The Roughest of Roads
Author:
Posted: July 14th. 2001
Times Viewed: 3,102
I honestly wasn't intending to write an essay. Nope. Between work, college applications, and loan negotiations, I've been feeling pretty spent lately. Monday night found me awake late at night browsing the Witches' Voice, as always...and whaddaya know! New essay topics were up! Being the curious, writer-geek type I am, I couldn't help but take a peek. When I stumbled upon the first topic, acceptance, I couldn't help it. I HAD to write. I HAVE to write!! No matter how darn tired and cranky and worn-out I am...
"Acceptance: It's Getting Better All the Time..." - is it? That would definitely be nice. Nevertheless, I chuckled when I read that. I know the guidelines said something along the lines of wanting to hear our stories of how our religious paths have been accepted, but I can't write solely about that. The simple truth is, most people I've come across HAVEN'T accepted me or my beliefs. It would be nice to think that the world's a loving, caring, accepting place, but honest-to-goddess, for the most part, it isn't. I've found that when you reveal to the average Joe that you are Pagan/Wiccan/etc, the feedback and facial expressions you'll immediately receive are more often than not negative ones.
This morning, while at work, I experienced such a confrontation. My boss, who was usually a jovial and pleasant individual, was in a sour mood. She was peeved over the actions of a co-worker of mine (let's call her Donna), who'd been known to switch peoples' shifts around without asking, whine about her hours, and generally act like an all-around grouch. I admit, I'm not really a fan of Donna, so I can't really blame my boss for feeling that way...but, anyhow. It had come to the attention of my boss that Donna had been acting quite harshly towards another co-worker of mine (I'll call this one Jane). Jane was a devout Christian. She made no secret of her religion, but she didn't really go around preaching about it, either (which put her in MY good books). My boss then asked me as to why I thought that Donna would act harshly towards Jane.
"I don't know, " I mumbled, not wanting to become involved in some sort of silly soap opera-like argument. "Maybe because Jane's nice."
"Well, " hastily replied my boss, with a superior air resounding in her voice, "I know why! Jane is really Christian, you know...like, REALLY Christian, yeah..." she paused, and I nodded, "...and you see, I hear that Donna has been dabbling in things like Witchcraft, and Wicca...and the occult, which are all cults, really, I mean, Donna makes no secret that she's dabbling into this stuff. Anyhow, she treats Jane cruelly because Jane's a Christian, and Donna's religion teaches belief in Satan, and hatred of Christians and Jesus..."
At that point, I gulped. I hadn't mentioned to my boss, or anyone at work, the fact that I am a Pagan, a Witch. I knew that the bulk of my co-workers were what I call "Super Christians", and when questioned about my beliefs, I'd just shrug and say they were different, and they were my own. I knew that only arguments would spawn from me blatantly telling them about my faith, and since I planned on keeping my job for at least a while longer, it was an easy way to avoid the subject. Besides, arguing with people who have not a clue what they're arguing about is always a losing battle. No matter how right you are, or how much sense you make, so long as they believe THEY'RE right, you aren't going to get ANYWHERE...
Though I had avoided the subject of my religion previously, I figured it was high time I spoke up. I'm not the kind of person who'll just let people knock what I believe in.
"You know, " I calmly began, "...I've studied some of those religions and practices. Wicca, Witchcraft, Paganism...NONE of them teach hatred towards Christians." I paused, catching the horrified expression on my bosses' face out of the corner of my eye. "They teach acceptance of all, and many of the same values associated with the Christian religion can be found in these religions, as well...what goes around comes around, respecting your neighbors, etc."
I stopped, wondering how she, a Super Christian, would take that.
"That's BULLSHIT!" she cried, raising her voice suddenly. "They're CULTS! CULTS, and everyone knows it! It's brainwashing, that's what it is! Why...I...I can't believe this! You're such a good worker and YOU'RE dabbling in this shit, too?"
By then, my boss had made a spectacle, and I'm sure everyone was watching. I shrugged.
"I'm not dabbling, " I replied. "I AM a Pagan. A Witch. Whatever you want to call it."
Well, that was just great. I wholly expected to be fired on the spot. But instead, my boss decided to verbally cut into me, to assault my beliefs and attack my faith. For approximately half an hour, she lectured me on how I need to be "saved", how she knows that it's a cult (her pastor told her so), and how I must stop worshipping Satan. I would have tried to explain to her that I don't believe in Satan. I would have tried to explain to her everything...but, there are some people that you just can't explain diddly squat to, because they know everything, and they're always right. Ugh.
I went home feeling quite crappy, to say the least, realizing once again that people aren't going to spread out their arms to hug you when you tell them the truth. Another thing I realized was that people like Donna, who dabble, think they're some super-cool Miss Attitude Witch or something, and put others down for their beliefs...those people give us a bad name.
So...how has my religious path been accepted by the larger community here? It hasn't. Simple as that.
I don't know! Maybe it's just my community, the town I live in. It's populated by Roman Catholics and Evangelist Christians, most of them coming from rural farm-like backgrounds. Perhaps they just don't know any better. What a drag.
My family is a somewhat different and perhaps a bit more uplifting story. My mom refuses to believe I'm Pagan because what I tell her a Pagan is doesn't match up to what she "knows" a Pagan is. To her, a Pagan is a heathen, a Satanist, an evildoer. She simply sees me as someone who celebrates weird holidays, likes rocks and candles and all sorts of "odd junk" (as she put it), and knows a lot about pre-Jesus times. Well, hey. It's not great that she thinks so lowly of us Pagans, but I suppose I'm lucky she didn't disown me, or something. My dad, on the other hand, chooses to stay out of the whole religion issue, which to me seems like a very noble thing to do. At least he'll admit that he DOESN'T know what a Pagan is, whereas my mother will insist that she does. So I guess not all people are "bad" when it comes to acceptance...
It's true that Wicca, Witchcraft, and Paganism have been more widely accepted by the general public in terms of things such as television shows (remember that JAG episode? It wasn't great, but it could have been soooooooooo much worse) and the media. I even read an article about Paganism in a local paper, and was surprised to find that the article was rather on-the-ball and positive. But, as for communities...and people themselves? Well, all I can think of to say is that boy, we've got one heck of a long road ahead of us...
But honestly, though, it's a great road. It keeps life interesting. It teaches you to say, "So, what if people won't always accept me?". It teaches you some of the true things in life - that the world isn't all warm and fuzzy, that people AREN'T always nice, that old prejudices and stories always die hard. But, more important than these things is the fact that this road teaches you how to DEAL with that sort of crap. I know my experiences as a Pagan have certainly provided for me a few insights into how to handle certain situations and certain individuals. Many of these things I probably wouldn't have learned, had I chosen a different, mainstream-type religion.
So what if the road is rough? I wouldn't have it any other way.
Best of luck to everyone who's chosen a Pagan path,
RainCloud Wolf
ABOUT...
Location: , USA
Bio: Cloud's a slightly crazy, slightly lazy young Pagan, who thinks writing in the third person is nuts, but is willing to try it, anyhow. She likes snowboarding, art, design, music, and computers, as well as getting e-mail...and especially...CHOCOLATE! She has a crappy job right now, but never fear! She's leaving for college in a month or so. She hopes to become a web/graphic designer in the future -or a writer.
Other Articles: has posted 1 additional articles- View them?
Other Listings: To view ALL of my listings: Click HERE
Email ... (No, I have NOT opted to receive Pagan Invites! Please do NOT send me anonymous invites to groups, sales and events.)
|
|
