Witchvox Article

Author: Fairy Writer
Posted: March 25th. 2007
Times Viewed: 2,155

The last school year proved to be a rather long one. But I guess it all started off as my fault. After all, I had chosen to write about my faith for a class assignment.

It had been a relatively short narration about “A Day in the Life of a Real Teen Witch”. It was, after all, an assignment, and I had a strict format to write it by. For this reason, a lot of what I wanted to include did not make the final draft. In reality, after much editing to fit the given outline, the piece turned out to be more like “Five Minutes in the Life of a Real Teen Witch”. I believe my grade was somewhere along the lines of a B+. Not my best work of prose, I have to admit, but it apparently made quite an impression on my English teacher.

For the rest of the school year every time a religious discussion would come up on class (for whatever reason), I would find the teacher tip toeing nervously away from the subject. And no matter who brought the topic up, or what, exactly, the topic dealt with, I would always receive at least a passing nervous glance from my teacher. It was as if she was expecting me to call “Foul!” or cry out against an apparent yet totally imaginary discrimination of some sort.

I don’t think she realized how comically she was acting when she made a comment about Shakespeare mostly writing about real-life topics. She goes on to note the exception that there are Witches in Hamlet, and that that is “a little far fetched”. In the middle of this statement, she stops and looks nervously at me.

“Well, then again there are some people who enjoy and believe that sort of thing, ” she quickly corrects herself, her eyes darting around the room as if the whole room was glaring at her shamefully for her inexcusable, insensitive statement.

She looks proud of herself for correcting her slip-up and quickly moves on. She doesn’t notice the way I smirk and roll my eyes, or the fact that the other Witch in the class rolls her eyes as well at the statement.

In all fairness, neither of us expected her to share our feelings on magic or the existence of witches in today’s world. Even we do not share all of the same sentiments regarding religion, after all. Besides that, it seems that most “rationally thinking” adults think magic is merely a bunch of parlor tricks, and that Wicca is only something of make-believe for immature teenagers.

Later in the year, a constant tormentor of my friends and I proclaims in the middle of our English class that “A Witch in this class put a curse on me and she really needs to stop it.” What really happened was that he had publicly ridiculed one of the more popularly suspected Witches in our grade, and he was having a bit of a bad luck streak.

Our fair teacher’s eyes immediately focus on me questioningly. Or is it accusingly? It’s hard to tell, really.

No matter that the boy was talking about a different person entirely. No matter that the assignment that revealed my faith to this teacher earlier in the year clearly stated I practice a “harm none” way of life. No matter that every student in that room knew exactly who and what the boy was talking about, and that it wasn’t me. No matter that the boy had not, in fact, been cursed, but was only trying to embarrass one of his favorite victims.

The teacher only knew that I practiced Witchcraft, and that meant I had to have been the Witch that was being accused. I bet the teacher felt foolish when the actual Witch in question turned to her accuser and told him to shut his delusional mouth, even more so when most of the rest of the class nodded or snickered in agreement. In a way I almost hope that she felt foolish, that she deserved to feel foolish.

Why is it that the people who disapprove of controversial issues choose their words the most carefully? For instance, supporters of same sex marriages freely use the term “gay marriage”, while those against them tiptoe around the term “homosexual marriage”.

People who do not practice Witchcraft who are not as open-minded tend to tiptoe around the subject more than those who are more accepting. They use the term Witch, usually for lack of a better one, but use it uncomfortably. Or they use the vague, and “politics friendly” term “Pagan” for a specific case, which for some reason leaves less of a bad taste in their mouths. Surely, there is nothing wrong with the term Pagan, but it is not always the most precise or best term one can use.

However, without people like my English teacher I guess there wouldn’t be a need for politically correct phrases. The world has developed the need for political correctness because of people who would other wise use hateful and harmful words without being checked in any way. But, it is the person saying the word that makes it hateful or harmful.

For example, unless they are used in a derogatory way, terms like “black”, “gay”, etc. (and even “Witch”) are *usually* not taken as offensive. Why would they be? Had my teacher felt that Wicca and Witchcraft were valid, “real” things in today’s world, I doubt that she would have been so touchy about the subject, or so quick to jump to conclusions.

In this sense, I hope that there will be a day that there is no need for anything to be “politically correct”. I hope that my future children, if I decide not to home school them, never come across such a politically correct teacher. For, even though politically correct terminology is created to not discriminate, it does just that. It makes people stand out, like they cannot be addressed in a normal way. As if they are that much different from the “normal people”. It singles people out and brings them to the attention of others who would further discriminate them.

Use the term “Witch” comfortably and respectfully. Show us that you are being sincere and perhaps even friendly.

Let us know that you accept us for who we are, and not for some politically correct, cookie cutter mold.

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Fairy Writer

Location: South Amboy, New Jersey

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