Comments for Shelby Knox, our Featured Teen Activist

Dear Harpies:

I originally read Shelby Knox’s story in a small progressive periodical we have down here called “The Texas Observer.” But it did not prepare me for how good the documentary that aired last night would be.

Sorry to burden you with this because Shelby is only one of many contributors to your site, but I wanted to send “fan mail” to her, so to speak, to add to what I hope is a growing chorus of voices saying “You’re an inspiration, Shelby. Keep on doing what you’re doing.”

Thanks,

Bennett


www.farnsworthvonberg.com

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Hey there,

I hear that Shelby Knox does some writing for your magazine from time to time (or maybe she just submits articles, I don't know) anyway I thought if someone could pass on this forum link to her that she might be interested to see what people are saying about the documentary "The Education of Shelby Knox", the PBS hosted forum is receiving tons of replies from everyone across the U.S. and other countries (I am in Vancouver Canada myself), anyway if you can tell her to get her butt on that forum she might be glad to see the kind of influence she is having on people.

http://discussions.pbs.org/viewforum.pbs?f=118

Thanks,

Alexander
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Hello All,

I wanted to respond to Shelby, having just seen "The Education of Shelby Knox." What impressed me was your willingness to stand up and speak up in the face of the dominant culture where you lived. We have a similar dominant culture here in California's Central Valley. It may not be quite as monolithic as in Lubbock Texas, but sometimes it feels that way.

Our Quaker meeting has been a catalyst for antiwar activism in Visalia, CA. We did weekly "Stop the War" protests for the nine months leading up to the Iraq invasion, and have been continuing with them ever since on a monthly basis.

The biggest benefit is that they bring people out of the woodwork. I'm sure there are many likeminded people throughout the "Red States"heartland, but when a culture that insists on uniformity in thought and belief becomes dominant, those who dissent tend to see themselves as alone and fade into invisibility. It is VERY VERY important to make yourself visible to let these people know they are not alone, and to give them courage to be visible themselves.

However, our visibility brings out the worst in the fundamentalist culture. We were harangued by a local woman at a recent protest who reacted to a "Who would Jesus torture" sign one of us was carrying. It amazes me how people quote the Bible so uncritically in support of causes that Jesus would abhor. Her harangue prompted this response which was printed in our local paper:

http://www.quaker.org/visalia/subpages/BibleSays.htm

I have no idea what kind of articles you publish in the F-Word, but if this article seems appropriate, feel free to run it.

--David Chandler