Broom Closet

[TeaDidikai]

missmagpie

TeaDidikai

You had an advantage though- you had a place you could go where you knew other pagans would be.

True, but most major cities have occult shops these days too. And if you don't know where they are there's Witchvox to find them. Witchvox is also helpful for finding pagan discussion groups in your area.

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In essence- The Yellow Brick Road was your ten inch pent.

Perhaps, but they also sell beads there. I could have just been some other ordinary jewelry-making-person... who was buying books on the occult... ninja . But the difference between going to the YBR and screaming my faith out in the hallways at school is that I was going to the YBR for my own development and education - to buy books and stones. The fact that I met people there was an added bonus. It wasn't quite on par with wearing a hubcap to get attention.

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By the way- you almost made my head implode. I read that line about you meeting your SO and Reagun as Reagun was your SO. stare

rofl lol rofl Oh no! Oh NONONONONO! No no that wouldn't be good. Sorry reagun, love, but it would just never work. For rather obvious reasons. xp

Ah... but there is still an indicator. Furthermore- if they are okay with online meet up groups, more power to them, but if they do not have access to Witchvox, a Ten inch pent is still a valid form of striking up contact, yes?  

[queertastrophy]

TeaDidikai

BlueRoseTorn

It just...(damn, this is hard to put into words sweatdrop ) seems to take away from the sanctity of it. Faith and the path you choose is something you base your life around--it helps you grow in so many ways. And when I see people flaunting it for the world to see like it was a piece of jewelry instead of a sacred, private thing, it gives me the impression that they're not taking it all that seriously, you know?

(I think that's as good as it's going to get with me putting it into words properly, even though I still don't think it hits the nail on the head.)

Do not cast your pearls before swine? Yes?

However, a pent is no such pearl. It is but the shell the pearl is in. Follow?

I suppose. But mind, you give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I've always been a bit more cynical when it comes to people...guess it wouldn't hurt to work on that, too. *adds it to my list*

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That makes me feel a bit better--I honestly thought you were miffed at me. gonk Hard to tell "think outside your box" from scolding over the 'Net, and all. sweatdrop

My "I'm Pissed Off At You" involves a PM telling you how you ******** up, what you can do to make it better, and usually a demand for an apology. Anything short of that is friendly/heated debate- and a good time to be had by all.

True. Even though sometimes I'm awfully intimidated of you, in a good way. >_<  

[TeaDidikai]

BlueRoseTorn

I suppose. But mind, you give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I've always been a bit more cynical when it comes to people...guess it wouldn't hurt to work on that, too. *adds it to my list*

No worries. Do me a favor and think back about five or six years ago- what interests did you have that you were proud of? Any of them conflict with your parents or friends?

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True. Even though sometimes I'm awfully intimidated of you, in a good way. >_<

Oh dear me. Believe me, you have nothing to be afraid of.  

[queertastrophy]

TeaDidikai

BlueRoseTorn

I suppose. But mind, you give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I've always been a bit more cynical when it comes to people...guess it wouldn't hurt to work on that, too. *adds it to my list*

No worries. Do me a favor and think back about five or six years ago- what interests did you have that you were proud of? Any of them conflict with your parents or friends?

Not really, honestly. I was just a music dork. sweatdrop All I really did was sing in the choir and play piano. The only person I know that it bothered was my sister, because she thinks music is a waste of time.

But I do understand the point you're trying to make. 3nodding

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True. Even though sometimes I'm awfully intimidated of you, in a good way. >_<

Oh dear me. Believe me, you have nothing to be afraid of.

For some reason, that makes me even more nervous. Are you sure you didn't forget the "twisted" emote after that? xd  

[TeaDidikai]

BlueRoseTorn

TeaDidikai

BlueRoseTorn

I suppose. But mind, you give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I've always been a bit more cynical when it comes to people...guess it wouldn't hurt to work on that, too. *adds it to my list*

No worries. Do me a favor and think back about five or six years ago- what interests did you have that you were proud of? Any of them conflict with your parents or friends?

Not really, honestly. I was just a music dork. sweatdrop All I really did was sing in the choir and play piano. The only person I know that it bothered was my sister, because she thinks music is a waste of time.

But I do understand the point you're trying to make. 3nodding

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True. Even though sometimes I'm awfully intimidated of you, in a good way. >_<

Oh dear me. Believe me, you have nothing to be afraid of.

For some reason, that makes me even more nervous. Are you sure you didn't forget the "twisted" emote after that? xd

Hmmm... Well, depending on the age gap between you and your sister- anyway, as long as you get the idea.

And no. I didn't miss any emoticons.
~sweet and innocent~ <-That's the one you should worry about.  

[Pelta]

TeaDidikai

Ah... but there is still an indicator. Furthermore- if they are okay with online meet up groups, more power to them, but if they do not have access to Witchvox, a Ten inch pent is still a valid form of striking up contact, yes?

I suppose if that's how they'd like to shout out their faiths... But I'd say it tends to draw the wrong kind of attention. It's a rather fluffy thing to do, and fluffies who do so attract more fluffies until they're running rampant and breeding like... well... bunnies.  

[Pelta]

BlueRoseTorn

Not really, honestly. I was just a music dork. sweatdrop All I really did was sing in the choir and play piano. The only person I know that it bothered was my sister, because she thinks music is a waste of time.

Oy! Nothing wrong with being a music dork! Music is precious and people who don't agree just don't understand. *sniff* Harumph.
(I'm such a music snob)  

[TeaDidikai]

missmagpie

TeaDidikai

Ah... but there is still an indicator. Furthermore- if they are okay with online meet up groups, more power to them, but if they do not have access to Witchvox, a Ten inch pent is still a valid form of striking up contact, yes?

I suppose if that's how they'd like to shout out their faiths... But I'd say it tends to draw the wrong kind of attention. It's a rather fluffy thing to do, and fluffies who do so attract more fluffies until they're running rampant and breeding like... well... bunnies.

What concept of wrong?

Individuals who do not assert personal identity at some point in their life are in for a world of hurt when they become the door mat of their peers.

And what makes it fluffy? Is it willfull ignorance? Hardly anything ignorant about owning a pent unto itself. Is it in and of itself removing the core of the beliefs to be sacrificed upon the alter of "pretty niceness"? Not really.  

[Pelta]

TeaDidikai

[quote="missmagpie] I suppose if that's how they'd like to shout out their faiths... But I'd say it tends to draw the wrong kind of attention. It's a rather fluffy thing to do, and fluffies who do so attract more fluffies until they're running rampant and breeding like... well... bunnies.

What concept of wrong? I'm not saying I know the ultimate definition of right and wrong here, but people who wear gigantic pents often attract the attention of malicious people or those or want scapegoats for their Mr. Dark stories. Any attention that might result in violence or deliberate cruelty counts as the wrong sort of attention in my book.

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Individuals who do not assert personal identity at some point in their life are in for a world of hurt when they become the door mat of their peers.

True. But what if that assertion of identity is somewhat false, or disrespectful to those who follow the religion? It doesn't make much sense to wear a pent to assert your identity to a path you don't belong to.

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And what makes it fluffy? Is it willfull ignorance? Hardly anything ignorant about owning a pent unto itself. Is it in and of itself removing the core of the beliefs to be sacrificed upon the alter of "pretty niceness"? Not really.

What makes it fluffy is the seemingly willfull ignorance to the actual reason of wearing a pent. It is not a symbol to be worn to attract attention, it is a sacred symbol and ought to be treated as such. Simply ignoring the deeper meaning of the symbol is fluffy.  

[TeaDidikai]

missmagpie

I'm not saying I know the ultimate definition of right and wrong here, but people who wear gigantic pents often attract the attention of malicious people or those or want scapegoats for their Mr. Dark stories. Any attention that might result in violence or deliberate cruelty counts as the wrong sort of attention in my book.

This is where personal responsability comes into play. If someone doesn't want to risk being the victim of violence, they need to opt out of the human race. Would we ask a woman to change her gender to reduce the risk of being sexually assulted?

Opting out of Paganism all together and being as conformist as one can be would be the best way to avoid being a target.

The right to be protected against violence is not forfitted based upon things beyond one's control. Gender, race, religion, sexuality- none of this invalidates those rights and it is the person who would harm individuals based upon such things that is in the wrong. Not the person expressing themselves.

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True. But what if that assertion of identity is somewhat false, or disrespectful to those who follow the religion? It doesn't make much sense to wear a pent to assert your identity to a path you don't belong to.

Who said they were?

The pent isn't just for Wiccans afterall.

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What makes it fluffy is the seemingly willfull ignorance to the actual reason of wearing a pent. It is not a symbol to be worn to attract attention, it is a sacred symbol and ought to be treated as such. Simply ignoring the deeper meaning of the symbol is fluffy.

I would suggest that being a pent, it has a number of meanings- not the least of which is the association with the pagan scene.  

[Pelta]

TeaDidikai

missmagpie

I'm not saying I know the ultimate definition of right and wrong here, but people who wear gigantic pents often attract the attention of malicious people or those or want scapegoats for their Mr. Dark stories. Any attention that might result in violence or deliberate cruelty counts as the wrong sort of attention in my book.

This is where personal responsability comes into play. If someone doesn't want to risk being the victim of violence, they need to opt out of the human race. Would we ask a woman to change her gender to reduce the risk of being sexually assulted?

No, but she could wear less promiscuous clothing, avoid walking alone down dark alleys and carry mace to reduce the risk of being assaulted.

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Opting out of Paganism all together and being as conformist as one can be would be the best way to avoid being a target.

Indeed. But that doesn't mean you should make yourself more of one if you don't want to be.

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The right to be protected against violence is not forfitted based upon things beyond one's control. Gender, race, religion, sexuality- none of this invalidates those rights and it is the person who would harm individuals based upon such things that is in the wrong. Not the person expressing themselves.

Oh I agree it is the criminal's fault who commits the violence or crime. But there will always be such people in the world. One way to deal with them is to make oneself less of a target.

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True. But what if that assertion of identity is somewhat false, or disrespectful to those who follow the religion? It doesn't make much sense to wear a pent to assert your identity to a path you don't belong to.

Who said they were?

The pent isn't just for Wiccans afterall.

True. I was kinda riding on the fact that most people who do wear gigantic pents tend to be somewhat fluffy and/or self-professed wiccans. But that was somewhat unfounded.

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What makes it fluffy is the seemingly willfull ignorance to the actual reason of wearing a pent. It is not a symbol to be worn to attract attention, it is a sacred symbol and ought to be treated as such. Simply ignoring the deeper meaning of the symbol is fluffy.

I would suggest that being a pent, it has a number of meanings- not the least of which is the association with the pagan scene.

Very true. I wrote that post after having been awake for about half an hour and the brain hadn't caught up yet. sweatdrop The pent does have a large association with the Pagan scene, though, and can evoke many different reactions in people. I disagree with people wearing it simply to provoke these reactions, which I see as somewhat childish. But then again, it's just lines on a piece of metal, so who's to say what people can or cannot do with it?  

[TheDisreputableDog]

Well, I think I've changed my mind about the pentagram thing. Partly because I saw someone wearing a tasteful one today, something I haven't seen in awhile (also partly because I loved her hair; it was cut into a fetlock of sorts and dyed rainbow whee ). I mean, if there are hankerchief and hairpin codes for some of the gay and lesbian scenes, and wearing a cross may indicate how serious or earnest a Christian someone is or is at least a symbol of faith, why do pagans have to shy away from similar displays for fear of annoying people? So AsatruR can wear Mjolnir pendants and Kemetics can wear ankh pendants but other pagans shouldn't wear pent necklaces? We should strive to keep such things within the boundaries of taste and be aware of their meaning, but a pentagram shouldn't be automatically tacky. As Tea said (whether she's being DA or not, I never can tell), it is a useful way to make connections with people who share your interests.

If you're wearing a pent just because you get a kick out of telling everyone you meet it's not a Satanic symbol, well...  

[TeaDidikai]

missmagpie

No, but she could wear less promiscuous clothing, avoid walking alone down dark alleys and carry mace to reduce the risk of being assaulted.

Explain two things: First- how a woman dressing how she feels is in invitation for her to be raped. Second: How sitting at home in sweats is an invitation for a partner to rape.

Violence is not the victim's fault.

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Indeed. But that doesn't mean you should make yourself more of one if you don't want to be.

Oh I agree it is the criminal's fault who commits the violence or crime. But there will always be such people in the world. One way to deal with them is to make oneself less of a target.

Blaming the victim? I'll admit that some actions place oneself at risk. But not being period is the only sure protection. Thus, it is not the victims that need to change, it is the criminals.

As one of my favorite founding Father's said: "Those who would sacrifice liberty for security, deserve neither."

This is especially true within the US due to the rights afforded us by the Amendments.