I have connected with some fantastic people online in the last couple of months, and that helps a bit with the feeling of isolation at being a part of such a minority religion. There are many fora and websites containing a wealth of information and opportunities to communicate with other Hellenes, draw support from one another, and discuss our views on the primary source material of our philosophies. That said, Great Zeus! Spending time on a Hellenic recon forum is like listening in on the popular clique in the high school locker rooms as they badmouth everyone who is different from them, and therefore inferior! It seems Timothy Alexander, the moderator at Hellenismos.us and author of several popular books on Hellenic Reconstructionism and those who follow him on the Hellenismos.us forum, have a very limited view of what Hellenismos is, and how it should be practiced. That is fine. Hellenismos has every right as a religious movement to be self-defining, and to distinguish itself from other paths, but adherents DO NOT have the right to bash others and make themselves out to be somehow better, more intelligent, or "purer" worshippers of the gods than those that do not follow the ancient greek orthopraxy. I have explored many different paths of practice and belief, and while only Hellenismos turned out to be right for me, I still see much beauty and validity in the vast tapestry of modern Paganism, so this is infuriating to me!
What's worse, most of their generalizations and negative stereotypes about other types of Pagans (and don't you dare call the Hellene's "Pagans," or you will be completely dismissed *eye roll*) are references to the most common "rookie mistakes" that newcomers to Paganism usually make and grow out of pretty quickly. Even non-Hellenic Pagans are put off by the Llewellyn-as-gospel crowd, but those with any common decency will be respectful and correct misconceptions regarding theology, ritual, and magick gently and without ridicule. Instead of that, Hellenismos.us has blog entries and forum posts along the times of "You Know You're A Fluffy Bunny If.." followed by jabs at New Age ideas AND the mentally ill, and other such clever (read: needlessly cruel) quips. I would expect Hellenes, with the emphasis on virtue and respectful actions toward others being so central to our worldview, to practice this simple act. Sadly, I am disappointed. I have read references to other types of Pagans as being "fluffy," "eye-twitch-inducing," "ignorant," "cultural theives" and more. I am sure that most of the people posting these hateful words have, at some time or another, been on the receiving end of equally awful insults from people of other religions. While most of the members of that forum seem to be invested in expanding Hellenismos and providing information and support for individuals and groups to develop their practices, I think forcing newcomers to wade through post after post of derogatory statements about the paths they are most likely coming from in the first place to be counter-productive to that goal. If being Hellenic means being mean and defamatory to other followers of other faiths (especially those that have nothing against yours!), well, no, I won't finnish that statement. That is exactly what Hellenismos is NOT! I am appreciative of all the information I have received from that forum, and I will continue to check in from time to time, but I do not think I will actually join it. I have enough negativity in my life dealing with a disapproving, mocking mother and living in a society that frankly, isn't too keen on any kind of polytheism, to get sucked into the self-important wanking. I am pretty sure most of the members there would get sick of me rather quickly because...
-I do not believe Wiccans, solitary, eclectic or otherwise, or any other Neopagans for that matter, are a monolith of ignorance. Nor do I see them as objects of ridicule, or as anything other than a diverse group of human beings who are bumbling along in life just like the rest of us, and possessing various levels of intelligence and ambition.
-I believe that all forms of religious practice, even those involving the greek gods in non-traditional ways, are valid so long as they are authentic to the practitioner's spiritual beliefs and are not forced upon others (I consider ridicule and insults to be force, as they are attempts at trying to alter the behavior of, and thus gain power over, others)
-I do not believe Athens in the Classical period is the be-all and end-all of Hellenismos. The Ancient Greek world was a vast place, with variances from region to region. I do not see adopting practices from a variety of Hellenic regions and time periods to be outside the sphere of what is Hellenismos.
-I believe I am still a Hellene despite these feelings, and anyone who doesn't simply does not register on my radar. This is the last I will speak of this subject, because I do not want to bitch and moan about people I disagree with constantly.
There are those, I think, in any recon flavored approach, that will decide that you have to do it THIS way or it's all wrong, and if you're doing it any other way, it's all wrong, and to even be open enough to converse with others who are doing it another way even if you aren't means you're doing it wrong . . . The anti-Wiccan stance is pretty rampant in heathenry as well.
ReplyDeleteGah. Migraine, and I can't think, and I shouldn't even be trying to post words, but, you're not alone, not at all, not by a long shot, and I think there are more people like us than there are like those who are like that. Breathe, don't be bothered with their pettiness, and carry on. You rock.
Giiirl...
ReplyDeleteI wrote this on my FB back in January:
"In my first semester at Uni I wrote a 20+ page paper on the worship of Hermes of ancient and modern times for a mythology class.
I had done all of my research for ancient practice (siting upwards of 20 references) when I began my research for modern worship, particulariy the worship of Hellenic Recons. As I am not a Recon, I joined this group's yahoo email list in the hopes that they would be willing to answer a few questions I had.
Well, the result wasn't one that I ever expected. I was virtually flogged for asking them any questions, with one person telling me "Even if you weren't just a Pagan and was actually looking to become a Recon I wouldn't answer your questions. I would tell you to go read a book. Asking questions is offensive."
Whoa and Wow.
And that killed it for me to ever think of being a Hellenic Recon. Sad, really, since they "speak to my condition" as Friends say. Later I joined a religio Romana group who welcomed me with open arms and kindess. Hence, I say I am a Roman Polytheist today."
The people I was talking about were http://www.hellenion.org/About.html
Later I joined another yahoo group of Recons of many traditions and left that with yet another bitter taste in my mouth. The people were very condesending and "holier than thou" toward me, treating me with very little respect simply because I'm not a Recon.
It's been refreshing to "meet" Recons lately that don't behave in this way. Keep up the good work of standing up to this nonsense.
I am almost embarassed to be associated with those types of people even by a shared religious practice. I have gotten to know some very nice, very open-minded Hellenes as well, and I hope more people do eventually speak out against this silliness. The nature of Hellenismos itself, with it's emphasis on reason, justice, truth, and compassion, is not condoning of this kind of behavior. The Greeks have a legacy of being teachers, endowing students with knowledge of the cosmos and encouraging human thought and creativity. Those who mock people who are trying to learn or understand tarnishes that legacy, and that is what really makes me mad!
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