One of the biggest problems I have with the neopagan movement is the incessant barrage of claiming persecution. I'm sick of seeing people gripe about how they're always being persecuted and made fun of and ignored and all that self-deprecating mumbo jumbo that's supposed to evoke pity. You want persecution? Fuck you. There. That's persecution.
You see, real persecution does go on. Denny's fired me the day after a couple of employees found out I was pagan (despite my best efforts to conceal that part of my identity), and started spreading rumours that I worship Satan. Well, their actual reason they claim for firing me is that I was terrible on the computer (which had a 98SE platform, just like the one I'm on now, and if I can't work on a computer, how'd I do this entire webpage by hand?), so that I couldn't retaliate with claims of religious discrimination. That's persecution. However, that's the only time I've ever been persecuted for my religious practices.
See, persecution implies a sort of injustice to whatever bad shit's being done to you. Most of what witchypoos call "persecution" is really just deferrence of blame. Yes, deferrence of blame. You got shit on because YOU ASKED FOR IT.
Let me share some personal experience here. The summer after I turned eighteen I "came out of the broom closet" (so to speak). This is what I call my flashy phase. Around my neck, I wore : two pentacles (one 2", the other bigger), a pendant of the rune Algiz, and a Chinese symbol meaning "fire". I would spend an hour every two or three days retouching my Sharpie "tattoo", which was an ornate design centered around a pentacle. I would wear tanktops to show it off, and a blue doo-rag to contrast my red hair. My car was acting up, so I was walking everywhere. One day, I ran into a group of Apostolic Lutherans near Burger King, and they started some shit. I got pushed around a bit, and I got called a devil worshipper, and I was threatened, and I was (of course) condemned to Hell. For a long time afterward, I held a bitter grudge against those assholes and the Appy church in general. Why? Because they'd persecuted me, that's why!
WRONG. I was not persecuted. I was stupid. I was purposely behaving in such a way that would antagonize them, and I was dressing for the occasion should they decide to act upon their annoyance. I can't blame them for being pissed off. If I were minding my own business and a bunch of Jesuit monks in full attire started singing Gregorian chants right behind me, I'd be pretty pissed off too. By all rights, I was a stupid zealot and I was asking for it. I repeat: I wasn't persecuted. I was stupid. Chances are, you've been stupid too. Admit it. It's part of being human.
See, our culture has these things called norms. These norms, for all you illiterate people, are the cultural standards of acceptance from which everyone's appearance, words and deeds are measured. The Amishman who still dresses in pre-Industrial-Revolution clothing can't expect to walk into Wal*Mart and not get stared at. Neither can the seven-foot-tall redneck with two teeth and a mullet longer than the OJ Simpson trial. Neither can the witchypoo who's all decked out in übergoth or superhippie attire. Why? Because their appearances deviate too far from the norm. They go beyond society's tolerance, or their ability to put up with your abnormal behaviour.
There's an old adage that says, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." If today's "in" thing is to wear stonewashed jeans and a flannel, then dress accordingly. If preppy clothing is in, go buy an Eddie Bauer sweatshirt. I suggest these things because these improve your chances of remaining unnoticed, thus decreasing your chances of being shit on. I highly doubt the trend will drift towards acting like a complete ass in public.
Now, before I get ragged on for being an hypocrite, let me make clear that I do on occasion deck out in goth clothing: spiked collars, black makeup, fishnet stockings on my arms, fake blood, the whole nine yards. But I don't expect people to treat me like I'm an ordinary guy wearing Levi's and a tee. I know I look ridiculous compared to the norm, and I know people are going to react oddly (and half the time, negatively). I am well aware of the risk that I could get the shit kicked out of me for dressing so. But you know what? I do it because I want to. And when I do get harassed for dressing goth (i.e. "Fuckhead, Halloween ain't for another six months!"), I don't run around like a beheaded chicken crying in desperation because Asshole X decided to persecute me like all those poor witches in Salem. (Hehehe...there were no witches in Salem in the 1690s.)
So. Stop whining about being shit on. If you're out, get used to it. If you're not, then HIDE. If you can't take the heat, stay out of the fuckin' kitchen. 'Nuff said.
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