For those who may not have heard, Isaac Bonewits, who has been very positive and generally level-headed voice in the pagan community for decades, is dying of cancer. He's been battling it for many months, and he and his wife have been blogging it, but at this point they know the end is relatively near.
The Bonewits have had financial difficulties even before this happened. Now, they are overwhelmed with medical bills. Previously, supporters had organized a Rolling Thunder ritual to send healing energies his way. According to the Wild Hunt, those same people (and I'm not sure who exactly those people are), are organizing what they call a Rolling Coin ritual, which involves everyone donating money on the same day.
While I certainly have nothing against a call for (or offer of) charity, the whole "ritual" terminology turns me off. Maybe they came up with it tongue-in-cheek, something they could giggle over, but it's that kind of stuff that makes us look like phonies and wannabes. Pushing a donate button on the Internet is not a ritual. It's a fine cause, but it's not a ritual!
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Why not? If one thinks it is a ritual, and it is treated with the respect ritual deserves, who are you to say it is not ritual?
Well, the first reason would be it doesn't fit the definition of ritual.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ritual
Second, do you hold a lot of respect for the pushing of a button and the typing of numbers? I have great respect for Isaac Bonewits, and I certainly have nothing against a call for charity, but how to you ritually respect the pushing of a button?
Catherine, I hear what you are saying, but I think it might be intended tongue in cheek, as you mentioned.
Isaac's legacy has been a mixed bag, in my opinion. I've always felt that his penchant for injecting his political ideology was highly detrimental to otherwise superior and much needed clarity and scholarship.
In the end, however, I am sorry to now see him in his last days...he has indeed been a critical voice in many respects. If he chooses to use his typical humorous approach to solve problems and responsibilities before he leaves, I am going to give him a pass on it.