On the Subject of Pagan Unity
by Meiche Davan
+++Permission to forward this to other lists and websites is granted. Simply make sure to include the title and the "by line". To comment, or visitMeiche Davan's Journal Site +++ This is something that I've been wanting to write for a while, but have never really had the time or the clear thought to do so. It's something that's been bugging me ever since I first stepped onto the path I'm on, and has continued to do so since. It's been the thought that's kept me from fully opening up and becoming an active member in the pagan "community", of stepping up, sharing what I believe, and being proud to be part of something. It's a question of unity, of acceptance, of tolerance. Only, the question isn't about other people being accepting and tolerant towards pagans. The question is about *pagans* being tolerant towards each other. Which they're not. In my occasional forays into online communities, and from talking to individuals in real life, I hear constant stories about, and experience first-hand, discrimination by pagans towards others. It seems like a large number of pagans who, having chosen this path because of its supposed openness to different views, and/or to escape the dogmatic persecution that comes from other faiths, experience the very same persecution and discrimination that they thought they wouldn't get from such an "open" crowd. I see it all the time, from all directions. "Mature" witches talking down to "fluffy bunnies", druids talking to witches as if they're dilettantes, goddess-centrics denying the existence of the male divinity, and pagans of all flavors refusing to admit that there's any goodness or validity in other "mainstream" religions, especially Christianity, and blackballing anyone that tries to express views that don't match theirs 100%. One of the things that drew me to this path is that it's very much self-defined. Being a pagan means, to me, that I look at all that is out there, and decide what feels right to me, and what feels most in tune with the world around me. I chose this path because I thought there wouldn't be anyone telling me that I'm wrong for believing a certain way. I'm sure there are plenty of others that left the religion they'd been brought up in because they wanted to escape the total domination that that religion tried to exercise over their lives. They then found one of the many pagan paths, and followed it because it felt right, and because they would be able to feel at home there. Almost every pagan teaching I've heard, read, or seen has said that there is no "right", that we'd be hopelessly arrogant to think that we can understand and know everything about the divine, and that it's possible for there to be any sort of human-created "perfect path". I really want to believe that the majority of pagans out there are this open, and welcoming. I really wish, with all of my heart, that these people that seem to be active pagans in order to exercise the same control over others that they were denied elsewhere are a small minority, that it's just a case of the worst being the most vocal. I pray regularly that they'll realize that there are people who leave the path because of those (hopefully) small numbers that act as if they're somehow "right". Why am I finally writing this? What pushed me over the edge, or why did this finally come out? I'm not sure. All I know is the following:
- The numbers of pagans in this country continue to climb. As people get tired of the old, strict ways, they're starting to open up to other paths. The current world situation is causing many people to look at their priorities, and their lives, and many are finding that their spiritual needs are not being met by where they're at. The many branches of the pagan tree can provide a shelter, and a home for many of these people, because it's so wide.
- With growth comes a certain amount of responsibility. With increasing numbers, pagans have potential to become leaders in communities, to start making an effort to bring the paths into the light, to be accepted by the world at large. With numbers, the powers that be cannot afford to ignore us, or to marginalize us as "rebels", "in a phase", or "satanists". However, to actually begin to make a difference, to change the nation's views of us, we absolutely HAVE to move beyond the pettiness, the so-called "witch-wars", that have marked the pagan community for the last several years.
- Part of being pagan is to be open to others. We cannot stand up and demand to be heard, and demand that our ideas be accepted if we are not willing to do the same for others within our ranks. We cannot demand to be treated as equals, if we are not willing to treat each other as equals. We cannot demand an end to the hypocrisy of discrimination against us, if we will not stop hypocrisy and discrimination *by* us.
