I read about the FoxNews travesty this morning.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/02/17/university-missouri-guide-asks-professors-to-accommodate-wiccan-pagan-holidays/
I couldn't help but noticing - in addition to the simple issue of disrespect that has us all pissed off - that this article treated every non-christian religion mentioned as a "fringe" religion... as though being a minority made a religion less valid. The title and the text do pick out pagans as the ones to take least seriously, but the tone of the entire article indicates that none of the religions mentioned 'deserve' to have their holidays paid attention to, nevermind the two weeks off school regularly take for christmas.
So of course I had to find and watch the accompanying video.
Oh but wait, there's two.
Nothing like a little blatant lying on a major news channel to get my blood boiling in the morning.
Makes me wonder, can we sue them for slander and libel? It's both spoken and written, after all.
Better yet, can we ban them like Canada did, for misrepresenting what they do as "news"?
Besides their erroneous equation of pagans and Wiccans...
VIDEO 1:
Host "Tucker": "The University of Missouri's religious guide says no exams ought to be scheduled on Wiccan and Pagan holidays; that puts those days on par with Christmas and Hanukkah."
(OMG! How dare those Wiccans and Pagans think their religion is just as valid as Abrahamic religions![/snark])
Host: "In fact, 20% of the holidays in their guide are Wiccan holidays."
(The guide lists 47 holidays. 20% of 47 is 9.4. Well, maybe they're rounding... don't worry, this will come up again. And again. Only it's a little different each time...)
Host: "Tammy, how many Wiccans are there out there?"
TB: "Well, I -"
Host: "-Is that a big religion?"
TB: "Not many. Maybe you and I should go for it though, because we'd get a heck of a lot more days off, wouldn't we?"
(You would get eight days, each year, which you wouldn't get off. Instead, you'd plan you holidays around your work schedule, like the rest of us non-Christians. Even the Mizzou guide they're referencing doesn't 'give days off' for the listed holidays - it's just for awareness' sake. On the other hand, if you're in school like the Mizzou students and you stick with Abrahamic religions - especially Protestant Christianity - you get somewhere close to two weeks or more off every Christmas, some days for Easter, etc...)
TB: "I don't know any Wiccans. I think maybe on a really bad day I might turn into one, I'm not sure."
(Way to spread the hate, TB.)
TB: "It's less about elevating other religions and other individuals and it's more about diluting the dynamic about what's important, uh, in people's lives..."
(I just have to interrupt here to point out that this person is a radio talk show host who can't put together a sensible statement. Diluting the dynamic? Really? Please, explain how promoting awareness of diversity dilutes a dynamic. And, pray tell, explain what the 'dynamic about what's important in people's lives' is, in your opinion.)
"...And, look, I think if you're a Wiccan or a Pagan, Tucker, you're really anti-establishment and I don't think you need the establishment to recognize ya."
(Right. Because Wiccan and/or Pagan = anarchist. Fucking retard.)
Host: "Who could name eight Wiccan holidays? I mean, I doubt your average Wiccan could."
(Because you're clearly an expert on what Wiccan people know/do/anything. You're a fucking journalist - do a little research! Or, so-called journalist, anyway - maybe that's more accurate.)
TB: "You know there's like ten of them [holidays]. They out-number, uh, most of the other so-cal-.. uh, you know, religions, actual religions."
(I caught that. You were going to say 'the other so-called religions' but you caught yourself, because Wicca and Paganism aren't actual religions in your view. And we're back to numbers again, briefly: again, the guide they're referencing lists 47 holidays, right? That's not all the holidays of all the religions the guide discusses, obviously. It's only a listing of the religious holidays which the school thinks might be relevant to planning and for which there isn't a corresponding school holiday - that means they are not days off, so the faculty should be aware that these holidays might interfere with their students' performances. So yeah. Not the comprehensive list Fox is trying to pass it off as.)
TB: "And I think that, look, there's ways people can take days off for their special days, I think though you're going to be looked at kinda funny if you insist that you need Halloween off."
(Exactly. That's a problem Wiccans and Pagans and the lot of us who celebrate Samhain have to deal with, when really we shouldn't have to. That would have been an intelligent statement if she hadn't meant it as a statement on why we shouldn't ask for Samhain off.)
TB: "I do think it's insulting to, if you're a Wiccan or a Pagan, and besides if you're an atheist or even a Pagan, isn't every day a holiday? You know, if you're celebrating nature, that's an every day experience."
Host: "Only a country that had been too rich for too long could be this frivolous and silly."
Host: "So they hate orthodox Christianity, that's kinda what this comes down to."
TB: "Well, I - I think that there's a - there's a - a - a rejection of tradition. I think that this is, again, not about elevating anyone up, it's about Pagans and Wiccans being used for a political agenda to downgrade what's important to a majority of Americans...."
(Right, because minorities having rights downgrades the privilege of the majority, who once had those rights all to themselves. Makes sense, if you're an asshole. Now, if only this guide they're wrecking havoc all over were actually an official government acknowledgement of minority religions' rights, that actually changed... anything.)
"...I think that this is, uh, an anti-tradition action. I think Pagans and Wiccans should be very angry about being used by the establishment, and I think that, uh, uh, there should be a backlash of - look, tradition in this country is - is what allows people to be Pagans and Wiccans and to enjoy their lives. Really, good luck doing that in any other country."
(She must have read a different history book than I did. Or civics book. Or maybe she just lives in a different America than I do. First, "tradition" is not what allows us to have religious freedom in this country, even to the extent that we do. I... I'm not getting into the history lesson. Nor am I going to get into her 'political agenda' that is supposedly using us.... by letting others know about our holidays... Right. Just read a fucking book, woman. Second, America isn't the only industrialized country, and there are at least a dozen which accommodate minority religions just off the top of my head - and I'm no political scientist. I'm sure there's more.)
Host: "Yeah, you wouldn't want to see the Wiccans when they're angry."
(More with the 'witch' jokes. Lucky for you, Tucker, you will see angry Wiccans after this broadcast.)
VIDEO 2:
I don't know the names of these fucks, nor do I care to. I'm not even going to label them.
"There are more Zoroastrians here than there are Wiccans."
(As if either religion should be dismissed because they are minorities. Also, that's false.)
'Wiccans need their holidays recognized because they are a large percent of the population.'
(See above.)
"The bad side of Wiccanism [sic] is, it's obviously a form of witchcraft..."
(That's false. Also, witchcraft is not inherently "bad," though you may think so if you're a fundamentalist of the Abrahamic sort.)
"... but the upside is, you get a ton of holidays. 20% Of all school holidays as described by the University of Missouri are Wiccans holidays."
(Numbers, people, numbers. See how this line has changed, each time they use it? Now it's 20% off all school holidays, but earlier it was 20% of holidays in the guide... Again! Wiccans have eight holidays. The guide lists 47 holidays - by my quick count - which are not school holidays, but should be something faculty and staff are aware of, as they plan their schedules. Again, these are NOT school holidays, they are religious holidays which do not have a corresponding school holiday. In fact, none of the Wiccan holidays are also school holidays.)
*See commentary on the first video for my thoughts on Tammy Bruce's spewings.*
"And somehow, if you're a Christian in this country, uh, too, that - you can't say 'Merry Christmas' to somebody or else you're trying to push your Christian faith on other people. -"
(Oh you're so persecuted! Asses. The general problem has never been with individuals wishing each other any sort of holiday cheer, it's in the proliferation of businesses pushing that shit. But that's not even related to this topic - you just wanted to get that little "we're so persecuted" dig in there. Well bra-fucking-vo.)
"-Right, but you get 20 holidays now if you're a Wiccan at - um, I guess that's the one to go with, right? I mean, if you're going to pick one, go with the one with the most holidays."
(See how they did that? It was 20%, now it's 20, as in the quantity 20. Let's play the telephone game... or, we could just watch Fox.)
"Except any religion whose most sacred day is Halloween, I just can't take seriously. I mean, call me a bigot, I'm not - uh, you know, I'm not offering an editorial against Wiccanism [sic]."
(Actually, that's exactly what you just did, and saying otherwise doesn't change it. And yes, I will call you a bigot, bigot.)
"Well that would be more the Pagan side of it, right? Would be, would be Halloween."
(Um, you're an idiot.)
"How many Wiccans can name every Wiccan holiday? Or 50% of Wiccan holidays?"
"I don't know a single Wiccan."
"I will say this, because, you know, we're journalists [that's highly suspect, as claims go], and I have covered this. I actually went because there was some backlash over the years ago against Wiccans, and I remember I had to do a story and I went and interviewed a number of Wiccans. And they say, 'look we are the most peaceful individuals, we just - we don't practice crazy things, we just of the earth [sic]; we believe in-"
"- I think that's right. Every Wiccan I've ever known was either a compulsive Dungeons and Dragons player or is a middle-aged, twice-divorced older woman living in a rural area who works as a midwife."
"And likes a lot of incense."
"Yeah."
"Totally."
Yeah, cuz, totally, you're retarded, and your bs is being passed off as "news" on a major channel. That has to be grounds for some kind of fraudulent advertising or... something.
Know what I think? That the Pagan community doesn't need a petition demanding an apology from Fox. It needs a lawyer.
The guide can be found here: http://diversity.missouri.edu/get-involved/religion/holidays.php
Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7YYWLlat28
Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwJqUQzghhM
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/02/17/university-missouri-guide-asks-professors-to-accommodate-wiccan-pagan-holidays/
I couldn't help but noticing - in addition to the simple issue of disrespect that has us all pissed off - that this article treated every non-christian religion mentioned as a "fringe" religion... as though being a minority made a religion less valid. The title and the text do pick out pagans as the ones to take least seriously, but the tone of the entire article indicates that none of the religions mentioned 'deserve' to have their holidays paid attention to, nevermind the two weeks off school regularly take for christmas.
So of course I had to find and watch the accompanying video.
Oh but wait, there's two.
Nothing like a little blatant lying on a major news channel to get my blood boiling in the morning.
Makes me wonder, can we sue them for slander and libel? It's both spoken and written, after all.
Better yet, can we ban them like Canada did, for misrepresenting what they do as "news"?
Besides their erroneous equation of pagans and Wiccans...
VIDEO 1:
Host "Tucker": "The University of Missouri's religious guide says no exams ought to be scheduled on Wiccan and Pagan holidays; that puts those days on par with Christmas and Hanukkah."
(OMG! How dare those Wiccans and Pagans think their religion is just as valid as Abrahamic religions![/snark])
Host: "In fact, 20% of the holidays in their guide are Wiccan holidays."
(The guide lists 47 holidays. 20% of 47 is 9.4. Well, maybe they're rounding... don't worry, this will come up again. And again. Only it's a little different each time...)
Host: "Tammy, how many Wiccans are there out there?"
TB: "Well, I -"
Host: "-Is that a big religion?"
TB: "Not many. Maybe you and I should go for it though, because we'd get a heck of a lot more days off, wouldn't we?"
(You would get eight days, each year, which you wouldn't get off. Instead, you'd plan you holidays around your work schedule, like the rest of us non-Christians. Even the Mizzou guide they're referencing doesn't 'give days off' for the listed holidays - it's just for awareness' sake. On the other hand, if you're in school like the Mizzou students and you stick with Abrahamic religions - especially Protestant Christianity - you get somewhere close to two weeks or more off every Christmas, some days for Easter, etc...)
TB: "I don't know any Wiccans. I think maybe on a really bad day I might turn into one, I'm not sure."
(Way to spread the hate, TB.)
TB: "It's less about elevating other religions and other individuals and it's more about diluting the dynamic about what's important, uh, in people's lives..."
(I just have to interrupt here to point out that this person is a radio talk show host who can't put together a sensible statement. Diluting the dynamic? Really? Please, explain how promoting awareness of diversity dilutes a dynamic. And, pray tell, explain what the 'dynamic about what's important in people's lives' is, in your opinion.)
"...And, look, I think if you're a Wiccan or a Pagan, Tucker, you're really anti-establishment and I don't think you need the establishment to recognize ya."
(Right. Because Wiccan and/or Pagan = anarchist. Fucking retard.)
Host: "Who could name eight Wiccan holidays? I mean, I doubt your average Wiccan could."
(Because you're clearly an expert on what Wiccan people know/do/anything. You're a fucking journalist - do a little research! Or, so-called journalist, anyway - maybe that's more accurate.)
TB: "You know there's like ten of them [holidays]. They out-number, uh, most of the other so-cal-.. uh, you know, religions, actual religions."
(I caught that. You were going to say 'the other so-called religions' but you caught yourself, because Wicca and Paganism aren't actual religions in your view. And we're back to numbers again, briefly: again, the guide they're referencing lists 47 holidays, right? That's not all the holidays of all the religions the guide discusses, obviously. It's only a listing of the religious holidays which the school thinks might be relevant to planning and for which there isn't a corresponding school holiday - that means they are not days off, so the faculty should be aware that these holidays might interfere with their students' performances. So yeah. Not the comprehensive list Fox is trying to pass it off as.)
TB: "And I think that, look, there's ways people can take days off for their special days, I think though you're going to be looked at kinda funny if you insist that you need Halloween off."
(Exactly. That's a problem Wiccans and Pagans and the lot of us who celebrate Samhain have to deal with, when really we shouldn't have to. That would have been an intelligent statement if she hadn't meant it as a statement on why we shouldn't ask for Samhain off.)
TB: "I do think it's insulting to, if you're a Wiccan or a Pagan, and besides if you're an atheist or even a Pagan, isn't every day a holiday? You know, if you're celebrating nature, that's an every day experience."
Host: "Only a country that had been too rich for too long could be this frivolous and silly."
Host: "So they hate orthodox Christianity, that's kinda what this comes down to."
TB: "Well, I - I think that there's a - there's a - a - a rejection of tradition. I think that this is, again, not about elevating anyone up, it's about Pagans and Wiccans being used for a political agenda to downgrade what's important to a majority of Americans...."
(Right, because minorities having rights downgrades the privilege of the majority, who once had those rights all to themselves. Makes sense, if you're an asshole. Now, if only this guide they're wrecking havoc all over were actually an official government acknowledgement of minority religions' rights, that actually changed... anything.)
"...I think that this is, uh, an anti-tradition action. I think Pagans and Wiccans should be very angry about being used by the establishment, and I think that, uh, uh, there should be a backlash of - look, tradition in this country is - is what allows people to be Pagans and Wiccans and to enjoy their lives. Really, good luck doing that in any other country."
(She must have read a different history book than I did. Or civics book. Or maybe she just lives in a different America than I do. First, "tradition" is not what allows us to have religious freedom in this country, even to the extent that we do. I... I'm not getting into the history lesson. Nor am I going to get into her 'political agenda' that is supposedly using us.... by letting others know about our holidays... Right. Just read a fucking book, woman. Second, America isn't the only industrialized country, and there are at least a dozen which accommodate minority religions just off the top of my head - and I'm no political scientist. I'm sure there's more.)
Host: "Yeah, you wouldn't want to see the Wiccans when they're angry."
(More with the 'witch' jokes. Lucky for you, Tucker, you will see angry Wiccans after this broadcast.)
VIDEO 2:
I don't know the names of these fucks, nor do I care to. I'm not even going to label them.
"There are more Zoroastrians here than there are Wiccans."
(As if either religion should be dismissed because they are minorities. Also, that's false.)
'Wiccans need their holidays recognized because they are a large percent of the population.'
(See above.)
"The bad side of Wiccanism [sic] is, it's obviously a form of witchcraft..."
(That's false. Also, witchcraft is not inherently "bad," though you may think so if you're a fundamentalist of the Abrahamic sort.)
"... but the upside is, you get a ton of holidays. 20% Of all school holidays as described by the University of Missouri are Wiccans holidays."
(Numbers, people, numbers. See how this line has changed, each time they use it? Now it's 20% off all school holidays, but earlier it was 20% of holidays in the guide... Again! Wiccans have eight holidays. The guide lists 47 holidays - by my quick count - which are not school holidays, but should be something faculty and staff are aware of, as they plan their schedules. Again, these are NOT school holidays, they are religious holidays which do not have a corresponding school holiday. In fact, none of the Wiccan holidays are also school holidays.)
*See commentary on the first video for my thoughts on Tammy Bruce's spewings.*
"And somehow, if you're a Christian in this country, uh, too, that - you can't say 'Merry Christmas' to somebody or else you're trying to push your Christian faith on other people. -"
(Oh you're so persecuted! Asses. The general problem has never been with individuals wishing each other any sort of holiday cheer, it's in the proliferation of businesses pushing that shit. But that's not even related to this topic - you just wanted to get that little "we're so persecuted" dig in there. Well bra-fucking-vo.)
"-Right, but you get 20 holidays now if you're a Wiccan at - um, I guess that's the one to go with, right? I mean, if you're going to pick one, go with the one with the most holidays."
(See how they did that? It was 20%, now it's 20, as in the quantity 20. Let's play the telephone game... or, we could just watch Fox.)
"Except any religion whose most sacred day is Halloween, I just can't take seriously. I mean, call me a bigot, I'm not - uh, you know, I'm not offering an editorial against Wiccanism [sic]."
(Actually, that's exactly what you just did, and saying otherwise doesn't change it. And yes, I will call you a bigot, bigot.)
"Well that would be more the Pagan side of it, right? Would be, would be Halloween."
(Um, you're an idiot.)
"How many Wiccans can name every Wiccan holiday? Or 50% of Wiccan holidays?"
"I don't know a single Wiccan."
"I will say this, because, you know, we're journalists [that's highly suspect, as claims go], and I have covered this. I actually went because there was some backlash over the years ago against Wiccans, and I remember I had to do a story and I went and interviewed a number of Wiccans. And they say, 'look we are the most peaceful individuals, we just - we don't practice crazy things, we just of the earth [sic]; we believe in-"
"- I think that's right. Every Wiccan I've ever known was either a compulsive Dungeons and Dragons player or is a middle-aged, twice-divorced older woman living in a rural area who works as a midwife."
"And likes a lot of incense."
"Yeah."
"Totally."
Yeah, cuz, totally, you're retarded, and your bs is being passed off as "news" on a major channel. That has to be grounds for some kind of fraudulent advertising or... something.
Know what I think? That the Pagan community doesn't need a petition demanding an apology from Fox. It needs a lawyer.
The guide can be found here: http://diversity.missouri.edu/get-involved/religion/holidays.php
Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7YYWLlat28
Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwJqUQzghhM
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