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How to deal with Discrimination

© Taylor Ellwood

When I was eighteen, my choice to practice magic was forcibly outted to my family, by another family. I�d been practicing magic with a friend and his parents decided to search his room, found a couple of my books and called my mother and told her. When I came home the night she found out I was given an ultimatium. I had to burn my occult books or I had to move out in a half hour. I had no job at the time and a half tank of gas in my car.. I decided to make a hard choice and burn some of my occult books. I hid the rest from her and fortunately she didn�t find them.

I always felt that I sold myself out, and yet if I hadn�t been practical I�d have been out on the streets. And at the end of a week of not talking with her, I told my mother that if she ever tried to pull that kind of stunt again I would disown her. She is a Christian.

A few months later the same family that outted me would threaten my life. The father of my friend called me up and threatened to come over and kill me. He was drunk, but I believed he would try it, as alcohol will often give such cowards a false bravery. Fortunately another friend of mine made the sensible suggestion of calling the cops. I called the cops and the calls stopped and I was never threatened again.

My story of persecution is not the only story. Pagan shop owners will have windows busted in or be threatened by the local fanatics who are righteously certain that their way of life is the one, true, and only way to live life. The question though is how do we as pagans deal with this issue of discrimination?

There are a number of reactions that can be taken. One is to panic, another is to retaliate against the discriminators. Another is to simply hide who you are and hope people don�t find out you�re a pagan.

But these reactions won�t really get us anywhere beyond perpetuating stereotypes. Conscious action is always better than the initial reaction to a situation. So if you are in a situation where discrimination is occurring, don�t panic. Call the cops. They can actually be useful in such cases. Calmly explain the situation and don�t take any action of your own, unless you need to defend yourself. And if you end up in court, dress professionally and calmly tell your side of the story. Being calm and rational, dressing in a suit or other professional clothes will make a bigger impression on people who otherwise expect wacky people in flower power clothing.

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