This Sunday (a day named to honor Egyptian sun god Ra), Orange County pagans, witches, warlocks (maybe Moorlachs?) and other so-called heathens are using their mystic powers to fight the AIDS. That's right, I said pagans. Monotheistic religions are so passe. AIDS was first noticed in America when, in 1981, a group of young gay men in New York began to exhibit Kaposi's Sarcoma, a cancer rare outside the elderly population. Thus AIDS became a "gay" disease, as you never get a second chance to make a first impression (so why do Republicans keep choosing leaders named Dick?). Now I'm not going to generalize and say that paganism is rather gay - but if you Google a gay pagan you get over 6,200,000 replies. And an unsettling rash.
Seriously though - different religions, cultures and faiths have, surprise, different morals! It's like the old bumper stickers: "Druids Do It On The Altar", or "I Brake for Bacchanalian Babes - or Boys!" So it's nothing shocking to find many, many gay pagan associations. What's shocking is that I'm trying to link homosexuality, paganism and AIDS. Expect to find me encased within an enormous, fiery wicker man sometime this weekend.
So enough about me; back to decent folk. Yvonne, team captain for the OC Pagan MeetUp.com AIDS Walkers, sent around an email today announcing that the group has already raised over $1,000. CLICK HERE TO DONATE. If a group of pagans can pony up a grand, imagine what a gaggle of lawyers or land developers could scrape together.
If you'd rather just watch, wave, and (knowing you OC types) shout insults at the different-looking people, CLICK HERE to plan your ambush. They may be Godless (in a strictly Abrahamic sense), but they good people. Charitable people. But if they're not your kind of people, feel free to REGISTER ALL BY YOUR LONESOME
UPDATE:: Relevant Connection Found!!
So I made a li'l donation and what to my wondering eyes should appear? A tax receipt/thank you from the Exec. Dir. of AIDS Services Foundation, Orange County. His name? ALAN WITCHEY. And an occult chill descends....
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BlackRose says:
This was well written, although most pagans don't use the term warlock. I thought this sentence was pretty bad grammar though, especially coming from an OC Weekly writer "They may be Godless (in a strictly Abrahamic sense), but they good people." Um, they good people? Not they are good people?
Posted on Saturday, Jun. 3 2006 @ 2:06PM
BlackRose says:
I'd also like to add, thanks for encouraging people to go down and make fun of the pagans! It kind of sounded like you were saying Yvonne's doing something really good, now go make fun of her.
Posted on Saturday, Jun. 3 2006 @ 2:06PM
Yvonne says:
Hi Alex,
Thanks for mentioning us and the charity work our two groups are doing. Actually we aren't the only pagan/witch charity group walking in the OC AIDS Walk this year. There is another: Brigid's Heart is the charity subgroup of the Orange County Local Council of the Covenant of the Goddess.
CoG is a 30+ year old national organization that helps protect the religious rights of witches.
http://www.cog.org
Bigid's Heart has been walking for the OC AIDS Walk for several years now. In fact, it's because of them that both of my Meetup groups were inspired to form a team and do a friendly little competition to see who could raise the most money, us or Brigid's Heart. I'm not sure who won yet.
And thanks for you donation. Every little bit helps the cause!
By the way, there's plenty of things a person could make fun of me for... I mean, c'mon I am the world's ONLY banjo playing Goth radio DJ! The fact that I'm a witch is rather mundane compared to that! :P
Posted on Saturday, Jun. 3 2006 @ 8:06PM
Alex Brant-Zawadzki says:
I never encouraged people to make fun of pagans - merely tried to play off the stereotype of the xenophobic OC type.
Yvonne - thanks for the links and explanatory comments. Not to mention throwing the word 'mundane' in there. Very Harry.
Posted on Sunday, Jun. 4 2006 @ 1:06AM