Writing for a magical community, most of my readers understand the power of words. Words are the vocalization of language or rather sound waves given off by an individual's vocal box, where in a chakra is believed to reside. Chakras, known for giving and taking energy, are the idea behind incantations. However, sound waves are indeed composed of energy and energy is scientifically known to influence other energies. Incantations, words of magic or sounds of science?

No matter how mystical one makes words sound, they have one great weakness. They must be spoken (or written, as in inscriptions). Thus, individuals, seperate and as a whole, empower words. When I tell a dog to "go," the inflection of my voice, through the use of the universal language, gives the dog the impression I'm trying to express. However, if I am uncertain, I don't express myself well and the god is likely to come closer. With people, language (made of words) empowers me to reveice what I desire. When I go to a restaurant, I express my wants to a waiter, who, in turn, brings me the food I have ordered. If the waiter was unfamiliar with the word "steak" or even refused to acknowledge it as a word (as in the use of slang), the waiter would strip me of my vocal power to order my sizzler. Is this some complex counter spell? no, it's the waiter's will to not acknowledge my will and will power is what tells the dog to go away and is the driving force behind any spell.

After reading these two paragraphs, you might be asking what all of this has to do with my title, Words of Hatred? Well, if you read my last article, I talked about fear and discrimination, and there are many words that are intertwined with fear. Racial slurs, to some, are words that demeanor a person's or persons' ethnicity. These words have a wide range of origin, but all mean the same thing; you're different. I can't make some one stop calling me a "gringo," "yankee," or "cracker;" but I can change how I react to those terms or words. My will power prevents my insulter's will to influence me, positively or negatively. Another counter spell? If I stop responding to these words of hatred, and others do the same, these words lose what power they have and thus, lose their reason to even exist. Even laughing at these insults can relfect the insult back onto the antagonist.

Discrimination may not be right, but it's up to the discriminated, and thsoe associated with them, to react positively to this negative force. It is said that two wrongs never make a right, and it's true. If people stop empowering these words of hatred or any negative exchange, for that matter, they will lose all power and cease to exist. Sure, other words may be invented, but if they are never given the time of day that they don't deserve, then they will never have a chance to become what they are intended to be. So empower yourself, and allow yourself to grow into a beautiful, positive being. Anger is nto a reaction, but a symptom of fear and we all deserve to have a little less fear in our lives.

Fear is a funny thing. We aren't actually born with it, but are taught to fear through experience and environment. Many wisemen have said "there is nothing to fear but fear itself," however, anyone without fear is sheltered, lying, or on a whole other plane of existence.

Why do we have fear? Well, as I mentioned earlier, we are taught to. From birth, we are constantly learning. Through observation a child sees individuals in it's life react to many different situations every day. These situations are amplified through experience; such as, a child sees his parents avoid danger (danger being the cause whose effect is harm) and the idea is really driven home the first time the child bumps it's head, smashes his/her fingers in a drawer, or is bit by a bug.

Some fear is good, atleast at a basic level. Fear motivates us to succeed. It also allows us to avoid bodily (and sometimes emotional) harm. And likewise, if only some fear is good, then there is some that is bad. Believe it or not, fear is a major governing factor in every controversial debate. That is why it's considered controversial. Politics, religion, and discrimination all revolve around the idea of fear. But the only way to overcome fear is by standing up to it. Does this make you unaffraid? no, courage and fear are not exclusive, but in time, the more one dances in and out of fear, the less that individual has to fear.

Discrimination: the very essence of which is fear. People judge constantly. If you're old enough to work, then odds are you've heard many people discuss first impressions. It's inevitable. I don't like him because he's dressed in black, I don't like her because she has big teeth, I don't trust him because his skin is bronze, black, white, yellow...

Most of these ideas can be broken down into much simpler thought processes. If he's different, then he's not like me, and if he's not like me, then he may harm me. I'm affraid that she is more attractive than me, or more intelligent or better suitied for whatever, and if she's better off than me then she may get something I don't, perhaps at cost to me.

Or, sometimes, the roles are even reversed. He's a man and men only want one thing, trust me, I am one. I can't stand hanging out with other women, I just don't get them. I got into trouble as a teen, so I know that group is up to no good.

These judgements are an every day part of life. We hold each other back because of fear. I'm white, so that black man is going to think I owe him something. I'm black, so that white man is going to think he's better than me. I'm hispanic, so nobody can be trusted that doesn't speak spanish. I just don't trust those hispanics, you never know what they're saying. So on and so forth.

Even subcultures defined by race discriminate against themselves. I'm too Dutch to spend that much. Sorry I broke your TV, what do you expect, I am Polish. Or an Asian expecting all other Asians to be "more intelligent." Or perhaps, a white person expecting other "white" people to dress or act a particular way, which goes the same for all races. Black people living in ghettoes, not just because they're poor, because they're taught by rappers, crime lords, and religious fanatics to steal, harm and segregate, not just others, but their very own neighbors. Fear is supposed to prevent me, a white author, from expressing these things. Fear causes negligence and negligence offers a breeding ground for more fear.

Religions is man's attempt at understanding his reason for existing. Through extravagent imaginations, Gods, deities and supernatural beings are created to instill fear into the hearts of men. Fear that motivates individuals to do the "right" thing or be loyal to the "right" path. Fear is an instrument of control and control allows one to govern as he/she sees fit. Governments use this exact same tactic. Instead of the fear of hell it's the fear of prison. Instead of demons, it's terrorists. And instead of gods, there are presidents.

The point I'm making is that we all have our faults and we have all been judged. I have a broken record in my head that regurgitates my rules for any relationship, and it's quite simple. There are only three rules to maintaining a healthy relationship with anyone.

1. Respect
2. Communication
3. Trust

Respect should be given to anyone and everyone, regardless. Communication is key to growing a healthy bond. Through respect and communication, trust is developed. If we can learn to be more aware of our relationships, then things like discrimination would no longer be a problem, and fear would have no where to grow.

While Pagans like to maintain a reputation, at least among themselves, of being open minded, accepting and non-judgemental, I have repeatedly found myself in the uncomfortable position of defending Christianity against my fellows. This invariably leads to me being accused of being Christian myself, which puts me on the defensive and later has me wondering why I was so insulted at being accused of being a Christian. After all, my mom's a Christian and so are my in-laws and they're all very nice people.

I understand that many people in the community fled Christianity and found shelter in Paganism. I understand that many Pagans feel the Christianity is so infused into our culture that it's impossible to escape. I understand that many Pagans feel that they are discriminated against by the Christian majority. And I understand that many Christian traditions were originally Pagan traditions. But none of this is an excuse to unleash bigotry and vitriole on an entire religion and all of its adherants.

Perhaps I do not feel the hostility toward Christianity that some of my fellows do because I did not flee Christianity. It is true that I had a very strict Christian father and aunt who I had pretty much determined by age 15 were lunatics. But I also had my own ideas about religion and Christianity itself. I knew that when I was condemned to hell by my aunt unless I repented to God for talking back to her, that she had no authority to condemn me anywhere. I knew that because I had gone to Sunday school and to confirmation class (which I heartily enjoyed) and I knew that no mortal, no matter how pious she believed herself to be, had the power to condemn me anywhere. That was up to God. Besides, the Bible told me to honor my mother and father, not my crazy aunt. I didn't have a problem with the 10 commandments, though I didn't see how anybody followed them and since everybody was a sinner and could be saved if they admitted it, I sort of viewed them as helpful suggestions anyway.

My problem with Christianity was simple. It was the God. I didn't like him. I thought he was a pompous fool and a hypocrite. He meant nothing to me. This big spiritual ghosty guy in the sky who is so seperate from humanity and has no idea what it's like to be human (and no, living on earth for 30 years without any real material responsibilities, knowing you're God the whole time and that you're never going to really die and can't be hurt until you decide to allow it doesn't count as learning what it's like to be human) going around making unreasonable rules and demands and deciding who gets to live and die- no, I couldn't take orders from that guy. I couldn't respect Him. Besides, it was completely illogical to think that He was the only God. The Bible itself contradicted the idea. I mean, if he was the only God, who was he talking to in Genesis before He created anybody? And if Adam and Eve were the first and only people, who did Cain marry? And who created her? And if there were no other Gods, why would the God of Abraham have to say "Though shalt have no other Gods before me"? I mean, that's like me saying, "Though shalt have no other female, brown-eyed, five foot five, chubby white data entry clerks with an Anthropology degree and two kids and a dog named Griffin before me". If none other exists, there's none to put before, and there's no point in talking about it!

Anyway, so yea. I didn't leave Christianity because I hated it, or I thought it was inherently wrong or bad or its rules too stifling. I left it because it was illogical. And so, I don't have hostility the way some other folks do, so it's hard for me to understand how people think it's okay to bash Christians at Pagan gatherings. My fiance said to me one day "Man, I don't like Christianity, you know what? When I go to Christian gatherings with my parents, they don't sit around and talk about what the Pagans are doing."

Our culture is very infused with Christianity, but it's becoming more secularized all the time. You hear alot more about fundamentalists these days because they are responding to the secularization of our country. It's not getting more Christian, I assure you. Once upon a time you could go to jail for adultery. That's not the case anymore, for better or worse. Now you see adultery on the TV all the time. Our leaders are adulterers and we're cool with it. I like to watch old episodes of Star Trek from the 60s and there are all kinds of Christian themes there. Just yesterday I watched one about a civilization that was very much like Rome, but they had sun worshippers and they talked about how weird it was until it dawned on them that they were worshipping the Son of God, and then it was great and wonderful. That wouldn't be on regular TV today, it wouldn't be politically correct. The network would get all kinds of nasty emails.

I know folks who are constantly griping about this puritanical society we live in. Some go so far as to say that if the society weren't so puritanical, that we'd all be able to explore our fantasies in healthy ways and there would be no sexual deviance or rape or other violent crime. I think this person hasn't watched any television lately. Btw. I don't let my kids watch TV, but while I was on vacation there was a TV in the hotel room and I thought, just for fun I'd watch it. About a dozen penis enlargement commercials later, I was convinced that I sure hadn't missed anything in the last 10 years since I watched TV. This is a puritanical society? Where sex, drugs, disrespecting authority and graphic violence are part of everyday entertainment? Mostly naked women are used to sell everything from cars to chewing gum to life insurance. Puritanical my ass. It's repulsive. We're bombarded with images of sex and violence all the time, even those of us who don't watch TV. Do you think the Christians approve of this? I assure you they do not.

I also hear alot of screaming about people being discriminated against by Christians but I honestly don't see it happening very often. Personally, I am out. I have always been out. It never occured to me not to be. I told my minister when I was 14 years old that God didn't make sense to me and I didn't like Him much and asked what other options there were. He told me of course that there weren't any, you either worship God or you don't. But I went looking and found more and I asked alot of questions on the way, shared my discoveries with my family and friends and that doesn't lend itself well to secrecy. I have never been discriminated against. Yes, it's true that there are some family members who aren't coming to the wedding, but they're all coming to the reception, so that's cool. In all the jobs I've had, no one has ever put up a stink about giving me my holidays off and they generally appreciate me volunteering to work Christian holidays. So, I have no experience with discrimination based on my religion (though I have been discriminated against for being white and a single mother.)

Many people are scared to come out of the "broom closet" and insist that they will be discriminated against if they do. They point to isolated insidences, of which there are a few a year, most of which get resolved through litigation. The fact is, you are protected by law. It is legal to be Pagan, it is illegal to discriminate against you for it. The government is behind you on this and if they fail to back you up, the ACLU will. But please, make sure you aren't breaking any actual laws or city ordinances while being discriminated against because then you're out of luck. You are not protected from being Pagan while naked in public, violating city noise and pollution ordinances, abusing animals, creating graffiti art, having sex with teenagers or using illegal drugs. Your job is not protected from religious discrimination while you are chronically late, argumentative, rude to customers, not following the dress code or habitually absent. You are not protected from religious discrimination in school if you are violating the dress code, harrassing Christians, or cutting yourself. Let's just be logical, shall we?

Finally, I come to Pagan traditions "stolen" by the Christians. I have news for you. It wasn't the Christians, it was the Romans. And the Romans did that sort of thing, even when they were Pagan. All the time. It was the Roman thing to do. When the Romans became Christian of their own free will (or rather, by their leadership's command) they continued doing things the way Romans do them.

But you know what? Regardless of who stole what from whom, does it matter? I mean, can't you just hide your Ostara eggs and decorate your Yule tree and shut the hell up about where it came from? Who cares who had it first? They aren't getting royalties. You're not losing anything. Suck it up. And when they say Merry Christmas, you can be smug in the knowledge that decorating trees and exchanging gifts have nothing to do with Christ, who was born when the sheep were lambing (which doesn't happen in winter, generally) and respond "Thank you! And a blessed Yuletide season to you!"

All of this may be irrelevant to you, but here's something else. My mother is a Christian. I love my mother. I think she's awesome. She likes Pagans just fine, assuming they're respectful to her. She doesn't generalize based on religion. She takes the time to learn about the religion and the person before she judges. She goes to church every Sunday and served on the Board of Deacons. So can you please stop generalizing a group to which my mother belongs, because she doesn't hate you. Okay? Lay off my mom, dude.

I am not going to get excited about this because I try to make a point of not getting excited over what stupid people have to say. Like when President Bush gets up and starts talking about Weapons of Mass Destruction, I don't get excited because I know he's an idiot and doesn't know what he's talking about. Likewise, I am pretty sure Kathy Lee is too much of an idiot to get excited about as well. Besides, there are lots of other people getting excited without my help, and I'm not sure I'm the one to determine what things are things to get excited about. If she had said "those greedy nasty Jews" or "those evil Muslim terrorists" she would have been smacked down by her network, this is true. And we might roll our eyes over the overreacction and people out there well might roll their eyes at our overreaction and whatever. That's life.

Now call me a Gemini, but I couldn't help but get distracted by the issue of the question itself, or rather the multiple choice answers supplied to it. I thought- "Why would Pagans think carrying metal on the right side would be bad luck? What kind of stupid superstition would that be? How would our ancestors have carried their swords?" and I thought "Wait a minute... the ancient Egyptians were Pagans... weren't they?" This is why I never did well with multiple choice tests at school. It was short answer or essay or I was screwed. Too easily distracted. but I digress.

Anyway. Outrage, or lack thereof notwithstanding (how many compound words can you fit in a sentence?) I don't think this sort of behavior should go unchecked. So I encourage everyone to write a letter to somebody. You can send a letter right to the Today show at NBC, quickly and painlessly at today@nbc.com

Here's Mine:
I am writing because I am confused as to why Kathy Lee chose to add unecessary adjectives to a very simple sentance she was reading off of a card on June 25th Today Show in order to insert insults directed at a minority religious group. I am also confused as to why a hasty apology to the Pagan community was not made. I am sure that this was simply ignorance on the part of Kathy Lee and an oversight on the part of the network, that the situation will be immediately rectified and that the network will take care to educate its employees better in the future.

Now I realize that I'm being a little hypocritical in calling Kathy Lee and idiot in my public blog when I think that it's not a good idea for her to call Pagans filthy and nasty on TV, but let me point out that I am not generalizing. I am calling a specific person an idiot. I'm not saying "all female TV talk show hosts are idiots" and I'm not saying "All white Christians are idiots", I am saying Kathy Lee is an idiot. If Kathy Lee said, "That Dawn Black woman is a filthy, nasty person" that would be one thing. (I would further not care, and I expect the Pagan community at large wouldn't care much either). But no, she generalized. One can say that a specific person is an idiot, or filthy and nasty, but not a whole group. When you say it about one person you are perhaps being rude, and you are stating an opinion. When you say it about a whole group of people, you are letting your bigot show. If I was the CEO of a major TV network, I sure as hell wouldn't want people flashing their bigot all over my products.

You can also voice your opinion on the matter at the Petition Site. But that might be takingg it a bit too far. I'm not sure.

Update: Kathy Lee made a blanket apology (you can see it here) that may or may not have been in reference to this incident. I must say, if the apology is in reference to this incident, the apology is more annoying than the incident itself. But I'm still not going to get excited. And I'm not going to boycott. It would be a meaningless gesture anyway. I never watch that show. It is beneath me.

The "I"'s have it today.

A woman in Idaho was recently kicked out of a faith based women's shelter, Ruth House in Idaho Falls, Idaho, because, she says, they didn't like her choice of religion. She's Pagan. She states that a worker there took exception to her jewelry, calling it Satanic, and told her she must get rid of her books, a fiction series about witches. When she refused, she was asked to leave. Now she and her 17 month old son are looking for a place to stay.

The Director of the shelter, Robert Gulden, says she shouldn't have been kicked out and that he wasn't even notified. His staff didn't follow protocol. So he hopes she will get in touch with him to talk about the matter.

Read the full story at http://www.kidk.com/news/local/19814744.html

There are Pagan homeless shelters and they generally accept anyone, regardless of faith. Unfortunately, there aren't many. The Pagan community is simply not organized enough to set up charities on a large scale, so shelters are few and far between. However, many Pagan organizations do charity work to collect goods and services to support homeless shelters and battered women's shelters that already exist. Although... my experience doing this has been less than satisfactory as some Christian and Muslim organizations in my local area have refused to accept our charity.

Some Pagan charity initiatives:

Goddess Moon Circles Helping and Warming Program

Circle Sanctuary, WI

Robin's Hood Community Center, KY

The Delaware Valley Pagan Network

Touchstone Local Council

The Officers of Avalon

Familiar Friends Black Cat Rescue, MI

The Open Hearth Foundation, DC

Please feel free to comment and list any Pagan charities you know of.