Why It Matters

Seeing as The Church of Satan does not proselytize nor recruit members beyond hosting a website I am often asked why I bother clarifying misinformation that makes its way into the media?

It isn't about money or member increases. It isn't about victimization and wanting to appear as yet another minority eagerly searching for pity. It isn't even about how Satanists are perceived in the real world.

It is about holding people accountable.

I am one of those annoyingly patriotic people who has deified the Founding Fathers. I believe that the Bill of Rights was one of the greatest things ever written, and that it holds the key to peace between all variety of people, without the need for the individuals to compromise themselves beyond minding their own damn business.

But with those rights come some awesome responsibilities. The First Amendment applies to us all, but specific mention is made of the press and religion. The freedom of the press and the freedom of religion go hand in hand. For this reason it is my conviction that religious leaders and journalists have a higher burden to the public. That same burden applies to all matter of civil servants and governmental employees, because their livelihood is dependant on the tax dollars of those they serve.

Every morning I get up and check the web for any mention of my church, satanism in general, and anything else even vaguely correlated. It is a rare day when something relevant doesn't turn up. I research the issue. I confirm membership details (usually the lack thereof) with CoS Central Administration. Then I try to determine if the issue is worth my valuable time.

Most of my Satanic friends could care less. They are, rightfully, living their own lives and have little interest in how they are perceived by a public they aren't too impressed with, anyway. It isn't cynicism or apathy so much as just good magic---they have successfully adapted and see no reason to raise red flags. My nature just doesn't allow for that.

I hate the whole "children are our future" shit. It is so trite and mostly untrue. The children are their OWN future. Yet, I have children, and for evolutionary reasons I am programmed to give a shit about the world they inherit. Having lived through the Satanic Panic, having been targeted by religious weirdos, I am almost embarrassed to admit that I feel an obligation to my kids to make sure that their lives are not adversely effected by liars.

If someone lies about us, it sucks. If someone uses their position of power (and our tax dollars) to lie about us, it is unforgivable. If someone lies about us to benefit themselves it demands clarification.

So, I do what I do. If I read something that makes me mad I am compelled to address it. I could no more ignore that compulsion than I could an 800 pound gorilla in the room.

The Durham Case is a perfect example of what happens when we forget "past orthodoxies." Two new age wanna-be swingers who are officials in their local Democratic Party got caught with their fingers in the sexual cookie jar. If the allegations are true they committed some atrocious crimes and blurred the line between kinky sex and some stupid new-agey philosophy.

That wouldn't even have gotten me out of bed.

Then the ADA, a prosecutor by the name of Mark McCullough, made public statements that the crime stemmed from a Satanic ritual gone bad! Evidently he learned nothing about fact checking from his previous boss, Mike Nifong.

The story was picked up by every news service and many local and some national news programs. So, I did what I do, including calling Mr. McCullough and offering help to determine if these crimes were in any way "Satanic" or anything other than inept swingers who lit some candles. He didn't respond.

However, many reporters did, and I was given the opportunity to state the simple truth that there is no Satanic rite that includes kidnapping or rape, and that these people were never members of The Church of Satan.

Some people actually got pissed that I addressed this issue at all. Forgetting that it was the prosecutor who threw down the gauntlet, used his position to slander a religion, and continues to be paid for lying---making his other contentions dubious, I was flamed for simply clarifying.

Others, as seen on my previous blog, simply refuse to believe that Satanists are anything other than what their religious leaders have told them.

Still more were mad that I wouldn't concede to other "types" of Satanism.

And then, there were a few reporters and religious leaders and private individuals who responded with more genuine questions, and they actually listened to the answers. In short, they took responsibility for their own education and knowledge. They may disagree with Satanism, but in the future when crazy allegations are made they will possess doubt, and that doubt will force them to not rely on old satanic panic ideas, but instead to look for facts.

This trickle down theory of education is why it matters. Each issue that enlightens one person in a position of power has the effect of making tomorrow a better day for a Satanist.

I am not advocating using the strategies of the masses to "raise consciousness." Signs, bumper stickers, protests---passe' and ineffective. Nor am I suggesting even trying to educate the masses. They are invested in the scapegoating of our religion in order to make theirs relevant.

The criteria I use is based on power. Journalists have it. Politicians have it. Law Enforcement has it. These are the people who can actually have an effect on the lives of Satanists, and they have a Constitutional obligation to us all to tell the truth. I am simply holding them to their obligation.