Suicide By Paganism?

Two teenagers who recently committed suicide in Knox, Indiana are having their deaths tied to Wicca. When the two 13 year olds, Debra Jean Kawaguchi and Sarah Ann Casey stepped into the oncoming train many wondered what could have caused it, but the press and police officials seemed to have latched onto a convienent “occult” explanation.

Debra Jean Kawaguchi and Sarah Ann Casey

How do they know Wicca was the cause? Well it’s like this.

“According to those close to the case, the girls allegedly left a note saying they killed themselves because they believed they would be reincarnated. Police believe both girls were involved in the practice of Wicca.”

Now this is a tragedy, but if the girls were Christians who said they expected their eternal reward I doubt the case would be ruled death via their Christian beliefs. The girls also loved old cars and Japanese culture but those aren’t being bandied about as reasons for their mutual suicides.

There could be many reasons for why they did what they did, but blaming Wicca is lazy journalism and investigative police-work.

Reichian F#@king Vs. F#@king Republicans

Courtesy of Barbelith comes this little gem.

“On Thursday, September 2nd, for several hours prior to and during George Bush?s re-nomination ceremony, the Brooklyn Orgastic Politics Collective (BOP-C) will be conducting Orgone operations with several of our Cloudbusters, attempting to suck the fascism from the Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden. From an undisclosed location on the Brooklyn waterfront, we will be redirecting the flow of Life Energy above the deadly concentrations of hatred and greed accumulating in midtown Manhattan. If indeed our theories prove correct, it may be possible to reduce the entire convention floor to a quivering Saturnalia. The moans of Love shall ring out across the Land!”

All I’m saying is that this gives new meaning to the term ‘direct action’.

Pagan Troops Cut Off?

Interesting notice on Witchvox claiming that the Army is blocking access to Pagan religious sites and labelling them “occult”.

“I am a soldier in the US Army. It came to a few months ago upon my return from Kuwait/Iraq that the US Army blocks access to Pagan and related websites, including Witchvox, classifying them as “Occult.” Now, they may have a right to classify Pagan websites under a heading of “Occult” but according to my read of the US Constitution they do not have the right to restrict access to Pagan websites in this manner. They freely allow other, mainly Christian, websites to be accessed and these websites are not given such a classification. I contacted my congressman who looked into the manner and suggested that I make a specific personal request to be allowed to access such websites. But this does not solve the problem as other Pagans/Wiccans will run into the same issues. I recontacted my congressman and to my knowledge no further action has been taken or attempted by his office.”

He suggests you contact the army about this policy by e-mailing them. I can only imagine the outrage if those nice Christian troops were denied access to religious web sites.

Pagan Pride

It’s time once again for the annual Pagan Pride festivals held all over the country. There will be far too many for me to comment on, though I’ll single out any that I think are notable. For the best coverage of the event(s) I suggest Witchvox who are kicking off their extensive coverage next week.

On The Streets

For those curious about the exploits of The Pagan Cluster at the RNC Protests you can keep track of them at their “phone blog” featuring Pagans calling in from the streets of New York. In related news the Cluster is getting mentions in news stories, most likey due to the “strange” name.

Save Me! Save Me!

Chas Clifton has the straight dope on a Crisis magazine article on evangelizing Pagans.

“It all comes down to the usual stuff: Jesus trumps the Horned God. Catholics should set aside any distaste with Paganism long enough to drag us back into the True Church.”

I Come To Praise You

Christianity Today has a wonderfully engaging article on Jesuit scholar Walter Ong. For me the “money” quote of the article is about Ong’s take on the evolution from an oral culture to a literate one.

Some romantics nostalgically long for the old oral culture, filled with noble savages living close to nature. Technophiles believe that any new development means human betterment. Ong transcended the oversimplifications of these starkly opposed positions.In looking at the change from oral culture to the world of literacy, Ong achieves a beautiful equipoise. As Ong notes, those who live in oral cultures are deeply torn by the promise and peril of literacy. “This awareness is agony for persons rooted in primary orality, who want literacy passionately but who also know very well that moving into the exciting world of literacy means leaving behind much that is exciting and deeply loved in the earlier oral world,” Ong observes. “We have to die to continue living.”

A piece well worth the read.