Hey all
I must say I'm a bit perplexed this morning, after a friend rang my up to tell me that the daily mail were at it again with their anti - pagan articles. (Link to the offending article to follow)
Now after the last outrage with the Melanie Phillips article it seems that the daily mail have made a few changes to the way they run things, like actually doing research for their articles, although after reading through it i can see at least 3 different articles that have previously been written which seems to have been cut and pasted into it to make it seem more well researched...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1328968/Pagans-march--harmless-eccentrics-dangerous-cult.html
so if you've read it before continuing along mine, i will go through it point by point...
- At the same time, it emerged that the Metropolitan Police has produced a diversity handbook offering advice on handling witches and pagans. Officers are advised not to panic if they encounter a blindfolded person in the nude with their hands tied together. The book reassures them: ‘This is in accordance with ritual and has the full consent of the participant.’
This is a good a valid point, if the police are being told about this then more the power to them, they are making themselves aware of a particular belief system as to not cause offence... something that they will have done with muslims, sikh's and most other religions that are common in our multicutural society today. There is nothing in this comment that is particularly unusual to pagans (Besides the details of the ritual as most faiths differ)
- Jailed druids are now allowed to take twigs, or ‘magic wands’, into their prison cells, and are being given official days off prison work to worship the sun.
Now are you telling me that jailed Christian's are not alowed Christmas day off work? Or Muslims being fed after the sun has gone down during Ramadan? Cause it amounts to the same thing? I'm sure Sikh prisoners are still allowed to wear their Turban 24/7 of which one it its symbolism in respect and love to their god as well as a few practical reasons. Lets put this into perspective shall we? A spiritual or religious prisoner is allowed to show their praise/respect/love/devotion to their chosen deity/belief. That is basically what this reporter is stating... yes... very outrageous! How dare they?!?! (yes that was sarcasm)
- Mike Judge, spokesman for the Christian Institute, says: ‘The BBC down-plays Christianity and up-plays paganism which is unreflective of British society. It creates an atmosphere where it’s OK to marginalise Christians.’ He adds: ‘When it comes to granting pagans rights, this is surely a case of political correctness gone mad.
How is this unreflective to British society? As a Christian society we celebrate Christmas and Easter along with other Christian communities around the world also celebrating saints days and halloween (all saints day/ day of the dead) (Christmas being placed near the Pagan celebration of Yule which is the rebirth of the sun in the darkest part of the year. Sound familiar? & Easter being another Pagan festival celebrating new life coming to the winter-dead lands around us, Which the Christians plonked the crucifiction on, and correct me if I'm wrong but last time I checked, there wasn't a great big Rabbit/Hare giving out chocolate eggs somewhere in the middle east 2000 years ago... more Pagan symbolism which has been intergrated into Christian soceity to apease the Romans when their armies were half newly Christian converts, and die hard Pagans!
How is looking to our national heritage and trying to get back to our historical roots not reflecting British society? Gods only know!
- ‘What have pagans ever done? Historically, they produce unstable, violent societies — is that what we want?’
The only evidence there is of human sacrifice in British/Druid history is one sentence written by Julius Caesar in one of his journals. So going by this comment the romans weren't at all brutal and violent after their convert to Christianity at all... (sorry sarcasm again)
- Some might be concerned that small children were in attendance at the Samhain ceremony — the footage showed a young girl clutching a teddy — but Ronald Hutton, professor of history at the University of Bristol and the acknowledged UK expert on paganism, witchery and druids, says that witchcraft is benign, adding: ‘Unless you believe in evil spirits, which I don’t.’
firstly with this point... last time i checked children went to church or sunday school which amounts to the same thing, Paganism is a family religion which is very interactive, why shouldn't pagan parents include their children in such celebrations? Samhain is about remembering the dead and about the transition into the darker half of the year. Once again am I correct in asuming that you are telling me that we are not alowed to remember our dead? So no flowers on the grave? No photos around the house of loved ones long gone? I see of no reason why this celebration (or any other) should "not be for children" But one thing is nice to see and that is that this reporter has either read an article where UK Expert Prof Ronald Hutton has been quoted or has written it down from a television programe, Kudos to her! She's at least tried to show support for the opposition. (more than can be said of Mel P)
- There are thought to be about 500 pagan police officers. A Pagan Police Association has even been set up to represent those who ‘worship nature and believe in many gods’. To the consternation of many, they have been given the right to take days off to perform rituals, such as leaving food out for the dead, dressing up as ghosts and casting spells, or celebrating the sun god with what news reports have described as ‘unabashed sexuality and promiscuity’.
I've read this comment in about four different articles since Richard LittleJohn wrote it in 2009 (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1200220/Wheres-PC-Pagan-Hes-Summer-Solstice-Sarge-.html)
And then again in Mel P's Snot rag earlier this year (http://www.melaniephillips.com/articles-new/?p=769)
It is a misconception that Pagan police get "Extra" days off to celebrate the 8 festivals in the year, that actually don't get ahy extra time, they might just spend it differently, instead of taking Christmas day off they'd take off a day less that a week before. The Pagan police are not getting anything extra for now being called Pagan apart from the ability to say that they are Pagan and theres certainly no extra cash coming out of Mr UnME Taxpayers pocket to pay for it! So why is this so outrageous? its no more outragous that not eating before nightfall for Ramadan or having a couple of days off to celebrate Christs demise on a cross.
and as for unabashed sexuality and promiscuity... well I'm certainly not getting any! so where are these people going that I'm not?!? addresses on a postcard ;)
- Ian Haworth from the Cult Information Centre is more outspoken, however. He says: ‘Paganism does fit under the umbrella of the occult, and that brings concerns. ‘Many cults use the occult to brainwash people. ‘There are several pagan groups we are concerned by in Britain, they are operating as cults. Paganism is not necessarily harmless.’
Regarding Paganism and Cults there is a scale that is essential in determining a religion as a cult and this is the Bonewitz Cult Danger Scale. (http://www.unc.edu/~reddeer/tenets/00_bonewits.scale.html)
This is a scale which measures the "Cult-ism" of a group and I believe is used by the FBI and other big official bodies (just hearsay, but quite strongly believable hearsay)
Now here is a little experiment, compare your group that you are a part of to this scale, and then compare any big religion to it, i have christianity in mind but you choose which ever one you want. please comment with your results... it'll be interesting to see!
- Those living near ancient sites no longer believe paganism is harmless, however. They complain of pagans ransacking sites for souvenirs, scrawling graffiti on ancient stones, and leaving clothing, beer cans and wiccan effigies littered behind them. One critic, from Wiltshire, says of pagan activity at nearby Avebury, Silbury Hill and Stonehenge: ‘These people are entitled to their beliefs and pursuits, they are entitled to dress like Sixties hippy throwbacks, and make a lot of noise with drums. 'All I ask is that when they go they take with them their rubbish, tat, paraphernalia and imposed beliefs and leave our ancient sites tidy and tranquil once more.
For this particular Paragraph I have no excuses or explinations for. I have heard that during the summer Solstice that alot of non-Pagan people go there for a rave, and whether that contributes to it, I have no doubt, but there are litter bugs and people wanting to make their mark in any religion, I've been to churches where the same has been done, where its seeing "Bob woz ere 98" or whatever, but the whole concept of religion is the idea of permanance the idea that there is something bigger than ourselves that will be here to remember us even when we are gone, whether that be a father like figure sitting up in the clouds or whether is the whisper of the wind in the trees. There are also people that say that they are of a particular religion or belife that actually do it as a status thing that have no interest or knowledge of the reasons behind things.
Well i've gone throught the article and I've picked off all the skin, and I'm hopefully leaving anyone reading this article alittle bit better informed that before.
Quick note before I depart: always take anything you read in papers (I can name one in particular) or on the internet with a pinch of salt and if you're interested in it, always follow it up with research. There is nothing worse than listening to an ignorant person spouting off on a topic they know nothing about!
Ciao for now!
Gemz
www.dreamstonecrystals.co.uk
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