Agh! This would have been up so much sooner if not for my cursed wireless interweb. Oh, well. Better late, late, late than never. That's what I keep telling myself at any rate. My continued thanks for your patience.
This episode, I get a little...miffed. Last weekend, a few of my good friends showed me a couple of videos that made me pretty angry. I rant on a bit about that and get on my soapbox about interfaith communication.
We could probably sum up the episode thus: Christianity = good
People Who Use Christianity to Justify Their Personal Prejudices = not so good
Music by Codephonic and Ann Young!
http://music.podshow.com/
Download the episode here: http://media.libsyn.com/media/thebroomcloset/TBC20080417.mp3
Additionally, if any of you know what has become of our good friend Cody Stargazer, would you let me know? I seem to have lost track of him completely.
Bright Blessings!
~LitheWolf
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About Me
- LitheWolf
- I'm a solitary, ecclectic, Wiccan Witch and, as you may have guessed, I'm "in the broom closet." I live with my loving husband in Seattle, WA where I work as a shop-girl and visual artist. If you have any feed-back to give, I'd appreciate it. Just leave a comment on a blog post or e-mail me at thebroomcloset@hotmail.com.
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10 comments:
Hi Lithe Wolf!
Thank you for airing such a great show! I agree with you. A fanatical 'anything' is not the norm, although they could give 'the norm' a bad name in the wrong hands. Just look at how some Americans feel about American Muslims. People don't see that 99.9% of Muslims in the U.S. are peaceful, spiritual, loving people. Instead, some folks choose to focus on the fact that they 'look' like the terrorists who attacked on 9-11. Therefore, they *must* be bad. Its so sad. Westboro Baptist Church is as Christian as Al Queda is Muslim, or Hitler was Catholic. I have a feeling they will all get a not-so-nice surprise when they finally meet their God.
There are many pagan podcasts out there and I love most of them. But you are my favorite one! I am brand-spankin'-new to the path and sometimes the other pagan podcasts speak of things beyond my little bowl of knowledge. Your shows are informative and thought provoking and you make topics clear enough for even a newbie to follow. THANK YOU!!
May I request some show topics? I would really like to learn about the different paths of paganism, but there are so many! Would it be possible for you to run down the basics of some of the paths? I consider myself an ecclectic right now simply because I don't have enough information to know what path (if any) is in line with my beliefs. Trying to find a list of paths and their believes has been very hard. If you don't have a general outline, could you recommend reading material somewhere?
Also, if a newbie closeted pagan/witch could only buy a handful of books to begin, what books should they be? Could you suggest some good books to help develop a well rounded first year pagan?
Thank you so much for all of your podcasts!! I always get very excited when my iTunes updates and I find a new episode of Broom Closet waiting for me!!
Best of Blessings!
eclectic spirit
Hi LitheWolf. As always, great podcast! Congratulations on your last semester!! woo hoo!! Don't worry, the real world is not as scary as it seems before graduation! You can do it and thrive, I am sure of it. :)
Westboro Baptist Church is homophobic to the point that I think 'something' happened to the leader, Fred as a child and he has been severely scarred by it, to the point of neurosis. Too bad they're passing the phobia down to their kids.
I have dealt with these people more often than I wish. I belong to a motorcycle group called the Patriot Guard Riders. (you can check it out at patriotguard.org) Our group was formed in order to keep the WBC at bay. (We actually call them 'ugs' for 'uninvited guests') UG is such a fitting term. We find it inexcusably offensive when the WBC picket soldier funerals with their vile, twisted poison of posters and psychotic verbal rants. I am a biker, a military veteran a spiritual person and a mom who had to bury her young adult son, so I can identify with everything this group is about. It is horrendous to see parents have to deal with this group while grieving the death of their military son or daughter.
We make a line of motorcycles and flags directly in front of (and often way too close to) these extremist loonies, blocking the grieving family's view of them. Because we are nearest to them, we can hear their taunts and chants, but hopefully, because of our running bikes and line of biker bodies, the grieving parents, spouses, sons and daughters cannot hear it. I have yet to leave one of those funerals without tear stains on my face. With the inhuman verbal abuse behind us and the overwhelming grief in front of us, the flag line is a very tough place to be. But those grieving families have a more difficult path and should not have to put up with the abuse or trolls. Our goal is to ensure no one at the funeral even knows the WBC is there. Often times it works.
Buuuutttt... we totally 100% ignore the WBC refusing to acknowledge their existence behind us. We give our undivided energy and respect to the soldier and family in front of us. I also spend the time in the flag line sending silent blessings, reiki and prayers to all involved.
To give the WBC ANY attention is to give them exactly what they want. They WANT you to get upset. They WANT you hate them passionately. They want someone to lash out at them, so they can be martyrs and prove their point with "We told you so! You're all evil!" The most hurtful thing you can do to these people is to stand in a line of unity with your back to them and ignore them. Several times they came to the funeral, saw our line, tried to spout their protests and ended up packing it up after a few minutes and leaving early, since no one was paying attention or could see them.
They are corrupt and twisted, but please don’t let it aggravate you for too long. You are feeding from their hands by doing this. Understand that they have severe emotional problems. Pray for them, even feel sorry for them if you can muster it. Don’t worry that anyone will actually BELIEVE what they say. Any sane human realizes that these people are cracked and NOT representative of the average Christian OR American. They are extremists and cannot thrive or succeed in a sane, peaceful atmosphere.
In Peace!
Cami :)
Hi Lithe Wolf!
I love listening to the show. I'm currently on the fence with my beliefs so I've been listening to a lot of podcasts to get a better idea.
I just want to say that that "church" is so far out there. We had a family die in a house fire in the town I live in. There were 4-5 children and 2-3 adults who died in the fire. It's been a little while so I'm a little off on the details. But that church was planning on sending some of their members to the funerals of these people to let everyone know that they are dead because God is mad at us.
Luckily a local DJ promised them air time if they wouldn't come to town. I was totally amazed and in shock at the hate that was spewing from the speakers mouth.
I have a friend who is a devout Christian and even she was offended by what was said. It's so sad when a few overly opinionated members of a group make the rest of the group look bad.
I think that a group of Christians, Pagans and homosexuals need to get together and picket them for a while. :)
I also have a question for you, while I'm at it. I have so many beliefs that run along with Paganism and Wicca. I'm just unsure about ritualism. I just feel like that is something I would be uncomfortable with. I don't want this to come across in a bad way. But I guess is it possible to be a Pagan or Wiccan and not practice a structured ritual or have an alter?
I just want to respond to Cami (I haven't listened to the episode yet *hides*) so I shall.
What you and your friends do is one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard. I agree with what you said and, what's more, I believe that your way to deal with the church is perfect. You're right, they feed on hate and they have often said that there's no such thing as "bad press" for them, because it gets their message of hate spread. Your choice to do your best to remove that message while not acknowledging it is both fitting and touching. I don't have a motorcycle, but I'd be tempted to try and join you if I wasn't scared stiff of the things!
Anywho, the point of this is simple: my hat is off to you and your friends.
Those Fred Phelps people are so unbelievable. It amazes me how much hate they spew and consider it 'right'. It is just horrible the way they protest at funerals. They have no respect for anyone. They are truly nutty. If I didn't dislike them so much, I'd probably feel sorry for them.
Hello all! Sorry it's taken me so long to reply to you.
Cami: I completely agree with Nighteyes. Hats off to you and the rest of your friends for doing what you do. Poetic justice has never been cooler.
Jenn, eclectic: You both raise some interesting questions. Might have to discuss one or two of them on a later show. ^_~
Bright Blessings!
NightEyes and Lithe Wolf.
Thanks. You guys are super sweet. :)
Nighteyes, you don't need a bike, nor will you be judged for not having one. You will be deeply appreciated and accepted for showing up and helping out with a loving heart! :) Contrary to stereotypes, PGR bikers are really just a big pile of sweeties. During the snowy cold winter months and on stormy icky days, we all drive our cars to the services too!
In Peace!
Cami ;)
Hi!
My husband found your podcast and turned me on to it. I'm closeted because my mom is an ordained minister.
I grew up Southern Baptist although my mother is a musician so we had a very liberal upbringing of sorts. Tolerance was always a big deal in our house and that judgment was ultimately not our place.
I agree with Cami that the worse than the homophobia is that the Westboro Baptists picket soldiers' funerals. No parent should have to deal with that nonsense while dealing with the loss of their child. My youngest brother just got back from his second tour in Iraq. You can despise the war and still support the soldier(s). I'm not sure if it helps to think that the soldiers they are picketing died for their right to speak their infuriating opinions so loudly. ... anyway I digress.
I really enjoyed your podcast. Looking forward to more. Good luck with the housing search and your last semester.
JAS
Hey Lithe Wolf!!
I'm new to the show, and I think you do a wonderful job!
I wanted to tell people what I actually converted from and why I still feel the way I do about this radical Christianity and hope that I might get some help with my situation with my family.
My family had brought me to believe that being gay is a monstrosity. You are going to hell if you even pretend. You are going to hell if you sin; even your thoughts will send you to hell. I mean, everything that you were furious about on the show. This is what I believed and they as well.
They never had any answers to my questions about what was happening to me, such as, I would see ghosts, spirits, etc., etc. The only think that they would tell me is that I am possessed by the devil. ::Rolling my eyes::
I respect what they believe, in any case, but they don't respect my beliefs. My dad is the only one like me, but I'm living with grandparents that the radical Christians. I don't know how to really deal with this. They are worried and care, but they don't even listen to what I believe, fist off, and on top of that they assume that I'm a Satanist!! How should I over come this with them??
Thank you for your podcasts!!
Blessed Be! and Bryght Blessings!
~Black Rose~
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