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There’s too much hate in the world right now. A lot of things need to change. Unfortunately, many people are going about their attempts to create change in a way that does more harm than good. One of those ways is that Pagans and Witches are spewing as much hate at the Christian community as they feel is being spewed at them. This isn’t going to help us, and we need to stop the cycle of hate.
They’re Not All Bad
As hard as it may be to believe, not all Christians are evil, nor have they ever been. What we see now, and what we’ve seen throughout history, are just the loud ones, the ones who took power through fear. The ones who were so scared themselves, that they felt the need to discredit or kill anyone who didn’t believe as they did. What we don’t really see is that there have always been Christians who thought the oppression and destruction of others was wrong. Unfortunately, they were, and still are, too afraid to speak up against the extremists.
I actually have some Christian friends who are amazing people. There are other Christians out there who are good people. They love their gay friends and gender-unsure children. They respect their neighbors of other religions. They speak only of Jesus’ love for all people, and how we need to unite through our commonalities, rather than divide from our differences. There are churches that welcome one and all. We may not see or hear from them often, but they do exist.
I’ve noticed recently that I’ve been seeing a handful of Christians online taking about how saddened and sickened they are by the current Christian Extremist movement. They’re appalled by the way these far-Right zealots are maligning the name of their God and Savior, using them as tools of oppression, violence and hate. They don’t understand, and certainly don’t approve of, people calling themselves Christian, while spewing hate on everyone they see. They don’t believe in taking away people’s rights or forcing everyone to believe one thing. As I said though, these people are too fearful to speak loudly enough to show the world that true Christians, and Christian Extremists, are not the same thing. I truly hope that more of them begin to speak out, and maybe they can bring about change from their side of the fence.
I Know It’s Hard
I realize that after centuries of persecution and destruction, it’s hard to have anything but hate for those who’ve done us and our predecessors so much harm. We’ve got generations of pain and rage built up inside us, and it wants to come out. Unfortunately, when we scream in hate, when we threaten them, when we call for an end to all that they are, we become them. We become the ones we despise. We can’t allow that to continue.
Pagans and witches typically refer to themselves as people of love, respect, kindness, and acceptance. All are welcome in the arms of the Goddess, or the God, or at the cauldron. Whatever you are, wherever you came from, and whoever you may become, is okay with us. We will love you. But then we face the Extremists, and it all goes out the window. I’ve seen Pagans and witches calling for Christianity to be banned, calling for the death of all Christians, people scream and slander and attack. It’s a knee-jerk reaction, I know, but we need to control ourselves. No matter what we’ve suffered in the past, no matter what we’re suffering now, we can’t become the thing we so despise.
We Have To Take The High Road
Biting your tongue in the face of such hate and ignorance is a challenge, no one’s going to deny that. Maintaining your calm when someone’s trying to destroy all that you are takes a force of will that not everyone has. We have to try though. Think about it, if you see two people screaming, swearing, tossing shit about like they’re on an episode of Jerry Springer, do you actually pay attention to what either of them is saying? Probably not. You either walk away, or watch the disaster as it unfolds just to see who comes out on top, with no care for what the fight was about. When both sides are being fools, being violent, being extreme, no one cares why they were fighting. When one side stays calm, when they stand there like a rock, wiping the spit from their eye while talking in a cool, even tone, people listen to that one. They respect that one. They may even fear that one. They look at the other one, spitting and screaming and wagging their fists, and see them as the fool, as the one who’s probably got issues and doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
We have to be that rock, that one who stands strong no matter what. We have to keep our cool, speak with eloquence, and present the facts without rage or venom. We need to watch our words too. We can’t call them names, and we need to get our terminology right. Stop crying out against Christians, as if they’re all the same. Instead, call them Christian Extremists, or the Extreme Right, or some other term that clearly sets them apart from the practitioners of their faith who aren’t monsters. We can’t be making hate-filled blog posts or social media statuses. We can’t talk about killing them or banning their faith. We need to focus on the real issues, and work simply to protect ourselves and get equal rights, not to do to them what they’ve done to us. Like they say, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
It’s also important to realize that if we keep attacking their belief system, it’s just going to make them fight harder. We need to fight the laws, the injustices, not the faith. If they feel that we’re trying to destroy their religion, they’re going to try to destroy ours. We need to be sure that we know what the real issues are, and work to create change, not destruction. We need to educate each other, and the public, and stand up for what’s right for everyone.
We’ve Got To Stand Strong, Together
If we hope to overcome the hate and oppression of Pagans and Witches, we need to stand strong, and we need to stand together. We have to speak with reason, and conduct ourselves with pride and restraint. We need to unite. One of the things they count on is that we’ll quarrel and argue among ourselves. Pagans against witches, witches against Asatru, Asatru against Dianics, on and on, until the whole thing falls apart. We have to stand as one, united force. We have to stand up for each other no matter what our differences are. If we keep bickering among ourselves, they’re going to attack us and pick us off, one little infighting group at a time. However, if every witch and every type of Pagan stood as one, we’d be a force to be reckoned with.
So I implore you, stop spreading hate. Start spreading knowledge. Start talking about the issues, and working toward solutions that allow us all to be what we want to be. Stand with your brothers and sisters and say “no more”, but do it without the venom and violence.
