I've had a lot of people sign the guestbook, post on the message board, and send me emails saying how great of an impact this site had on their minds. I've reached a lot of people in the Mirror's first six months of existence — the counter out front right now says 4431 — and most of them have proven themselves to be, albeit a little fluffy around the edges, decent and intelligent human beings. This site's results have given me cause to reaffirm my faith in humanity, fame to the point where people I've never spoken with have heard of the Mirror by word of mouth, and proof that standing up for your beliefs and having the huevos to speak out loud when everyone else is whispering secrets really does pay off in the end.
However, there have been a few morons, douchebags, trolls and just plain old stupid people who seem to confuse this site for a hate site. In fact, just a couple days ago a wannabe Satanist emailed me telling me how I was blaspheming "Father Satan" by my previous article and I found it rather hilarious that to top it all off he called me cock boy, as though that's supposed to offend me or something. I've also had trolls: mailbomb me; threaten to attack me, my site and my host; defame my character on forums where Wicca is seldom discussed; and a couple other instances that don't fit one of these three categories. I won't get into specifics because, frankly, I'm too tired to do so at this time, but I will say this:
The Obsidian Mirror is not a hate speech site (see Dictionary.com's definition of hate speech). This site condemns no one who hasn't already condemned themselves. This site does not promote acts of terror against those the Mirror may slam. What this site is, is angry. I am fucking pissed off that authors are manipulating the minds of immature, insecure teenagers and slowly sucking away their money like ticks on the belly of a sleeping dog. I am fucking pissed off that almost every Llewellyn author I've come across is a narcissistic, vain asshole who pretends their every spoken word is Gospel from the Goddess Herself and that a broke-ass white-trash non-trad like myself knows next to diddly shit compared to them. I am fucking pissed off that kids react to these suggestions and stupidly await the next Silver Ravenwolf book the way they await the next Harry Potter book, the next Lord of the Rings installment in the cinema, or the release of the newest Pokémon cards. I am fucking pissed off that stupid people whom have (either inadvertently or consentually) allowed these con artists to swindle them out of their money, their time, their other resources, and most of all: their spiritual energy. I am fucking pissed off that the fact I speak out against this automatically renders me labelled a "hater", even though I hold no contempt towards Gardner's original tradition nor most derivatives thereof (although there are issues I have with certain trads, I'm not going to address them here for the continuity's sake). I am fucking pissed that the people whom I piss off (the ones who need my advice) are more interested in assassinating me than learning what needs to be learnt, whereas the praise I garner seems to come from elder people in the Craft. I am fucking pissed at the notion that Wicca™ or any traditional derivative thereof may become a mainstream religion within the next fifty years. At the present rate of decline regarding mean intellect, mean interpersonal skills, and mean mental capacities, Wicca will simply serve to replace Christianity or Islam or any of the other mainstream religions to take care of those who don't want to think for themselves. Sadly, I fear that we have already past the point of no return, and my cynical-sounding rants from four or five months ago have proven themselves time and time again to be valid and just assessments of the current situation in the Neopagan world.
There are many traditions splitting up for various reasons. I witnessed the death of Seax-Wica last month, when one of our authors (who has been an initiated Seax-Wican for a LONG fucking time, and I believe even held priestly duties at one point) got into a mix with Raymond Buckland's choice of successor for the order. His HATE SPEECH against homosexuals drove a huge, permanent wedge in the thinly sliced cheese that was Seax-Wica then. There may as well BE no Seax-Wica now...but the Mirror is still reflecting every face that looks into it.
Let me address one final issue in this ramble before I go to bed (I've been up a wee over 36 hours at this point in time), and that is really the topic at hand: anger versus hatred.
First, the semantic difference: see the Dictionary.com definitions of anger and hatred. Granted, the two words are related, but in my opinion anger is a primary emotion, and hatred is a secondary emotion. Anger is more akin to passion; hatred is more akin to ill will. The difference is clear when defined. An example would be such: I am angry at one particular company who hasn't shipped our herbs yet that we paid for over a month ago. This anger is direct and has a distinct purpose. On the other hand, I hate my lover's stepfather. I am angry as well for what he has done to her and for being such a cruel bastard as to hire a lawyer with enough clout to get him off, but I hate the fuck deep down inside. This hatred is based off of this anger, as well as her pain as she's shared it with me, but when I think about him I get this nauseated, loathing feeling deep in my digestive tract.
Now that we've gotten the definition out of the way, I'd like to address the issue of this site. First off, up front I make it very clear that my passion stems from anger and not of hatred. I only hate a handful of people, despite how many I am angry towards. This anger can, and more than likely will, in time be alleviated. I'll be lifted of this burden maybe by simply growing old. Perhaps it will come from the Mirror having such an impact in the Wiccan world that it sends tidal waves crashing down and destroying all the houses of cards within which so many Wiccans' spirits dwell. Perhaps it will be done by Wicca simply losing popularity among the above-average intelligencewise as they search for richer and more significant treasures which are to be found in the occult.
The truth is, folks, I really don't know what's going to happen, and really, I expected a couple of crackpots to tell me I'm a hater. I didn't expect this many, which goes to show that I've resurrected maybe a little too much faith in the human race. Please, dear reader, don't confuse anger and hatred. They are both very powerful weapons when mastered, and very poor masters when served. I and many others believe that I use my anger to my advantage when writing these essays, and that my anger does not use me. That's part of being mature, something that a lot of Neopagans really aren't — well, at least not mentally. But that's a whole 'nother rant altogether.
In conclusion, I would like to say thank you to those who understand the Mirror, our mission and our methods by which we achieve our goals, and I would like to extend my pity and a barrel of fucking monkeys laughing at the idiots who cannot comprehend a fucking word I say because they've donned a pair of blinders and refuse to turn their heads.
By the way, the counter's up to 4438. ^_^
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