Villa Rica High School has been known for a lot of things in it's time but God and Jesus is not the first thing that comes to mind when you hear " Home of the Wildcats".
Most of my children attended Villa Rica High School. The school is famous for controversy. I actually started a Watchdog sight on Facebook when my kids attended. When I think of a Villa Rica Coach, I don't think of baptizing but rather the first thing I think, which one of the coaching staff is molesting kids now. When I think of Villa Rica High School, I wonder if the chains are still on the Gym doors. I have wondered since we left the area if they are still allowing tobacco juice strewn across the bleachers. This is the high school that turned down a visit from C-Span that I arranged and cheated the students out of an opportunity to watch an International News Agency bring their school bus down for a free day of learning in 2003. This is the High School that wanted to impose their own set of rules about hair, clothes, and even small tears in the clothes with mass conformity. (I took that one on). The principal back then trying to control the students was ultimately asked to resign but only months later to be found guilty of molestation in a neighboring High School. Many of the coaches and even the secretary was found with child porn and molestation arrests. The Board of Education got to know me well when my kids started High School. They also got got to know the Carroll County Watchdog. I left the area but the Watchdog existed until last year.
I read the latest breaking news on MSN and sure enough I see Villa Rica News making news again. This time the school had a mass baptism on the Football Field. Keep in mind it hasn't been much more than a month since Shaun King reported this area all aglow with terrorizing a child's birthday party with the Confederate flag waving proudly. I know folks will say, " No, no that was Douglasville". Well yes it was, but the original residents pretty much moved out to Villa Rica when it got too uppity(code words they use) in some areas years ago. Villa Rica is about 12 miles west of Douglasville. The area in Carroll County is a bit more rural and a lot more fundie and right winged.
This baptizing was not in my opinion an act of faith but a " Screw you America".".We got God and Football on our side." This was also a real slap regarding a dignified symbol of one's faith. Dunking kids in a hose filled trough is supposed to be a baptizing? Really? There are no less than 100 churches in the area, more lakes than I can count and a heck of a lot of swimming pools, not to mention Dog River. It was reported that this was part of the 1st Baptist Church's doings. Well let me tell you about that High dollar church... It lacks no Baptismal Pool or robes, or choirs or ushers or space.
I thought of this quite a bit. My Daddy was a Baptist preacher. He would never have gone to a school to do this kind of Baptizing. He would have gone to a lake. He would have talked to parents and made sure they were aware and there was no problem but my Daddy knew the civility of his faith and never would have made a mockery of such a thing. How many parents were even told about their kid being baptized? How many kids that went under the water really did this as an act of faith or because it was cool and I mean that in more ways than one. It gets hot and sweaty in Ga. How many religious beliefs were violated if this was a second baptizing? What in the world was the faculty of the school and the pastor thinking? Do not believe for one minute the faculty did not know about this. That school knew exactly what was happening and when. If that were not true, I could have had CSpan just show up.. They knew about this Church and State thing. I think the Board knew. They claimed they knew nothing about half of the happenings at that school but they always claim ignorance when something blows up in their possible lawsuit territory.
I have heard people defend West Ga and say, " Oh, it is better now". Well I beg to differ. I know that area better than any place on Earth, I see it sliding even more backwards than when I was in school. I have organized over 100 people to take on that school board in 2010. I stood toe to toe with the now former famous orange jump suit sex offending principal ( and former cop) in front of news crews, I showed up at more board meeting than I care to count and literally pulled each one of my high school kids out of that school on more than one occasion. I started out with just a couple of folks but about 100 folks went after this do nothing school board over VILLA RICA High School.
The entire area of Carroll is infiltrated with meth and bible thumpers. West Ga College Campus sits in Carrollton, the county seat but this is Gingrich territory and there is still too much Evangelical activity, even in that area. From what I hear from that part of the world is that 90 percent are going out for Carson or Trump so no suprise of how they think in that neck of the woods.. It has gone Huckabee in every primary.
The High School lost it's accrediation back in the mid 2000's. They eventually got it back. The 1st Baptist never seemed to be interested in this kind of thing before, and I actually thought by now they charged for baptizing or at least admission.
This was a clear violation of Church and State and there would be torches and pitchforks and book burnings if they were all told to meet out on the field for a Muslim prayer or Jewish sermon delivered by a Rabbi.
You could not drag me back there to even visit..people have finally lost what little mind they had.
Happy Valley has it's own Christian school but I guess it did not have it's own football team. Go Wildcats !!!! Your losses have been washed away.