QOTD

[sanacrow]

from Elf, in her post here:

"I can't honestly say to the nonPagan public, we are safe; we are not harmful to our members. Because we put our members through hells, dredge their psyches for pain and force them to swallow it and then tell them to ask for more. We dance with demons. Almost always, metaphorical ones. People who get into this stuff the wrong way, or without being balanced just right, or at a rough time in their lives--lose their partnerships of years, lose their jobs, lose their sanity, lose their connection with humanity. They go to jail or turn up homeless. Sometimes, they commit suicide.

While I'd love for us to have a statement we can agree on, decrying sexual abuse, decrying the abuse of minors, phrased in a way to be a useful resource to the media or to members of our community... a lot of the people involved in the discussion don't seem to want that. Or they don't seem to want *just* that. They want a statement that says "we are GOOD and you can TRUST US!"

And you can't. We hurt people. The ones we love and respect most, we demand the most of; they give up *everything* for their spiritual paths. Done right, religious witchcraft *shatters* the lives of its practitioners--and the really talented ones put together a beautiful mosaic out of the pieces. The rest... don't.

I want to look at all those nice curious teens who heard about Wicca on a blog somewhere, and tell them, "go away; there be dragons here." I don't want that message diluted with statements about our ethics, even accurate ones. I really don't want it diluted with feelgood platitudes that imply that all of Pagandom is gentle and supportive and people who get involved with it should never be disturbed at what's going on around them.

Thou Shalt Not Eat Poisoned Bait. If You Do, Don't Come Whining To Me About It."

Comments

[walk_of_the_fallen]

Well said. And people wonder why I will NOT try to convert anyone to my way. Of course, I do not understand folks of any spiritual stripe who think that religion automatically confers peace and ease of mind.

There comes the agon first. And it isn't over quickly.

[dana3.livejournal.com]

She's right. Ecstatic mystery religion has never been 'safe' -- but neither are we (usually) dangerous in the way(s) Joe Public fears. I really like that phrase about 'the really talented put together a beautiful mosaic out of the pieces', and the rest -- don't. Joe Public seems to think we have a duty of care to the rest. I'm not sure if we do, in the first place, and how we might structure such a duty of care if we collectively choose to take on that responsibility. (I'm reminded of Uncle Al's famous booby-traps, and how many boobs he caught therein. They went mad. Was that ~his~ responsibility?)

[aislingthebard.livejournal.com]

Oh. My. Goddess. Joe. Yes, yes, yes, that. What you said.

[kadymae.livejournal.com]

Done right, religious witchcraft *shatters* the lives of its practitioners.

Exactly.

Paganism isn't the easy alternative to the Abrahamic religions.

[shades-of-nyx.livejournal.com]

Thank you.
From one of the shattered who is not done rebuilding her mosaic.