"Why They Don't Respect Us"
or "You might be a Bunny if…"
We've all heard about how non-Wiccans just don't take us seriously, usually
because our "persecutors" (because we just love that word) are too caught up in
their own Christianity (because, of course, all of our detractors are Christian)
to see the value of our beliefs.
Well, here's a wake up call. Sometimes we're not taken seriously because we
don't depict ourselves as serious. Sometimes we're not viewed as a mainstream
religion because we refuse to behave like one, or even like we'd like to be one.
Webpage disclaimers – You've probably seen them, saying something along the
lines of "This site depicts Wiccan and Pagan beliefs. If this content offends
you, do not enter." If the author is presuming their site will offend, people
are more likely to be offended. Who else does this? Have you ever seen a
Christian or a Muslim site put up warnings? For that matter, have you even seen
a Thelemic site or a Branch Davidian site or any other non-standard religion put
up warnings? Stop presuming you're going to be persecuted.
Along a similar line is the statement "This site is not affiliated with a role-
playing game. They are my real religious beliefs." If even you think your work
reads like a fantasy game, odds are you should be rethinking your material.
Pre-emptive defenses – The most blatant one I come across is "I'm Wiccan, but
don't worry, I don't follow Satan." Did anyone say you were following Satan?
Was it even implied? Usually not, because this is the first line to come out of
the Bunny's mouth. Is there some reason we should suspect you of such?
Inability to define our own beliefs – Fluffy Bunny Wiccans always look so proud
of themselves when they explain that "Wicca means something different to every
Wiccan" or even "Wicca has no one definition." If a word doesn't have a
definition, it's not a word. It's just a collection of letters that happen to
hang out next to each other. As a suggestion, try "Wiccans believe in natural
balance and equality, represented by a God and Goddess, although they are
conceptualized in many forms." As a further suggestion, I'd say decide what
that actually means in your own personal experience, so that you can offer up an
intelligent response when your listener asks for more information. Falling back
to the "Wicca means something different to every Wiccan" generally translates as
"I have no idea what I'm talking about. Wicca just sounded kind of cool."
Defining Wicca in terms of Christianity – Once we get past a general summation
of Wicca, the details of our religion are the next thing that fall prey to
ignorance. Don't tell people about all the Christian beliefs that we don't
follow. A list of "don't"s does not define a religion. It merely defines what
it is not, and usually comes out as an attack on Christianity. Also, do not
explain our beliefs as reactions to Christianity. For example, do not state
that we worship a Goddess because Christians do not. We worship a Goddess
because we believe in her, end of story. We do not need Christianity to define
ourselves. We are a religion in our own right, but no one is going to believe
that if we do not present ourselves as such.
Dress sense – The next time you consider putting on ten pounds of silver
pentagrams and goddess jewelry, try to envision someone wearing an equivalent
amount of Christian paraphernalia. Pretty scary, huh? You might even think they
were just doing it for attention.
And of course, there are the standard warnings:
Don't talk about history unless you know it.
Learn your history.
Defaming Christianity is not the same thing as promoting Wicca. Not even
close.
Don't compare yourself with the witches at Salem.
Remove those damn "Never again the Burning Times" images from your
websites. Perhaps replace them with "Never once the Burning Times".
Spell correctly. "Mystickal" is not a word, and illiteracy is no
measurement for religious validity.
