I agree with mech. Not all religious beliefs are treated equally. I have personally witnessed multiple places here in the US where Christianity reigns supreme in treatment. I've seen how even a Muslim get punished for practicing his/her religion, whereas the Christian is appraised for his/her "evangelism." I say that in quotes because what I have witnessed is called such, but how they do it is quite rude. I mean not to bash any belief. I merely state it as I see it. The first amendment/bill of rights may state as prior said concerning religion, but that does not mean that it actually gets upheld. It doesn't.
Sure FOX News cast has the right to freedom of speech , but that doesn't mean it's right nor justified to slander entire communities and religions. It's a problem when you have these communities struggling to show what they are all about. Struggling to show the truth to people all over about Pagan practices. But it's lack of knowledge and lack of care to put in proper study that gets people like that news cast to say such ignorant statements. Which in turn, people who know no better will believe. They will tell it to their buddies. Their buddies tell it to their buddies. And so on. Then the stubbornness of most people will be cause for why people won't listen. Once they get it in their mind, all other information that doesn't back up their false information is ignored; in one ear and out the other. Sure, sign a petition and make them apologize. Will it be an honest apology? Not hardly. But at least it will be a wake up call to millions of people that "hey, these new casts told false information. I shouldn't believe what they say," or so we can hope. But reality is cruel. And society is cruel too. Odds are they will weasel their way into making Pagans look like a bunch of whiney pricks who threw a tantrum and wants their toy to be happy.
Either way, at least we can say "we are one step closer than we were before to being taken serious for what we believe and practice." That's better than sitting back and letting people walk all over us. Let them take one step without making your voice known and it'll keep happening. Tell them what's what, and you just may get some where. No, it most likely will not be a short coming reality. Odds are it'll take a very long time before true equality is recognized. Look at black rights and women's rights. Is there true equality for either one? No. There are still many places you can go to today where African-Americans (and many other races for that matter) and women do not get fair treatment. Is it right? No. But it happens. All that can be done is acknowledge it's there, and stand up against it in legal mannners to one day hope for true equality without discrimination.
Re: Raise Pagan Awareness By: Lark Moderator / Adept
Post # 10 Feb 21, 2013
I will point out for those who are concerned about their privacy that the petition site will not count your vote unless you agree to give them access to your Facebook friend's list and all of the demographics from your profile. While I support the idea of petitioning Fox to apologize, I'm not about to give any on-line entity access to my personal information to do it. That just opens up a whole different can of worms.
I think it is nothing but republican trash and the head of the beast is probably some higher up in the white house who is a conservative controlling the network
Fox news has ALWAYS talked bad about every religion that isn't Christianity and hate everyone that isn't heterosexual and I take great offense as I'm neither of those
I do respect everyone and their right to an opinion but I feel your opinion is your own and shouldn't be pushed upon others on media such as TV news
it's fox news, no one should be surprised at this point. i would like an on air apology [if lucky a sincere one but i doubt it] and a segment explaining the real facts about Wicca and Paganism [more likely outcome over the sorry] this will probably never happen though. circulate the petition, even if you don't sign it, they have a link to the anchors contact information, plus the head of the company and the stations address. send them a letter or an email. leave it at one, don't 'put a curse on them' or insult their religion, just mail them stating you were offended and want an on air apology and a segment explaining the facts about the religion.
what really disgusts me is if they said this about ANY other group, religious, gender, or ethnic, they'd be forced to do a retraction and an apology by the next day at the very latest, if not fired. but because we're pagan it doesn't matter?it's the 21 century, why aren't we past this? we have laws to protect our rights, but that keeps getting thrown out the window.
In the minds of some people only mainstream things are accepted like they should be and they reject everything they know nothing about
It just goes back to people thinking Satanism is killing goats and homosexuality is a giant orgy because people view everything they know nothing about as evil and wrong
I couldn't agree more with Mechtavolk. I posted this in response to Fox earlier:
I'm offended just like everyone else here, even if I'm not technically wiccan, but this could actually be an opportunity for us. Think about it, Wicca has always been looked down upon by civilized society for being superstitious and weird and hasn't often been granted the same rights as other religions, perhaps this could be our chance to take a stand. Many more people like to hate on Fox News than watch it, so we have a potential audience.
Someone, preferably a figure (the more "normal" the better) with a reasonable amount of authority such as a business executive, could push for their appearance on a major news program to explain what Wicca is really about and defend it. Hell, this forum could be cited as an example. Yes we have Fluffies who think they've found Hogwarts, but we also have a very diverse community from all different faiths and cultures that practice magic. I myself am pursuing a degree in physics and I practice magic; even science (not necessarily the mainstream paradigm, I admit) is compatible with magic.
We finally have the chance to let the world know about us and who we really are. Let's take it. Instead of complaining about how Fox is wrong, let's prove them wrong for the whole world to see. Let's take finally take a peaceful stand against the ignorant and bigoted that have repressed people like us for centuries and show everyone else the truths that we've kept hidden out of fear for our own safety. Let us finally work to create a world where Wicca is not feared or decried, but accepted and respected. A world where magic is not quite as scary or strange as it seems today. Don't we all want that?
Apparently Tucker Carlson of Fox News is going to publicly apologize and correct his misinformation tomorrow morning on the Fox and Friends segment. We have yet to see how this will turn out, obviously, but it's a step forward as he will be reporting information - from other Pagans - on what our holidays and beliefs actually are.
However, and this is somewhat concerning, Bill O'Reilly is doing a segment on Paganism and Wicca tonight.
So the segment on the O'Reilly Factor was actually not bad.
Carlson's apology was short, vague, and over all unimpressive. Still, our voice was heard and several Non-Pagans the nation over (I stopped counting e-mails to my YouTube after 20,) have taken interest in our religion.
So, now we begin the "clean-up." We explain our holidays, we provide information, we guide people who are interested in Paganism to get back in touch with their ancetral culture. A lot of work, but it's good to see that some good has come of this ordeal.
As much as I like the idea of new members and tolerance to our beliefs. I still think that we should remain solitary and descrit in our practices from other religions.
SPQR, the only reason wiccans and pagans have ever valued discretion and secrecy is out of fear of persecution. I understand completely that the practice of magic itself must be disseminated carefully, lest it be taught to one not wise or learned enough to use it properly. There is no reason, however, for the role which we have played in the world to be kept secret any longer. The secrets of the craft may remain within the circles we have already established, but we no longer have a need to keep the fundamental religious and philosophical beliefs we hold from the world at large. The age of fear has ended, the few who still fear that which they do not understand are diminishing in number rapidly. The time has come to tell the world that we are here now, we have always been here, and we always will be. They are free to learn from us, just as we are free to walk amongst them.
