Safety versus Freedom.

    All of the turmoil caused by  the arrest of Kenny  Klein is  taking shape , and it is a very ugly monster that  is being created.  Many  people are voicing concern of safety for  the women and children at pagan events.  Men you are on your own, at  these events.  Emotions are still  high and will  cause lapse of thinking by  those that  are enraged by  the possibility of something happening to children.  Don't get me wrong I  want to  protect the children as well, I  am a divorced father and I  would go  psycho if I  learned someone harmed either of my  kids.

     There is some rational  thought  when discussing preventive measures.  We do  need to  keep  a better eye on the children and know the people that  are watching the children as well.  But many  people knew Kenny, just because you knew a person for 10-15 years doesn't mean that  he is not dangerous. Think about the 3 ladies that  were abducted and locked up in a house for over a decade. Nobody really questioned it , it all  depends on how well you can hide your 'bad behaviors'. No security system is fool proof. If someone is desperate enough, they  will  find a weakness to  the system and exploit it.

    Recently in Witch.vox, there was an article written by    Lady Ann Oxyer aka Lady Sage Bastisis , her articled was titled: Safety: Lets shift our focus. I  strongly disagree with  her  concept of improving security at pagan events. She states: "There is a very easy way to counteract the tactics of sex offenders. As I do in my coven, every person who attends an event absolutely has to be checked, at the very least, against the National Sex Offender Registry. It is a free website that anyone can look at and it only takes 15 seconds to type in someone's name and run a quick check. If the person sends in their registration before the event, even better. You can check them out before they show up at your event's registration table. At the registration table, have a laptop with mobile WiFi set up for the ones who didn't register ahead of time."

     A few paragraphs down she then states:"In addition to checking everyone against the sex offender registry, I also propose that state issued It’s be checked at registration, a photocopy of the I.D. is taken and kept on file, and that you keep records indefinitely. I can think of several reasons why this is a good idea; however, the main one being that you have a person's legal name AND photo in case the unthinkable happens at an event. It is much easier for a victim of a sex crime to look through copies of photo I.D.'s to find a perpetrator's face and also it makes cooperating with a police investigation MUCH easier."

    So  starting with  checking every name against the sex offender's registry. If a person has no  sexual criminal  history, they  have nothing to  worry about.  But this can be beaten easily, How many  people can tell if an out of state license is real  or forged. I  could get an out of state license with a fake name , and I  will  not show up on the registry, and thus get access to  the event.

     And there is one thing that  has not been mentioned by  all  the security minded people that  want to impose security standards.  What if the next pervert that  walks through that  gate has never been caught before?  The  Sex offenders registry can't list people that  haven't been found guilty of sex crimes.

    Taking a photocopy of the ID is something I  would have to  scream no to.  And it would be something that  would cause many  people to  walk  away from pagan events.  I say  this because many  pagans are still in the broom closet and the chance that  this information getting out would be devastating to  them.  The worst thing happens, a little girl is molested at an event. All the people that  went to  the event are called to  the police station. What if  "Billy" , snuck  to  the event because he is only 19  and still  lives with  his parents, which  are devout Christians. The police  call  his mom and inform  her of the Pagan Pride day  and the possible connection to the little girl getting  molested. Can you imagine  what  "Billy's" life is going to  be after that  call.

     "John" is also in the broom closet, he attended the same event.  He is innocent of everything, but the police go  to his work and talk  to  him.  If it gets out that  he is a pagan, he could lose his job. Having the police talk to  him about a child molestation is also  going to  cause havoc on his life.  Yes I  would want the pervert found and arrested,  but I  also  don't want it  to  destroy other lives in the process either. They  couldn't ID the assailant because he wore a mask.   It is also  known that  minors sexually abuse those younger than themselves.  So if a 15 year old  molests a 7 year old, there would be no photo ID to  compare with.

    Far  too many  ways to  breach  the supposed security. And there will  be many  of you that  will  tell me that  this is just a start. And that is what  I  am afraid of.  Look  at  the anger and disgust with  the NSA at the airports. Do  we want something like the NSA for pagan events?  Are we going to  require advanced screening and applications to  attend pagan events?  Sorry sir, your application was turned down, you didn't get it in our office in time to purchase a ticket.  Sorry madam,  we no longer allow walk-ins at Iowa Pagan events, you will  have to leave.

     And then many  pagan events occur in NATURE, scary concept I know. And this lady stated:"For many years I have preached, pleaded, and begged leaders in the Pagan Community to NOT take such a laissez faire approach to festival/Pagan event planning. Most Pagan events are held in semi-remote, wooded, primitive camping type settings. People show up at these festivals, pay their entrance fees, and are free to set up camp (literally) , as they like."   And it is true, The Iowa Pagan Pride event takes place at an open city park where people  from the surrounding area can just waltz in.  So  a pervert doesn't even have to  get processed at  the from gate to  get in.  But by  her standard, pagan events should now go inside  a secured fenced in area with  a patrol or a large building to  regulate all people coming and going from the event.

     While an event should make sure that  the area is safe for kids to  be at.  It is still  the parents job to  watch over their children. Why  should event organizers be held to  resolve security issues, when it should be the parents held responsible.  Mom and Dad want to  look  at  the  vendors stuff, kids go  run and play over there. 

    There are bad people out there. They  don't wear signs or send warnings. Some people can hold their evil  intentions back until they  know they  can get away  with  it.  No  security system is fool proof,  if there is a weakness ,people will  find it.

    All of this comes at a price that  I  don't want to  pay. There is a nice little quote that I  remember, and I  want to  share it with  you.   “Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.” Quote by Benjamin Franklin.  When great acts go  against people, there seems to be people that  take advantage of the situation to  get what  they  seek.  Look  at  Bush  and the Patriot acts.  Let's not go  down this road of  over-reaction. We have seen the results with the TSA.  In the US we value our freedoms of religion, but  will  we allow fears take control and Tarnish  what  we are working so  hard to  build?

"Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security" - Benjamin Franklin
Read more at http://www.dictionary-quotes.com/the-man-who-trades-freedom-for-security-does-not-deserve-nor-will-he-ever-receive-either-benjamin-franklin/#KgBjuClswx5zmLST.99

                        

"Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security" - Benjamin Franklin
Read more at http://www.dictionary-quotes.com/the-man-who-trades-freedom-for-security-does-not-deserve-nor-will-he-ever-receive-either-benjamin-franklin/#KgBjuClswx5zmLST.99

"Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security" - Benjamin Franklin
Read more at http://www.dictionary-quotes.com/the-man-who-trades-freedom-for-security-does-not-deserve-nor-will-he-ever-receive-either-benjamin-franklin/#KgBjuClswx5zmLST.99

"The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either." – Benjamin Franklin
Read more at http://www.dictionary-quotes.com/the-man-who-trades-freedom-for-security-does-not-deserve-nor-will-he-ever-receive-either-benjamin-franklin/#KgBjuClswx5zmLST.99

"The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either." – Benjamin Franklin
Read more at http://www.dictionary-quotes.com/the-man-who-trades-freedom-for-security-does-not-deserve-nor-will-he-ever-receive-either-benjamin-franklin/#KgBjuClswx5zmLST.99

Life Coaching... My understanding of it.

     Recently I have been seeing a few people claim to  be life coaches, and a couple of them were giving me a less than positive feeling.  So I  decided to  do  a little research and present my views on this rapid growth industry.  What is a "Life Coach" in the first place. A Life Coach is a person that is paid to  provide positive re-enforcement and structure to  help  a client react his/her goals. This is not just  motivation speaking in general. The life coach is to  develop a plan to meet the unique needs of the client. They usually give the client a weekly session  of an hour to  listen to  the clients current status and then give encouragement and instructions.

     So  a life coach  needs to  be a good listener, take plenty of notes, organizer, be an excellent communicator, understand sociology and psychiatry.  You  should have a friendly disposition and be able to  separate your personal life from the needs of the client. Patience  would be a requirement as well  when dealing with  people that  have little if no  will power to  motivate themselves.

     As I  stated earlier this is a growing business, there has been reports of over 1 Billion dollars spent last year in this and closely related fields. Many  institutes are available to  teach  you the basics of being a life coach. With little time and effort you can be a certified Life Coach.  In fact you can  be a Life Coach today if you wanted to. Being a Life Coach is a non regulated profession in the United States. It  falls into  the field of Psychics and tarot readers. You  are only as good as the way  that  you present yourself and sell  yourself.

     Doctors have to  pass a series of tests to  be a licensed and practice medicine in the US. Lawyer's have to pass the Bar exam. Many  professions require a college degree in  the field of employment. And some professions just need you to  have an advanced education to  do  the work  that  you seek.  A good doctor has spent 8 years in college before he is allowed to  perform serious medical  procedures

     You  can go online an find many  'institutes"  that  are willing to  teach  you how to  be a Life coach and other holistic style professions. I  checked out the Spencer institute and I  was in shock  about what I  found.  They have  several of these 'new age' profession set-ups. I  saw prices from $150.oo to  $197.oo for this training. And you are thinking that  wow  that is cheap, upon reading more about this class offering, you  will  find out why.  They  say  how long it should take to  finish  this training package.  They  said the average person can finish it in 40 hours.  That  means that  I  can in one week devote 8  hours a day to learning this and finish the course.  I  then take a test and earn my certification that is valid for 2 years. Then I  would have to  go  back  and get further training and recertification.

     But I know what  you are thinking... they  are an accredited  institute.  Yes they  are accredited by  the American Association of drugfree  Practioners.. or AADP. this group was formed in 1990, making it only 24 years old.  It is also listed as a fake accrediting agency.  http://www.geteducated.com  Because this is an unregulated industry, I  can get a couple of friends together and create an accrediting agency and then give accreditation to an institute that  I  built myself.  And while it would be a very unethical thing to  do, it would be legal.  Thus in a couple of months I  can create the institute and accrediting agency and sell various holistic classes to  others.  And isn't that  a quite scary concept.

     I have seen this happen recently. And I  am very  upset about it. I know many  pagan ladies that  will  be upset with  this. Flora Petersen has a class that  she is currently selling for  people to  be "Certified Professional Psychics".

 

Flora Peterson has called herself a Life Coach.   I  wonder what  special  training she gives people.  Here is the link  for you to  check it out yourself. FloraSage Therapies Institute But the numbers speak  for themselves 18+ hours of training on prerecorded formats. As I  read it the only one on one time you get with her is the certification process. In which  you will  read the tarot cards for her.  And anyone can give a general  interpretation of the cards and can't be called wrong. That is what  make Tarot card reading awesome there is really no  right or wrong answers, it is about making a vague result to  satisfy the client. This is no  Legal Bar Exam.  But look  at  the highlighted  part of this next image. 

 

"  At the institute Flora teaches Psychic Development courses and personally trains and certifies Spiritual Empowerment Coaches as well as a host of other programs and classes for people from all walks of life."  And what is the name of this Institute called ... "FloraSage Therapies Institute".  And you were probably calling me nuts when I  mentioned I  could create my own institute and accrediting agency, and that it  would be legal.

 

    I already  give people advice and help others through life's troubles.  Recently at work,  I  offered my services to  a lady  that is a lesbian. I  told her  that if she couldn't find a minister to  get married because they  were objecting to it, that I  would perform her marriage ceremony.  I  am an Ordained minister. I  love helping people that  are new to  paganism,  showing them some of the things I  have learned over the years.  I  give advice to  the young men that  I  work  with about how to  live a better life and avoid the pain that  comes through opening new doors of life.  I have read many  books about relationships and social issues.  I  am just not getting paid for  any of it.  Well  that is about to  change, today I  am becoming a Life Coach....

     OK, I  am only joking about becoming a life coach.  I am happy to  help others without the money. You  have to  ask  yourself do  you  really need someone telling you to  live your life. And there has to  be a degree of self-centeredness to  be a life coach. You  think  that  your life is so  great that  others will  pay  you to  place your ethics into  their life.  We are all unique and our needs and desires are also  quite unique.  We have to  find our own way  and learn from our mistakes.  If you must have someone hold your hand, are you learning everything that  you  need to?

     As I  was saying earlier, life coaches don't have any  required training and with  certification being just a fancy  piece of paper, could you allow someone without proper training give you mental assessments?  If they are fully trained psychiatric medical  personal, why  are they not working in the regulated medical industry?  There are probably some wonderful  people out there that  can help out a great number of people, however you are gambling that  the person you pick is worthy  of your trust and money.  If you  got  the money to waste , just grab Joe Schmoo  off the streets and get his advice,

that is the risk that  you would be taking.



Feminism in Paganism

    Paganism talks about equality between the two  genders.  I  talk  about the days of the Celts where men and women were equals. Both men and women can own land, inherit wealth, and fight in battle as equals. In Celtic society it was the person with  the most financi9al  wealth in the marriage that  made the decisions, and so  the female could very  well  make all  the decisions of the family. It was the spread of Southern European and Christian values that  put an end to  that.  Soon women were treated as property and second rate people. Something that  I  find disgusting.

    We have made some great changes in society since then. Women have laws in place to  protect them from being treat bad by most men.  I  say most men because not all  men follow the law. Women can go  to  college and enter the job market like most men can now. There are still  some issues with  equality, but it is caused by  a select few men, not  the majority in general.
    
    One of the great aspects of Paganism is that it promotes gender equality. And so  many  women flock  to  paganism for a chance to  have religious freedom that  they  are not allowed in many  Abrahamic groups.  This  has cause a great imbalance of women to  men  in paganism. And it is starting to affect the balance in paganism , in my opinion. Feminism has been crawling in at a steady rate and is now affecting groups of pagans.

    As I  stated in a previous post, with  the Arrest of Kenny Klein, a door was opened to  promote feminism quicker in paganism. I  saw a few statements that  were also  direct transfers of rhetoric from Atheist Plus to paganism.  With  mentioning the "Don't be that  Guy" campaign in Canada. I  find this troublesome.

    Today , I  encountered feminism in a Facebook  group, and it inspired me to  write this blog. I  have been seeing a lot of imagery and comments about women be better than men.  I  responded to  image that  has a man apologizing to  a female deity, the female being mother earth.   And I  would have just ignored the whole image, but  it has the female aspect calling the man aspect self centered. Then it stated that  the earth would survive with man  by stating" You  are fucking yourself over big time and you won't be missed."  I  found this to  be a massive insult to me.  SO I  stated that  I  found this image to  be sexist by  having the man being showed as flawed and the woman as a goddess.  And then how I  usually see many  goddess images on Facebook, but so  little god images.  Then I  used science to  remind that life here would be possible if it wasn't for the sun. Many  aspects view the sun as male and the earth female.  SO  where was the gender balance in this image.

    And the response was classic feminist tactics.

Lena Breijer The sun is female too - get over it.
Lorn West No, in some paths, the sun is considered male. learn something.

     Telling me to  'get over it' was an aggressive move be this lady. I  responded in kind, by telling her to  learn something.

JD Hobbes Dial it back Lorn. No need to be so aggressive. We're all just sharing our ideas.
Lorn West JD , And someone just told me to 'get over it', where is your comment to her to not get aggressive?
JD Hobbes Telling Lena to "learn something" was unnecessary and insulting
Lorn West And her telling me to 'get over it' was insulting to me. and yet you said nothing.
JD Hobbes Boo-hoo. Life is so unfair.
Lorn West Oh great the white knight is here.

    The white knight is a man that  will  defend any  and all  females in a fight even if she was the one that  started the fight. There has been many  studies and TV shows that  show white knights in action. Women in general  can cause fights in groups of people because they  know that most men would enter the fight to  defend her, even though she threw the fight punch.

     And the feminist rhetoric is in Paganism. I  was asking for equality, was  never insulting towards women.

Serendipity Ninth perhaps you can "get over" your male white privilege and see things through alternative eyes...
Lena Breijer Yes the sun is male in some southern regions - like those have have tried to run over the rest of the world for the last 3000 years - get over it. It is our turn. Most of what has been done to the earth that s discussed was due to male gods and and MEN in power wanting more and more power and cash - suck it up baby
Lorn West white male privilege, comment that  is sexist and racist at the same time. Just because a man is white doesn't mean that he is blessed with privileges.
Serendipity Ninth you may not recognize the privileges you have, but being annoyed by this comic shows male privilege in that you're annoyed that it doesn't fit your comfortable stereotypes (just the uncomfortable ones).

    See the spite that  these pagan women have for men. It is so  terrible and unneeded. SO  let me get this straight, because men from 200 years ago  did  some bad things it is my  fault.  Just because men from 1000 years ago  did  some stupid things I  must be held accountable because I  have a penis.  I  am not those men that  oppressed any  woman a hundred years ago  from attending college. I  am not the man that  blocked equal  pay, but  these angry ladies are holding me responsible for it.  I have to  pay for the crimes committed against women for the last  3000 years in some areas just because I  have a penis. The sins of the father are passed on to  the son for eternity.

    Lena's ending to  her comment was absolutely pathetic. "suck it up  baby".  Another aggressive angry comment by  the same person, and the white knight does nothing.  Calling me a baby is an insult, and this JD Hobbes  is the supposed admin for a debate group. The typical  white knight does exactly what  white knights do.  Goes blind to  female aggression and only sees men as the aggressors. It is his way  to  pay  for the guilt he has for the crimes ,against females committed over the last  3000 years. Even though he has done none of it.

     SO I have to  ask a simple question. Do any of these ladies and all  ladies in general  use these advances created by man ? I personally find it hypocritical  for women to  complain about the ways 'men' have corrupted the world, but  have no problems using these advances that  resulted in their actions. Most of the current smart phones a dependent of rare metals to  function,  these metals are strip mined in China.  Yet how many  have the latest cellphone? I  don't own a cellphone, and I  never will.

    I have seen women's business groups form all over Facebook  and other social media. And that  would be fine if these same women didn't complain about the 'good ole boy's club'. https://www.facebook.com/myBWNOnline   So  why  are men wrong for doing something that  women  are doing?   IN Canada , women protest the MRA events. Funny how it would be sexist and oppressive for men to protest Women's events , but it is alright for women to  protest men's events.

     As I  see it, women have benefited from all  the advancements of 'men' but  they  are passing the blame for all  the bad results  on men.  Women have aided in development of sciences as well, but only man is guilty for raping the earth.   I  am tired of hearing that society is a patriarchy or male dominated.  Bars have Ladies night, where woman can drink  half priced drinks, men don't have that. Men are told to  give up  their seat so  a lady  can sit down. Half of the Domestic violence in the US is proven statistically to  be caused by  women, but there is a "Violence against Woman act".  The selective Service still only requires boys to  sign up  at  age 18, not women. There have been wonderful female world leaders  like Margaret Thatcher of the UK, Merkel  for Germany.  In the "Ban Bossy" campaign one of the speakers is a woman that  is a billionaire.  

     So I  will  end this with one simple question. The Feminist movements has created many  laws that  protects women's rights to  go to  college, get a job, and buy  a home. There are laws that  protect a woman and give her special treatment if she suffers from domestic abuse.  There are laws  now and some still  be worked on that  provide women with  equal pay  rate.  There are many  colleges and business that  now have quota on how many  women must be employed, meaning that  a better male candidate could be turned down to  make the quota.  Has feminism grown so  powerful and drunk  with  power that  they  don't want equality, they  want vengeance?

     The next time you watch a feminist video, see if they  mention 'women's rights' or 'equal  rights'.  If they  can't mention 'equal rights' they  are not working  for equal  rights.