Yanno, I keep hearing about people who claim they don’t want to be judged by the “nutcases” in Paganism. They are dissociating themselves with Paganism and giving up their beliefs and religion because of these perceived “nutcases” that are making their daily lives miserable. They claim mainstream America is judging them based on these “nutcases”.
Most people don’t even know who people like Fiona Horn, Kevin Carlyon, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, or Laurie Cabot are. Assuming, of course, you consider them nutcases [1], but these are the Pagans who have received the most media attention, and if people know anything about Pagans, Wiccans, or witches, these should be the most common names. They certainly don’t know who Wiccan Wade, or Robin Artison, or any of the other fluff bunnies we rant about in the snark lists and journals are.
Mainstream Americans haven’t a clue who our real nutcases are, so they can’t possibly be judging us by them.
I can tell you a number of people who *are* Pagan who are influencing public views of Pagans: Audre Lorde, Alice Walker, Diana Paxson, Starhawk, Z. Budapest, Cybill Shepard, Chas. Clifton, George Takei, Roseanne Barr, Stevie Nicks, Tori Amos, and Luisah Teish. When you talk to a random American person and mention any of these people, if they know who they are, they’ll also know they are Pagan. They are all good representatives of what Pagans are like in daily life.
Outside of them, mainstream American’s perception of witches, Pagans, Wiccans, et al, are formed by TV shows like “Charmed”, “Bewitched”, or those swap shows, and most know those are all fictional and don’t *really* expect real Pagans to be like that. Or they get their information on who or what a Pagan is by radical Dominionist type Christians. Lately, those types of Christians are being shown in a really bad light and people are beginning to withdraw from them, so their input in what a Pagan is is waning in influence.
Honestly, most people don’t know and don’t care who or what a Pagan is. And I say this living in a part of the country where Dominionist Christians have a stronghold, living less than a mile from one of the largest Dominionist churches in possibly the entire state.
I’m not ranting here about the people who are withdrawing from their local Pagan communities becaues there are some nutcases there, the drama-llamas and users who make life miserable for those about them regardless of their religious affiliation. They just happen to have latched onto Paganism as a way to get their selfish needs filled. And yanno, these aren’t the type of people who will be known to mainstream America, so mainstream America can’t be judging us by them.
If folks are so worried about what mainstream America thinks about us [2], hanging out with fluff bunnies isn’t going to ease that worry at all.
I don’t really care what other people think of me as a Pagan. Or even as a person, really. I adhere to my own moral and ethical code, one that is composed largely of what I understand Numenism to be through conversations I’ve had with the Founders and other priests and my own life experiences. I am shaped, in part, by what other Numenists and my friends and family think of me. What strangers think – eh, who cares?
I don’t obey the rules of society in order to gain acceptance of strangers, or to lure them into thinking I’m something I’m not. I obey those rules I think fit in with my beliefs and my ethics and morals. I obey some rules and laws because they make sense even if they do infringe to some degree on my ethics and morals. The rest of the rules and laws? Call me a rebel. I have been working for years to overturn some laws, and I work to prevent others from even coming into being. The fewer laws we have governing us, the easier it is for us to obey them. Too many laws are stifling and can be used as tools of oppression – a state our country is currently in (but I’m going to stay away from politics – mostly). One of the things I find the best about America is our ability to remove or reverse unfair or nonsensical laws – and it’s a tool I enjoy exercising. Probably because I’m a weird and freaky Pagan.
Most people didn’t become Pagan to conform to society’s mores. Why should they dress or act like good little drones? For some hypothetical acceptance of society? Eeeew.
I’m in Paganism for the Sybaritic aspects. And the Epicurean. And the Hedonistic. I am a sensualist and a volumptuary and I enjoy spreading it around to others. I’m also in it for the intellectual stimulation and challenge. If that means I weigh more than is societally acceptable and wear clothes that aren’t the height of fashion, and use words that make other people’s heads hurt, and like to play little mind games with those I think won’t break under the exchange – what’s wrong with that?
I’m not going to hand out little questionaires asking people why they’re Pagan. I’m going to accept that, for this phase of their life (which may last for as long as they live), they are Pagan by their own word and choice. That’s good enough for me. And if they are a little weird, well, what a great conversation-starter.
I like the Fionna Hornes and Kevin Carlyons and even Wiccan Wades because they add color and give us topics of conversation, allow us to use them as teaching tools. And if “society” doesn’t see beyond them[3], so what? We do, and that’s what matters.
[1] I don’t. I consider them colorful and a potential source of education and study.
[2] I’m not.
[3] Assuming society even sees them, that is.
Ebonypearl 