“Newcomers to Halloran’s “reik” — an alternate spelling for “reich,” or territory — are considered “thralls.” The word literally translates as “slave,” and Sancio acknowledges that it’s an “unfortunate” word, and one he didn’t want to find himself defending. Sancio describes theodish thralldom as “a period of learning, and enculturation. It’s not abusive.” Bloch says that thralls “learn humility” and engage in “menial chores, like washing the dishes.” It’s a chance, Bloch says, for the newcomer to make sure the group is a good fit. Every thrall has a mentor, and Halloran was Sancio’s during his introduction to New Normandy. The strict hierarchy has theological consequences: the group believes that “luck” falls from the Gods to their representative, Halloran, who passes it on to those who have sworn oaths to him.”

Thrasher also interviews several Pagans for the story, including Selena Fox and Margot Adler, and he gets quotes from two politically conservative Pagans, Donald Meinshausen and Rob “Red Alerts” Taylor. Taylor, as always, has some nice things to say about Wiccans.

“Wiccans and re-constructionist pagan religions engage in infighting,” he says, charging “Wicca is just smearing the competition.” Taylor initially came to paganism as a teenager via Wicca, but the young Reaganite soon turned to Odinism. Odinism’s rules and order appealed to his conservative nature, while Wicca he now describes as a “fraud” and “a leftist thing — not just Democrat, but far left politically. Theodism and heathenism are more conservative.”

All-in-all it’s a well-executed and well-researched story (he even links to my blog), but there is one troubling element, which is Thrasher’s decision to interweave controversies about racist/racialist forms of Heathen religion into the narrative. The article at several points discusses the problem of racist Heathens/Odinists in prisons, mentions a violent racist killer, and describes the “trepidation” that non-Heathen Pagans have concerning “white nationalist elements” inside Asatru/Odinism/Heathenry. What he doesn’t do is convincingly justify examining this racist minority within the context of a story about Halloran’s faith and beliefs, especially when, at almost every turn, it is pointed out that you shouldn’t automatically connect Heathen symbols and religion with the racist elements who utilize the same symbols/beliefs.

“Frank Wilson, a retired Deputy of Intelligence for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, says that he watched out for new Odinist groups at institutions because most people trying to start them “were white supremacists, and were willing to use it for nefarious reasons.” Still, he cautions that Odinism does not necessarily denote white nationalist fervor. “You can’t point to a tattoo and say ‘you’re a white supremacist,’ or point to it and say ‘you’re an Odinist,’” he says.”

It would be like profiling a Christian candidate, while interweaving discussion about the Christian Identity Movement, even though everyone you interview repeats that such people are a isolated minority and don’t represent the mainstream of that faith. Thrasher’s own article dismisses any racism, real or imagined, on the part of Halloran, but the fact that so much of the piece explores these elements joins the two story threads together in the minds of voters. That is troubling. There is plenty to write about concerning Halloran, his candidacy, and his faith, without also mixing in outside controversies concerning the growth of racist Odinist groups.

Dan Halloran, the Republican candidate for City Council facing primary winner Kevin Kim in the 19th District, already has a leadership role in a vast community that very few people know about -- or understand. Halloran is the “First Atheling,” or King, of Normandy, a branch of the Theod faith of pre-Christian Heathen religions assembled in the Greater New York area. A group of dedicated fellow pagans swear their allegiance to him through oaths of fidelity, allowing luck from a series of ancient gods -- specifically the “Norse” or “Germanic” gods Odin, Tyr and Freyr -- to pass through the King to his kinsmen … When asked Wednesday about his faith, Halloran was uneasy. “I am not comfortable with injecting my religion into my politics,” he said. “I grew up born and raised Roman Catholic. I went to Jesuit schools. Most of my life has been in traditional Irish household.” He added, “I don’t think any of this is really relevant to the City Council race. It’s like talking about what church you pray at. That you understand the divine is the most important part.”

Since being outed by the paper his tribe’s web site has been taken down, but a quick Google search will show you that Halloran, who works as a lawyer in New York City, has a long and prominent history within Theodism and the modern Pagan/Heathen community as well. Will this outing hurt him in the race or within his party? So far the local Republican party seems to have his back.

“Halloran explained that Queens GOP Chairman Phil Ragusa and the GOP executive committee were aware of his faith. Ragusa said Wednesday that Halloran’s religion is not an issue. “If a person performs and does what he has to do for his district, then he will be a welcome breath of fresh air,” Ragusa said.”

But will that situation last? The Queens Tribune’s sensationalist front-page story seems designed to make his faith an issue in this race, and while many cosmopolitan New Yorkers may not blink an eye at Heathen candidates within the party there’s always the chance this story could make some higher-ups nervous. It also remains to be seen if local Democrats will want to use Halloran’s faith as a wedge issue to get Kim elected (and you can be sure I’ll hold their feet to the fire if they do).

As for Halloran as a candidate, he seems to have done well with his campaign so-far. He’s secured the endorsements of the Republican, Libertarian, Independence, and Conservative parties, and will appear on four uncontested ballot lines as a consequence. He was also endorsed by the NYC District Council of Carpenters.

On the issues Halloran seems rather against the Democratic Party’s health care reform platform, raging against the evils of “socialized medicine” at tea-parties. He’s also pro school vouchers, term limits, guns, and tax-cuts. In short, he seems for the most part to be a rather typical libertarian-leaning fiscal conservative. No word on what his stances are on various social issues, but I’m fairly certain he’s for minority faiths receiving equal treatment under the law. If you want to keep track of Dan Halloran, he has a Twitter feed. You can also be sure I’ll be keeping track of this race and giving you updates as November approaches.

ADDENDUM: It seems that Democrat Kevin Kim’s spokesman sent a copy of the Queens Tribune article to journalists all across the city in an attempt to use Halloran’s faith against him.

“Reporters around the city received an e-mail with a pdf of the article attached — from Democratic rival Kevin Kim’s new spokesman … Halloran’s supporters dismissed the story as a “hit” by the Tribune, which has several links to Kim.”

The Queens Tribune, which seems to think being a Pagan is a splashy front-page issue, has a sister company that does consulting and printing work for Kim’s campaign. Though they insist there is an editorial firewall between the companies, it makes the whole thing seem rather suspect. I await official comment from Kevin Kim on this issue, does he believe that being a Pagan should factor into this race? I have e-mailed Kevin Kim’s campaign and await a response.

“Collin Bentley, an Odinist, said, “Our arms are raised (in the air). So it’s easy to see how a bunch of white guys, in a park, with tattoos, could be mistaken.” With all of the complaints from the nearby community, a park ranger and two Kern County sheriff’s deputies were called out to investigate these rituals.Don Parkins, an Odinist said, “We paused, answered their questions, pointed out our artifacts, the altar, the flag, what we were doing, laid it out for them in basic. And they said, ‘OK, you’re not breaking any laws, you’re not being disruptive, so you folks have a good day now.’” But the group said the ranger came back with five more deputies, and wanted them to leave.Parkins said, “(The ranger) said, “I won’t have that (expletive) in my park ever again.’ And I said, ‘Well let’s go back to north of the river’, and he said, ‘You won’t have it in any of my parks.’”" He stepped over the line at that point. He’s gone beyond what his call of duty is,” Parkins said.”

After this story hit the news-wires Wren’s Nest picked it up, and soon it spread through various social networking sites and message boards. It is certainly obvious that the group shouldn’t have been kicked off the park, they didn’t seem to be harming or threatening anyone, and they’ll no doubt have recourse for a lawsuit should they choose to pursue it. But why the strange about-face from the park ranger? Why did he go from “have a good day” to “you won’t have it in any of my parks”? Now it is true that Bakersfield, California is no wonderland for occult and Pagan religions, they were the infamous home of a major Satanic (panic) ritual abuse case in the 1990s, and an occult shop there was harassed back in 2007, but this seems a bit different. Why the turn-around? If the ranger was a Pagan-hater I doubt he would have given them a pass the first time around.

For the answer, we need to do some digging into the group holding the ritual as to why things got so heated. But before we begin, I need to stress that this shouldn’t change the outcome of any potential legal case whatsoever. This group has as much a right to use public property as any other group, I’m simply trying go deeper than the rather sparse ABC affiliate news report. What the report doesn’t tell you is that this group is a conservative “folkish” Odinist group. Considering the fact that many Odinists re-appropriate symbols tainted by the Nazis, (like the Black Sun, which the group posts on its web page) perhaps the first ranger was mis-informed by the other rangers after his initial encounter that this was actually a Nazi group. Certainly it couldn’t have helped when a neighbor told rangers that “(they were) saluting Hitler with their war bird flag.” That still doesn’t justify their expulsion, but it may explain the strange change of heart that led to their eviction.

In any case, according to Raven’s Folk Kindred, a complaint is now pending, and we’ll see if this leads to litigation.

“There was a Formal Complaint made to Zach Miller of the NOR. The complaint was faxed to him the day after the call was made to the director of NOR. If NOR decides not to keep us up to date on the actions they are taking to correct the situation we are prepared to move forward with a civil suit.”

We’ll keep you posted regarding any updates.

Jackson Rathbone and Varg Vikernes

“Jackson Rathbone, the teen heartthrob from “Twilight”, has reportedly agreed to play Varg Vikernes (a.k.a. Count Grishnackh) — the former BURZUM mastermind who is currently serving a Norwegian prison term for the August 1993 murder of MAYHEM guitarist Oystein Aarseth (a.k.a. Euronymous) and setting fire to three churches — in the upcoming movie “Lords Of Chaos”. Based on Michael Moynihan and Didrik Soderlind’s book of the same name, the film depicts true events and revolves around the black metal sub-culture that spawned a wave of murders and church arsons across Norway in the early 1990s. Making his English-language debut with “Lords Of Chaos” will be hot Japanese director Sion Sono.”

The weird confluence of a hot teen-film star, a hugely popular avant-garde Japanese film-maker, and a notoriously influential member of the black metal underground almost guarantee “Lords of Chaos” instant cult status. The open question now is will the film be a critical examinaiton of the black metal scene and Vikernes’ life and mistakes, or will it turn him into a romantic anti-hero? Producer Stuart Pollock of Saltire Entertainment called the yet-to-be-shot film “a fun portrayal of Norway”, which doesn’t exactly reassure me that this will be some sort of arty morality play. As for Varg Vikernes, he’s just been released from prison after 16 years, so he’ll be able to see the film, and if he and the film’s producers are desperate enough for publicicty maybe help promote it as well. “Lords of Chaos” is set for a 2010 release, consider it the anti-“Agora” in terms of depicting paganism in a positive light. Oh, and if you’re looking for some more information on black metal, you might want to check out the book “Lords of Chaos” by Michael Moynihan and Didrik Soderlind. Vikernes calls the book “a pool of mud”, so you can’t get a better endorsement than that.

“…an Indiana federal district court has ruled that the Indiana Department of Correction’s policy banning all group worship for Odinists violates RLUIPA. In Hummel v. Donahue, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47534 (SD IN, June 19, 2008), the court held that while the interest in maintaining safety and security is compelling, prison officials must do more than speculate that a religious practice will lead to problems. Here officials were concerned that white supremacists would claim to practice Odinism, but presented no concrete evidence to support this. Secondly, there were less restrictive alternatives than totally banning group worship. These included pre-approved scripts for worship services, increased training for correctional officers, pre-approved volunteers from outside to lead services, and research into solutions found by other prison systems.”

As the court hinted, one very easy way to stem the tide of racist Odinist groups is to invite more Pagan/Heathen chaplains in. Currently, the prison system is completely skewed towards Christian modes of belief, and as a result non-Christian prisoners are treated to widespread discrimination and hostility. However, some prison systems are slowly coming to the realization that allowing Pagan chaplains in can help reduce recidivism and create a healthier support network for Pagan inmates susceptible to the overtures of racist gangs masquerading as religion.

“Bolstered by President Bush’s recent signing of the Second Chance Act, which promises more money for faith-based programs to help rehabilitate prisoners, corrections officials and religious volunteers are testing the largely unproven theory that faith can not only salvage criminals, but — in the long run — make the rest of us safer, too … In Colorado, a volunteer network of chaplains offers 216 programs and the Department of Corrections recognizes 36 faiths … those traditions range from Asatru, a polytheistic Norse religion, to Native American rituals to nature-based Wicca … Credible research on the effectiveness of faith-based programs remains sparse and inconclusive. But corrections experts and volunteers agree that such efforts, coupled with education, counseling and other therapies, could be part of the solution.”

Pagan-friendly corrections departments in places like Colorado and Washington are leading the way into the future. A future where Christianity isn’t the only religious remedy for the troubled and violent soul. A future that Indiana will now be forced to at least partially embrace in the next sixty days. Let’s hope they embrace the change mandated by the courts, and adopt some of the more progressive methods of quelling racist strains of Pagan religion. No doubt the Odinist/Asatru community in Indiana would look forward to more openness and cooperation from prison officials.
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/06/you-cant-ban-odinism-in-prison.html/feed 0 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/06/racism-odinism-and-custody-battles.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/06/racism-odinism-and-custody-battles.html#comments Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:54:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/06/racism-odinism-and-custody-battles.html The Winnipeg Free Press reports on a woman working to get custody of her two children back after her daughter arrived at school with a swastika drawn on her arm. The woman, an Odinist, claims to be “tolerant of all people” despite the fact that she is married to an admitted white supremacist, and admits to being a “white nationalist” who wears swastika-etched jewelry*.

“The day her seven-year-old daughter went to school in March with a swastika drawn on her arm, her mother said she tried to wash it off with nail polish remover but the marking stayed put. Her daughter forgot her sweater a mother gave her to cover her arm. When her mother arrived to collect her child from school, police were waiting for her. “The only thing that matters to me is my children. It’s not about politics, it’s not about anything else… it’s about what’s best for them … I’ve never forced my beliefs on my children.” The woman’s seven-year-old daughter and two-year-old son were seized by Manitoba Child and Family Services this spring due to concerns their father — an admitted white supremacist — was filling their minds with hate and marking one child’s body with racist graffiti. The children are now staying with relatives..”

One could reasonably argue that if her children have “pro-Hitler” markings on their bodies then she has done a poor job of “not forcing” the beliefs of the parents onto the children. Further, while the lines between being a merely “folkish” Germanic Heathen, and being a racist white supremacist Odinist may seem blurry and vague to some unfamiliar to the religious culture, it seems rather obvious that a line was crossed from mere Eurocentricity into neo-Nazi gutter-philosophy. Harboring a stay-at-home husband who she classifies as “flamboyantly bigoted”, and allowing Nazi-related markings to be made on her children (self-directed or not), speaks of a fundamental failure to insulate her children from toxic racism.

Now split from her husband after reading the Child and Family Service reports, the woman still entertains notions that the pro-Hitler markings were entirely self-directed, and refuses to admit any failings as a parent.

“The mother, who refused to comment on where the swastika marking came from, suggested her daughter may be responsible for other pro-Hitler markings CFS said they found on her body. “It’s entirely possible she could have drawn it on herself,” she said”

In this case, the references to “Odinism” by the mother and the press seem to be a red herring. This isn’t about religious discrimination, this is about her children being raised by a toxic racist with a criminal record who either drew or encouraged the children to draw pro-Hitler markings on their bodies. Removing them from his presence and placing them with relatives seems prudent. What do you think? Where is the line between intellectual freedom and abusive indoctrination drawn? What would you have done if you were CFS official responding to a concerned teacher’s report?

* I realize that there are some who want to reclaim the swastika from its racist/fascist connotations, but you can’t un-ring a bell. So long as the memory of Hitler, and idiots who seek to glorify him, persist, the immediate connotations of the symbol will be with racism and fascism.
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/06/racism-odinism-and-custody-battles.html/feed 11 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/12/taking-green-bay-break.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/12/taking-green-bay-break.html#comments Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:36:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/12/taking-a-green-bay-break.html While the situation in Green Bay continues to roil, I thought I would clear the pallette and write about something else for a change (don’t worry, I’ll get back to it soon, in the meantime why not check out the discussion on this issue at Get Religion). For instance, an Asatru inmate has filed a lawsuit against the Utah Department of Corrections for allegedly denying him his right to practice his faith.

“Michael Polk, who is serving time for aggravated assault and robbery, filed the lawsuit against corrections officials in federal court, accusing them of denying him several religious items that he claims are necessary to practice the Asatru religion, which worships ancient Nordic gods like Odin, Thor, Tyr and Heimdal … In his lawsuit, Polk said he asked the prison chaplain for the items and was denied them. Corrections officials noted that he checked the box marked “None/Atheist” when he entered the prison. After he appealed, corrections officials allowed Polk to have a wooden Thor’s Hammer pendant. The other items were denied because of security reasons.”

A couple questions arise, first off, did Polk have no choice but to check “none” since there was no box for Asatru? Secondly, while his list of required items seems a bit long (a Thor’s Hammer, a prayer cloth, a Mead Horn used for drinking Wassail, a drum made of wood and boar skin, a rune staff and a (cardboard) sword) are other (more mainstream) faiths allowed similarly long lists of religiously-themed items? Information concerning these details would help greatly in finding out if Polk’s case is merely frivolous or if the prison is truly limiting his religious freedom.

Sadly, instead of answering these questions, the Deseret Morning News decided to talk about vampires instead.

“In Utah, several inmates have filed lawsuits over religion. In 2002, the Utah Court of Appeals denied one inmate’s claims that the prison violated his religious rights by refusing to allow him to drink blood or partake in a sacrament with a ‘vampiress.’”

Not to question the sanctity of religious vampirism, but the reporter seems to have classified this as a “oddball” story instead of a religion story. As such, we get no follow-up and some unrelated trivia. There is a rich history of legal cases involving Asatru, and it’s a shame they couldn’t have been explored here.
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/12/taking-green-bay-break.html/feed 3 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/12/pagan-holy-site-threatened.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/12/pagan-holy-site-threatened.html#comments Sun, 09 Dec 2007 15:08:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/12/pagan-holy-site-threatened.html Hrafnkell at A Heathen’s Day passes on the word that a historic place of pre-Christian worship in Russia is in danger of destruction. The site in question is the Mountain Vottovaara (located in Russian-controlled Karelia), a place sacred to the indigenous Sami people (part of the Finno-Ugric linguistic family) of Northern Europe that contains approximately 1600 sacred stones called ’seids’. Now a planned mining operation near Vottovaara is putting the historic site in jeopardy.

A view of Vottovaara’s seid formations.

The Finnish Pagan organization Taivaannaula is organizing a petition to try and halt mining development so close to this sacred and historic site. So far they have very few signatures. While I don’t normally endorse petition-drives, I think this is a worthy cause and I encourage anyone concerned about this situation to add their voices in protest of this action. For some lovely pictures of the site, check out this page.
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/12/pagan-holy-site-threatened.html/feed 0 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/11/covering-asatru.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/11/covering-asatru.html#comments Sat, 10 Nov 2007 14:48:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/11/covering-asatru.html The Fox affiliate in Chicago has done a short segment on the Asatru faith. The result ends up saying a lot about how journalists often decide what the story is going to be before they do the reporting.

“Ancient Viking Religion Finds New Worshipers – Including White Supremacists. Thousands of followers claim Asatru is a real religion. They swear it’s changed their lives for the better. But it’s also a faith that’s been linked to violence and hate crimes. Mark Saxenmeyer shows us just who’s worshipping ‘the race religion.”

That blurb and the accompanying video segment show the inherent bias held by the reporter and his editors. Asatru is defined as “race religion” even though that isn’t a universally held view within Asatru, and white supremacy takes up fully half of the report even though such movements are only found at the extreme fringes of the faith (and, as the report concedes, are denounced by all the major Asatru organizations).

You can’t have a “fair and balanced” view of a faith when you cut from an interview with a local Asatruar to newsreel footage of marching Nazis. In fact the report states that Nazis practiced a “variation” of Asatru, even though such a claim is completely anachronistic and hugely contentious. Perhaps the reporter wanted to do a sensationalist piece about new racist movements and was disappointed to discover that they were appropriating and distorting a larger faith grouping.

This may seem like a small thing, but it is news stories like this that can directly lead to growing FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) concerning Asatru and Germanic Heathenry. It can lead to innocent symbols being banned as “offensive”, and can cause problems for Heathens if a hysterical co-worker or family member suddenly thinks they may be a white supremacist. There is a way to responsibly report on racist movements that appropriate modern Pagan symbols, but conflating these small and isolated groups with our mainstream is irresponsible.

ADDENDUM: For a more positive story involving Asatru, The Northern Path reports on a Asatru man who helped save the life of a woman who had crashed her car.

“Siple, who was walking his Airedale terrier Dusty when he found Scott lying next to her car on the beach, said he was praying to Njord, the god of the sea, while awaiting rescuers. “I was just praying to him, ‘hold the tide back a little bit longer so we can get Diane out of here,’” Siple said Friday.”

Expect to hear more from Siple, he has been approached by The Today Show and Dateline.
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/11/covering-asatru.html/feed 1 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/11/offensive-runes.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/11/offensive-runes.html#comments Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:09:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/11/offensive-runes.html Word has been spreading like wildfire through Heathen/Asatru Internet communities that the MySpace social networking site is now considering the display of runic symbols to be offensive and against the company’s terms of service.

“So this image is offensive, according to myspace. So its ok to have pornographic images and default pics of guys holding guns and masks? Please feel free to use this image in protest of these ridiculous regulations and REPOST so all can see this!!! Keep messaging myspace also; to show them we are still fighting the religion option…”

Old English Futhorc runes.

“Recent whispers through out the Myspace Asatruar community, as of today, have several pictures removed from peoples profile where upon Runic symbols are present. Apparently it is now against the TOS here to use Runes to decorate the pages. I do rather suspect that this is due to those that use our symbols for hate agendas. With that said perhaps Myspace TOS staff need to educated themselves instead of pilfering intolerance based on ignorance!”

It is unclear at this point if this was a move solely on the part of MySpace administrators, or a response to individual user complaints (any MySpace user can report “offensive” content with the click of a button). The petition site has put its offending image back up (though, as I mentioned before, the page is now listed as “private”), and it remains to be seen if this was an isolated incident or if MySpace is now conflating the use of runes by some racist groups with the more benign uses by the larger Asatru/Heathen community. We will have to wait and see what develops in the near future.
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