...give a crap about lists.
Over on About.com I wrote today about the "Real [insert group here] dont..." mentality, entitled "Differences between Definitions and Rules of Religion."
This mentality is born of people who want to live a simple boolean existence, where everyone who is a part of "us" agrees on everything, which is an insane expectation of the human race. It also leads to the pretty fairy tale where "OUR group doesn't do bad things." As a group, no, we're generally pretty decent folk. But as individuals? There are some nasty people out there. Some are Christians, some are atheists, some are Wiccans, etc.
Being an ass doesn't make you a non-Wiccan.
These sorts of expectations also muddy the already complicated topic of defining our religion. It's one thing if you don't think someone is Wiccan because they aren't initiated, or they're admitted atheists, or they're still monotheists and trust in Jesus. Then you're debating what truly makes one a Wiccan. But when you start decrying people you simply don't like (and perhaps for good reason), you've stepped past a question of definition.
Yes, there are Wiccans who cause harm, and eat meat, and vote Republican. many of us don't even see a problem with Wiccans doing that. But there are also Wiccans who abuse children and slander and lie and steal. That doesn't take away their Wiccan membership, and it doesn't make Wicca as a whole suddenly responsible for their bad behavior. We can condemn such behavior while still acknowledging these people are Wiccans.
It's just another reason why "Wiccans would never hurt anyone," is one of the post pointless, non-sensical and unrealistic statements I hear semi-regularly uttered in our community.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The idea that Wiccans wouldn't do something bad boggles the mind. Christians do, and atheists, and Jews, and Muslims, and Hindus, and Pastafarians, so what on Earth makes us so special that we don't have bad apples?
We're human. That means, automatically, that some of us are going to do really nasty things to each other. To pretend otherwise is to open yourself up to those kinds of people.
Exactly. It's dangerous. Every once in a while I come across someone who will trust fellow pagans absolutely blindly because they believe "no pagan would hurt another person." It's insane.
Thank you! I got into a discussion with someone just the other day trying to discuss this very point. It's extremely frustrating.