Thursday, April 28, 2011
Ignorance
I may be asking for trouble by making this statement but I just needed to vent a little. I really hate living in area where people are so closed minded and think that Christianity is the only right religion. An older woman with her granddaughter had the book "Marked" by P.C. Cast and I was saying how much I liked the book and how they explained the Pagan rituals in a way that made it sound not evil and the woman said, "But Pagan rituals are evil." More later.
4 comments:
Really, it is frequently around here the thought that Everyone you meet is Christian. It used to really bum me out (where are Our "Lifeway" stores, are Huge "Nature Preserve" 'churches'). I feel for you, in that situation. If it were me, and just the older woman, if I was feeling in an especially sassy mood, I might have explained that I was a pagan (just to let them know that these exotic creatures do exist here where we live) but in the position of her having her granddaughter with her, I'm usually not up for the "corrupter of youth" role, so I would have also held my tongue, as you did. An example from my world similar- We were talking after a Great Books discussion around the table, 5 or so women 40's to maybe 60's. On of the women mentioned that you could be a minister from signing up on-line. The others were incredulous, and I thought 'I have a choice here'. Wearing my best devilish secret grin, I whipped out my own personal minister card from the Universal Life Church to show to them, and explained a little. One lady then asked me why i would want one. I took my best spine stiffening breath, and said, "I am a Pagan, and some friends of mine were interested in getting married, and wanted to not have a Justice of the Peace, or to be married in a Christian service" The first lady who had mentioned the on-line ministerial ship in the first place, knew about it because her daughter, while not Pagan, had also wanted to marry some friends who didn't want a Christian service. A week later, the 2nd lady who asked, who was Catholic, had rather shyly come up to me and said that she was glad I had said what I did, because she and several of her friends had had very good debates on the topic, on why people would be Pagans in the modern world, etc. they honestly had just never heard of the honest possibility of it, never knew and liked anyone who said they were one. So somedays I'm up for the full disclosure, some days i'm not. some people are clueless but harmless about it, some people are the other thing. I am what I am , and I can't hide all that I am, but somedays I'm just not up for the talk.
It happens even this far south in the most haunted city in the world Savannah, as Patty say's some times I feel up to the verbal war and other times I just let it ride. I actually have had customers refuse to let me serve them because I was wearing a pentacle! I've got to the point where now the only time I make it a point to tell someone that I am a pagan is after the 5 time I declined to go to church with them. Otherwise hey If they know what the goddess symbol I've taken to wearing lately means, Yay. If not it's not a big deal to me!
Well, as you know Patty, I was not exactly in the right frame of mind to have a civil conversation with this woman and I doubt highly that it would have been civil based on her attitude. I look back on it now and it's funny because the granddaughter was looking at me like "Shut up or I'm never going to get to read this book."
I totally agree about the disclosure thing. Being gay and having my beliefs some what hard to explain, I usually find it best not to share my information unless I feel particularly comfortable with the person I'm talking to. Just image the conversation I'd have with the woman if she knew I carried pagan beliefs and was gay. LOL
Bonus!!
The look the granddaughter gave you part- hilarious! Her grandmother probably is one of those unconscious people who believe that anyone who looks reasonably 'normal' in public probably is 'normal' whatever that means.
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