Markos, front pagers, fellow diarists, I kindly and politely ask that we stop flogging the O'Donnell 'witchcraft' meme. While it may be a sharp stick in the eye to her fundie base, hitting on her hypocrisy as a 'good Christian', it implies that those of us who still 'dabble into witchcraft'are somehow scandalous and to be feared.
Since the age of 18, I have been a member of the pagan community, practicing my religion in peace and quiet and doing what it instructs me to do - do no harm. I understand that it makes an easy target, but considering how many atheists here often claim - justifiably so - that they feel marginalized and persecuted for their beliefs, I would hope that there would be a bit more tolerance and mutual respect. Those of us who practice 'alternative' religions, whether we be Wiccan, Asatru, Druid, neo pagan, Universalist, or any of the others, we are just as worthy of respect and common decency as anyone else. Members of our religions serve in the armed services - the chaplain handbook includes Wicca - and fight and die alongside our Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Atheist brothers and sisters every day. We work in your office building, we live in your neighborhood, and our children go to school with yours. We are, simply put, just like you.
I cannot say for certain whether this wingnut actually flirted with Wicca or with one other of the pagan religions, or if she just played with a Ouija board and listened to bad metal bands, but she clearly does not understand what witchcraft is, and by continuing to use this as a political weapon against her, we further alienate the the rest of society from an already misunderstood group of people. It's not like she doesn't have a ton of things to go after her over, from all of the crazy things she's said about her own religious beliefs to the way that she's conducted her campaign and mismanaged its money, and these are all fair game and far more damaging than any quote about her 'dabbling into witchcraft' in her early years. We should stick to the subjects that this election will be based on - who is best equipped to handle the economy and the troubles that our country faces? She clearly fails this test, and that should be our focus.
In closing, I urge you to reconsider the 'witchcraft' angle, as it both distracts from the real issues and her real weaknesses as a candidate, and only serves to further divide and alienate those of us who should be allies. As Colorado says in her diary on the wreck list, now is the time to set aside our differences and work together in the coming election.
Blessed be,
Larime