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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 19421
[Civil]
Date Posted:
2/27/2008
11:57:57 am EST
Wvox Stats
Views: 5,430
RSS: 18,480
Comments: 11
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Do Olympia Residents Support Government Intrusion?
Author: Rick Taylor Source: The Olympian (WA)
Title: DO OLYMPIA RESIDENTS SUPPORT GOVERNMENT INTRUSION?
I ran across a Wiccan in Olympia recently. I wasn't surprised because Olympia prides itself on being a bastion for liberal causes and lifestyles. But I might have been wrong about him, and maybe Olympia, too.
We spoke briefly of his beliefs before our paths diverted. He said Wiccans prefer their food from nature, as part of the natural cycle, which includes hunting your own meat. I later realized his Wiccan dining desires necessarily lead to conservative views on gun ownership, hunting restrictions, and who is allowed to catch how much salmon. He must resent all of the government restrictions on the naturally free lifestyle he would like to lead.
I wonder if he knows how conservative he is. I wonder if Olympia knows how conservative it is.
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Community Thoughts: There are 11 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Who Is This Guy? | Feb 29th. at 9:46:00 am EST
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Sphinxring (Olympia, Washington) - Email Me
I've lived in Olympia for many years. There are lots of pagans here. And the writer just ran into one? And then goes off on a rant about what pagans believe based on a conversation with one.
The locals refer to the Olympian as "the zero".
To be fair I have been approached by reporters from the Olympian about doing articles for various pagan holidays. I suppose I should give it a shot, but having had a bad experience with an article about my daughter's home birth, I am reluctant.
I myself am a delegate for Barak Obama, vegitarian mostly, a pacifist, and not really conservative. In fact I'm what people used to call "progressive"
Personal freedom is something you do, not a political category.
As far as government intrusion, you are an idiot if you don't assume that everything you say and do can't come back at you. If you speak the truth and keep your secrets, you shouldn't be afraid to say what you think.
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| Oddly-enough, | Feb 28th. at 12:59:53 pm EST
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Friday Scott (Middleton, Wisconsin) - Email Me
...this fellow's using the conservative press' definition of 'liberal' and then being surprised that a Wiccan doesn't fit it... Actually, it probably doesn't apply to many. I think what he's *really* surprised at is finding that people tend to be pretty reasonable about stuff like that.
Why he should be surprised there are Wiccan hunters when so many of us revere Gods who *are* hunters and huntresses, well, hey. I dunno.
This doesn't mean we may not see the need for rules about hunting to protect the very wilds we love, (We may eat what we take, with respect for the land and the spirits, but there *are* yahoos who think they have every right to blow away anything in sight and at most take trophies. A little regulation ain't a bad thing, not that anyone likes bureaucracy. ) ....or regulations that may prevent people from walking into gun stores and out with assault weapons....
Come to think of it, all the hunters I know are voting for Obama. Go figure. :)
The stereotypes of Wiccans as fundamentalist Vegans, I don't know where they get that notion, except from may a few who seem to get all crabby from the lack of animal protein, :) You respect what you eat, animal, vegetable, or fungus...
However you do that.
Of course that doesn't necessarily mean even self-identified 'conservative' Pagans, or liberals who tend to be for reasonable gun rights... (Mindful and responsible use of power is the cornerstone of our *religion,* after all,) toe the party lines. Maybe some of it fits some of the conservative ideals that neocons don't exactly live up to, but, ...I don't see even Republican Pagans supporting the notion of ignoring global warming while drilling in the ANWR till the permafrost melts and the pipeline sinks. :)
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| And Yet... | Feb 28th. at 12:22:21 pm EST
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booley (Saint Louis, Missouri) - Email Me
It's conservative pundits that want us to accept our government being able to spy and arrest people without a warrant, that the pResident is above the law. It keeps ending up the Conservative politicians that want to give Telecoms immunity for what they claim is legal (why would you need immunity if you did nothing wrong?) . It's been conservatives that have regulated the food industry allowing the factory farms to do whatever they want (including adding GM food and more pesticides) .
Positions that the majority of the country and Liberals all oppose.
In fact, most people support protecting the environment, using laws to keep the air and water clean, letting gays and lesbians marry.
Many even support having universal health care for everybody even if that means (gasp!) raising taxes to do so!
I don't think most Pagans are not necessarily conservative. I think most Pagans, like most people , actually are liberal even when they consider themselves conservative when you examine what they actually believe.
It's just they get hung up on the word "Liberal". They hate liberals and yet somehow believe in the same things liberals do.
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| Enjoyed The Article | Feb 28th. at 11:14:34 am EST
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Christopher Blackwell (Deming, New Mexico) - Email Me
Nit picking aside, what is wrong with considering that we may indeed of conservative Wiccans and Pagans? Because of course we do. Don't let that bend you out of shape and let them have their say as well. After all we claim to believe in diversity so lets walk the walk.
I was a letter friend with a Wiccan that owned three ranches in Texas and voted for Bush and worked on Republican campaign committees. Her idea of a bad year was when the price of her natural gas wells went down and she could only have a new Lincoln Town Car instead of a cruise to Alaska. By the way she and her husband created their wealth from scratch. She even did prison ministry and kept her friendships for years.
I think we saw each other as a bit exotic. By the way she never trapped a coyote to protect her cattle. Instead she researched and then bought Wolf hounds to protect her cattle and let the coyote take on the rodents for her. She too good care of her grasslands, after all she paid taxes on every square inch of it.
Not my way to live life but we liked and respected each other. I knew her until she died of pneumonia suddenly and her husband let me know. I don't know what his religion was but apparently he was nice enough to let all of her friends know what happened. I bet he was conservative as well.
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| WTF? | Feb 27th. at 11:26:06 pm EST
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AnnieBW (Laurel, Maryland) - Email Me
I'm all for eating organic and local, but painting all of us with a broad brush saying that we "prefer our food from nature" is ridiculous!
Great. People, stop trying so hard to pigeonhole us. The MSM doesn't need any help!
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| As An Aside | Feb 27th. at 11:14:08 pm EST
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Morboriel (Brooklyn, Arizona) - Email Me
Granted, I know things get edited in articles, but I wish people would stop making broadbrush statements to the press about their personal practices being intrinsic to Wicca or whatever path they're on.
The last time I checked, there were no dietary laws requiring "food from nature" in BTW Wicca or any other of the 31 flavors. When I was Wiccan, I was a city slicker that preferred my food from Costco, kthx.
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| Media Labels | Feb 27th. at 6:15:49 pm EST
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Richard Brownbear (North Wilkesboro, North Carolina) - Email Me
Liberalism/Conservatism are just labels the media uses for hype and sensationalism.
They are not real, anymore than Bush's intelligence.
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| As Usual The Press Has It Wrong ! | Feb 27th. at 12:42:32 pm EST
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Libertarian (Langley, Washington) - Email Me - Web
The issues raised by the artical have nothing to do with liberal or conservative. Both the Ls and the Cs want to limit our freedoms. The only difference between them is what causes they support.
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