[Vision2020] A New Witch Hunt

[Art Deco]

Debi writes:

"Wicca does not have a Central Authority, it does not have Pastors, 
Preachers, or Popes.  It doesn't seek converts, doesn't proselytize, doesn't 
reject other religions as non-valid."

Holy Jesus!  Are you daring to say that a person can be religious, 
spiritual, kind, loving, concerned about humankind/animalkind etc without an 
organized church to provide detailed instruction and to suck away their 
money?

I am sorry but your egregiously perverted view has now placed you among 
other major perverts of the past:  Buddha, Confucius, Christ, Plato, 
Aristotle, Bertrand Russell, Jean Paul Sartre, etc.

Why, if what you say has any truth at all, then a whole lot of egomaniacal, 
megalomaniacal, and/or just uncritically dumb parasites would be instantly 
unemployed.


Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
deco at moscow.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <debismith at moscow.com>
To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Tuesday, July 04, 2006 9:17 PM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] A New Witch Hunt


> Thanks for posting this, Tom. Also to all of you who have taken enough 
> interest in Wicca to do
> a bit of research.
>
> While approximately 1,900 in the military are *out of the broom
> closet*, many more do not identify themselves as Wiccan simply to protect 
> themselves.Unless
> a base has a fairly large contingent of Wiccans (as did Fort Hood), it can 
> be dangerous to let
> others know  this religion is the one practiced.
>
> Wicca does not have a Central Authority, it does not have Pastors, 
> Preachers, or Popes.  It
> doesn't seek converts, doesn't proseletize, doesn't reject other religions 
> as nonvalid. What
> it has is a belief that Diety is imminent, not transcendent, and a focus 
> on care for the Earth
> and all that inhabits Her. It has one basic tenet: And It Harm None. This 
> means anything one
> puts out into the Universe will return thrice-fold. If it is good deeds, 
> there is a return. If, as in my
> case, it is snarky e-mails to those I feel it necessary to confront, I get 
> three equally snotty e-
> mails back. I'm sometimes willing to take the *karmic hit* and just push 
> *send*, knowing full
> well Dick, Lame-o Doug, Donovan, or one of the over-aged juvenile Kirkers 
> will attempt to insult
> me or even start cyber-stalking again.
>
> I am open about my spiritual beliefs. I am open about my political agenda. 
> I am open about
> just about everything, because when one attempts secrecy it leaves one 
> open to blackmail.
> One of the v2020 posters, in the not so distant past, attempted to *out* 
> me (I was already out,
> so BFD), attempted to *report* me to a higher authority (there isn't one, 
> so he just annoyed
> people who didn't care), and attempted to *shame* me for my out-spoken 
> behavior (I save
> feeling ashamed for when I have inadvertantly caused someone pain--I'm not 
> ever ashamed of
> calling it like I see it).
>
> It breaks my heart when I hear that others who share my religious beliefs 
> are disrespected in
> the
> way Patrick Stewart and his family have been disrespected. While I may not 
> agree with the
> religious perspectives of some others, their right to belief is never in 
> question. Somehow,
> Wicca is different than all other faiths?
>
> It is particularly poignant that Wiccan  beliefs are likely the most 
> inoffensive of just about any
> religion, yet, through misunderstanding and prejudice, many people still 
> think Wicca is devil
> worship or casting evil spells. These ideas don't have any application to 
> Wicca. We don't even
> believe in *the Devil*, and (remember Harm None?) just don't do 
> imprecatory prayers or evil
> spells.  We spend our time recycling, growing organic food, taking care of 
> others, sharing what
> we have with those who have less, volunteering in our community, being 
> involved in politics,
> and paying attention to the changing seasons (both real and 
> metaphorically).
>
> I am hopeful that the VA will get some sense, stop listening to those who 
> act out of prejudice
> rather than information, and allow Roberta Stewart to honor her husband 
> with the symbol of his
> faith. Blessed Be, Roberta.
>
> Debi Robinson-Smith
>
> "Never retract, never explain, never apologize, just get the job done and 
> let them howl."
> -------Iron Jawed Angels
> (Thanks to Lois Blackburn, a true Iron Jawed Angel!)
>
>
>
> From:           "Tom Hansen" <thansen at moscow.com>
> To:             "Joan Opyr" <joanopyr at moscow.com>,
>       "'Moscow Vision 2020'" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
> Date sent:      Mon, 3 Jul 2006 16:37:17 -0700
> Copies to:
> Subject:        [Vision2020] A New Witch Hunt
>
> [ Double-click this line for list subscription options ]
>
> An editorial from the July 10, 2006 edition of the Army Times -
>
> For you Wiccans out there.  You know who you are.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> A New Witch Hunt
> Search for recognition falls victim to misconceptions about Wicca
>
> By Charles C. Haynes
>
> The current flap involving Wiccans in the military is a conflict that 
> should
> never have happened. But years of foot-dragging by the Department of
> Veterans Affairs have turned an easy case into a major controversy 
> complete
> with charges of discrimination and threats of lawsuits.
>
> All VA needs to do is announce that the pentacle - a five-pointed star 
> that
> symbolizes the Wiccan faith - has been added to the list of 38 "emblems of
> belief" approved for placement on government headstones and memorials. No
> big deal, end of story.
>
> Instead, VA keeps saying that it is "reviewing the process" - and will 
> make
> a decision at some indeterminate time in the future.
>
> Roberta Stewart has been hearing this bureaucratic mumbo jumbo for the 
> past
> eight months. She just wants to honor her husband, Patrick, a soldier in 
> the
> Nevada National Guard killed in combat last September in Afghanistan. Sgt.
> Stewart, who was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart,
> among other honors, was a Wiccan.
>
> But Stewart's request to have a pentacle engraved on her husband's 
> memorial
> plaque has been repeatedly denied pending review of the VA policy. His 
> space
> on the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial wall remains blank.
>
> Eventually, VA will have no choice but to allow the pentacle. Nevada
> politicians from both parties, as well as advocacy groups from the left 
> and
> right, are demanding the change.
>
> Then there is the small matter of the First Amendment: It's clearly
> unconstitutional for the government to deny the Wiccan symbol while
> permitting symbols of many other religions.
>
> If approval of the pentacle is inevitable, why is VA taking so long to 
> make
> a decision?
>
> For Roberta Stewart, it has been a long and frustrating eight months. But
> other Wiccans have been pushing for VA recognition of the pentacle for 
> more
> than nine years. (According to the Defense Department, some 1,900
> active-duty service members identify themselves as Wiccans.)
>
> At first blush, the years of VA stonewalling doesn't make sense. A glance 
> at
> the 38 approved emblems suggests that any religion can make the list. In
> addition to all of the world's major faiths, a number of obscure sects are
> represented, such as Eckankar, a New Age group that espouses out-of-body
> travel. Atheists have a symbol, too. If VA is applying some kind of
> religious test to keep out the Wiccans, it's hard to fathom what it might
> be.
>
> Before last fall, VA blamed the rules. Applicants had to provide
> documentation from a central authority certifying a symbol as 
> representative
> of that religion. Because Wiccans have no recognized head or hierarchy,
> their applications were rejected. Rules are rules.
>
> Bipartisan outrage over Sgt. Stewart's case inspired a new set of rules.
> Now, applicants are required to provide historic background and
> documentation of use to get a symbol approved. Roberta Stewart has filled
> out all of the forms. But she's still waiting.
>
> So what's the problem? VA isn't talking. But the delay may have to do with
> the fact that Roberta Stewart went public. Putting atheists on the list 
> when
> no one is paying attention is one thing, but announcing recognition of the
> Wiccan pentacle in the glare of the media spotlight is another.
>
> Few people have even heard of Eckankar, but almost everyone has an opinion
> about Wiccans. Unfortunately, most of what people think they know about
> Wicca is false. Wicca is a nature-based religion centered on a belief that
> the divine permeates all life. Wiccans have nothing to do with black magic
> or satanic worship, but try explaining that to a misinformed public.
>
> VA is probably remembering the last time Wiccans in the military made
> headlines. About six years ago, news reports of Wiccan ceremonies at Fort
> Hood, Texas, and other bases provoked some conservative Christian groups 
> to
> call on Christians not to enlist or re-enlist in the Army.
>
> Under the First Amendment, the Army had no choice then, just as VA has no
> choice now, but to accommodate Wiccans in the same way it accommodates 
> other
> religious groups. But any "acceptance" of witches - who have long been
> demonized in Christian history - is certain to stir up trouble for the
> military.
>
> It's also possible that VA lawyers are beginning to realize that any
> guidelines for government-sanctioned "emblems of belief," however 
> carefully
> crafted, are unworkable. In a nation where people are free to choose in
> matters of faith, the government should stop trying to figure out which
> symbols are "acceptable" and instead allow each family to choose whatever
> symbol best represents their convictions.
>
> In other words, cut through all of the bureaucratic red tape and jettison
> the "emblems of belief" list entirely.
>
> Meanwhile, however, VA should act immediately to honor Roberta Stewart's
> request and fill in the blank space reserved for Sgt. Stewart. After all, 
> if
> we can't live up to religious freedom at home, we have no business asking
> soldiers to die for religious freedom abroad.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> "Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the 
> tranquil
> and steady dedication of a lifetime."
>
> --Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.
>
>
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