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From: gnome@olivee.UUCP (Gary Traveis)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Satanism, witchcraft, paganism,etc.
Message-ID: <433@olivee.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 31-Oct-85 14:47:56 EST
Article-I.D.: olivee.433
Posted: Thu Oct 31 14:47:56 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 3-Nov-85 15:12:51 EST
References: <12090@rochester.UUCP> <599@k.cs.cmu.edu.ARPA>
Organization: Olivetti ATC; Cupertino, Ca
Lines: 40

> Real practioners of witchcraft might not object to laws
> against their practices, since part of the game is
> deception and presenting an appearance of respectability.
> 

..part of the game is deception...

Boy, am I glad I read this in net flame, otherwise I would probably
get upset at the idiocy of that statement.   What did you base that
statement on?  Prime time TV?   JTV (Jerry Foulwell TV)?  Or perhaps
a stray copy of the Watchtower?

I guess it all comes down to the definition of "witchcraft".  If you
define it the way the media does, then deception would play a major
part.  However, deception and fake respectability are better
descriptors of the TV/movie industry when it comes to portraying
non-Christian religions.   If the Weekly World News doesn't find it
interesting, then neither do they.

> Another point is that many ordinary people practice
> techniques of witchcraft without knowing what they
> are doing (hexing for example).

Without knowing what they are doing!  That's the truth.
Ordinary people who boast of "hexing" someone generally have
the intellect and social responsibility of a small soap dish.

What's the point of your last point?   That there's not nearly
enough Garlic hanging over peoples' doors?  Huh?


It gets me pissed off when TV scriptwriters have to stretch their
limited imaginations once a year in order to come up with a Halloween
theme for their sitcoms and soaps -- and people believe them!
This is especially true when Grade-A U.S. Prime fools like J. Helms
are pushing for making the "Freedom of Religion" section of the
Constitution null and void.  It's ok for them to persecute a religion
as long as it isn't theirs!

Happy Halloween! (It may be your last!)