Forgive the off schedule post, but with the media stupidstorm about the Pensacola murders I felt it was worth going on about. I could yell and curse about how the Sheriff is an idiot (and I’ve already had friends do that for me), but my audience doesn’t need it. Anyone reading this blog would read the headline about a Wiccan Murder Ritual, and know whoever came up with that phrase is a paragon of stupidity. Instead I wanted to talk about reacting in useful ways, but again, a friend of mine has done so already. Below is a rant from my friend Rob, I believe the only context you need is to know that he is a recent immigrant to the US, and that puts pressure/limitations on his political activities, which he alludes to in the rant.
So here is the thing, and I have to walk a careful line on this one because I would not wish to be seen to be trying to influence the US political system in any way, lately I have been seeing lots of stuff on my friends list about a killing in Florida. This killing has been attributed, inaccurately in my and others opinions, to a particular religion. Many of the folk posting about it share that religion or a religion close to it (or at least close to the general understanding of the faith named). So what are you doing about it?
If this were a mainstream faith such as Catholicism or Islam adherents would be on the phone to their senators, to their local representatives. The station of the officer would have been flooded with calls from people to explain to them why they are wrong, they would probably have received cease and desist letters about defamation and vilification. The officers wouldn’t be able to open their letterboxes without having hundreds of copies of “The truth about Angicanism today” falling out, people would be writing to every major news outlet demanding the war on Christianity be stopped or that vilification of the Islamic faith is not ok.
Where is the outrage that goes beyond the echo chamber? Posting an article about it and adding your own commentary to your own friends or own groups where you know people agree with you…how does this change anything?
Where are the national and state organisations writing letters of complainant and making phone trees happen?
Where is the gofundme for the family of the victims coming explicitly and directly from the community of the faith being accused to show the wider community that if they are going to be associated with this tragedy we want it to be in good way, as people who stepped up to help?
Hell even though it changes nothing where is the change.org petition being pushed to at least create some visibility about the vilification and defamation in the main stream?
Me? What am I doing? I am not allowed to speak up, I am not allowed to try and affect change in this country as part of my conditions for being here. What is YOUR excuse?
Now there is a change.org petition about this. But with all of my friends posting about this, and all the groups I’m a part of, I’ve seen this show up once. I’m in pagan/magickal groups with more members than are currently signed on this petition, where is the action?
Also the Lady Liberty League is approaching the issue and you can follow there updates on facebook.
This seems too much like the Satanic Panic, and way too many shades of the West Memphis Three, and while I like to think the culture in the States has grown past that phase…not all of it has, or the story would have never hit the news like this. Send emails to the news sources, support folks like the Lady Liberty League, do something. It doesn’t have to be huge, but why do nothing? Ignorance and apathy serve the good of no one.