How Evil Do They Have To Be?
Aug. 7th, 2015 12:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wingedbeastThere's much to be said about Escambia County, Florida's Sheriff Morgan David's conclusion that a recent family-annihilation killing was the work of Wiccans and witchcraft.
People have already commented on the fact that there's nothing in Wicca to indicate such a thing. While there's very little in the way of set doctrine in Wicca, there's no history of animal or human sacrifice... at all. Fred Clark makes the point that it would make exactly as much sense to tie it to Calvinism*.
We can also tie this as a remnant of the Satanic Panic of the 80s and early 90s. The Satanic Panic also lives on in recent accusations regarding Planned Parenthood, including that they sell fetus-kidneys to Coca-cola as a flavor additive.
And, I guess I could harp, yet again, on the moral hubris that allows a Sherrif to so readily assume that everybody else is evil in contrast to how good is his faith.
There's a more important question. I think it applies to the Planned Parenthood model, as well. Whenever these accusations are being thrown around, before you find yourself so ready to accept them, let's ask this question.
How evil do they have to be in order for us to be good?
Do Wiccans have to be involved in family annihilation rituals in order for Sheriff David Morgan, and the faith with which he identifies, to be good? If not, why can't he simply allow, in his mind, for them to mistakenly follow the wrong faith?
Does Planned Parenthood have to be a for-profit fetus-marketing business in order for pro-life advocates to be good? If not, why can't the pro-life crowd allow for Planned Parenthood to be people with a different philosophy?
In each case, the alternative proposed would provide more options for accomplishing desired ends, options that would involve both listening to and being able to honestly repeat the positions of Wiccans, Planned Parenthood, etc. In terms of doing good, allowing for ideological opposition to be not-evil is just more useful.
That is, unless you are so devoted and (you or a group with which you identify) have done such acts against said group that the only way that could be justified is if they are utterly and completely evil, evil, impolite, and evil.
The question comes in. How evil do they have to be? How evil do you need them to be? How evil have you been that you need them to be so evil?
* http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2015/08/06/triple-murder-ritualistic-presbyterian-killing-planned-to-coincide-with-the-blue-moon/
People have already commented on the fact that there's nothing in Wicca to indicate such a thing. While there's very little in the way of set doctrine in Wicca, there's no history of animal or human sacrifice... at all. Fred Clark makes the point that it would make exactly as much sense to tie it to Calvinism*.
We can also tie this as a remnant of the Satanic Panic of the 80s and early 90s. The Satanic Panic also lives on in recent accusations regarding Planned Parenthood, including that they sell fetus-kidneys to Coca-cola as a flavor additive.
And, I guess I could harp, yet again, on the moral hubris that allows a Sherrif to so readily assume that everybody else is evil in contrast to how good is his faith.
There's a more important question. I think it applies to the Planned Parenthood model, as well. Whenever these accusations are being thrown around, before you find yourself so ready to accept them, let's ask this question.
How evil do they have to be in order for us to be good?
Do Wiccans have to be involved in family annihilation rituals in order for Sheriff David Morgan, and the faith with which he identifies, to be good? If not, why can't he simply allow, in his mind, for them to mistakenly follow the wrong faith?
Does Planned Parenthood have to be a for-profit fetus-marketing business in order for pro-life advocates to be good? If not, why can't the pro-life crowd allow for Planned Parenthood to be people with a different philosophy?
In each case, the alternative proposed would provide more options for accomplishing desired ends, options that would involve both listening to and being able to honestly repeat the positions of Wiccans, Planned Parenthood, etc. In terms of doing good, allowing for ideological opposition to be not-evil is just more useful.
That is, unless you are so devoted and (you or a group with which you identify) have done such acts against said group that the only way that could be justified is if they are utterly and completely evil, evil, impolite, and evil.
The question comes in. How evil do they have to be? How evil do you need them to be? How evil have you been that you need them to be so evil?
* http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2015/08/06/triple-murder-ritualistic-presbyterian-killing-planned-to-coincide-with-the-blue-moon/
