tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443926733658770096.post3931911691869662774..comments2023-11-21T11:56:45.500-05:00Comments on The Political Pagan: White Power, Pagan Weakness: Why Pagans Should Be ConcernedMaelstromhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14875423418826420350noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443926733658770096.post-82526669255237791912017-02-27T21:02:49.509-05:002017-02-27T21:02:49.509-05:00Dear Ham,
I think the threat of Sharia law is gre...Dear Ham,<br /><br />I think the threat of Sharia law is greatly exaggerated. There is about as much chance of you being forced to live under Sharia law as there is of fundamentalist Jews or Christians forcing you to live under the laws of the Old Testament as contained in such books of the Bible as Leviticus. Also, Sharia is open to interpretation and there are different schools and forms of interpretation. I imagine what you fear are the most extreme forms of Sharia as practiced in such places as Saudi Arabia and in ISIS-controlled areas. Good news: most Muslims also oppose such extreme forms of their religion. In a word, RELAX, and seek out more knowledge of Islam. Then you will see that it has positive and negative features,like any religion or philosophy, and also has many divisions and variations, such as the Sunni, Shi'a and Sufi forms of Islam. No religion should be judged by its most awful and fanatical practitioners, but that is what is often done to Islam. Be aware too that being anti-Muslim is a way of making money for some people; there is a whole "Islamophobia" industry. Maelstromhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14875423418826420350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443926733658770096.post-35148554624967431962017-02-27T19:22:30.637-05:002017-02-27T19:22:30.637-05:00I feel that there is a difference between being pr...I feel that there is a difference between being proud of your ancestry and racial identity and flat out hating on others. I do not mix my religion and politics because they don't belong together. My Libertarian ideas as well as my Asatru faith are good, but don't belong together. People need to learn that I can be proud of my ethnicity and that, that does not make me a hateful person. I agree that Pagans need to be concerned. Some pagans are white supremacists who hate all non-whites. This is wrong, but I am not exactly fond of things like Sharia law. Can anyone tell me how I defend western ideas and not come off as racist? I wanna know, because I don't mind middle easterners or northern/eastern Africans, I just don't want sharia law. If they were Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, Jains, Shinto, Ba'hai, Christian or atheists etc I would not have a problem. I don't hate anyone else in the same way. Is it racist or "Islamophobic" to want Western ideas to stick around in the countries that created them?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00188616082336199482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443926733658770096.post-54588240723860031162012-08-30T05:56:29.151-04:002012-08-30T05:56:29.151-04:00I do agree with you Asatruar and heathens need to ... I do agree with you Asatruar and heathens need to be concerned, however Right-Wing Reader does make some good points, mostly the beginning three paragraphs, then at the end. I am myself a liberal progressive and heathen (not Asatru) by the way, I just try to keep my faith seperate from my politics lol. At this point in my life I've become sick of politics period and the two sides constantly at war with each other, not coming to any agreements on anything and basically making everything worse. Politics suck. I found this blog linked on Tumblr yesterday by the way , there are liberal American heathens and Asatruar there by the way as well as on facebook if you are interested. http://witchyways.tumblr.com/post/30448871715/white-power-pagan-weakness-why-pagans-should-beDebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04419465467089132817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443926733658770096.post-4894982344511610152012-08-29T21:57:19.030-04:002012-08-29T21:57:19.030-04:00You can't accuse Folkish Heathens of being ins...You can't accuse Folkish Heathens of being insincere about spirituality and using Asatru as a cover for political agenda, while at the same time trying to hijack Asatru for a different political agenda. You seem to think it's okay to mix Asatru with politics as long as its your left-wing politics. If someone mixes it with right-wing politics you think it's not okay. In order for Asatru to truly stand on its own as a spiritual path completely independent of politics, it can't be full of political disclaimers explicitly taking positions on political issues. <br /><br />My organization has a disclaimer denouncing politics in general. We reject any political hijacking of Asatru, whether it be left-wing or right-wing. We are an apolitical religious organization and as such, take no stand against Nazism, no stand against Communism, no stand against Obama, no stand against Romney . . . we do not stand for or against any political movement.<br /><br />I think you need to do some soul-searching. What's more important to you, religion or politics? Do you really care about Asatru as a spiritual path, or simply as a cover for your far-left political agenda where you can dream about ethnically diversity?<br /><br />Heathens have no obligation to jump on your far-left bandwagon. I am not a Nazi, and I have no reason to start listing things that I'm not. Why should Heathen groups say they're not Nazis, why not say they're not Communists as well?<br /><br />You talk about ethnic Paganism, but then you say ethnic Paganism should opening itself up to different ethnicities. That's a paradox, because then it wouldn't be ethnic Paganism anymore.<br /><br />I know I've taken a hostile tone here, but I find your tone incendiary and condescending. You talk about people being hateful, but then pour all this hate on Conservative/Right-Wings Heathens and Conservatives in general. I don't understand why you find us so threatening. Yes, I do think it's okay to be "racist" as long as you're polite and don't shoot people. <br /><br />I have a suggestion for a future article: An argument as to why Liberalism is better than Conservatism and why you think we should support racial diversity. Exactly how do we benefit from it? Why is a racially diverse country better?<br /><br />I don't just want to be vitriolic, I think it's nice for two sides to have a civilized dialogue. But you're really not contributing to a dialogue, I think you're really just inflaming things. I thought this whole Folkish/Universalist argument finished about 10 years anyway.<br />Occasional Right-Wing Readernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443926733658770096.post-75236012522482121712012-08-27T13:35:40.888-04:002012-08-27T13:35:40.888-04:00When we create a "not based on ethnicity"...When we create a "not based on ethnicity" "ethnic" Paganism, then we do not really end up with an "ethnic" Paganism. We end up with a postmodern Paganism that adapts to circumstances and goals appropriate to the world of today. Such Trads and organizations do exist and enjoy an actively practicing community of adherents and friends of those Trads. <br /><br />Coming from the other direction, I just do not think it is possible to "de-ethnicize" a vigorous "ethnic" Paganism whose adherents uphold that ethnicity as a core value. To the extent that parentage and descent matter, then personhood and individual attainment probably will not. <br /><br />Paganism, taken as a whole, appears to be more extensive and diverse than any practitioner or Trad or organization can define or limit. It leads a life of its own.Pitch313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443926733658770096.post-21300345138550672622012-08-13T17:41:19.502-04:002012-08-13T17:41:19.502-04:00Thank you for this post. This is a topic I am writ...Thank you for this post. This is a topic I am writing on right now, and it can be a challenging because a lot of people feel it that discussing it is alarmist. Not so, I'm afraid. I have recently written a piece for a collection about how the recent shifts in the Pagan cultural landscape are actually providing even more common frameworks with certain right wing groups who can, and are, exploiting several shared interests/value sets. They are aggressive, and we need to be aware of their impact and also the rhetoric they use to get us to look the other way. Keep fighting the good fight!Amy Halehttp://www.amyhale.weatherlight.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443926733658770096.post-12708378315109722102012-08-13T17:30:37.289-04:002012-08-13T17:30:37.289-04:00I agree , The Celtic recon faith I belong to , Sin...I agree , The Celtic recon faith I belong to , Sinnsreachd , already does this . We have such antidescimanatory , antiracist language on our webpage now , have for a while . We saw racism and /or false claims of racism in other recon faiths , and wanted to make sure such things didnot happen in our faith Kilmkilmrnocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443926733658770096.post-7823629290495384582012-08-12T23:08:57.006-04:002012-08-12T23:08:57.006-04:00I think the larger problem is not this tendency in...I think the larger problem is not this tendency in Asatru or other forms of Paganism per se, but the fact that right-wing tendencies are rising in many societies. Obviously, when such tendencies emerge, religious groups just like other parts of society will be affected. The question is how do we respond to this? Just sit back and watch it happen? I am trying to propose a constructive course of action, but I am not sure if many people are actually interested in what I am suggesting.Maelstromhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14875423418826420350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443926733658770096.post-5830896200573470572012-08-12T20:15:38.230-04:002012-08-12T20:15:38.230-04:00This is a wonderful, very much needed post. Thank ...This is a wonderful, very much needed post. Thank you, so very much.<br /><br />When a Pagan Alliance representative in Australia in the early 90's I had the same struggle with some groups and leaders. I will admit it was one of the reasons for my cessation of active public Pagan work.<br /><br />I hope these issues are addressed, as from what I see and anecdotally, there is actually more problems now that in the 90s.<br /><br />Thanks again :)Peregrinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09508191641503321789noreply@blogger.com