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	<title>The Wild Hunt &#187; fascism</title>
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	<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt</link>
	<description>A modern Pagan perspective</description>
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		<title>Unleash the Hounds! (Link Roundup)</title>
		<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2011/09/unleash-the-hounds-link-roundup-29.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2011/09/unleash-the-hounds-link-roundup-29.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:00:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jason Pitzl-Waters</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Paganism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Africa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[antichrist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Archaeology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Christianity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dr. Mozella Mitchell]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fascism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Florida]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gus diZerega]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Haiti]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Is it Santeria?]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[James Arthur Ray]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Judith Laura]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Medusa Coils]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Passings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patheos]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Santeria]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tourism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unleash the Hounds!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vodou]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wangari Maathai]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Witchcraft]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/?p=8361</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There are lots of articles and essays of interest to modern Pagans out there, sometimes more than I can write about in-depth in any given week. So The Wild Hunt must unleash the hounds in order to round them all up. While we still await to see what the sentence will be for New Age prosperity guru James Arthur [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There are lots of articles and essays of interest to modern Pagans out there, sometimes more than I can write about in-depth in any given week. So <em>The Wild Hunt </em>must <a href="http://patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/tag/unleash-the-hounds">unleash the hounds</a> in order to round them all up.</p>
<ul>
<li>While we <a href="http://www.shakopeenews.com/view/full_story/15832522/article-Homicide-sentencing-in--sweat-lodge--deaths-delayed?instance=home_business_news">still await to see what the sentence will be</a> for New Age prosperity guru James Arthur Ray, <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2011/06/reactions-to-ray-verdict-from-native-voices-victims-families-and-pagan-community.html">convicted in June of negligent homicide in the deaths of three participants in a 2009 sweat lodge ceremony he led at a retreat in Sedona</a>, we have learned that he promises to never lead a sweat again, at least according to a probation officer&#8217;s presentencing report. Quote: <em><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/22/travel/main20110198.shtml">&#8220;Ray said that he won&#8217;t hold another sweat lodge ceremony or any other potentially dangerous activity, but he should be held responsible for his actions, the probation officer wrote.&#8221;</a></em> So I suppose there&#8217;s some modicum of solace here for the victim&#8217;s families, and the Native American spiritual leaders who&#8217;ve long called for such appropriations to stop. As for Ray, <a href="http://azstarnet.com/news/blogs/senor-reporter/article_22581364-e479-11e0-95d4-001cc4c03286.html">he&#8217;s totally into numerology now</a>.</li>
<li>In Indonesia the ancestor-worshipping religion of Borneo’s indigenous forest people, the Dayak, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/26/world/asia/borneo-tribe-practices-its-own-kind-of-hinduism.html?_r=1&amp;ref=religionandbelief">is being cannily re-branded as Hinduism in order to stave off Christian missionaries and cultural eradication</a>. <em>“The Hindus have helped us,”</em> said Mr. Udatn.<em>“They’re like our umbrella.” </em></li>
<li>The mother of an accused drug trafficker traveled to Africa in order to have a curse placed on federal prosecutors. Quote: <em><a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/spirited_drug_defense_9j5Prm7JlfHQz0l20JObrJ">“Alleyne later admitted . . . that she had traveled to Africa to pay an individual to place a ‘hex’ in the form of a witch doctor’s curse on the assistant US attorneys.”</a></em> Federal agents initially thought she was trying to place a hit on the attorneys, but it turned out to be a more spiritual matter (though not one that bodes well for the hexed individuals if the curse proves effective). The coverage from the New York Post is, naturally, <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/spirited_drug_defense_9j5Prm7JlfHQz0l20JObrJ">quite tabloid in its content</a>. Words like &#8220;witch doctor,&#8221; &#8220;voodoo,&#8221; and &#8220;shaman&#8221; get thrown around as if they were interchangeable. Does this look like a job for <em><a href="http://www.getreligion.org/">Get Religion</a></em>?</li>
<li>Should we be concerned when the <a href="http://www.flgov.com/meet-the-lt-governor/">Lt. Governor of Florida</a> says things like this? <em><a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/florida-lt-governor-rallies-christians-step-and-lead-country">&#8220;Ladies and gentlemen, these are very sad times when we allow the minority to poison the minds of the majority. This is exactly what dictators and socialist rulers did [...] Ladies and gentlemen, Christianity is in a fight and it is one of the greatest trials we have seen in modern times. Without a doubt, America and her people are in grave need of prayer, divine guidance, protection, to have good, solid Christians to step up and lead this country on a proper moral path. I firmly believe that if we magnify God, our problems will be minimized.&#8221;</a> </em>She does know we live in a secular country, right? Right? Associated Press video of this speech, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3-nabrqEAY">here</a>.</li>
<li>Faced with reports of dead animal parts, a local Tampa, Florida television stations asks that favorite questions of mine: <a href="http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/211734/8/Is-it-black-magic-voodoo-or-witchcraft-Rumors-swirl-after-more-and-more-animals-turn-up-headless-and-sacrificed-across-the-Bay-Area">&#8220;Is it Santeria?&#8221;</a> Luckily, they don&#8217;t turn to an &#8220;occult expert,&#8221; but to <a href="http://religious-studies.usf.edu/faculty/mmitchell/">Dr. Mozella Mitchell</a> from the religious studies department at the University of South Florida. Mitchell is author of <a id="static_txt_preview" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0820488631/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=thewildhunt-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=0820488631">&#8220;Crucial Issues in Caribbean Religions&#8221;</a> and says the incidents cited by the station <em>&#8220;are not associated with Santeria&#8221;</em> (but could be some form of freelance &#8220;black magic&#8221;).</li>
<li>Judith Laura at <a href="http://medusacoils.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-book-goddess-matters.html"><em>Medusa Coils</em> announces the publication</a> of her new book <a id="static_txt_preview" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0982819730/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=thewildhunt-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=0982819730">&#8220;Goddess Matters: the mystical, practical, &amp; controversial&#8221;</a>. According to Laura, the book <em>&#8220;presents an in-depth look at today’s global trends in Goddess spirituality and emerging Goddess religions.&#8221; </em>You can find out more, <a href="http://www.judithlaura.com/gm.html">here</a>.</li>
<li>The 800-year-old remains of women unearthed in Italy are part of <a href="http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8352006/witchs-graveyard-unearthed-in-italy">what archaeologist Alfonso Forgione claims is a <em>&#8220;witches graveyard&#8221;</em> </a>due to the ritualistic aspects found near and in the bodies (nails, dice).</li>
<li>Does belief in the antichrist matter in politics? Yes, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/26/opinion/why-the-antichrist-matters-in-politics.html?_r=1&amp;emc=eta1">according to historian Matthew Avery Sutton</a>. <a href="http://usreligion.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-antichrist-matters-in-politics.html">More here</a>, and <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/lawrence-odonnell-investigates-is-barack-obama-the-anti-christ/">here</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2011/04/michel-sweet-micky-martelly-elected-president-of-haiti.html">Haitian President Michel Martelly</a> wants to &#8220;rebrand&#8221; Haiti, and Vodou tourism is part of that vision. Quote: <em><a href="http://turtlebay.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/09/26/rebranding_haiti_the_voodoo_tours">&#8220;Do you know how many people would like to come to Haiti and try to understand what Voodoo is?&#8221;</a> </em> President Martelly seems very friendly to, and supportive of, the Vodou community in Haiti. <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/08/pras_explains_to_vulture_why_h.html">Early on Haitian-American musician Pras noted that Martelly had the support of the “voodoo guys” in Haiti</a>, and one of Martelly’s closest advisors and supporters in Haiti has been <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Auguste_Morse">Richard Auguste Morse</a>, a former musician and businessman who was initiated as a Vodou Houngan (priest) in 2002. What Vodou tourism would look like remains to be seen, though forms of it have been happening for years.</li>
<li>Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/world/africa/wangari-maathai-nobel-peace-prize-laureate-dies-at-71.html">died from cancer at the age of 71 on Sunday</a>. Founder of the <a title="Green Belt Movement" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Belt_Movement">Green Belt Movement</a>, Maathai was a practicing Catholic, <a href="http://www.getreligion.org/2011/09/missing-religion-for-the-trees/">but often drew on the tenets of the indigenous faiths of her home</a>. She was a feminist, human rights, and environmental trail-blazer in her home country, across Africa, and the world. May her spirit find rest.</li>
<li>At Patheos, <a href="http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Pagan-Fascists-or-Fascist-Pagans-Gus-diZerega-09-30-2011?offset=0&amp;max=1">Gus diZerega analyzes fascist Paganism, comparing it with today modern Pagan movement</a>, saying <em>&#8220;we need a new historical understanding of Paganism&#8217;s recent past.&#8221;</em></li>
</ul>
<p><em> </em></p>
<p>That’s it for now! Feel free to discuss any of these links in the comments, some of these I may expand into longer posts as needed.<em><br />
</em></p>
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		<slash:comments>13</slash:comments>
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		<title>Esoteric Publishers, Crowley, and the &#8216;New Right&#8217;</title>
		<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2011/06/esoteric-publishers-crowley-and-the-new-right.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2011/06/esoteric-publishers-crowley-and-the-new-right.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 Jun 2011 18:15:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jason Pitzl-Waters</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Paganism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aleister Crowley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Black Front Press]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fascism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fields Books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[National Anarchism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Right]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Scarlet Imprint]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Troy Southgate]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/?p=7324</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At the beginning of June, copies of a new anthology, &#8220;Crowley: Thoughts &#38; Perspectives, Volume Two,&#8221; started arriving at the homes of individuals who ordered the book. Published by Black Front Press, the volume received generally positive feedback from commenters at the Aleister Crowley Society. On June 10th, well-respected esoteric publishers Scarlet Imprint released a statement regarding Black [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>At the beginning of June, copies of a new anthology, <a href="http://www.lashtal.com/nuke/PNphpBB2-viewtopic-t-5028-highlight-perspectives.phtml">&#8220;Crowley: Thoughts &amp; Perspectives, Volume Two,&#8221;</a> started arriving at the homes of individuals who ordered the book. Published by <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Front-Press/190496407658027">Black Front Press</a>, the volume received <a href="http://www.lashtal.com/nuke/PNphpBB2-viewtopic-t-5028-highlight-perspectives.phtml">generally positive feedback from commenters at the Aleister Crowley Society</a>. On June 10th, <a href="http://scarletimprint.blogspot.com/2011/06/occultists-and-fascists.html">well-respected esoteric publishers Scarlet Imprint released a statement</a> regarding Black Front Press, and its head, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Troy-Southgate/114352531986932">Troy Southgate</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;We were approached recently to contribute to Troy Southgate&#8217;s Black Front Press whose last published work was a Crowley anthology. After a little research, we were disturbed to find their rather murky history hidden beneath the anti-corporate, anti-capitalist and permaculture ideals. <strong>Though we are very happy to promote the independent esoteric and occult authors and publishers whose work and dedication invigorate and stimulate our community, it is entirely another matter to contribute our energy to a project which would seem to be attempting to use a multiplicity of voices from the occult scene to promote the ideas of the so-called New-Right.</strong>&#8220;</em></p></blockquote>
<p>It seems that Southgate is the leading figurehead for the &#8220;National Anarchist&#8221; movement, a political extension of the European <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Right_(UK)">&#8220;New Right&#8221;</a> (not to be confused with neoconservativism). National Anarchists endorse a manifesto that defines Zionist Jews as <em><a href="http://www.national-anarchist.net/2010/09/part-one-anti-zionism.html">&#8220;vampiric parasites intent on carving up the world&#8217;s resources in an attempt to create a single, global market,&#8221;</a> </em>rejects <a href="http://www.national-anarchist.net/2010/09/part-3-failure-of-left.html">egalitarianism</a>, and is <a href="http://www.national-anarchist.net/2010/09/part-5-racial-separatism.html">pro-racial separatism</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;Race defines who we are, it provides us with an identity and exists for a damn good reason. <strong>Without maintaining this essential diversity, something you can find throughout nature, the world will become increasingly drab, standardised and monotonous and the only people left on the planet will inevitably form part of a coffee-coloured mush of uniform humanity.</strong> National-Anarchists wish to preserve the different races of the earth and believe that multi-racialism ends with the dissolution of all races. Racial separatism is the only way that the organic balance can be restored. We realise that it is impossible to separate people in the large cities and towns, many of whom have racially-mixed children or wish to live among foreign populations, and neither should we attempt to do so. Indeed, we believe that the nation-states of the West are likely to collapse in the next few decades and that our respective countries will begin to fragment along racial and cultural lines. So there is clearly no need to treat people inhumanely by herding them into camps or deporting them in the way that the Nazis and Soviets did in the last century; something which ended disastrously for those concerned. National-Anarchists must form new communities based on their own racial and cultural values. The maxim of the future will be respect for others and unity in diversity.&#8221;</em></p></blockquote>
<p>Scarlet Imprint noted that they held a <em>&#8220;profound&#8221;</em> disgust for the views expressed in the National Anarchist manifesto, and stated that <em>&#8220;what is clear in magickal history is that racial mixing has been incredibly beneficial.&#8221;</em> The well-regarded San Francisco esoteric book-seller <a href="http://www.facebook.com/fieldsbooks/posts/215975195102377">Fields Books thanked Scarlet Imprint for their stance</a>, and promises <em>&#8220;a longer and more nuanced response to all of our customers soon&#8221; </em>on the matter. In response, some Crowley fans <a href="http://www.lashtal.com/nuke/PNphpBB2-viewtopic-t-5028-highlight-perspectives.phtml">instantly went on the defensive</a>, wondering if there was going to be a <em>&#8220;blacklist&#8221;</em> of contributors, bemoaning the <em>&#8220;war of ideologies&#8221;</em> that will be raised on the issue. This is exactly the kind of response that National Anarchists like Southgate hope for, <a href="http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v23n4/rebranding_fascism.html">since a veneer of an apolitical &#8220;pox on both your houses&#8221; attitude is what gives these New Right/third positionist groups their oxygen</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;The danger National-Anarchists represent is not in their marginal political strength, but in their potential to show an innovative way that fascist groups can rebrand themselves and reset their project on a new footing. They have abandoned many traditional fascist practices—including the use of overt neo-Nazi references, and recruiting from the violent skinhead culture. In its place they offer a more toned down, sophisticated approach… Their cultural references are the neo-folk and gothic music scene, which puts on an air of sophistication, as opposed to the crude skinhead subculture. National Anarchists abandon any obvious references to the Hitler or Mussolini’s fascist regimes, often claiming not to be “fascist” at all.</em></p>
<p><em>Like the European New Right, the National-Anarchists adapt a sophisticated left-wing critique of problems with contemporary society, and draw their symbols and cultural orientation from the Left; then they offer racial separatism as the answer to these problems. They are attempting to use this new form to avoid the stigma of the old discredited fascism, and if they are successful like the National Bolsheviks have been in Russia, they will breathe new life into their movement. Even if the results are modest, this can disrupt left-wing social movements and their focus on social justice and egalitarianism; and instead spread elitist ideas based on racism, homophobia, antisemitism and antifeminism amongst grassroots activists.&#8221;</em></p></blockquote>
<p>Before Southgate and his apologists muddy the water on the debate that will no doubt gear up, lets be clear that his views are extremist, <a href="http://www.rosenoire.org/interviews/southgate.php">but always with the added caveat of &#8220;we&#8217;ll leave them alone if they leave us alone.&#8221;</a></p>
<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;The most important thing for us is the Natural Order. It is natural for men and women to procreate. Anything which threatens the harmony of Nature must be opposed. <strong>Feminism is dangerous</strong> and unnatural not because it threatens to leave men with a pile of dirty washing-up and a few smelly nappies (as some of its adherents claim), but <strong>because it ignores the complimentary relationship between the sexes and encourages women to rebel against their inherent feminine instincts.</strong> Anyone interested in the opposing view should read The Female Woman by Arianna Stassinopoulos (Davis-Poynter, 1973) or Chapter 20 of Julius Evola’s Revolt Against the Modern World (Inner Traditions, 1995). <strong>Homosexuality is contrary to the Natural Order because sodomy is quite undeniably an unnatural act.</strong> Groups such as Outrage are not campaigning for love between males &#8211; which has always existed in a brotherly or fatherly form &#8211; but have created a vast cult which has led to a rise in cottaging, male-rape and child sex attacks. <strong>Nature is about life and health, not death and AIDS.</strong> One of the most eye-opening pamphlets produced on this issue is Alexander Baron’s truly excellent Guide to Gay Sex: A Primer For Young People (Infotext Manuscripts, 1994). <strong>But we are not trying to stop homosexuals engaging in this kind of activity</strong> like the Christian moralists or bigoted denizens of censorship are doing, on the contrary, <strong>as long as this behaviour does not affect the forthcoming National-Anarchist communities then we have no interest in what people get up to elsewhere</strong>. I just hope these people respect our own right to live in the way we choose. <strong>As far as abortion is concerned, this process violates the sanctity of life and once again the killing of an unborn child is flying in the face of Nature</strong> and one could do far worse than read Abortion: Yes Or No? by John L. Grady (Tan Books, 1979).&#8221;</em></p></blockquote>
<p>Amazingly, the &#8220;we&#8217;ll let you live in peace apart from us come the revolution&#8221; defense seems to often work. Allowing views that would get them painted as neo-fascists to get lost in a constructed apolitical fog. However, <a href="http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2009/summer/national-anarchism">any direct contact with self-proclaimed National Anarchists makes plain what they are</a>, and apologists end up having to twist themselves into pretzels in order to insulate figures like Southgate from the odious effects of their pseudo-intellectual rhetoric.</p>
<p>I don&#8217;t think there should be a &#8220;blacklist&#8221; for those duped into thinking Black Front Press was truly apolitical in orientation, but once enlightened, it will become increasingly hard to erect a firewall between Southgate&#8217;s publishing arm and the views he and his followers espouse. Just because this book on Crowley avoided becoming a pamphlet for neo-fascist views doesn&#8217;t mean the publishing house that produced it should be given a free pass. Ultimately, there&#8217;s an expectation that intelligent people will consider who is funding and distributing a project. If your work is helping to bolster the image of a company that endorses the philosophy of the National Anarchists, if your work helps these groups further insinuate themselves within Pagan and esoteric communities, then the fig leaf of apoliticism must be challenged.</p>
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		<slash:comments>229</slash:comments>
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		<title>The Murky World of Neofolk Politics</title>
		<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2010/12/the-murky-world-of-neofolk-politics.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2010/12/the-murky-world-of-neofolk-politics.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 Dec 2010 11:00:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jason Pitzl-Waters</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Paganism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Agalloch]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Allerseelen]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fascism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[metal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[music]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[neofolk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Radical Traditionalism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rose City Antifascists]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/?p=6342</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When it comes to politically transgressive art, where does the line get drawn between exploration and endorsement? If you sing about fascists, does it make you a fascist? Does such art empower and fuel extremism? The post-industrial musical genre known as &#8220;neofolk&#8221; has long dealt with these questions, with many artists having to issue position [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When it comes to politically transgressive art, where does the line get drawn between exploration and endorsement? If you sing about fascists, does it make you a fascist? Does such art empower and fuel extremism? The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-industrial_(music)">post-industrial</a> musical genre known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neofolk">&#8220;neofolk&#8221;</a> has long dealt with these questions, <a href="http://www.last.fm/group/Neofolk+Against+Racism/forum/38956/_/446773">with many artists having to issue position statements</a> due to past collaborations or friendships <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_In_June#Controversy">with various infamous individuals</a>. The whole issue gets progressively murkier the more individual bands and artists are put under the microscope by music critics and various &#8220;antifa&#8221; (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-fascism">anti-fascist</a>) activists. Why does this matter to the modern Pagan community? Because there is a significant overlap between neofolk and various Pagan, Heathen, and occult groups, and we should be alert and educated to how these conflicts may affect us.</p>
<p>The reason I&#8217;m bringing this up now, is that <a href="http://rosecityantifa.weebly.com/1/post/2010/12/allerseelen-on-tour-austrian-far-right-musical-project-on-west-coast-tour-playing-support-to-northwest-heavy-metal-act.html">Rose City Antifascists</a>, the Portland, Oregon chapter of the <a href="http://antiracistaction.org/">Anti-Racist Action Network</a>, has <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/45235072/Statement-on-Allerseelen-Tour">put out an alert</a> about the Austrian band <a href="http://www.myspace.com/allerseelen">Allerseelen</a> (<a href="http://monkeyhouse-recordings.co.uk/JK2CMS/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=642&amp;Itemid=38">who broadly affiliate themselves with Paganism</a>), who are touring the West Coast and Pacific Northwest this month, and opening for the popular metal band <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agalloch">Agalloch</a> on certain dates.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;This December, the Austrian far-Right “post-industrial” and martial music project Allerseelen is set togive a series of performances on the US West Coast. Allerseelen is the project of Gerhard Petak (AKAKadmon and Gerhard Hallstatt) who also incorporates other performers into the act when playing live. Several of the Allerseelen shows are scheduled to take place in larger venues supporting the prominentPortland, Oregon “dark metal” group Agalloch, who will be touring to promote their new album. Thehitching of Allerseelen onto the tour of a larger heavy metal act will provide new outlets for Petak’sextreme-Right messages. Agalloch, the group which Allerseelen will support, is at present crossing overfrom underground cult status to something nearer the mainstream, the group’s latest album even beingpromoted with a write-up and “exclusive first listen” on National Public Radio’s music webpage. It istroubling that the act Agalloch chose to expose to its growing audiences has a long history of far-Rightinvolvement and propaganda,  and is attempting to make aspects of fascist discourse acceptable.Agalloch’s decision to further link itself to Petak / Allerseelen by appearing on a new compilation CDreleased by Petak’s label is likewise of concern to anti-fascists and is of similar poor judgment.&#8221;</em></p></blockquote>
<p>Nathan Carson, owner of the booking agency <a href="http://www.nanotear.com/">Nanotear</a>, denies any fascist intentions in putting the tour together, <a href="http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=41&amp;threadid=77762">and  claims he&#8217;s being harassed by anonymous individuals spurred on by the Rose City Antifascists</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;Anti-fascist bloggers calling me out for booking an Allerseelen tour. I guess they don&#8217;t know about my Jewish blood (and big nose). [...] they phoned me from a blocked number at 10:30 this morning to get a statement from me. I refused to be quoted on 6 hours of sleep but told them I was entirely unaware of any fascist connections and that I&#8217;d make a personal decision myself after spending a week in the van with Allerseelen (who are also staying at my house.) [...] they&#8217;ve posted my private cel # on some sort of site or list. I&#8217;m fielding blocked calls from uppity college students that are demanding to know why I&#8217;m promoting a fascist band in Portland. When I ask them their names and why they are calling from a blocked #, they invariably hang up. I&#8217;m anti-fascist in principle too, of course. But I don&#8217;t see a smoking gun or a strong case in this instance.&#8221;</em></p></blockquote>
<p>So how fascist, or neo-fascist, is Allerseelen and frontman Gerhard &#8220;Kadmon&#8221; Petak? They cite his admiration of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditionalist_School">traditionalist philosopher</a>, and Nazi/fascist sympathizer, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Evola">Julius Evola</a>, his links to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_New_Right#Broader_European_New_Right">European New Right</a> publications, and song lyrics that <a href="http://www.discogs.com/Allerseelen-GotosKalanda/release/182384">seem to praise various Nazi figures</a>. All of which seems to make him a politically unsavory individual that I would prefer to avoid, but <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/45235072/Statement-on-Allerseelen-Tour">the report gets murkier when they start digging into his ties with <em>&#8220;right wing occultism,&#8221;</em> </a>his admiration of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leni_Riefenstahl#Views_of_critics">Leni Riefenstahl</a>, and connections to figures like musician/publisher <a href="http://wweek.com/html/leada081600.html">Michael Moynihan</a> (who also edits the &#8220;radical traditionalist&#8221; journal <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyr_(journal)">Tyr</a>). As for Petak himself, he claims to have no political motivations (<a href="http://monkeyhouse-recordings.co.uk/JK2CMS/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=642&amp;Itemid=38">and denies fascist affiliations</a>), something the <a href="http://rosecityantifa.weebly.com/1/post/2010/12/allerseelen-on-tour-austrian-far-right-musical-project-on-west-coast-tour-playing-support-to-northwest-heavy-metal-act.html">Rose City Antifascists</a> refute.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;What is the meaning of Petak’s denial of any politics or political motivation? While not referring explicitly to Allerseelen, Anton Shekhovtsov’s article “Apoliteic music: Neo-Folk, Martial Industrial and ‘Metapolitical Fascism’” points to an answer by discussing Evola’s concept of apoliteia as well as European New Right influence in relation to certain sectors of the post-industrial scene. 91 From a stance of apoliteia, Petak is able to claim detachment from worldly politics, yet apoliteia far from the same as pure political apathy. Rather, <strong>Petak appears to be active in a metapolitical “invisible order” engaged in anti-Enlightenment culture wars</strong>, along the lines of the European New Right and its Right-Gramscian project. <strong>While Petak does not dirty his hands in Right-wing Party-building, he nevertheless contributes to a climate favorable to fascist politics, through fighting for the hearts and minds of countercultural audiences.</strong> He knows what he is doing.&#8221;</em></p></blockquote>
<p>So is Petak a stealth neo-fascist softening the underground for traditionalist takeover, or is he more of a dilettante engaging with transgressive politics and figures in order to gain attention? I personally find bands who recklessly/cynically dabble in Nazi/fascist imagery and themes tiresome and wouldn&#8217;t support them with my time or money, but I&#8217;m not sure enough of a case has been built here to tar Agalloch, or the tour promoter, as neo-fascist supporters/sympathizers by working with this band. I&#8217;ll leave it up to the readers to decide whether <a href="http://www.myspace.com/allerseelen">Allerseelen</a> are a pernicious influence, or just creatively bankrupt.</p>
<p>As I said at the beginning of this piece, politics in neofolk can get murky, especially when you are dealing with terms like &#8220;radical traditionalism&#8221;, which might mean different things to different groups. Make no mistake, there are racist and neo-fascist bands within genres like neofolk, metal, and punk, and they should be opposed when they try to increase their audience by infiltrating Pagan or Heathen communities, but we should also be careful to thoroughly investigate for ourselves before acting. Whether this is such a case, is up to each individual to decide.</p>
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		<title>Fascists vs Muslim Immigrants in Athens?</title>
		<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2010/12/neopagan-fascists-vs-muslim-immigrants-in-athens.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2010/12/neopagan-fascists-vs-muslim-immigrants-in-athens.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Dec 2010 19:16:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jason Pitzl-Waters</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Paganism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Athens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chrysi Avgi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fascism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Greece]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Islam]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nazis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[racism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/?p=6230</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The New York Times has report on a rising tide of violence against Muslim immigrants in Athens, Greece. Immigrants have been beaten and stabbed near central squares, and several makeshift mosques have been burned and vandalized. In the most grievous attack, at the end of October, the assailants locked the door of a basement prayer [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The New York Times has report on <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/world/europe/01greece.html?_r=1&amp;partner=rssnyt&amp;emc=rss&amp;pagewanted=all">a rising tide of violence against Muslim immigrants in Athens, Greece</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>Immigrants have been beaten and stabbed near central squares, and several makeshift mosques have been burned and vandalized. In the most grievous attack, at the end of October, the assailants locked the door of a basement prayer site and hurled firebombs through the windows, seriously wounding four worshipers. “The attacks are constant — I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Naim Elghandour, who moved to Athens from Egypt in the 1970s and now heads the Muslim Association of Greece. “I used to be treated like an equal. Now I’m getting death threats.”</em></p></blockquote>
<p><a href="http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_columns_100018_29/11/2010_121513">The Greek media </a>are <a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/europe/2010/11/29/farewell-greece">linking the rise</a> in violence to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysi_Avyi">Chrysi Avgi (“Golden Dawn”)</a>, a neo-fascist Greek organization that, like several European racist groups, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysi_Avyi#cite_note-ReligionXA-2">embraces a National Socialism-tinged brand of Pagan occultism</a>. While Chrysi Avgi&#8217;s ideology nows tolerates Greek Orthodox Christianity (most likely out of political necessity), <a href="http://hellenicnationalist.blogspot.com/2006/08/disturbing-issue-of-golden-dawn.html">their continued embrace of Paganism has alienated some Hellenic Nationalists</a>. Nor is this simply a small band of  thugs with dreams of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Reich">Fourth Reich</a>, this &#8220;Golden Dawn&#8221; have <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2030131,00.html">gained political clout and popular support on a wave of discontent over Greece&#8217;s fiscal meltdown</a>, getting their founder, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolaos_Michaloliakos">Nikolaos Michaloliakos</a>, elected councilman in the Athens Municipal Council on November 7th.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>The party appears to have fed off public anger against illegal immigrants in central Athens, a sentiment that has been rising partly because of the troubled economy. &#8220;Chrysi Avgi is still marginal, but it is not a welcome development,&#8221; says [University of Athens political science professor Kostas] Ifantis. &#8220;When things in a society are not going well, there is room for demagogues.&#8221;</em></p></blockquote>
<p>Meanwhile, politicians who criticize this troubling trend, like current <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Cyprus">Republic of Cyprus</a> president <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demetris_Christofias">Dimitris Christofias</a>, are <a href="http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/christofias-slammed-reference-facebook-fascist-greek-parliament/20101125">defensively criticized and ridiculed when they dare to speak out</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>Christofias became the first Cypriot president to address the Hellenic Parliament to mark 50 years of the Cyprus Republic. During his speech, he made reference to the coup by the Greek junta, and subsequent Turkish invasion, saying that some had not learned from the past. He referred specifically to the appearance in Cyprus of “destructive” mentalities of extreme organisations like Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn) and others. </em></p>
<p><em>“Every democrat feels indignation and outrage when they see on the internet the unrepentant grandfather teaching his three-year-old grandson the slogan ‘Long live the junta’ in front of the framed shield of the fascistic junta hanging on the wall&#8230;the child holding the pistol and being taught to kill Turks and communists,” Christofias said. He was referring to a video posted on Facebook by a civil servant in a senior position made public last week. An opinion piece in Phileleftheros yesterday accused the president of taking an isolated incident of “blatant perversion” and using it in the most historic speech ever given by a Cypriot president. </em></p></blockquote>
<p>What&#8217;s clear is that violence and tensions continue to rise, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/world/europe/01greece.html?_r=1&amp;partner=rssnyt&amp;emc=rss&amp;pagewanted=all">and extreme right-wingers are growing ever-more bold</a>.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>“A large mosque with minarets in the city center will be a provocation,” said Dimitrios Pipikios, the head of a residents’ group in Aghios Panteleimonas, where Chrysi Avgi drew 20 percent of the vote in recent elections. Mr. Pipikios said the only way to ease tensions was to deport immigrants. “There is no room for us all,” he said, adding that extreme rightists were patrolling the area “because the police are not doing their job.”</em></p></blockquote>
<p>The tactics, beliefs, and rhetoric of Chrysi Avgi are a stain on Athens, and on the reputation of <a href="http://patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/tag/ellinais">Pagans living in Greece that are fighting for equal treatment in the Orthodox-controlled country</a>. No matter what the true depth of their connection to modern Pagan worship is, neo-fascist appropriation of pre-Christian symbolism, thinkers, and beliefs harms us all. Giving ammunition to <a href="http://patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2007/03/convenient-christian-revisionism.html">those who would brand fascism as an outgrowth of &#8220;pagan&#8221; belief systems</a>. There can be no alliance or sympathy for those who twist and appropriate our faiths in this manner, who think that violent thuggery is the proper response to immigration or poverty. One can only hope that the election of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolaos_Michaloliakos">Michaloliakos</a> was an aberrant political blip that will soon correct itself.</p>
<p>If any of my Greek readers can give me further insights on Chrysi Avgi, the election of Michaloliakos, and the current anti-Muslim/anti-immigrant tensions, please leave your thoughts in the comments. Also, as a warning, comments that sympathize, endorse, or apologize for racist thug fascists risk immediate deletion. There are plenty of places to engage in thinly-veiled pro-fascist sophistry, but this isn&#8217;t one of them.</p>
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		<title>More Far-Right British Pagans</title>
		<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2009/08/more-far-right-british-pagans.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2009/08/more-far-right-british-pagans.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 23 Aug 2009 16:08:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jason Pitzl-Waters</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Paganism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BNP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fascism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[racism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UK]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/?p=3323</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In November of last year I noted a story concerning a leaked membership list* for the British National Party, a whites-only far-right (some would say pseudo-fascist) political party in the UK. The list revealed some members identifying themselves as Witches, and in one instance as Pagan clergy, which prompted the Pagan Federation to issue a [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In November of last year <a href="http://patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/11/quick-note-far-right-british-pagans.html">I noted a story concerning a leaked membership list</a>* for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_National_Party">British National Party</a>, a whites-only far-right (some would say pseudo-fascist) political party in the UK. The list revealed <a href="http://patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/11/update-far-right-british-pagans.html">some members identifying themselves as Witches</a>, and in one instance as Pagan clergy, which prompted the <a href="http://www.paganfed.org/">Pagan Federation</a> to issue a press release that this person is in no way affiliated with them. Since that story first ran, the BNP have had a run of good luck, exploiting <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/07/european-elections-gordon-brown">a political melt-down</a> in the Labour party <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/07/european-elections-manchester-liverpool">to win two seats in the European Parliament</a>, and <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jun/05/bnp-wins-first-seat-county-council">an English county council seat</a> for the first time. But while the BNP is trying to present a more civilized (and mainstreamed) face to the public,<a href="http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/465772/Angel-faced-racist-aged-12-Girl-burns-golly-at-BNP-fun-day.html"> a recent undercover expose of last weekend&#8217;s BNP Red White and Blue festival</a> (<a href="http://www.belpernews.co.uk/news/39We-will-not-be-intimidated39.5556741.jp">a &#8220;family&#8221; event full of &#8220;nice&#8221; people</a>) showed something quite different.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>&#8220;Saturday night was the climax of the festival &#8211; and when the vileness reached  its peak. Firstly, around 50 skinheads took part in a PAGAN ceremony to  summon occult powers for their cause. They chanted incantations as they passed around and drank from an animal horn  filled with mead. Two hours later, local council candidates John Coombes, of Maidenhead, Berks,  and Dick Hamilton of Marlow, Bucks, were sitting with others around a  brazier. Hamilton&#8217;s ghettoblaster blared out songs supporting Hitler and attacking  &#8220;ni**ers&#8221;.&#8221;</em></p></blockquote>
<p>Sounds very family friendly, doesn&#8217;t it? Other highlights include throwing wet sponges at a man in an Obama mask locked in a stockade, and burning a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golliwogg">&#8220;golliwogg&#8221;</a> (essentially a black-face doll) for the crime of being black. The reporter goes on to list several other instances of racism and thuggery that party leadership either took part in, or turned a blind eye towards.</p>
<p>As for the &#8220;pagan&#8221; ceremony, since the reporter didn&#8217;t go into specifics we have no way of knowing what (if any) tradition these skinheads adhere to, or if it was simply a ritualized racist pep-rally. What is increasingly certain is that the core of the BNP is simply a political front for a motley assortment of racists, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_National_Front">aging National Fronters</a>, and outright Nazis, who happened to luck into chaotic political landscape (rife with economic uncertainty and tensions over immigration) and gain a small taste of power. While this sort of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_and_soil">&#8220;blood and soil&#8221;</a> politics may charm some Pagans who hold romantic ideas of their &#8220;British-ness&#8221;, we must remember that romanticism is often exploited by fascists, pseudo-fascists, and other authoritarians for their own political ends, often leading down violent and ugly roads. The BNP doesn&#8217;t care about the British people, it cares about the ever-shifting &#8220;other&#8221; (blacks, immigrants, Indians, Jews, etc) they can place under their boot-heel<a href="http://blog.beliefnet.com/apagansblog/2009/08/paganism-fascism-and-america-part-2-of-2.html"> in order to feel powerful</a>.</p>
<p><strong>* </strong>Concerning the membership leak, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/aug/21/two-charged-bnp-member-list">two have been charged</a>, and in a case of delicious irony, the BNP had to complain under the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Act_1998">Human Rights Act,</a> which they vehemently oppose, in order to stop the list from being published.</p>
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		<title>The Bay Area Fascists?!?</title>
		<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/11/bay-area-fascists.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/11/bay-area-fascists.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:08:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jason Pitzl-Waters</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bay Area]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[California]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fascism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Paganism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[panthesism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wood burning]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/11/the-bay-area-fascists.html</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If I could outlaw one rhetorical and stylistic device I think it would be comparing your idealogical opponent to Hitler, Nazis, and fascists*. It cheapens the true horrors of WWII and the Holocaust, and instantly destroys any chance for a civilized debate. The political left and right both employ this &#8220;scorched earth&#8221; tactic of demonizing [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If I could outlaw one rhetorical and stylistic device I think it would be comparing your idealogical opponent to Hitler, Nazis, and fascists*. It cheapens the true horrors of WWII and the Holocaust, and instantly destroys any chance for a civilized debate. The political <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/apr/24/usa.comment">left</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Fascism">right</a> both employ this &#8220;scorched earth&#8221; tactic of demonizing the other side, and <a href="http://www.patheos.com/2007/03/convenient-christian-revisionism.html">some religious leaders aren&#8217;t much better.</a> So I felt a certain amount of disappointment when I read an article <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_11063649?source%253Dmost_emailed.26978592730A3B8C7F471EACE0DA4EF2.html">about an intermittent California Bay Area ban on wood burning</a> sent to me by <a href="http://www.paganachd.com/articles/celticmartialarts.html">a reader</a> of this blog.</p>
<p><i>&#8220;&#8230;most Bay Area residents have been surprisingly receptive to a new rule banning wood fires on pollution-laden Spare the Air days during the winter, say officials at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District &#8230; But don&#8217;t try telling that to the neo-pagan pantheist who fired off an e-mail to district employees and members of its board of directors. &#8216;I will NOT be deprived of my constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of religion by bureaucrats looking for more ways to control even more aspects of our lives,&#8217; wrote the pantheist. &#8216;I&#8217;m claiming an exemption because this ban violates my right to practice my religion, a right that is guaranteed by the Constitution &#8230; When the government controls everything we do, say and think, that&#8217;s fascism &#8230; Anyone who would turn in their neighbor for burning wood would be right at home in Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia. Think about it, people, what have we become.&#8217;&#8221;</i></p>
<p>Who knew that the new jack-booted thugs would come in the guise of <a href="http://www.sparetheair.org/">a program banning wood burning on Winter days</a> when air pollution reaches unsafe levels.</p>
<p><i>&#8220;In the wintertime, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) becomes the pollutant with the greatest impact on air quality &#8230; When our morning forecast predicts that concentrations of PM2.5 will exceed the national health-based standard, the Air District will issue a Winter Spare the Air Alert. Winter Spare the Air Alerts will be posted on our Spare the Air home page and on the Air District’s www.baaqmd.gov home page.&#8221;</i></p>
<p>Now perhaps our anonymous Pagan pantheist had a point in asking for a religious exemption, but by comparing an <a href="http://www.sparetheair.org/">initiative to improve air quality</a> with Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia he has labeled himself an un-serious crank who will be ignored by those in power. In addition, Pagan groups who do seek to get an exemption should a holy day fall on a day when a <a href="http://www.baaqmd.gov/enf/woodsmoke/woodsmoke_portal.htm">Winter Spare the Air Alert</a> is issued will have to combat the impressions made by this Pagan who cried &#8220;fascist&#8221;. So if you are planning to write a letter of complaint about a local ordinance, try not to compare your elected officials with regimes that have murdered millions of people, you might be surprised how much further you get in resolving your issue!</p>
<p><b>*</b> Of course, should your idealogical opponent actually aspire to emulate Hitler, Nazis, or the principles of fascism, feel free to let those analogies, metaphors, and rhetorical flourishes fly!<br />
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		<title>Update: Far Right British Pagans</title>
		<link>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/11/update-far-right-british-pagans.html</link>
		<comments>http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2008/11/update-far-right-british-pagans.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:36:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jason Pitzl-Waters</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BNP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chaplaincy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fascism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pagan Federation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Prison]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[racism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UK]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Since I first mentioned the leaked membership list (which included some Pagans) of the far-right British National Party, the press in England have tried to put the 12,801 names into perspective. &#8220;Your first instinct, naturally, is to check if you know anyone. I didn&#8217;t, as far as I could see: no one in the small [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Since <a href="http://www.patheos.com/2008/11/quick-note-far-right-british-pagans.html">I first mentioned the leaked membership list</a> (which included some Pagans) of the far-right <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_National_Party">British National Party</a>, the press in England have tried to put the 12,801 names into perspective. </p>
<p><i>&#8220;Your first instinct, naturally, is to check if you know anyone. I didn&#8217;t, as far as I could see: no one in the small Middlesex village where I grew up (though four in Pinner, where I was born), and only three in the district of west London where I now live. Colleagues have pored in amazement over the records for their home towns.&#8221;</i></p>
<p><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/nov/22/bnp-far-right-race">Jon Henley&#8217;s editorial for The Guardian</a> also touches on the fact that Pagans were/are a part of the whites-only extremist party. He first notices that BNP leaders (much like mainstream political leaders) were worried that Pagan membership would make them look bad (<span style="font-style:italic">&#8220;Member describes himself as witch: potential embarrassment if active&#8221;</span>), and that an alleged &#8220;Pagan prison chaplain&#8221; was among their number. This has, in turn, <a href="http://www.paganfed.org/weblog/?p=47">sparked an immediate press release</a> from the <a href="http://www.paganfed.org">Pagan Federation</a> stating that none of their chaplains are BNP members.</p>
<p><i>&#8220;We are not aware of any British National Party members serving in the Pagan Federation Prison Ministry. All Pagan chaplains are subject to counter-terrorist clearance (CTC) by the Home Office. This includes in-depth checks about associations and memberships or affiliations with activist groups. The British National Party is one group that no Prison Service worker is allowed to be a member of &#8230; Should it subsequently come to light that any potential or current Pagan prison chaplain has made a false statement about such memberships, I would take immediate action in removing that individual from the Pagan Federation Prison Ministry &#8230; The claim being made on a widely circulating list that an individual named on that list is a Pagan prison chaplain is false.&#8221;</i></p>
<p>For more Pagan reactions to the BNP leak <a href="http://www.pagan-network.org/forums/index.php?topic=25671.0">check out the Pagan Network message boards</a>. I find it interesting how prison chaplaincy for Pagans is so centralized within the Pagan Federation. It certainly allowed for a quick response to allegations of BNP Pagan chaplains. I can only imagine the havoc that would ensue among the Pagan community in America should a similar list surface here.<br />
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