fight another day, is the way to go.
So, I would like to close by saying that it has been a genuine pleasure to meet every one of you, and to share ideas and thoughts with so many likeminded people. I don't know if the group will continue under a new organizer, or whether it even should, at this point. It would surely have to held at a member's home, as I seriously doubt any local business would allow a meeting in this current climate of hostility. I would, however, like to see the book club continue, in a guise unafilliated with NOKF. But these are all issues we can hash out at a later time. For now, just know that I am deeply saddened by this turn of events, and deeply honored to have made all of your aquaintances.
Please feel free to contact me anytime at supergeek@....
Take care,
David Broome
Learn more here:
http://www.meetup.com/The-Northern-Oklahoma-Freethinkers-Meetup-Group/calendar/10687957/
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