The "Religio Romana" is another name for Roman Reconstructionism, which this list was devoted to. An asatruar had come onto the list with an unusually remarkable claim: that the ancient Romans were a "Germanic" people. This claim had come after he (?) insisted that Asatru, a branch of Norse Reconstructionism, could only be practiced by those of Germanic ancestry, and, if I recall correctly, that the Religio, likewise, could only be practiced by those of Roman ancestry. (The former is a position that the founder of Asatru, himself, has publicly rejected). This lead to the question of whether or not a Roman could then practice Asatru.

Considering the fact that these comments were being made on a Roman religious list, this is a natural question to ask. If the answer is "no", then what is that person even doing on the list? Somebody pointed out, quite correctly, that Roman culture and religion had stronger ties to Egypt and the Near East than it did to anything Germanic. To this, "Loborubro" responded that such could not be the case, because the Romans and Germans were both "Indo-European" peoples. An argument like that cried out for a reply.

Loborubro wasn't happy, at all. The usual online evasiveness followed. This alone might have been worth some mention and a strong rebuttal, because this fallacy is doing the rounds in Reconstructionist circles. It even has historical roots, after a fashion. Reconstructionism and Traditionalism broke away from Neopaganism, which was becoming increasingly, exclusively Wiccan dominated, and Wiccan defined. Wicca has many of its intellectual roots in the work of Jung, who did speak of racial memories. The basis for the rebuttal to this approach, as it is practiced in Neo-Pagan circles today, is to note that it confuses language with ethnicity with culture, in a very sloppy and easily falsifiable fashion.

So far, what had been seen out of Loborubro's camp was ill conceived, but only the Politically Correct would argue that what we've mentioned here was "offensive". Yet, something highly offensive was on its way. Somebody referred to the members of one of the Germanic tribes as "dogs" (something that we don't endorse), and "Loborubro" responded in an all too telling fashion. "What a fine, respectful way to refer to an Indo-European people". Nor is this quote taken out of context. S/he stated repeatedly in the posts that followed that ethics were about a respect for ethnicity.

That's funny, we thought that was called "racism". Remarks like that couldn't pass without comment, and they didn't, as you saw if you read the last article linked to. What the eventual response of Nova Roma will be, has yet to be seen, but let's hope that common decency triumphs over "ettiquette", at some point. (So far, it hasn't). While some have tried to rationalize a defense of what Loborubro has written, these defenses do not stand up under examination. But they do find an audience, and in some places a surprisingly hostile one at that. I remember what so many from my background have said about the memory of encountering people like this, usually at pogroms at which they had been "the guests of honor". "I never felt so Jewish". When I was a young one in synagogue, that never made a lot of sense to me, but imagining some of the people I saw on that list (and on others) with a little more power, I suddenly started to understand. Sometimes I wonder how large a role that image played in pushing me away from Graeco-Roman Paganism and toward Judeo-Paganism and Middle Eastern Reconstructionism, but certainly, as a Sephardic person, I have to say the line (seen on some of the Hellenic sites) about "middle eastern savages baking their brains out in the sun" does, eventually, begin to get on one's nerves. Those "middle eastern savages" founded the first urban civilizations, invented the written word, developed philosophies and views of spirituality that influence the world to this day, created art so refined that many have trouble believing it to be thousands of years old, ... it is not without reason that some of us take pride in our Near Eastern cultural heritage, and if a few people expect us to feel ashamed because we aren't white enough to meet with their approval, this "middle eastern savage" will shrug and move on, seeking better company, confident that he will have no trouble finding it.

Returning to the homepage for the Chicago Judeo-Pagans list, now ... (or you could go to the top of the page if you came in from elsewhere).

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