"There's a guy passing out bibles?" I asked, incredulous.
"Oh, yeah, I know him," Debbi, the bisexual girl who once sneaked up behind me and said she would eat me, replied. "He's there all the time."
"I'll take the little bible," I turned back him, "I'll use the pages for bookmarks or something.* I'm an atheist too."
(*Bonus craft points if you do that too!)
Over the next few weeks, that little bible haunted me from inside my book bag. I had thought that my medium-sized town (about 20,000 people) in the northwest was mostly live-and-let-live, with no one bothering anyone else, or at least perceived to be a "Christan" town in most people's minds, and so there would be no "need" for proselytizing.
I wanted so much to do something like what he did, but with less evangelizing. I thought of the little plastic "buddy poppies" given away by a veterans' group I saw a few years ago at a small fair. They were not giving out literature for people to read and agree with, but they were there, in their booth with their signs and vests, being friendly while representing veterans' interests. Why couldn't I do something like that as an atheist?
I wanted to give away some kind of flower, as they were pretty much a symbol of peace and goodwill. I was also inspired by entry number five in this article (a boy stands next to a Westboro Baptist Church protester holding his own homemade sign, which reads "God hates no one"), as well as images like these:
I wanted to be there, representing atheism, while trying to brighten people's days. The only problem was that I did not have access to a large supply of cheap flowers.
Then I came up with the idea of making origami flowers. I chose the "boutonniere" option in that link, number six, because it looked like the easiest and the fastest. I had no origami paper, only printer paper, so I folded one edge along the other to make a perfect square. The greatest challenge was step six in the origami instructions, probably due to the thickness of the printer paper, but I eventually figured out how to make due by substituting an external reverse fold for an internal reverse fold. Step six was the stem, anyway, so it wasn't as important to the overall look.
Now that I had my flowers, I needed something to carry them in, along with some signs explaining what I was doing. So I found a shoebox and some cardboard, and the result was this:
The flowers are white, blank, with nothing printed on them, because I'm not trying to give people something to read or endorse. Copy paper is cheap, so I can make many of them for a small price. And the friendly sign assures people that the flowers will not cost them any time or inconvenience, though I may cover that part if the Christian proselytizers are not around, as it sounds rather strange in that context.
Now if I see that man giving away bibles, or hear of him or someone else haunting student hangouts or other spots around town, I am ready for them. My small activism box fits conveniently in the car, and looks pretty innocuous from the outside. It took me about two hours to make the box and eight flowers, though that was mostly figuring out how to fold the stem of the flowers with heavy copy paper. Now that you know what I did, your time will probably be much shorter.
Extra tips:
Put paper, scissors, markers and tape in the bottom of the box, so that you will be ready to make more flowers or signs as you need to.
The "atheist" sign is cardboard with paper taped over it. You can tape a ribbon or string to it so that you can wear it, or just hold it or put it on the ground beside or in front of the box.
This kit could be adapted for any cause, really. That is why I would recommend bringing markers and tape, in case you wish to change the signs.
I thought of getting an atheist t-shirt, but that does not work in cold weather, as I would have to wear a coat over it. A t-shirt would probably work best in the summer, and even then you might have to wear it over your other clothes, which would get too hot. Atheist symbols in the form of pins or buttons might be too small to be noticed, or might not be recognized by most people.
Do you have any other tips or thoughts? Please leave a comment below if you have any other ideas.
Edit: For something similar, please look at the picture at the bottom of this article (written by a progressive Christian, of all people), where a "militant atheist with a gay agenda" offers free hugs to everyone. I understand that I am supposed to refer to the aforementioned article as "the inerrant gospel of Lotharson, written under the guidance of the Holy Ghost and delivered once and for all to all progressive saints."
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