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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 18600
[Pagan]
Date Posted:
9/30/2007
10:11:52 am EDT
Wvox Stats
Views: 6,470
RSS: 15,774
Comments: 6
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Coming Out Of The Broom Closet
Author: Jon Tattrie Source: The Halifax Daily News (NS)
Title: COMING OUT OF THE BROOM CLOSET
Earlier this month, a Halifax hedge-witch and her two pagan friends were attacked leaving her home, leading her to decide she must leave the city for the safety of her children. The woman said she has been repeatedly targeted because of her religion.
Imagine if the violence had been directed at Jews leaving a synagogue, or Muslims leaving a mosque. Would Haligonians tolerate such an attack?
Wicca is a religion deeply imbued with negative images. We all know what a witch looks like: pointy hat, green face, warts, giant nose. AntiSemitic cartoons use a similar image. Both were born out of hate campaigns.
Vanessa Smith of Little Mysteries on Barrington Street says the attack was doubly unfortunate - because of the pain caused to those attacked, and because it does not reflect the Halifax she knows.
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Community Thoughts: There are 6 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| This Is Deep | Oct 1st. at 9:57:50 pm EDT
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Maplecrow (Tucson, Arizona) - Email Me
The origional article was not too long ago, and some events effect others differently. I think that if that happened in my town,
I would take note of it, but not let it keep me indoors.
For a long time I hid myself as a pagan from the public, but after a while I was happy to be "out of the broom closet." I am still having some issues with people.
My own mother still sleeps with her bible next her pillow, since the day she found out I was pagan. ( Note: my mother never did that before.)
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| It's Not About The Attack | Oct 1st. at 10:56:04 am EDT
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Words of Wisdom Books (Halifax, Nova Scotia) - Email Me
This article was not meant to be specifically about the attack, it appeared in our Sunday paper in the author's "Spirituality" column because he had never written about the pagan community here before and he wanted to cover us. He mentioned the attack because it had recently been in the news.
The original article covering the attack, from the same newspaper, was posted here at the time and a close friend of the victim posted more information in the comments section of that artlcle.
I wrote to Jon Tattrie to express my thanks for a well-balanced piece, and he wrote back to thank me :)
The pagan community here gets almost zero press generally and it was nice to see an informative article, even if it did have a few bloopers.
Ariana
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| It Makes Me Angry | Oct 1st. at 1:35:29 am EDT
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Bellagunn (fairmont, West Virginia) - Email Me
Violence has been directed at someone specifically for thier religious views and nothing but a sympathetic news article that is mostly fluff has come out of it. The idea that 'karma will get them' (that poor misused word) or the abuse of do what you will and harm no one (which really just seems to encourage marterdom as easily as the christian concept turn the other cheek) Be assured that if myself or my children were attacked in such a way my attackers would find themselfs at the wrong end of a police report with a very nasty law suit on their hands. Last I checked assult was a jailable offence (not sure canadian legal codes) . I would not pack it up with my tail between my legs. Why is it that people whine for acceptance and then do absolutely nothing when confronted with bigotry. We just assume because we are accepting (some more than others) of other view points that people should be tolorant of ours by default. Last I checked the world is quite the opposite. I have all ways been "out of the broom closet" and have faced my fair share of criticism and intolerance but I have always approached those confrontations from a civil point of view. These are my rights, these are your rights, we don't have to agree but we have to deal with it. You have yours I have mine. I have lost a few friendships and strained some work relations because I wear a pentacle (hey gotta have some protection in the nasty world) but if Walter can set up his christian nativity at his desk and keep it up year round I can have my tastefully clothed god and goddess and if anyone has a problem with it they can go suck an egg. (or whatever else does it for them) Where is the community? Where is the law? Why is no one showing the least bit of concern over what is obviously a hate crime.
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