Newsgroups: alt.pagan
Subject: Re: Scummy behavior of pagan males
From: haley@husc11.harvard.edu (Elizabeth Haley)
Date: 19 Nov 92 09:35:20 GMT

I think that some of the points of the previous articles should be
taken seriously, since I have seen the behavior of some people at
gatherings that I would describe as "scummy".

Not to mention a great deal that is just plain stupid.

But it stands to reason that anything that involves people opening up
physically as well as emotionally and mentally, is going to draw
people who want to reap the shallower benefits...

Want to get high? Hang out with Pagans.
Want to see naked girls/guys a lot? Hangout with Pagans.
Want to hang out by a fire, and get drunk and make a lot of noise?
Hang out with Pagans.
All ya gotta do is wear a pentacle and maybe learn a little bit about
Tarot cards...

Yeck! 

I am a pretty normal man. When I went to my first Gathering, some of
the women went skyclad. I found it arousing. 

I guess it was my upbringing that allowed me the decorum to keep my
hands on the drum I was playing, and my tongue in my mouth...

After a while though, the sight of a tit bared to the elements frankly
barely registered, unless it was too red from sunburn, or too dry from
dehydration... (Ever seen someone dance for an hour around a roaring
bonfire and come away dry?  They are usually dry for about 30 Seconds,
if they are properly hydrated, then they are soaked...)

The plain fact is, if you want to have the leers, the come ons, and
the problems stop, you must remove the temptation.

Don't go Skyclad, unless you know everyone there.
Don't offer any sacraments or recreational substances, unless you know
the person you are offering it to, or someone your trust and whose
judgement you trust can vouch for them.

Big DON'T's: Don't practive sex magick in less than secure areas...
Ya never know when some bozo might pop into a circle and decide to
join the "orgy" (Orgy?) 

Maybe this is a bit extreme a warning, but, well, I have met some real
assholes who asked me about Pagan gatherings... It makes me shudder,
sometimes, to think that I share genetic traits with some of them...
(I usually tell them that they will be approached when it "right",
which generally means never...)

I realize it is a real pisser to have to curtail ones own freedom in a
place you specifically went to experience greater freedom.
(It certainly pisses me off...)
But it's either that or start your own gathering and avoid the large
ones...

BTW Anyone know of gatherings taking place near Boston in the early
part of the year? DON'T TELL ME. I will be approached, when it is
left.

--
When life seems to be getting you down...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
======David Charles Todd, tHE mAN wITH tHREE fIRST nAMES======
-------------------- David misses eBeth ----------------------
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-hacksaw@headcheese.daa.uc.edu=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
			   ...ask it why it is torturing geese
ignore anything beyond this line as far as attribution...
-- 
=---------------------------------------------------------------------------=
=The author of this letter is a fabulously intelligent person and is very   =
=Silly. She is also remarkably well loved, by the author of this signature. =
=---------------------------haley@husc9.harvard.edu-------------------------=
Newsgroups: alt.pagan