Hello all. As part of a research project on the political views of Norse Pagans (=Heathens, Asatru members, Asatruar) in the USA. I have devised a poll on the topic for members of this Pagan community. However, after thinking more, I realized it would be useful to also ask members of non-Asatru, non-Norse Pagan groups, about their political perspectives. My hope is to be able to contrast the political profile of Asatru members with other Pagans. At this stage, I am only seeking responses from Pagans in the USA, but this could extend to other countries in the future. The survey is rather crude, only ten questions, but it is designed to at least highlight some broad-brush differences between right-wing and left-wing, conservative and liberal positions. I encourage you to participate either in the Asatru poll, if you are involved with Norse Paganism, or the non-Asatru poll, if you are Wiccan, Goddess-worshipping, Celtic, Hellenic, or other types of Pagan.
Note: these surveys are for USA citizens and residents only. I hope to develop versions for other countries in future, but at this point, USA only.
All responses are anonymous. Neither I nor anyone else will know who you are if you answer this survey. No such information is collected. The system is however designed to allow each person to respond to the survey only one time. You can change your answers up to the point where you exit, but once you do exit the survey, you cannot go back and change answers.
Here is the link for the Asatru survey:
Click here to take survey
Here is the link for the non-Asatru survey:
Click here to take survey
I will discuss results at a future date.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Ooh Look a Shiny Thing!
I sat down tonight determined to get started on “Bipolar Disorder for Dummies” kindly lent to me by my fantastic CPN but it just wasn’t happening. I still have the concentration span of a gnat on acid and I’m beginning to fear it will ever return to normal.
I’ve never been a particularly tranquil kind of person but I could sit for hours with a good book and would happily read every newspaper every day if I had the time but now I struggle to make it from one end of a text message to another.
Even the spoken word is causing me problems- 5 minutes into any conversation and it all becomes largely meaningless (sorry to all of you who have engaged me in conversation lately). I like to think I’m doing a great job pretending that I am half of the conversation but I’m not too sure.
I have amassed an enormous pile of books and self help material to help me on my journey but I just can’t sit and read any of it. Possibly because some of its shit and possibly because I just assume some of its shit but I’m convinced there’s some good stuff in there and I just don’t have the staying power to get at it.
I still write, notes, diary entries, mood charts, lists of things to do, lists of things done, lists of things to remember and of course I write my blog. But I can’t even concentrate to read the stuff I’ve written!
I’m not sure what purpose all this writing has but I do find myself compelled to do it, I am never far from a pen and notebook and I find myself inextricably drawn to stationery shops where I can spend minutes deciding on just the perfect notebook to fill with thoughts, fears and ideas on my journey through mental illness.
I like to think that my writing is my own form of self help but perhaps I am fooling myself. I am surrounded by a veritable library of books on various aspects of mental illness all written by people better informed than I am yet I prefer to note
“on the verge of a panic attack so have retreated to my room to try and get through it. Don’t want to take Lorazepam as it’s too close to bedtime and I need it to sleep”
Very closely followed by
“think ‘panic attack’ was actually Lorazepam withdrawal so took some”
I suppose it’s self help in a way as it helped me decide to start writing down (in yet another notebook) when and why I am taking Lorazepam!
I hate not being able to concentrate, it makes me feel permanently out of the loop, particularly where politics is concerned- basically I have no idea what’s going on and am unable to react to the snippets I have managed to grasp.
Perhaps though there is the proof that writing does help as I can’t remember the last time I even though about politics, let alone my own engagement with it. It does make me very easy prey for the Labour leadership contenders- whichever one contacts me last before I place my vote will get it as I'll have forgotten what the others said- so the race is on, whoever you are!
So I’ll keep on writing, in notebooks, on my whiteboard, on post-its and on my blog in the hope that in some sort of bio-feedback way I become able to concentrate on output again sometime soon.
I’ve never been a particularly tranquil kind of person but I could sit for hours with a good book and would happily read every newspaper every day if I had the time but now I struggle to make it from one end of a text message to another.
Even the spoken word is causing me problems- 5 minutes into any conversation and it all becomes largely meaningless (sorry to all of you who have engaged me in conversation lately). I like to think I’m doing a great job pretending that I am half of the conversation but I’m not too sure.
I have amassed an enormous pile of books and self help material to help me on my journey but I just can’t sit and read any of it. Possibly because some of its shit and possibly because I just assume some of its shit but I’m convinced there’s some good stuff in there and I just don’t have the staying power to get at it.
I still write, notes, diary entries, mood charts, lists of things to do, lists of things done, lists of things to remember and of course I write my blog. But I can’t even concentrate to read the stuff I’ve written!
I’m not sure what purpose all this writing has but I do find myself compelled to do it, I am never far from a pen and notebook and I find myself inextricably drawn to stationery shops where I can spend minutes deciding on just the perfect notebook to fill with thoughts, fears and ideas on my journey through mental illness.
I like to think that my writing is my own form of self help but perhaps I am fooling myself. I am surrounded by a veritable library of books on various aspects of mental illness all written by people better informed than I am yet I prefer to note
“on the verge of a panic attack so have retreated to my room to try and get through it. Don’t want to take Lorazepam as it’s too close to bedtime and I need it to sleep”
Very closely followed by
“think ‘panic attack’ was actually Lorazepam withdrawal so took some”
I suppose it’s self help in a way as it helped me decide to start writing down (in yet another notebook) when and why I am taking Lorazepam!
I hate not being able to concentrate, it makes me feel permanently out of the loop, particularly where politics is concerned- basically I have no idea what’s going on and am unable to react to the snippets I have managed to grasp.
Perhaps though there is the proof that writing does help as I can’t remember the last time I even though about politics, let alone my own engagement with it. It does make me very easy prey for the Labour leadership contenders- whichever one contacts me last before I place my vote will get it as I'll have forgotten what the others said- so the race is on, whoever you are!
So I’ll keep on writing, in notebooks, on my whiteboard, on post-its and on my blog in the hope that in some sort of bio-feedback way I become able to concentrate on output again sometime soon.
Taking Responsibility
Last night I discharged myself from hospital- technically I'm on a 'weekend pass' but I know I'm not going back.
Today I am enjoying the very simple pleasures of which I have been deprived and which are rather lame when I think about it, namely cups of tea when I want them and a little bit of housework.
I am aware that I am in great danger of overdoing in and the elastic between myself and the hospital is probably a little overstretched right now.
I need to get better, I need to be well again but I need to allow myself to recover and that's very different from making myself recover.
I have a great team of friends and health professionals "in the community" and I think between us we can do it.
The next few days, weeks and months are going to be very challenging but I have plenty to keep me occupied, not least the hundreds of letters I need to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon.
I'm glad to be home, I think and as usual I crave external validation for my decision but at the moment I'm aware that in spite of the tears the hitherto unseen anger and upset I displayed in front of hospital staff last night, no-one tried to talk me out of going.
My blog has proved to be a source of great comfort and support and now that I'm back in the lovely land of Wi-Fi I can update it more easily so I'll let you all know what's going on.
And finally, the treatment of Mental Illness in this country is shameful. I am many things now but I still remain political and when I'm back to full strength I really hope to do something about it. I started yesterday with my own very ignorant relative who enquired whether "the rest of the people in here are *circles finger round side of head*" I replied "no they're all just like me, mentally ill".
Today I am enjoying the very simple pleasures of which I have been deprived and which are rather lame when I think about it, namely cups of tea when I want them and a little bit of housework.
I am aware that I am in great danger of overdoing in and the elastic between myself and the hospital is probably a little overstretched right now.
I need to get better, I need to be well again but I need to allow myself to recover and that's very different from making myself recover.
I have a great team of friends and health professionals "in the community" and I think between us we can do it.
The next few days, weeks and months are going to be very challenging but I have plenty to keep me occupied, not least the hundreds of letters I need to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon.
I'm glad to be home, I think and as usual I crave external validation for my decision but at the moment I'm aware that in spite of the tears the hitherto unseen anger and upset I displayed in front of hospital staff last night, no-one tried to talk me out of going.
My blog has proved to be a source of great comfort and support and now that I'm back in the lovely land of Wi-Fi I can update it more easily so I'll let you all know what's going on.
And finally, the treatment of Mental Illness in this country is shameful. I am many things now but I still remain political and when I'm back to full strength I really hope to do something about it. I started yesterday with my own very ignorant relative who enquired whether "the rest of the people in here are *circles finger round side of head*" I replied "no they're all just like me, mentally ill".
Semantics
I bought some Lovehearts the other day, two of them said “crazy” on them. I ate the offending confectionary whilst I mulled over the use of language and mental health.
It occurred to me that the manufacturers of Lovehearts would never print “myeloid leukaemia” or “heart disease” on a sweetie, so why write crazy?
Mental illness is often referred to as a taboo subject, the truth is we all talk about it everyday. “I was stuck in traffic, going mental”, “I was watching the football but it was too depressing”, “look at the dog, running round like a lunatic”.
Modern music contains many references- my own personal favourite of the moment being the great philosopher Dizee Rascal “some people think I’m bonkers, but I just think I’m free”. Patsy Cline was "Crazy", The rolling Stones sang about someones "19th Nervous Breakdown". As I mulled this over my initial (political) reaction was that this needs to change but then I thought about the alternative, clinical terms-
Manic
Psychotic
Delusional
Obsessive
Paranoid
All correct, but no less evocative or negative than the everyday parlance. I came to the conclusion that as a society we are just negative about mental illness, whatever the context.
The portrayal of mental illness in popular culture- films, soaps, art, poetry and music is always extreme. Better to portray an episode of an illness than all the boring bits that happen in between, it’s much more enjoyable to read about someone in the depths of despair than it is to read about the days in between where they did grocery shopping or went to work, paid some bills and cooked the dinner.
Manic episodes make great TV and eating disorders swing in and out of fashion but often show up in the back stories of Casualty characters or thin teen soap characters. Suicide is often the best, cleanest way to get rid of a character whose actor doesn’t want or isn’t getting his contract renewed.
TV shows often get praised by the mainstream press for demystifying disability and homosexuality though sensitive portrayal but with mental illness it’s all about impact and extremes.
I’ve discovered the truth is always scarier than the fiction.
Many mental illnesses are lifelong, enduring conditions that are often not obvious, except in their extremes. A lot of us walk around with a pocket full of labels, dished out by various health professionals along the way. Some labels are like T-Shirt slogans and can’t be hidden but most of them stay unseen. Perhaps this is why I continue to insist “I’m not ill”.
The WHO defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". I am ill. I am also many of the things listed above, but you’d never guess which ones just by looking.
I don’t want the world to start being careful what they say, but I’m going to and I will never take my son back to our local soft play (Bonkers Playbarn)...........
............and I’m not buying Lovehearts again either.
It occurred to me that the manufacturers of Lovehearts would never print “myeloid leukaemia” or “heart disease” on a sweetie, so why write crazy?
Mental illness is often referred to as a taboo subject, the truth is we all talk about it everyday. “I was stuck in traffic, going mental”, “I was watching the football but it was too depressing”, “look at the dog, running round like a lunatic”.
Modern music contains many references- my own personal favourite of the moment being the great philosopher Dizee Rascal “some people think I’m bonkers, but I just think I’m free”. Patsy Cline was "Crazy", The rolling Stones sang about someones "19th Nervous Breakdown". As I mulled this over my initial (political) reaction was that this needs to change but then I thought about the alternative, clinical terms-
Manic
Psychotic
Delusional
Obsessive
Paranoid
All correct, but no less evocative or negative than the everyday parlance. I came to the conclusion that as a society we are just negative about mental illness, whatever the context.
The portrayal of mental illness in popular culture- films, soaps, art, poetry and music is always extreme. Better to portray an episode of an illness than all the boring bits that happen in between, it’s much more enjoyable to read about someone in the depths of despair than it is to read about the days in between where they did grocery shopping or went to work, paid some bills and cooked the dinner.
Manic episodes make great TV and eating disorders swing in and out of fashion but often show up in the back stories of Casualty characters or thin teen soap characters. Suicide is often the best, cleanest way to get rid of a character whose actor doesn’t want or isn’t getting his contract renewed.
TV shows often get praised by the mainstream press for demystifying disability and homosexuality though sensitive portrayal but with mental illness it’s all about impact and extremes.
I’ve discovered the truth is always scarier than the fiction.
Many mental illnesses are lifelong, enduring conditions that are often not obvious, except in their extremes. A lot of us walk around with a pocket full of labels, dished out by various health professionals along the way. Some labels are like T-Shirt slogans and can’t be hidden but most of them stay unseen. Perhaps this is why I continue to insist “I’m not ill”.
The WHO defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". I am ill. I am also many of the things listed above, but you’d never guess which ones just by looking.
I don’t want the world to start being careful what they say, but I’m going to and I will never take my son back to our local soft play (Bonkers Playbarn)...........
............and I’m not buying Lovehearts again either.
Just when you think you're the future of politics....
So yesterday was spent, as is becoming usual for a Saturday, in Springburn, helping with Willie Bains campaign. Yesterday however I took 4 members of the St Andrews uni Labour club with me.
Now I don't think for a minute that I'm going to change the world but I do think that being a real person, with real life experience's behind me makes me useful in the modern political sphere. But I'm beginning to think maybe I'm just being humoured and patronised and what we're really going to end up with are more of the kind of people I had to listen to between St Andrews and Glasgow yesterday (that's nearly a 2 hour journey by the way).
The young men in question were totally without malice and most of them were quite charming and I stress it is not my natural bent to character assassinate the young but.........
During a pit stop for McBreakfast during which I made the polite "what are you studying, where are you from, what do you want to do when you grow up?" type conversation I was met with questions about my personal ethics, attitude towards the environment and care for the health of our children. Not just my own children, as I'm not sure the questioner even bothered to ascertain that I had any, he meant the worlds children. All this for enjoying a hash brown, bacon McMuffin (no cheese) and a latte. I should have ran to the car and drive off alone then when I had my chance.
To be honest the conversation in the car was increasingly getting above my head and my poor knowledge of sustainable development and the political history of Sierra Leone was obvious. When the conversation did get so simple I could engage with it I was left questioning myself more than I normally care to.
A pertinent local issue, the University of St Andrews wish to replace what is currently the cheapest accommodation with what will be the most expensive. A student group (Fair Rents Now) are mounting a protest and they're quite typically young, studenty and maybe a teeny bit naive about it but at the same time- right. I fully support their call for the University to think again and to design facilities aimed at students and widening access as opposed to aiming development at the lucrative conference and tourist market.
One of my travel companions was disgusted by the work of this group and constantly referred to them as "the far left". Now forgive me for thinking (and saying) if students can't be left wing then who can? Apparently I'm "unrealistic" and I "should read more" (he even threw in a couple of recommendations).
....Sigh.....
My travel companions conversation then turned to climate change and how it was the most important thing in the world but people didn't seem particularly concerned. Now considering myself to be "people" or at least one of them, I tried to explain that it would actually be a bit of a luxury to spend a lot of time thinking about climate change. Again, this was the wrong answer and I was duly chastised. I was merely trying to explain if you're day to day is taken up with worries about school, your job, your mortgage, your elderly parents, your broken boiler then if the best you can do to address climate change is a spot of recycling and composting- who's to criticise?
So today as I reflect on yesterday I realise that my political future is probably going to be a lot shorter and a lot less influential than that of those I encountered yesterday. Sure I know my stuff and I can talk to anybody and a lot of the time "I've been there" but I don't do the theory and I think it's unfair to expect people to see the global picture if they're driven to distraction by toothache because they can't find an NHS dentist or they can't watch the news because they're short and can't top up the meter.
Perhaps people like me make good activists but I think you'll find it's people like them that make policy.
I have nothing in common with the young men I met yesterday. We all carry the same membership card and we all claim to subscribe to the same values but that's where it ends.
If it were not for party loyalty I'm not sure they'd vote for me when the time comes but, to be honest I'm not sure I could vote for any of them either.
I'm glad that the rest of my day was taken up with meeting people on the doorstep and talking to other members who are a bit less (*desperately searches for the right word*.....*tries not to use "wanky"*.....*almost writes "middle-class"*)....theoretical or I may have gone home and wept.
Ultimately it was a good day and I felt I'd done my little bit for the cause, even if I'm a little less clear as to what the cause really is.
Perhaps I just feel threatened by the young, even though I can drive, have regular sex and enjoy the X Factor in a non-ironic way. Perhaps I'm idealistic and uneducated and can't see the bigger picture?
I wonder if Amazon sell that book...........
Now I don't think for a minute that I'm going to change the world but I do think that being a real person, with real life experience's behind me makes me useful in the modern political sphere. But I'm beginning to think maybe I'm just being humoured and patronised and what we're really going to end up with are more of the kind of people I had to listen to between St Andrews and Glasgow yesterday (that's nearly a 2 hour journey by the way).
The young men in question were totally without malice and most of them were quite charming and I stress it is not my natural bent to character assassinate the young but.........
During a pit stop for McBreakfast during which I made the polite "what are you studying, where are you from, what do you want to do when you grow up?" type conversation I was met with questions about my personal ethics, attitude towards the environment and care for the health of our children. Not just my own children, as I'm not sure the questioner even bothered to ascertain that I had any, he meant the worlds children. All this for enjoying a hash brown, bacon McMuffin (no cheese) and a latte. I should have ran to the car and drive off alone then when I had my chance.
To be honest the conversation in the car was increasingly getting above my head and my poor knowledge of sustainable development and the political history of Sierra Leone was obvious. When the conversation did get so simple I could engage with it I was left questioning myself more than I normally care to.
A pertinent local issue, the University of St Andrews wish to replace what is currently the cheapest accommodation with what will be the most expensive. A student group (Fair Rents Now) are mounting a protest and they're quite typically young, studenty and maybe a teeny bit naive about it but at the same time- right. I fully support their call for the University to think again and to design facilities aimed at students and widening access as opposed to aiming development at the lucrative conference and tourist market.
One of my travel companions was disgusted by the work of this group and constantly referred to them as "the far left". Now forgive me for thinking (and saying) if students can't be left wing then who can? Apparently I'm "unrealistic" and I "should read more" (he even threw in a couple of recommendations).
....Sigh.....
My travel companions conversation then turned to climate change and how it was the most important thing in the world but people didn't seem particularly concerned. Now considering myself to be "people" or at least one of them, I tried to explain that it would actually be a bit of a luxury to spend a lot of time thinking about climate change. Again, this was the wrong answer and I was duly chastised. I was merely trying to explain if you're day to day is taken up with worries about school, your job, your mortgage, your elderly parents, your broken boiler then if the best you can do to address climate change is a spot of recycling and composting- who's to criticise?
So today as I reflect on yesterday I realise that my political future is probably going to be a lot shorter and a lot less influential than that of those I encountered yesterday. Sure I know my stuff and I can talk to anybody and a lot of the time "I've been there" but I don't do the theory and I think it's unfair to expect people to see the global picture if they're driven to distraction by toothache because they can't find an NHS dentist or they can't watch the news because they're short and can't top up the meter.
Perhaps people like me make good activists but I think you'll find it's people like them that make policy.
I have nothing in common with the young men I met yesterday. We all carry the same membership card and we all claim to subscribe to the same values but that's where it ends.
If it were not for party loyalty I'm not sure they'd vote for me when the time comes but, to be honest I'm not sure I could vote for any of them either.
I'm glad that the rest of my day was taken up with meeting people on the doorstep and talking to other members who are a bit less (*desperately searches for the right word*.....*tries not to use "wanky"*.....*almost writes "middle-class"*)....theoretical or I may have gone home and wept.
Ultimately it was a good day and I felt I'd done my little bit for the cause, even if I'm a little less clear as to what the cause really is.
Perhaps I just feel threatened by the young, even though I can drive, have regular sex and enjoy the X Factor in a non-ironic way. Perhaps I'm idealistic and uneducated and can't see the bigger picture?
I wonder if Amazon sell that book...........
Labels:
activist,
equality,
Labour,
politics,
Springburn,
St Andrews,
students,
Youth
In Defense of Dan Halloran
The author of this blog would expect that many of his readers are aware that in the Queens area of New York City, there is a Heathen candidate for public office. Dan Halloran, a respected member of the Theodism variant of Heathenry/Asatru/Norse Paganism, is a Republican candidate for City Council in NYC. He recently got himself into some trouble with the media, with his chances for political victory, and his relations with fellow Pagans because of some newspaper stories about his Theodish affiliation.
The author had a mixed reaction to hearing about Halloran's candidacy. Though it is exciting that someone with a Pagan identity would run for such a position, Theodism is not the author's favorite flavor of Norse Paganism, as it is heavily involved with the idea of tribal identity that this writer has expressed discomfort with in the past. Furthermore, the Republican party in the USA is a political movement that the author finds extremely disagreeable, to put it mildly. For a liberal-progressive Pagan, there is not much to like about a right-wing political party that has often stood for racism and opposition to environmental protection efforts, to name just two items on what could be a very long list. So the author was struck with a dilemma: to cheer or to jeer at this Republican Heathen's run for office?
Certainly, Halloran's effort was groundbreaking, but the author would have much preferred that the first Norse Pagan to run for public office in the USA be a liberal Democratic candidate. That, however, is just a matter of personal taste, and it was mitigated by reading on various Asatru/Heathen forums about what a fine man and long-term supporter of Asatru and Theodism Halloran has been.
Something soon happened that caused the author to feel a rush of compassion for Halloran. Having been "outed" in a local newspaper about his involvement in Theodism, Halloran defended himself with an essay in which he spoke in very generic terms about being raised a Catholic and having belief in God. The author read this as a necessary political response, with a bit of understandable camouflage of religious identity, as the smartest possible way to deal with the political damage sure to follow from being associated with a religion that most Americans are likely to think badly of, out of ignorance, fear and the typical American distrust of non-Christian religiosity.
Then the author saw reactions from other Norse Pagans and Heathens on a variety of Heathen-related sites, and was quite shocked. Quite a few lashed out at Halloran in a brutal manner and condemned him for not making a more forthright public defense of his Heathenry. Several expressed pride in how they had been in tight spots themselves with job interviews and the like, and had openly proclaimed their Paganism despite the consequences. The author found this kind of reaction quite ironic, as it seemed as if what these critics really wanted was for Halloran to sacrifice his political aspirations and become a "martyr" for Heathenry, despite martyrdom being a rather Christian concept! The author feels that some expression of disappointment over Halloran's statements might have been fair game, but that this went over the line.
Worse, it suggested a very shortsighted and self-destructive view of how Heathens and Pagans should function in American society. There are few professions or lines of work where a person in America can really get away with being openly Pagan without paying some kind of cost in terms of lost respect, increased animosity, and decreased prospects for personal advancement, if not a quick loss of employment altogether. The insistence on Pagans or Heathens or Theodsmen proudly displaying their religious affiliation in very public ways even when in high-profile positions would, the author believes, probably confine Pagans to very low-level and marginal occupations. The author does not think that any Pagan should be forced to proclaim his or her religious identity when this might mean an end to their professional aspirations or a one-way road to public humiliation or persecution.
America is just not that tolerant, not yet. Let's be compassionate to those who need to cloak and conceal their Pagan identity at this point in time. After all, Odin, Thor and Loki all shifted shapes, lied and traveled in disguise when this was necessary to achieve their aims.
The author would be very curious to hear from readers in other countries about any similar or parallel situations of Pagans in politics in other lands.
The author had a mixed reaction to hearing about Halloran's candidacy. Though it is exciting that someone with a Pagan identity would run for such a position, Theodism is not the author's favorite flavor of Norse Paganism, as it is heavily involved with the idea of tribal identity that this writer has expressed discomfort with in the past. Furthermore, the Republican party in the USA is a political movement that the author finds extremely disagreeable, to put it mildly. For a liberal-progressive Pagan, there is not much to like about a right-wing political party that has often stood for racism and opposition to environmental protection efforts, to name just two items on what could be a very long list. So the author was struck with a dilemma: to cheer or to jeer at this Republican Heathen's run for office?
Certainly, Halloran's effort was groundbreaking, but the author would have much preferred that the first Norse Pagan to run for public office in the USA be a liberal Democratic candidate. That, however, is just a matter of personal taste, and it was mitigated by reading on various Asatru/Heathen forums about what a fine man and long-term supporter of Asatru and Theodism Halloran has been.
Something soon happened that caused the author to feel a rush of compassion for Halloran. Having been "outed" in a local newspaper about his involvement in Theodism, Halloran defended himself with an essay in which he spoke in very generic terms about being raised a Catholic and having belief in God. The author read this as a necessary political response, with a bit of understandable camouflage of religious identity, as the smartest possible way to deal with the political damage sure to follow from being associated with a religion that most Americans are likely to think badly of, out of ignorance, fear and the typical American distrust of non-Christian religiosity.
Then the author saw reactions from other Norse Pagans and Heathens on a variety of Heathen-related sites, and was quite shocked. Quite a few lashed out at Halloran in a brutal manner and condemned him for not making a more forthright public defense of his Heathenry. Several expressed pride in how they had been in tight spots themselves with job interviews and the like, and had openly proclaimed their Paganism despite the consequences. The author found this kind of reaction quite ironic, as it seemed as if what these critics really wanted was for Halloran to sacrifice his political aspirations and become a "martyr" for Heathenry, despite martyrdom being a rather Christian concept! The author feels that some expression of disappointment over Halloran's statements might have been fair game, but that this went over the line.
Worse, it suggested a very shortsighted and self-destructive view of how Heathens and Pagans should function in American society. There are few professions or lines of work where a person in America can really get away with being openly Pagan without paying some kind of cost in terms of lost respect, increased animosity, and decreased prospects for personal advancement, if not a quick loss of employment altogether. The insistence on Pagans or Heathens or Theodsmen proudly displaying their religious affiliation in very public ways even when in high-profile positions would, the author believes, probably confine Pagans to very low-level and marginal occupations. The author does not think that any Pagan should be forced to proclaim his or her religious identity when this might mean an end to their professional aspirations or a one-way road to public humiliation or persecution.
America is just not that tolerant, not yet. Let's be compassionate to those who need to cloak and conceal their Pagan identity at this point in time. After all, Odin, Thor and Loki all shifted shapes, lied and traveled in disguise when this was necessary to achieve their aims.
The author would be very curious to hear from readers in other countries about any similar or parallel situations of Pagans in politics in other lands.
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