How 19-year-old activist Zack Kopplin is making life hell for Louisiana’s creationists

[ismnotwasm]

For Zack Kopplin, it all started back in 2008 with the passing of the Louisiana Science Education Act. The bill made it considerably easier for teachers to introduce creationist textbooks into the classroom. Outraged, he wrote a research paper about it for a high school English class. Nearly five years later, the 19-year-old Kopplin has become one of the fiercest — and most feared — advocates for education reform in Louisiana. We recently spoke to him to learn more about how he's making a difference.
Kopplin, who is studying history at Rice University, had good reason to be upset after the passing of the LSEA — an insidious piece of legislation that allows teachers to bring in their own supplemental materials when discussing politically controversial topics like evolution or climate change. Soon after the act was passed, some of his teachers began to not just supplement existing texts, but to rid the classroom of established science books altogether. It was during the process to adopt a new life science textbook in 2010 that creationists barraged Louisiana's State Board of Education with complaints about the evidence-based science texts. Suddenly, it appeared that they were going to be successful in throwing out science textbooks.

And perhaps not surprisingly, a number of people have refused to take Kopplin seriously on account of his age. "Oh, for sure — there have absolutely been people who have dismissed me because I'm still a kid," he told us. Some of his opponents have even suggested that his parents are really the ones behind the campaign — an accusation he flatly denies.

"They have their own lives to live, and certainly don't have time to run a public issue campaign," he says.

"What disturbs me though, is when other kids are the ones to dismiss me based on age," he told io9. "They see a 19 year old kid and can't believe that I can actually go out and change the world. Too many of my peers have this attitude that they need to dress nicely, sit quietly, and wait until we are adults to change things. This attitude must change. My generation needs to speak out for what we believe."

http://io9.com/5976112/how-19+year+old-activist-zack-kopplin-is-making-life-hell-for-louisianas-creationists


Awesome young man

[patrice]

1. Defending Science is extremely important work. Thank you, Zack. You have a right to be proud of your

efforts.

[Wait Wut]

2. Awesome and brave!

He makes me miss the person I once was. Never give up, Zach...ever.

[jonthebru]

45. From those great English group of poets and minstrels... Timeless it is...

When I was a child
I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye

I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown
The dream is gone
I... Have become comfortably numb

WATERS, ROGER / GILMOUR, DAVID JON

Without young people like Zack, we are fairly well sunk. Hopefully, there are more brave, smart ones.

[Wait Wut]

52. That song always breaks my heart.

Even as a teenager.

There really are a lot of kids like Zach out there. We just need to encourage them. Sadly, the majority will fall through the cracks.

[etherealtruth]

3. He is an awesome "kid"

There is no hope for his generation if they are taught pseudo science or religion in place of science .... jeez

[Terra Alta]

4. Bravo, Zack.

I hope he keeps fighting the good fight and doesn't let his detractors get him down. We need more science taught in schools, and less fairy tales.

I'm a Christian, BTW, but the whole creation story is nothing more than a myth, and it should be taught that it's a myth.

[MountainLaurel]

5. Zack is awesome

I've met him at some local events, and I hope he is a thorn in the side of the Religious Reich in LA for decades to come.

[kestrel91316]

13. He needs to be sure to wear body armor in public. I'm quite serious.

He has placed himself in serious danger by daring to speak out.

[another_liberal]

6. I bet all of those actual 'Science' texts would make a great bonfire.

I bet all of those actual 'Science' texts would make a great bonfire. At least they would if it weren't for people like this brave young man. More power to you, Zack!

[UnrepentantLiberal]

7. Go Zack!

[joeybee12]

8. Good for him!

[hollysmom]

9. that is so great and he is so right.

[Arugula Latte]

10. If you're on Facebook please consider "liking" his page:

https://www.facebook.com/RepealCreationism

[LongTomH]

30. Done! And shared to my Facebook page, and to a number of friends' pages

[Arugula Latte]

53. Great! Thanks!

I just noticed his "likes" count more than doubled overnight. Very cool.

[NewJeffCT]

11. I'm surprised he isn't getting death threats yet

from these so-called Christians.

[kestrel91316]

17. Oh he probably already has. I think body armor in public might be a good idea.

[Auntie Bush]

12. He's old enough to go to war and help change the world...so

Why is he too young to help change the attitudes of the dumb?

[defacto7]

14. Go Zack!

Facts... go with the facts! Thanks for standing up for reality in a world of fantasy.

[byronius]

15. Excellent.

[Solly Mack]

16. K&R

[SunSeeker]

18. Science cannot be trusted to the adults in LA.

Good thing LA kids have Zack.

[bluestateguy]

19. Louisiana public schools are pretty much ruined now anyway

My advice to parents over there is 1) move, 2) homeschool if you can, 3) find a liberal private school if you can (and if any exist).

You can talk about voting people like Jindal out, but you will be outvoted every single time.

[KamaAina]

31. They do, at least in New Orleans

3) find a liberal private school if you can (and if any exist).

The farther away you get from NOLA, though, the harder they'd be to find.

[juajen]

55. How easy to just say "move." We in Louisiana love our way of living and

our beautiful state. Yes, we have a problem in Baton Rouge; but, honestly, there are a lot of democrats, even in our Capitol. Actually, we are everywhere in this state, more in the South than the bible belt North. We still have some good schools; though, admittedly, Bobby is trying to destroy them.

The Republicans have worked for years to fill our local governments and school boards. Every state is in danger of a slow takeover, that is, the ones that have not already been taken over. Those local Clerks of Court count all the votes in a Parish, and use central tabulators to do so, easy to steal.

During Katrina, which Bush turned into a travesty, Kathleen Blanco was demonized as being responsible. She was attacked mercilessly until people actually believed that it was her fault that calls to Washington, D.C. were ignored. Remember, our National Guard was enlisted in Bush's wars. The pugs got what they wanted; Jindal elected, and the ensuing idiocy that has grown into a rainstorm of intolerance and religiosity, instead of being a shower that contributes sporadically, and rarely dominates. We dems continue to fight, but let too many republicans wiggle into our local scene, thinking as many of you do, that the bigger races deserve our time at the expense of the Clerks of Court, or the School Boards, so to say?

[baldguy]

20. Mr. Kopplin is doing the Lord's Work.

[Kurovski]

21. Most people "Go along to get along".

people don't admit too often that they truly do not believe the hazardous foolishness their own "faith" may promote. The arguments are fruitless, and consequences too high, so people often put a sock in it.

I hope the new generations are not as lazy as the ones that came before. Good for Mr.. Kopplin.

Matters of faith and spirit are best left to the individual's inner life, and out of the concrete reality we all must share.

[bl968]

22. The Big Lie

"What disturbs me though, is when other kids are the ones to dismiss me based on age," he told io9. "They see a 19 year old kid and can't believe that I can actually go out and change the world."

The reason is from an early age children are taught that they must be seen and not heard, that their voices, their opinions, and their votes don't matter. They are taught this at home, at church, and at school. Thus they come to believe it. It's the rare soul that can see past this insidious indoctrination, and actually go out and make a difference.

[awoke_in_2003]

42. Neil deGrasse Tyson said...

something like "we spend the first two years of our kids life trying to get them to talk and walk, and the rest of it telling them to shut up and sit down"

[Fantastic Anarchist]

23. OMG ... at the 1:00 mark ...

... The Congressman asks the lady if the E. Coli bacteria evolved into a person.

These people are clueless about evolution. No wonder they want to outlaw it (they assume they can).

[mtnester]

26. I think I lost some IQ points watching that

In fact, I am certain I am stupider for having wasted some brain cells over this uneducated, ignorant asshat. In the same breath, the ideology and unbelievable ignorance coming from these people scare the hell out of me.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

28. How do they get to positions of power?

It boggles the mind.

They are quite literally moronic, and I don't mean that as ad hominem; I mean to figure out how they possibly made it past the age of five without tripping and breaking their neck because they were chewing gum at the same time.

[mtnester]

36. I have yet to really figure that out...the best answer I have

is there are a LOT of ignorant asshats out there, and they flock together to save themselves

[tpsbmam]

33. Aim: make kids as stupid as I am! Note the facepalms when the moran

asks the moronic question.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

48. in his case, yes. n/t

[mtnester]

24. Our young folks will save us from the lunatic fringe..and Kudos to this young man

I am embarrassed to say things like this were not in my list of things to do when I was 19. I do not know this young man, but am proud of him.

[zappaman]

25. Awesome!

Thanks for posting this!

[RainDog]

27. k&r for citizen activism!! esp. related to dumbing down this nation. n/t

[Mojorabbit]

29. Go Zack! You give me hope for the next generation. nt

[KamaAina]

32. No more science conventions for NOLA until the law goes away

That ought to fix their wagon.

[ErikJ]

34. Loch Ness monster is real?

I suppose they think its one of the dinosaurs that Jesus supposedly rode? This stuff used to amuse me but now its getting frightening. When are the book burnings coming?

[JCat]

35. This almost 60 year-old lady

feels a little better about up coming generations. Keep fighting for the truth Zack.

[smirkymonkey]

37. Bravo Zach!

Gives me some hope for the future.

[Moostache]

38. Only wish I could keep Rec'ing this!!!

Awesome job young man - don't EVER let anyone tell you what is or is not truth...if they refuse to back up assertion with fact or evidence, or resort to ad hominem attacks to subdue your arguments then you have already won.

PLEASE awaken your generation to start protesting and changing the collision course your generation is on with a catastrophic future. I will be long dead and gone by the time the very worst effects of climate change and resource plundering run their course, but those in their formative years and up through their 20's really need to put the cellphones and Facebook and trendy nonsense away to shape a viable future for themselves. We need MILLIONS more like this example!!!

[Skittles]

39. ZACTKTIVIST!!!

YEE HAW!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

49. yeah!

[d_r]

40. I continue to be amazed

at the people who get elected to state legislatures. Look at those videos.

[reACTIONary]

41. From the article: Encouraged by Barbara Forrest....

Encouraged by Barbara Forrest, a philosophy professor at Southeastern Louisiana University...

Barbara Forrest ROCKS!!! She was one of the principles in the fight against creationism in Dover PA.

[Beartracks]

43. This man rocks.

I almost said this KID rocks, but that would be inaccurate. He's got a great head on his shoulders, one many "denialist" legislators would do well to respect and learn from.

I like that word: "denialist." I'm gonna have to start using that.

=====================

[obama2terms]

44. Good for him!

I wish we had a kid like this at my old middle school. I had some fool of a science teacher who refused to use the textbook because there was ONE CHAPTER on evolution. That is of course until parents complained in droves and he got chewed out by our principal and was forced to use the book. It's really sad we have people out there that want to dumb down our education system even more.

[Chorophyll]

46. Very big kick and rec.

This gives me hope.

[CrispyQ]

47. I love this young man!

He also has his eyes set on vouchers. After an Alternet story came out about a school in the Louisiana voucher program teaching that the Loch Ness Monster was real and disproved evolution, Kopplin looked deeper into the program and found that this wasn't just one school, but at least 19 other schools, too.

These people have lost their fucking minds! We are leaving younger generations with huge problems to deal with. The least we can do is arm them with logic, reason & education. I feel so sorry for kids trapped in families & communities with these ideological views.

[1StrongBlackMan]

50. Amazingly ...

"What disturbs me though, is when other kids are the ones to dismiss me based on age," he told io9. "They see a 19 year old kid and can't believe that I can actually go out and change the world. Too many of my peers have this attitude that they need to dress nicely, sit quietly, and wait until we are adults to change things. This attitude must change. My generation needs to speak out for what we believe."

A generation ago, most 19 yr olds were on their own in the world, doing their thing and two generations ago, at 19 it was unheard of for someone NOT to be on their own in the world.

[loudsue]

51. This kid makes some good points about jobs and separation of church & state

"Just search creationism on Monster Jobs or Career Builder and tell me how many creationist jobs you find," he asks. Kopplin tells us about how this past Spring, Kevin Carman, the former Dean of LSU's College School of Science (now the Executive Vice President and Provost for the University of Nevada, Reno) testified in the Louisiana Senate Education Committee about how he had lost researchers and scientists to other states because of the Louisiana Science Education Act.

"But it also violates the separation of church and state," he says. "Teaching Biblical creationism is promoting one very specific fundamentalist version of Christianity, and violating the rights of every other American citizen who doesn't subscribe to those beliefs. So it would be stomping on the rights of Catholics, Mainline Protestants, Buddhists, Humanists, Muslims, Hindus, and every other religious group in the country.

Great article, and we need to find a way to support this kid!

[toby jo]

54. I don't get why science scares these folks, you'd think they could conjugate it through

'god's creation of a mind at work', or some like thing.

I remember in '72 when the kids were making their Catholic confirmation, and father Gawlik asks 'are there any questions?' So I raise my hand and ask 'why can't women be priests?' & he gives the stock bullshit of 'because Jesus picked men for his service'. At 12 you don't have the sophistication to give back, but you know bullshit when it pours.

What got me was every single kid in that class turned and looked at me in utter amazement, jaws dropping and eyes wide open. Here I thought everybody was curious about the hypocrisy crawling all over the place. No. Got out shortly after.

Go Zack. Give em hell. 1 middle finger takes down alot of stupid.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

56. Already decided by the Supremes. Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District.

creationism is not science and cannot be taught as science. Period.

But news is slow to come to the Third World Third Coast, as I call it.

All the way from Brownsville, TX, to Key West FL. and other states attached to the north ends of the coastal states (OK, AK, TN, GA).

====
Rice University students ROCK!!!

I was not smart enough to get admitted to Rice, but I think the pressure is so high there that it's better that I did not go there. I was a college bum at four other schools for 3 degrees.

And yes I am a lawyer, but I don't play one on TV, unlike Shatner and Spader

[electricray]

57. I love this part:

"What disturbs me though, is when other kids are the ones to dismiss me based on age," he told io9.

The ridiculous irony is that many "kids" readily accept and respect the animatronic-types (Justin Bieber Miley Cyrus, and the like) that are paraded in front of them on television. But since Zack doesn't deliver his message in a catchy tune while gyrating in a manner beyond the maturity level of his audience, the "kids" don't take him seriously.

Media is such a powerful tool. Too bad that tool is controlled by "the invisible hand of the free market".

Keep it up Zack. My kids will listen to you.

[TxDemChem]

58. Wonderful kid

We need more like him.