SETTING FIRE TO A BUNDLE OF STICKS 1/24/07

In the latest evidence that we are becoming a mental hell nation, an actor voluntarily entered counseling after calling another actor a "faggot." Isaiah Washington apparently used the offensive epitaph towards actor T.R. Knight [who actually was not present] during an argument or disagreement. Washington also met with folks from GLSEN and he has agreed to help out in some campaign designed to teach those not in the know how hateful and painful the word "faggot" is.

In a loose nod to "NoNameCallingWeek," I myself a bisexual dyke, have to admit a certain state of perplexity over why a disagreement or an argument between two actors off-stage or backstage is even worthy of news reporting. Hopefully, the talk therapy that Isaiah Washington gets will do more than just teach him to "play nicely with others."

The use of the word FAGGOT is not the problem. The problem is a society which has been white-washed by political correctness into intellectual dishonesty. I would much rather know directly that someone just doesn't like me-- whether it is because of my sexual orientation or any other -ism-- than have people be phony to my face and real behind my back.

But then again, I've been accused of some rather froward thinking.

radical sapphoq

PAGAN BULLIES AND WITCH WARS 1/19/07

http://www.quizilla.com/users/SwissCelt/quizzes/How%20fluffy%20a%20Pagan%20are%20you?/
How%20fluffy%20a%20Pagan%20are%20you?/

Yeah I took a quiz to prepare myself mentally to write this post. The quiz has a warning regarding the necessity of having a sense of humor before proceeding. It was a fluffy sort of quiz, short and cute. And I made the little blinkie too, using The GIMP. So if you want the little blinkie, right-click to Save to your My Pictures. I abhor hot-linking just as a few of you claim to watch the I.P. addys of those who post or attempt to post comments to your little stake of the WWW.



We now know-- through historical research-- that almost all of the folks killed during the infamous Burning Times were not witches. And we forget that we did not always know this. We ignore any of our own lack in self-esteem. We make our own petty little wars in order to artifically inflate our false bruised egos. We fling those we don't understand into a heap labeled "not good enough." We seek a unity of those who are like-minded. Community presupposes that there is at least a smathering of unity. Unity is not conformity and that is where I think some of our difficulties come from.

Teaching someone a better way to do things is not the same as blasting their name and character to Hel. We don't have that right. The vulnerable will always be among us. The picked-on, despised, unpopular, different-from-the-average kids were easy marks for the bullies in the schoolyards. We feared those who we didn't understand. Some of us grew out of that and a few of us didn't.

Ya don't care for someone's way of being-- change the channel. Surely there are more interesting options for entertainment. If you don't have the patience or you have lost the patience necessary to give a helping hand to the struggling pagan folks around you, then don't bother. You do not have to help. You might have already done that and need a break from it. Or maybe it is just not your thing. Other people who are able to and want to will step in. You are not indisposable. Downright meanness is not called for. Those of us who are able to face our own vulnerabilities squarely can show people how to conduct research, cite sources, create their own work, and get along with others.

N.B. This post is a direct result of my own experience within the past two months learning about the differences between deserved and undeserved reputations. If you are offended by anything I said, tough shit. No one forced you to read this blog. No one is forcing you to think.

radical sapphoq



http://chass.colostate-pueblo.edu/natrel/pom/old/POM11a1.html

http://members.tripod.com/Grey_Cat/witchwar.htm

http://www.conjure.com/TRINE/namewitch.html

http://wiccans.faithweb.com/fluffy.html

http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usma&c=words&id=8424

http://www.akashanpathways.com/witchcraft.htm

http://wicca.timerift.net/fluffy.shtml

http://wiccans.faithweb.com/lbunny.html

http://www.soulrebels.com/beth/fluffy.html

http://www.geocities.com/tribhis/fluffresponse.html

http://witchkit.tripod.com/FluffVsHardcore.html

http://wicca.timerift.net/ravenwolf.shtml

CYBER-SAFETY 101 1/14/07

Friends don't let friends use Micro$oft though sometimes there is good info to be found there. One such example is found here at: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/children/kidpred.mspx

Many of us who blog, post on boards, join e-groups forget that there are basic safety rules and we violate them without thinking. How many of us post our birthdates on our blogs? Town we live in? School we attend? Name of company we work at?
Other folks are doing that too.
Sooner or later, we may be instant messaging with others we have met during our internet pursuits.
We are too casual. We think nothing of these things. And it may be that some of the threats have been exaggerated.
Some stats may be inaccurate, yet the bottom line is when someone we know becomes a victim, the stats lose their meaning.

We may have teens who have been sucked up into blogging and websites and e-groups and boards and on-line gaming and instant messaging as well.
That sympathetic teen blogging "friend" or "buddy" in an e-group for teens looking for support and direction may not have their best interests at heart.

Do we know who they are communicating with? Do we know who we are communicating with?
Witness Yahoo 360 blogs where the ease of getting a yahoo ID can translate into many phoney identities. Nowadays we can be any name, age, or location that we choose to be.

Here and here are some basic safety rules that parents can implement for their children and teens. Actually, those rules would be pretty good for us adults to follow too.

People, are we following the basics of internet safety?
And parents, have you taught your children the basics of internet safety?

Parents, you should be actively monitoring what your children are doing on-line. On e-groups all over the net, there are teens and supposed teens who have posted their names, age, gender, and locations. Would your teen reveal similar information in an introductory post to an e-group?

Parents, you should be actively monitoring what your children are doing on-line.
Bullying is no longer restricted to the schoolyard. Adults can and do bully other adults on the internet on posting boards, e-groups, and in the on-line gamerooms. They can bully other adults via e-mails and blog comments. Adults can bully children and teens. Children and teens can bully each other. Although sometimes people can have conflict which is not bullying, conflict can escalate into bullying or other anti-social behavior. There are also individuals who delight in generating conflict on-line in newsgroups, e-groups, and anywhere that people electronically gather. Educate your teen on internet trolls and how to deal with them. Teach your teen that feeding trolls only encourages them further. Trolls may evolve into full-blown cyber-stalkers.

Parents, you should be actively monitoring what your children are doing on-line. Anyone can be a victim of a cyber-stalker. The Instant Messenger buddy who insists upon knowing why your teen wasn't on-line at the usual time, the blogging acquaintance who investigates your teen [and family] and then publishes personal info on-line [like your phone number] or shows up unannounced at school or job are exhibiting some of the characteristics of cyberstalkers. The religious guru who is running your teen's e-group may be a cult in the making and the malcontent who bombards your teen's e-mail account with threats of legal action may be a bully. The cyber-stalker will invade your teen's life by showing up at your front door or consistently at the electronic gameroom or teen chat.

There is a heap of information on-line about remaining safe in cyber-space.
Here are some ideas gathered from those places:

Be the parent.
Set guidelines and rules for internet usage.
Put the computer in a family room.
Remain in that room when your children are on-line.
Monitor their e-mail.
Monitor their blogs.
Talk about keeping private information private, fighting, bullying, cyber-stalking, and trolling.
Teach them conflict resolution skills.
Show them how to disengage from any internet contact that feels uncomfortable to them.
Tell them: no phone calls, no presents, no photos.
Forbid them to meet any of their on-line acquaintances in person ever-- unless you are present and the meeting takes place in public.
Pay attention to any personality changes or behavior changes in your child. They may indicate a problem that needs looking into.

Those suggestions apply to all of us of all ages.
Be safe, and play safer,
radical sapphoq