Witch burnings, Beer, and Waffles

Label for Witches Wit beer by The Lost Abbey

Tonight was a WH night, with Jhonn and a friend of ours.  If you haven't deduced from the sudden influx of droid posts, Jhonn really really likes his new phone.  In fact, as I sat there eating my delicious hashbrowns (scattered, smothered, and covered), both boys were thoroughly engrossed in their phones.  (OK, so maybe I'm a bit guilty of that too lately.  Shh!)  Well, Jhonn decided to peruse The Wild Hunt for some reason, which proved fortuitous as it led to him discovering this little gem: clicky!  The Wild Hunt reported on an email that supposedly originated with tarot creator Vicki Noble.

Oh, dear Pagan community, when oh when will we stop getting butthurt over ridiculous things?  Probably about the same time Wiccans stop trying to claim a monopoly on the word witch.  And that's half the problem right there really.  Any time witch is mentioned (whether in a historical context or the fictionalized, green-skinned antagonist) there's always a plethora of NeoPagans ready to freak out and claim it's representative or related to NeoPaganism.  (And by NeoPagans and NeoPaganism I really mostly mean Wicca and Wiccans, but I'm uhhh trying to be less of an asshole in my old age.  Maybe?)  Anyway... let's try to remember that witch has different meanings and that conflating those meanings is a naughty, naughty logical fallacy.  Let's also remember that Wiccans aren't the only self-described witches existing today and that not all those who call themselves witches fit under the NeoPagan umbrella.  Hopefully that didn't explode anyone's brains.

The other bit worthy of a good *headdesk* was Noble's "brilliant" assumption of misogyny.  Just because something you don't like features a non-ugly woman, it does not mean there is a case of misogyny afoot.  If we were to put a man in this same position, would you cry out that it's a case of misandry?  I seriously doubt it.  This wasn't a case of contempt or even objectification of the female form.  Sure the girl is hot (literally), but this isn't some Rob Liefeld disaster of epic proportions... this is more Strangers in Paradise.  Noble goes on to claim that the crowd (of vague, indistinct faces) are not only ALL male but also a bunch of monks "gawking" at our witchy lady.  W.T.F.  The gender of the crowd is indistinguishable, as are their professions and expressions.  Furthermore, the crowd isn't there to salaciously gaze at the bound heroine - it's merely a public execution.

Thankfully, Lost Abbey has calmly responded to the debacle by pointing out things that were clearly printed on the label.  So, dear Pagan community, in the future please lrn2READ.