Trying to stand up for our legal rights can sometimes by very costly in both legal fees, employment security, and personal safety. Few parents feel really secure with telling their children to keep it all a secret while still going to public schools. Some are willing to confront any problems this information might cause at the outset. In areas where there is not rampant, pervasive bigotry, this approach seems to be mostly successful after some education and perhaps a stare-down or two. In other cases, more heroic efforts are needed to overcome ignorance and bigotry.
Nobody advocates being a martyr, and some are better suited to going public than others.
How each of us handles the problems of public perception is, of course, up to the individual. It was pointed out that having a strong Pagan community is a great aid to the efforts of those who put themselves in the public light. How each of us acts has a great deal to do with how the public perceives us and, therefore, how they will react to us. One of the difficulties in youth ministry is not having much control over how some youths present themselves while identifying with Wicca. The Craft not only misinform the adult public but mislead other youths who are potentially seriously looking for a spirituality like ours.