I posted this on General Discussion

[Hestia]

Witches have feelings too

So, it appears that it is the Witches and Pagans turn to be noticed - not all attention is good attention. Pagan is the umbrella name for all paths
that are Wiccan, Western Mystery Tradition, Witchcraft, Asatru, etc. It's the one identifier that we can all agree on and we don't agree on anything.

One thing I want to do is snip in the bud the notion it is okay to make fun of witches because one person "dabbled" in it. One thing I will say, all
this negative she is getting is reflective of "dabbling" and how it can bite you in the butt.

We are not a religion, we have no dogma, and have a great sense of personal responsbility. Path fits better.

I know many on this board are atheist or agnostic, but that still doesn't give anyone the right to laugh and point fingers at our spiritual path.
One question that many are asked, "why would pick a religion that no one understands or is scared of?" Not unlike being gay, it's something you
are born with and can never really discuss with those who aren't Pagan. Imagine being a child who reads a lot, has a whole different of how deity
should be portrayed and told to grow out of it, as if a spiritual path is a buffet line, that you pick and choose at random? This path picks you and
sometimes is a hard mantle to wear. Imagine never being able to say what you belive when asked. To keep your job, you lie or hem and haw, and
quickly change the subject.

Christine McConnell just set us back decades. A lot of us lived though the pre-Bush years when Trent Lott, Newt Gingrich, and George Bush tried
everything in their power to strip us of our Constititutional right of practicing our path any which way we choose. Websites were developed at
this time, that are still alive and well, to keep us apprised of those who know nothing of true spiritual rights of our citizenry. Very few
"outsiders" aren't aware of this history. You had/have no skin in the game, so why should you? We remember very well those years and I am
wincing now from the very same comments and laughter on this board today from the very same people who would never use the "N" word, but think
nothing of making fun of me and mine.

This is not a conversion discussion but to let you know we are very real and take our spiritual practices seriously. The one thing that
no one has ever really figured out, is just how many of us are out here. I read a scholarly post back in 1999 that said, based on sales and
websites, and very good filtering, that at that time 13,000,000 Pagans existed. Just think of the number now.

As I stated in another thread, maybe it is a good thing that we are noticed. Maybe then we can be treated as full citizens, with the same religious
rights as everyone else. Maybe it is time that we do stand up. But then there are the those who's outer wear makes our inner path look trite. The
Buffy-ites and Charmers, who read one book and exclaim, I Am A Witch! Nothing in life is every that easy. It takes time and personal dedication
and lots of reading and research and all the things that anyone who trains, whether in athletics or science, does. There is no such thing as an
Insta-Witch.

I feel like a whiner and saying "but what about us?" As stated before, if it hadn't been for the late 1990s, I never would have said anything and
just brushed it off as business as usual, as always. This time it needs to be said, that we aren't today's laughing stock or news byte. We have feelings too
you know.

Many Blessings and Peace,

Hestia

[icymist]

1. Been away a while and it kind of shocked me when I read all the 'witchcraft dabbling' in LBN

I hear you Hestia. Seems that the childlike behavior of ridiculing things people are ignorant of, but think they know everything of, is foaming at the mouth at the moment. A skeptics dream. The problem that they refuse to see is that they are, in fact, making fun and gathering their amusement in belittling an entire religion. These are people that are so small in their own beliefs that, to compensate, they lash out at those they perceive to be 'fair game' for attack. It's hard reading their stupid and hurtful statements, and I'll be wincing much when I visit this site, but, remember who they are: little, small, insignificant blather mouths punching the wind as if that would make their POV valid. Think of them as insects and then imagine that there are millions of life-forms on this planet and some of them really suck. People who go after a religion in the name of another religion or out of ignorance suck. Period.

[Ignis]

2. Thanks for cross-posting it here.

Personally, I think your approach was great. :thumbsup: And it looks like you've received a positive response overall.