Re: Witch Stands up for Her Rights 
Searles

Wed Oct 21 23:07:35 1998
Infiniti,*p*I'm glad you posted this message as the other message seemed to be confusing the issues of whether the lady in question should have a right to protest the Christianizing of her town's government through the use of signs.   There were two other issues that you've identified: whether she should have posted a news article that was against the wishes of her editor at the newspaper and how she should handle her problem resolution.  I haven't addressed myself to those issues as one concerns matters of her personal conscience and freedom of the press vs. the rights of a business owner to do business both privately and within the public sector.  The other issue is a matter of personalities and what works best given a partcular situation and set of personalities.   Neither of those two issues is a direct concern of the focus of this site within The Summerlands.*p*Here's my response to the first issue:*p*I've advocated standing up for one's religious rights when the government appears to favor one group over another which is against the law of the land.  I have not advocated the government supporting one group over another. Also, my references to the American Revolution were intended to illustrate how important freedom of religion and self-government are to us all.  They were not intended to convey the idea that the Pagan population of the planet should overthrow the rest of the populace.  Such a concept was foreign to the patriots in this country who fought for our freedoms, my own ancestors among them.*p*I do agree that there are both confrontational and non-confrontational ways to effect change within any society and generally agree that one should be long suffering in the approach to resolving differences.  That approach does have its limits but such limits are more peculiar to each person's temperament than they are to any general rule or procedure.*p*In the case of symbols that are general vs. those that are specific, their "generality" is determined by their lack of controversy within any society.  If it's not broken don't fix it is a good rule of thumb.  The first instance of objection mandates an investigation of the causes of such objections.  Precedents are established and histories are recorded and maintained to serve as a guide during future applications and disputes.  I don't believe anyone has objected to the symbols on our "script," though I would welcome any information that can expand my knowledge of that matter.  In the case of the "fish" symbol, I can only assume it is the one associated with Christianity in the common vernacular and not one that is more generic.*p*Public matters are a matter of public law, while private matters and expressions are the provenance of individual expression and freedom.  One individual's rights stop where they infringe on the rights of another individual.  Such matters when disputed, become a matter of public arbitration and judgment so that the peace and harmony of communities are maintained.  In the case of the lady objecting to the use of the Christian "fish symbol,"  it is a matter of a free person objecting to a use of public funding to exclusively support a single religion, when that has never been the purpose of this country's government since its very beginnings.  The only function of government in this country, in respect to religion, is to protect the free exercise of all religions, so long as that support does not compromise the inherent natural rights or the legal rights (as stipulated by law) of any individual. I certainly hope that you can agree to this limited role of the government in our religious lives.  It is the foundation of our religious freedom in this country IMO.*p**br*Now, here's my response to the question that you've asked me in this post:*p*If I'm attacked then I choose the best method of defending myself to halt the attack with the minimum of damage done to either side.  I've sued and been sued.  The only winners are the lawyers in the long run.  The energy put into lawsuits would be better spent in creating a good life for oneself and the world in which a person lives.  If the attack was physical, then I would respond with the minimum physical force to stop the attack and insure my personal safety and the safety of the bystanders.  The magnitude of this response would be tied to the dangers and harm involved in the attack and the possibilities that split seconds allow to a person under such assaults.  I've been on the receiving end of such attacks in my life and that has been how I have actually responded.*p*Do I think that there is a more productive way of handling differences than atttack and confrontation?  Most certainly!  What the situation was for this lady is not clear from the news account.  One can imageine based on personal experience or one can receive varying levels of objective/subjective/complete/incomplete accounts and then decide.  The entire purpose of posting the account here was to show that religious discrimintion isnot dead in this country by a long shot and that the news media actually are reporting such incidents without their previous levels of anti-witch bias.*p*Searles*p*Infiniti wrote,*br*: Searles, I think I should make something perfectly clear.  I *br*: am not saying to "bow down" to the Christian way, *br*: or anything like that.  i am saying that a bit of reality *br*: needs to be brought to light.*br*:*br*: We ARE a minority, and we are owed no special treatment *br*: because of it.  Anytime you pick a fight, you should expect *br*: the other side to fight back.  Doesn't matter if what they *br*: originally did was wrong.  Doesn't matter if we are a *br*: minority.*br*<snip>*br*:*br*: Whether it is right or wrong to have the fish there is not *br*: in question.  It is not apropriate, and should, in due *br*: course be removed time and money permitting.*br*:*br*<snip>*br*:*br*: But, let me ask a question, Searles.  If someone picked a *br*: fight with you, or decided to sue you, whould you be nice to *br*: them?  And, be honest with youreslf on the answer.  *br*: Furthermore, do you thing you'd be compelled to change what *br*: they wanted you to, or fight them over it?*br*:*br*
Re: Witch Stands up for Her Rights 
Infiniti
95
Wed Oct 21 19:56:52 1998