I have heard the rumors that various news media networks are
biased and provide skewed information.
It is outrageous to think that the media that was once looked to for
unbiased information and truths is now nothing more than a pawn. Recently I was forced to see the truth of
this bias when a cause, circulated on Facebook, highlighted a ridiculous video
riddled with misunderstanding and inaccuracies targeting wiccans and pagans. There are so many inaccurate and bigoted
statements in this video I’m not quite sure where to start!
The Video In Question
The Video In Question
These three Fox News representatives cajole cavalierly while
poking fun at a nationally recognized religion.
To make matters worse their attitude and facts are severely lacking. This already seriously misunderstood religion
makes for an easy target for Fox News who apparently felt the population of
pagans/Wiccan was so insignificant that they could be insulting without
consequence.
The video starts with the statement “The PC Police are at it
again”, Yet this video continues to bash Wiccan/pagans, and the only other
mention of a PC issue is when the woman in the video states “and somehow if you
are Christian in this country you can’t say merry Christmas to someone or else
you are trying to push your Christian faith on other people.” I’m not sure what, if anything, this has to
do with Wiccans/pagans. As far as I can
see there is more bitterness about not being able to say “Merry Christmas” and
honor their Christian belief’s then there is any truth or validity to the slams
against Wicca and paganism.
Starting this video with the statement that “The PC Police
are at it again” is absolute ridiculous, Wicca/Paganism is a nationally
recognized religion, so why shouldn’t they have at least their main Sabbats
recognized, along with the others we already observer. Furthermore I cannot see how an entity
deciding to acknowledge Wiccan and pagan holidays warrants an attack on the
religion itself, particularly an attack that is largely misrepresentative of
the religion and the people who follow it.
Fox News scoffed at the Wiccan and pagan population, they
gleefully say they don’t make up a large portion of the population when in
fact, I maintain, they can’t verify that. Many wiccans and pagans keep to themselves and
keep their religion under wraps for fear of misunderstanding or even
persecution. They keep to themselves
because they know the rest of the world is willingly ignorant, much like these
three in this video. In fact a New York
Times article from 2007 cited Wicca as the country’s fastest-growing religion,
despite observers of the religion feeling as though they have to hide in the
proverbial broom closet. In another
article from the New York Times in 2009, a sociologist doing research on Pagan
demography said she believe that the more accurate number would be between
500,000 and one million practitioners.
One man states “The bad side of Wiccanism is that it is
obviously a form of witchcraft, but the upside you get a ton of holidays.” There is simply no way not find this statement
offensive regardless of your religion. They
later make the statement “But you get 20 days so I guess if you are going to go
with one that is the one you go with” which is equally offensive because it
once again suggests that a person will select their faith, not on heritage, not
on spirit, not on heart, but on how many holiday’s they receive. Anyone of any faith would be offended at the
suggestion that they choose their belief based on the number of holidays. These statements are offensive not only to
Wiccans/Pagans but to any other religion.
I submit that the statement “The bad side of Wiccanism is that it is
obviously a form of witchcraft” is completely unprofessional, offensive, judgmental
and shows a complete lack of knowledge on the subject as a whole.
Tammy Bruce mentions that “It’s not about elevating anyone
else”, yet how do you explain not recognizing a nationally accepted religion,
or worse, slamming a national accepted religion and taking the stance they
shouldn’t have their celebrated holidays.
She states that pagan and wiccans
are being used to further a political agenda, to downgrade what is important to
majority of Americans, I thought freedom of religion was important to the
majority of Americans. How is allowing a
nationally accepted religion holiday’s, downgrading what is important to the majority
of Americans, and can you back this statement up with facts? She starts to say that pagans and wiccans
should be angry about being used and you can hear a chuckle from one of the
men, the outright disrespect and demeaning attitude of this man is appalling. I don’t expect people to agree with everything
but I do expect media personalities to be as neutral as possible and set aside
their own personal belief’s when reporting, to do anything less compromises
your integrity.
Another statement “tradition in this country is what allows
people to be pagans and wiccans to enjoy their their lives freely, good luck
doing that in any other country” is equally lacking. Are these people actually saying that Wiccans
and pagans are fortunate enough to be allowed their belief so they should be
happy with that and not request their holiday’s be observed? Did they bother to check that Druidry was
accepted in Britain as a religion, that in many other countries there are old
religions that are accepted, so really what was the factual base for this
statement. Are you saying it’s enough
that we tolerate you as a pagan, so just sit down and shut up, because that is
how this comes across?
Next we will attempt
to address the ludicrous statement that “every wiccan I know is a compulsive
dungeons and dragons player or a middle age twice divorced older woman living
in a rural area who works as a midwife” and as the other fellow adds “and likes
a lot of incense.“ I’m not sure what people
these guys associate with but I can assure you that the majority of pagans and
wiccans I know are highly intelligent, carry on successful lives, and often
have prominent careers. I know of
several wiccans that work in the computer field as programmers or technicians,
several others that work in high management positions, one who works for GE and
others who are highly motivated and self-employed. Almost
of them have 4 year degrees or Master’s degrees, and almost all own their own
house and live in well-populated areas, although I suspect many of them would
like more land since they are usually of the Earth and for the Earth. Furthermore it is exactly these stereotypes ,
that a New York Times article found, was responsible for people not coming
forward and expressing their religion.
One of these guys states that he has interviewed wiccans and
the majority said “we are the most peaceful people, we don’t practice crazy
things, we are just of the earth”, so why then would you attack a peaceful
people and speak so offensively about their belief, why would you downgrade
their right to celebrate their holidays?
Possibly one of the most ignorant statements made was “Except any religion whose most sacred day
is Halloween, I just can’t take seriously,” Carlson added. “I mean, call me a
bigot. And I’m not, you know, not offering an editorial against Wiccanism.” Well, I won’t say Carlson here is a bigot,
but he is certainly misguided, uneducated, and speaking out of turn. Check your facts, Halloween was
established long after this day was sacred to the Celtic and Shaman belief’s
that make up the modern practice of Wicca.
Perhaps you need a history lesson the Celtic faith and Native American faith,
that founded Wicca, were established long before Christianity.
For your information Fox News, There are eight (8) major
Sabbat’s; Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltain, Litha, Lughnasadh, and Mabon.
Samhain is the time of rebirth as it heralds a new year, it
has long since been celebrated as the time when the veil between the living and
dead is the thinnest and subsequently communications with ancestors is
prevalent.
Yule takes place on December 21 and was a pagan holiday long
before Christianity’s Christmas, and is where the tradition of having a Yule
log and mistletoe was derived. This was
when the Goddess gave birth to the God, sound familiar.
Imbolc on February 2nd is considered Brigit’s Day so named
after the revered Celtic goddess Brighid who was known for peace and love.
Ostara March 21 signifies the rebirth of life, this was when
the Goddess and God began their courtship, and I might remind you once again
these are traditions that were around in their respective territories LONG
before Christianity.
Beltain a period of consummation, a time for new
beginnings, also known for the Maypole.
Litha the summer solstice or midsummers eve, the celebration
of fertility of the gods and goddess.
Lughnasadh, August 1st
A festival of the dead, a time to harvest.
Mabon September 21 is a time of thanks for what has been harvested.
References;
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Я за общую религию ! Бог един !
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