gdp's Comments

The Wild Hunt : The Washington Times' Ignorant Editorial

Sat, 7 May 2011 05:36:40 +0000

Hey, take that back that implication about Temujin Chinggis Khaan! He was nowhere near as horrible as the Moonies are.

The Wild Hunt : Unleash the Hounds! (Link Roundup)

Fri, 6 May 2011 03:25:53 +0000

Sure, but since she was quoting a Chinese writer, that would follow. I just ran with it, and quoted an Irish text in regard to these events. You'll note the slightly different focus there, what with all the "just cause" and no mention of either celebration or solemnity.

The Wild Hunt : Unleash the Hounds! (Link Roundup)

Thu, 5 May 2011 17:57:55 +0000

When Cormac was asked what is best for a king, he replied (among other things), "Military action for a just cause, justice without bloodshed, leniency within the integrity of the law".

The Wild Hunt : Air Force Academy Dedicates Pagan Chapel

Thu, 5 May 2011 07:58:13 +0000

My understanding of the phrase is that "New Age religion" refers to a group of religions which is different than the following ones, "paganism, Wicca, Druids and ancient Norse beliefs", and that both phrases are not the entirety of religions covered (the term "including" is important there). Edited to add: Also, I agree about the capitalization of "Paganism".

The Wild Hunt : Unleash the Hounds! (Link Roundup)

Wed, 4 May 2011 03:12:00 +0000

Wrong attribution of your paraphrase there.

The Wild Hunt : Pagan Community Notes: International Pagan Coming Out Day, Who's Pagan, The Correllian Tradition, an

Sun, 1 May 2011 02:51:52 +0000

You really do think that? I don't see it, myself, considering the extensive coverage that Dan Halloran got, to pick just one example. Wicca gets a certain amount of coverage, it's true, but the alternative would be to ignore one of the largest pagan religions out there. The Wild Hunt seems to do a pretty darned good job of covering a wide variety of religions which all have common cause, from Shinto and Hinduism to the Afro-Caribbean religions, Asatru, and Wicca, among others. So, if you want more coverage of Asatru and other reconstructionist religions, perhaps you might start your own news blog. I'd read it, as I consider myself following a reconstructionist religion.

The Wild Hunt : The Cynthia Eller Brickbat

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 23:47:16 +0000

"For me one of the unhealthiest things Pagans do is this deep occupation on a past and very little thought of the future. I am a individual who explains and teaches about the future of our community, and developing resources that allow us to find our own truth. Of course, I will here that it must be rooted in the past, and tradition requires that we do things a certain way. That is nice, and I love some traditional ideas, but I would not give them all value or even current relevance." Are you taking a stand against ancestor reverence, then? Or, if not, how do you square that stance with ancestor reverence?

The Wild Hunt : Quick Notes: Spartacus, American Gods, and James Arthur Ray

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 14:20:13 +0000

What difference does it make to someone who hasn't experienced it? Why bother even attempting to prove experiences? They experience their god, we experience our various gods, atheists experience no gods. I don't see the problem or the need to prove any of it.

The Wild Hunt : Did Missionaries Trigger the Witch-Hunts?

Sun, 27 Mar 2011 00:35:21 +0000

Not all mixtures of ideologies bother me, which is rather what the point has become. Some, however, reinforce aspects of the other in ways that catalyze them to problems.

The Wild Hunt : Did Missionaries Trigger the Witch-Hunts?

Sun, 27 Mar 2011 00:33:38 +0000

See, you keep insisting on reading things I didn't write, and arguing against those things. I said nothing about Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, or Stalinist Russia, nor the British Empire or the French - each of those has its own particular tragic trajectory. I only described Imperial Japan and its problems combining ideas of the nation-state (some of which, Holland for instance, have not followed that terrible path, so it is not something inherent to the nation-state itself, but to particular historical situations) with its Imperial heritage. If you want to analyze those others, feel free, but don't attribute those analyses to my position.

The Wild Hunt : Did Missionaries Trigger the Witch-Hunts?

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 23:22:24 +0000

The obvious example is the juxtaposition of the nation-state, developed from Roman and other European models, with Shinto-based Japanese governing models, which gave a fairly terrible result. In fact, the Roman system of government never seemed to work very well with most tribal or mixed tribal-aristocratic systems. Protestant capitalism seems to have had pretty terrible results when mixed with native North American groups, especially when applied to tribal methods of warfare, even though each has appeal in itself. But this is just for information. I'm not interested in discussing anything with someone who is so seemingly incapable of sincere argument. I see enough of that in the various mainstream media outlets.

The Wild Hunt : Did Missionaries Trigger the Witch-Hunts?

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 18:37:47 +0000

"Translation" And the disingenuousness continues. I guess we're done here, since you can't be bothered to actually read the actual words, and are content with arguing with the voice in your head.

The Wild Hunt : Did Missionaries Trigger the Witch-Hunts?

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 18:01:57 +0000

It is disingenuous to so blatantly twist words. I did not say that the problem lies in mixing, those are your words. I said that sometimes, when things mix, they become a problem. That is, it is not the mixing that is the problem, it is the way they catalyze each other. Forgive me for failing to write so that you could understand. The particular catalysis of African and Christian beliefs in this case seems to occur because of variant concepts of "witchcraft" and what to do in response to it. When the concepts of each influence the other, in this case, it resulted in literal witch hunts. Or didn't you read the article this comment thread is attached to?

The Wild Hunt : Did Missionaries Trigger the Witch-Hunts?

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 01:29:42 +0000

OK, if you're going to argue disingenuously and with insults, then there's nothing more to be said. Continue on, and enjoy yourself. If you're actually interested in discussion, try addressing what is there, instead of twisting it into a position that is far from what I actually wrote.

The Wild Hunt : Did Missionaries Trigger the Witch-Hunts?

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 22:33:11 +0000

You're lacking nuance. Sometimes, two reasonably good things can mix and become a bad thing, as each brings out negative aspects in the other.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Wash. bill recognizes out-of-state same-sex marriages | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News

Sun, 6 Mar 2011 05:28:11 +0000

"Disgusting" to whom? You? Who cares about your opinion of what is and is not in foul taste? A "sin"? Not to all people. You may think that you have the right to impose your religious beliefs on others, but the fact is that this is America, not a middle-eastern theocracy. We have guarantees of religious freedom here. That means that you get to live your religion, I get to live mine, and you can't impose your beliefs on me. I can't impose mine on you, either, but then I'm not forcing you to abide by my religion's ideas of proper behavior. Heck, I'm not even telling you what those ideas are, because it's not relevant to this debate.

The Wild Hunt : PantheaCon update, and some Links of Note

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 07:40:04 +0000

To clarify, is your position on the Phoenix Goddess Temple something along the lines that "any expression of sexuality in a sacred context is automatically merely prurient", or do you have something else in mind? For myself, I have no currently strong position on the matter, but this issue does interest me as I've known a few people in the sex industry in various capacities, and one friend has practiced at the Phoenix Temple specifically.

The Wild Hunt : Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson 1955 - 2010

Sat, 27 Nov 2010 08:01:18 +0000

Yes. Thank you for this tribute.

The Wild Hunt : Supporting Pagan Troops and other Pagan News of Note

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 14:24:54 +0000

That does seem to be the case. I had considered writing an extensive reply, but it occurred to me that he was using short, reactive language that doesn't deserve a considered response. Your reply also helped me see that I was engaging in the "someone is wrong on the internet" mistake. Thank you.

The Wild Hunt : Supporting Pagan Troops and other Pagan News of Note

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 06:06:24 +0000

A very good point (though I'd certainly be able to give it a try - I can get around without the cane, needing it only rarely). Still, even without that, they haven't changed the policy yet. I can't serve in the military without the ability to make reasoned ethical decisions.