Can we file this under the category of "being so open-minded your brains fell out"?
The following message was posted on IPC&N within the past week. Identifying information has been changed.
Want to talk to an active or participating vampire
Gaia Works attempts to understand all belief paths and toward that endI would like to spend some time talking with an active or participating vampire (or two or three) to help me understand what you beleive and how your practice ... please email me at xxxxx @ xxx . com (removespaces) or call me at xxx-xxx-xxxx to set up a time to chat ... thank youfor furthering religious tolerance and understanding .. Xxxxx Xxxxx
So since when is a sexual fetish considered a religious belief system? Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with consenting adults doing whatever it is they want to do in private, but IMNSHO equating vampirism with paganism brings us all down to the National Enquirerer level. My religion is not a LARP!
3 comments:
That was a big issue I had with the Pagan community at large...First off, it seemed like Paganism was not a religion or serious belief system, but another way for them to demonstrate that they were 'alternative' and 'non-mainstream'...A pose, to support their view of themselves...Then, it seemed like *all* their ideas about themselves and their attempts to be 'different' were flaunted as part of their religious beliefs...(I am recalling a specific example of one woman who used to a sig on her emails that referenced Paganism with the same significance as her sexual predilictions, which always really offended me)...It seems like the sexual liberation inherent in Paganism is sometimes worn as a badge...But in my world, if you are truly sexually liberal, you don't need to flaunt it, you just *are*...
(This probably comes across in writing as angrier about the issue than I actually am...I'm trying to *discuss* it, but I think I'm overtired...*grin*)
I too have had this beef with the "community". Not every pagan is a polyamourous trans-sexual alien furry and I really don't appreciate people hanging their bents on my religious umbrella just so that they can rub how alternative they are in society's face.
One of the reasons I've pretty much withdrawn from the pagab community (but by far not the only one) is the proclivity for many to tie their alternative lifestyle to their alternative religion.
I think I understand why some more conservative "pagan" sects prefer to refer to themselves as heathen. It's to disassociate themselves from people who treat religion like a social fashion statement.
Oh, good... I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt that way about the vampire post. I almost commented on it at the time, but there've just been too many more things calling on my time and my brain this week.
But what do I know... I'm single, generally inclined to monogamy, have no piercings or tattoos, don't drip pentacles or other obvious "Look At Me I'm Pagan" jewelry, and generally look like any generic suburbanite, complete with dogs, cats and a mortgage.
I've actually had people tell me that I'm "too normal" and therefore can't possibly be Pagan. *rolls eyes*
But yeah... just once, I'd love to go to a community function and not have to spend half (or more) of my time deciphering the who's who of various poly groupings and politely turning down invitations to the local "dungeon".
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