“This was a symbolic killing,” Adkisson wrote. “Who I wanted to kill was every Democrat in the Senate and House, the 100 people in Bernard Goldberg’s book. I’d like to kill everyone in the mainstream media. But I knew these people were inaccessible to me. “I couldn’t get to the generals and high-ranking officers of the Marxist movement so I went after the foot soldiers, the chicken (expletive) liberals that vote in these traitorous people.”

By all accounts Adkisson was remorseless during the trial, and while his defense attorney claimed he could have argued an insanity plea, prosecutors say they had clear evidence of extensive planning and premeditation before the murders. For extensive coverage of the shootings, check out the Knoxville News Sentinel’s special page devoted to the incident. With this murderer behind bars forever, here’s hoping that healing and closure can come to the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and the friends and family of those affected by this tragedy.

“Nashville’s Green Train, an eco-educational non-profit run by Merle Haggard and restaurateur Bob Wolf, had a witch in its ranks until recently. Or, to be more precise, a pagan. Not the kind historically drawn and quartered or burned at the stake, but rather the contemporary tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing, vegan variety. That was until Wolf charged this Wiccan ordained minister, Susan Hunter, with creating Green Train’s MySpace page. The personal networking catastrophe that followed– replete with online earthy salutations and pentagrams–saw Hunter canned in spectacular fashion back in mid-September. She’s crying discriminatory foul.”

Apparently Hunter, after creating the organization’s MySpace page, did what almost all MySpacers do, invite people she knew to “friend” the organization. Anyone familiar with the ways of MySpace can guess what happened next.

“Hunter sent out “friend invitations” to 40 of her friends who also happened to be earth-loving hippies and pagans of various stripes. When the messages started flowing in—“Blessed be” or “Faerie blessings,” usually accompanied by a pentagram and pictures of ivory-skinned ladies identifying themselves exotically as Asterope Morgaine and Feryia—Hunter says Wolf blew a gasket, ordering that all pentagrams be deleted. She says she deleted the Christian symbols too, out of spite before being summarily dismissed.”

So is telling a Pagan volunteer to delete only Pagan symbols, and then firing her when she deletes all the religious symbols, discriminatory behavior? Susan Hunter seems to think so.

“‘It’s my opinion that I was fired for religious reasons,’ she said. Wolf claims Hunter was just a volunteer. But perhaps the most stinging accusation hurled by Hunter was this: ‘The guy doesn’t even recycle.’”

Wolf insists this is much ado over nothing, and that Hunter “got her feelings hurt” and is now “witch-hunting” him in retaliation. Wolf says he has nothing against Pagans, and even attended a Pagan Pride Day festival and bought Hunter a book.

“This is a witch hunt by somebody who got her feelings hurt,” Wolf said, though the old cliché would seem to be reversed here. “I don’t have a problem with people’s opinions. I even went to a pagan day festival; we bought her a pagan bible.”

So, discrimination or misunderstanding? Something tells me that lawyers will soon be hired to figure it out.
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/10/throwing-pagans-from-green-train.html/feed 5 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/07/update-unitarian-universalist-church.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/07/update-unitarian-universalist-church.html#comments Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:29:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/07/update-unitarian-universalist-church-shooting.html “When I first heard the news, even before anything about the gunman’s motives were known, I couldn’t help but guess that it was because the UU *is* the sort of church it is – welcoming, and accepting of pagans, of religious diversity, of glbt, and human diversity.” – Sangrail

As we continue to learn more about the tragic shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, the Unitarian-Universalist blogosphere, and its allies, react.

“Sunday’s horrifying episode reminded me that as a liberal I was, and am, part of the culture wars—and that those culture wars are sometimes far more than just “culture.” They are, by now, a deeply rooted part of the split in American life, whereby those who legitimately seek inclusion and change are pitted against those who legitimately wish to conserve the best of our culture. The divide is so deep that those who are already unstable and prone to violence can draw upon those culture wars to justify violence—the same way that anti-Semitism or anti-Muslim sentiments have surfaced in violent acts perpetrated by unstable (and some alarmingly stable) people in recent memory, such as the shooting at the Jewish Community Center in Seattle and attacks on the mosques in the wake of 9-11.”

David Neiwert at the Orcinus blog notes that threatening to kill liberals is no longer ‘just a joke’.

“In Tennessee this weekend, the chickens came home to roost when a gunman named James David Adkisson walked into a Unitarian Universalist Church and began shooting. So far, two people are dead, and seven more were wounded. He was saying “hateful things,” according to all the news reports … Right-wingers love to “joke” about mowing down, rounding up, and otherwise “wiping out” all things liberal. It’s become a standard feature of conservative-movement rhetoric. And whenever anyone calls them on it, they have a standard response: “Aw, c’mon — it’s just a joke!” In reality, of course, rhetoric like this has historically played a critical role in some of the ugliest episodes in American history, as well as thousands of little acts of xenophobic brutality: functionally speaking, it gives violent — and frequently unstable — actors permission to act on these impulses.”

Transient and Permanent looks at the history of violence against UUs.

“Domestic terrorism has been an ongoing threat to Unitarian-Universalists because they tend to embody cutting edge trends that society is slowly, painfully moving toward. The issues change through the decades–integration, civil rights, women’s rights, pacificism, gay rights, environmental conservation, universal healthcare, religious pluralism, and so on–but the Unitarian-Universalists remain ahead of the pack year after year. Even though society generally catches up with them in time (by which point the UUs have typically already moved ahead once again), being on the fringe of the mainstream is a dangerous place, in America and in most any country. At various times and in their homes, churches, and out in public, UUs have been beaten, stabbed, shot, or blown up simply for their beliefs, and there is no reason to assume this will ever come to a complete end.”

Finally, Sara Robinson, also at the Orcinus blog, puts lie to the myth that UUs are “weak” or “soft”.

“Conventional wisdom says that we’re soft in all the places our society values toughness. Our refusal to adhere to any dogma must mean that we’re soft in our convictions. Our reflexive open-mindedness is often derided as evidence that we’re soft in the head. Our persistent and gentle insistence on liberal values is evidence of hearts too soft to set boundaries. And all of this together leads to a public image of a mushy gathering of feckless intellectuals that somehow lacks cohesion, backbone, focus, or purpose. You can only believe this if you don’t know either the history or the modern reality of Unitarian Universalism.”

For more reactions from the Unitarian-Universalist blogosphere, head over to the definitive UUpdates. The UUA has set up a special blog entitled Supporting Our Friends in Knoxville where you are invited to leave comments of love and support.
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/07/update-unitarian-universalist-church.html/feed 1 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/07/breaking-unitarian-universalist-church.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/07/breaking-unitarian-universalist-church.html#comments Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:14:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/07/breaking-unitarian-universalist-church-shooting.html On Sunday morning Jim Adkisson, who defined himself to neighbors as a “Confederate” and a “believer in the old South”, walked into the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and opened fire with a shotgun. Nine people were inured by gunfire, two have died.

“KPD Chief Sterling Owen said … that mental illness is not believed to be a factor in the suspect’s actions. Owen also said the FBI is now involved in the investigation. Owen confirmed witness reports indicating that the suspect arrived on the scene with a large quantity of ammunition. He also noted that the suspect had attempted to conceal the 12 gauge shotgun he used in the shooting by carrying it in a guitar case.”

There were around 200 people in attendance, and children were singing songs for the congregation when the shooting started. Four members of the congregation managed to tackle and subdue Adkisson. The minister of TVUUC has asked people to “pray for us”. Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale has issued a written statement of support and sympathy:

“When we go to our places of worship, we go expecting to have a time of reflection and fellowship. Today’s violence is the worst sort of desecration and should be renounced by citizens of all faiths. I join all Knox Countians in offering our prayers to the families affected by this terrible tragedy. This is a time for all of us to come together to lend our complete support to this church family.”

As a member of the extended UU family, I want to say that my thoughts and prayers go out to the TVUUC community, may they find the strength to recover and move forward. May healing come to those still in the hospital, and may justice be done.

More information: CNN, Knoxville News Sentinel, Reuters, New York Times, Statement from Rev. William G. Sinkford, President, Unitarian Universalist Association.

ADDENDUM: From Philocrites: Gunman targeted the UUs for their ‘liberal stance’ and their acceptance of gays.
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/07/breaking-unitarian-universalist-church.html/feed 15 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/04/keeping-kids-away-from-pagans-and-gays.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/04/keeping-kids-away-from-pagans-and-gays.html#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2007 14:36:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/04/keeping-kids-away-from-pagans-and-gays.html The Family Policy Network, a conservative Christian advocacy group, has released a position paper regarding its support for “parental rights” bills being proposed in Virginia and Tennessee. The main issue regards after-school clubs at public schools, recent court rulings have allowed for the existence of gay-straight alliances and non-Christian religious fellowships alongside more traditional clubs (SADD, 4-H, Fellowship of Christian Atheletes).

“…scores of public school children have learned important values and engaged in meaningful community service as a result of their participation in school-based clubs. The number and scope of school clubs has increased dramatically in recent years. Currently, clubs promoting astrology, atheism, feminism, homosexuality and even witchcraft are common in public schools, and have often alarmed parents, teachers and administrators in school districts throughout the nation.”

Since “traditional” values (read: Christian and conservative) are no longer the sole voice in after-school clubs, the FPN wants a comprehensive notification and “opt-out” policy for all students.

“Working with parents, educators and legislators; Family Policy Network has drafted a legislative proposal to require school officials to inform parents of school-based clubs, and ultimately to guarantee a parent’s ability to determine whether their own child may participate… FPN’s model legislation requires school districts to give parents information about all non-academic activities in which their child may participate. Parents must be notified of the name of each available club, its mission statement, and cost of participation (if any). Additionally, schools must provide a list of any and all faculty or other adult sponsors involved with each club; as well as any local, regional, state or national organizations with which the club is affiliated and/or associated.”

It might seem fair until your learn that FPN is quick to state that this is “opt-out” only, and they do not advocate “permission slips” or “opt-in” legislation since that could hurt participation in clubs run by their supporters. Under legislation such as this, each parent could tick off a list of groups that the child isn’t allowed to participate in (enforced I would assume by the school). So a Democratic-leaning child of Republicans could be barred from attending a Democrat club, and a Christian child could be allowed to only attend Christian clubs.

“FPN does not support these “opt-in” proposals because they create an undue burden for popular and wholesome clubs like the Key Club or FCA. In order to hold accountable a controversial club that may never have more than 20 or 30 participants, the opt-in legislation has the potential to harm the ability for wholesome clubs like FCA or Key Club to reach hundreds of students.”

Again, this may seem “fair” on the surface, but it favors the majority, removes autonomy of thought and association from (predominantly teenage) children, targets parents and teachers who want to support controversial clubs, and works to isolate and eliminate any club that may run counter to a dominant local ideology. For while a well-mobilized Christian community may “opt-out” their children from anything left-leaning, non-Christian, or outside their social norms, Pagan parents or parents of gay children are generally more likely to allow their children to attend a Christian club if they so desire. Thus allowing free reign to “wholesome” groups while choking off membership in more controversial clubs.

This isn’t about “parental rights” it is about politicians scoring points with conservative Christians and creating laws that work to eliminate support networks for teens who may hold different views from their parents.
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