Running into quite a few on-line Heathens who are quite immature and nasty

[thalassa]

Re: Running into quite a few on-line Heathens who are quite immature and nasty

You know, you might find some something in common with this blog post

[Willow]

Re: Running into quite a few on-line Heathens who are quite immature and nasty

Nope not you. Just special people....

I think everything's already been said. It's why I've given up looking for new forums since a couple years back.

[Thorbjorn]

Re: Running into quite a few on-line Heathens who are quite immature and nasty

You know, you might find some something in common with this blog post

That site is getting bookmarked. Thank you!

- - - Updated - - -

Nope not you. Just special people....

I think everything's already been said. It's why I've given up looking for new forums since a couple years back.

Yeah, me too. Note to self: no new forums.

Funny though, ever since this little shit storm happened, I started Googling things like 'solitary Asatru' and 'solitary Heathen' because I know there's a better chance of a heat wave on Pluto than me finding a kindred around here. And because I know others practice alone... because well, they practice alone, without giving a crap about anyone giving them crap. Besides, I'm not really a social animal. I even avoid luncheons at work. Anyway, I kept coming across short blog posts that had some of the same points in the Pagan Church Lady's post. It seems there are a lot more of "us" than there are of "them". Now I think it's because the "us" just do what we do without trying to see who can piss higher up the tree. Now I'm definitely glad I talked about this shit storm (twisted, huh?).

[Willow]

Re: Running into quite a few on-line Heathens who are quite immature and nasty

Positive-moving conflict. ^^ It's definitely a thing (on a personal note, I've found that it's an annual thing in my life that often happens during the same 8 weeks every year - now being the tail end of it).

A lot of the Slavic paths have the same kinds of issues when it comes to hot-headed nationalism. Not the path itself, but it seems to draw some of those extremist mentalities in sometimes. I used to be a part of a forum for my own path but it sort of disintegrated into a news-feed instead of a forum after a series of hacks. Anyway, I know what you mean. This forum, and the other one (which I think I've seen you floating about on too) are all the community I really need to stay sane. ^^

[Goinne]

Re: Running into quite a few on-line Heathens who are quite immature and nasty

You know, you might find some something in common with this blog post

I love this post so much.

On the topic of of general snobbery, I'm going to echo that it happens everywhere. Every label has a group that define themselves as 'better' than anyone else of that label. Gods know I've been that way in the past, and had my ass handed to me because of it.
I've encountered it everywhere, from furries to goths to pagans to fans of a particular youtuber. Some people seem to so desperately want to be special, to stand out and feel important, that they'll gather together with like minds and strap on their beliefs or choices like armor, use them like weapons to keep everyone else away. It's a fact of humanity, and it's been going on since the earliest times. The internet just makes it easier. It's always easier to call someone out and be a bully when they're just bit of data on a screen. I stopped interacting online for the longest time because of it, and I'm still really guarded about how much I speak about my beliefs and ideals, even though I want so desperately to have people to talk to.
I've found a refreshing amount of acceptance of differing beliefs and experience here, though.

[Willow]

Re: Running into quite a few on-line Heathens who are quite immature and nasty

On the topic of of general snobbery, I'm going to echo that it happens everywhere. Every label has a group that define themselves as 'better' than anyone else of that label. Gods know I've been that way in the past, and had my ass handed to me because of it.

I love people who can admit this. ^^ I think the vast majority of people have done this (myself included), but not many admit it.

[MaskedOne]

Re: Running into quite a few on-line Heathens who are quite immature and nasty

I am the best pizza-addicted eldritch horror that any mortal will ever meet. Granted this is because any other horror interfering with mortal pizza production gets added to one of my pizzas but I'm still the best pizza addicted horror. :cthulhu:

[Willow]

Re: Running into quite a few on-line Heathens who are quite immature and nasty

I love Eldritch horrors... Right up there with people who can admit fault. ^^

I love a lot of things when I'm overdosed on coffee. :P

[Norse_Angel]

Re: Running into quite a few on-line Heathens who are quite immature and nasty

Getting back on topic, I posted a story about some online White Supremacists who fancied themselves as Odinists. You'll meet those idiotic people who don't use our Gods names in the correct way. None of us are better than one another. Especially in our own kin, fighting is never a course a brethren should take against his fellow folk. It makes me angry that anyone would come at you in such a way, when you could teach them 10x more knowledge than they have on the topic.

[kalynraye]

Re: Running into quite a few on-line Heathens who are quite immature and nasty

I'm just reiterating what others said because hey I wanna participate. This is the third pagan site I have ever been part of. The first one I don't count because a month after joining they put an age restriction on the site and I was 15. Even with parents permission they wouldn't let me back on. The second was ModernWiccan.com it is no longer around. When I first joined everyone was helpful and friendly. Giving and sharing information. I absolutely loved it but as time went on I saw lots of what your describing.

No one wanted to help any more. Everyone new better or were better. Before I left I had words with someone because a "new" person and joined and asked a few questions. Rather simple and easy to answer but a person commented that they didn't help or give advice unless they knew them. We weren't bettering ourselves by acting like snobs or know it all's.

There are good like minded people out there but we like all groups have know it all fools who feel they are better. Hell I am not perfect and there are times in my life when I am more then sure I sound like a know it all.

[monsno_leedra]

Re: Running into quite a few on-line Heathens who are quite immature and nasty

I'm just reiterating what others said because hey I wanna participate. This is the third pagan site I have ever been part of. The first one I don't count because a month after joining they put an age restriction on the site and I was 15. Even with parents permission they wouldn't let me back on. The second was ModernWiccan.com it is no longer around. When I first joined everyone was helpful and friendly. Giving and sharing information. I absolutely loved it but as time went on I saw lots of what your describing.

No one wanted to help any more. Everyone new better or were better. Before I left I had words with someone because a "new" person and joined and asked a few questions. Rather simple and easy to answer but a person commented that they didn't help or give advice unless they knew them. We weren't bettering ourselves by acting like snobs or know it all's.

There are good like minded people out there but we like all groups have know it all fools who feel they are better. Hell I am not perfect and there are times in my life when I am more then sure I sound like a know it all.

Bolded mine.

I know from personal preference and experience that a lot of times the so called easy to answer and simple questions will get a person slammed rather fast. Yet most times it has nothing to do with the question as much as the it's been answered over and over and a little bit of searching the site would actually have answered it. Yet instead of searching or seeing if it's already been discussed before it gets asked yet again.

LET ME PREFERENCE THIS WITH "YOU" IS USED COLLECTIVELY VICE DIRECTED AT THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE FOLLOWING!

I'd add that the attitude of not answering if you don't know them is actually rather common as well. Knowing may be anything from actually knowing the person to knowing them via their own line persona and presence. I know myself I will hesitate to answer a lot of newbie questions simply because I do not have a feel for a person. Many times going so far as to dig up old entries they have made to get an idea of who they are, what their interest might be, how they view things and even what pathway they verbally seem to align with. Figure there are still a lot of people who take responsibility for what they say and how it might be presumed to mean. In the modern era even many still who hold their oaths of silence or only speaking around a subject or very limited about it.

One thing does intrigue me though is the attitude of "People owe them something", especially in the sense of aiding them in bettering themselves. Realistically they owe you nothing when you consider the system is designed for the individual and individual enlightenment vice a group with no group based dogma. Especially so under the self dedication and initiation beliefs that rose up from neo-Wicca and outside of the lineage & initiation practices. Those groups who do have lineages, initiations and group dogma still owe you nothing as the oaths are to the group and it's meaning not to some unknown person on the net. Lets face it you can't have it both ways. You can't expect to claim it's an individual choice and pathwalk when it suits you then claim others have a responsibility to aid you in bettering yourself when you hit a personal inpass or dark night of the soul type situation.

Nor can the collective you expect that those who came before have some implied expectation to give you anything they have discovered about themselves, their pathways or even how they interrelate to their own divine relationships. Figure it might have taken years to get where they are and it can be offensive to assume they are supposed to share that experience, knowledge, etc simply because the seeker appears to lazy to dedicate the time and effort themselves to discover it.

[Norse_Angel]

Re: Running into quite a few on-line Heathens who are quite immature and nasty

From my own experience on this forum, for I am still quite new, even if I am know, is that everyone when I first started out, including yourself Monsno, was very helpful and kind. You will not find such a large online Pagan community like this one we have. I have never seen a fight, nor such a nasty argument as I've seen on social media. Just like Thorbjorn, I have been ousted from a couple groups on Facebook, but for differing reasons.
But in a small way can I agree with you. There are a couple people on this forum who I will reply to just because they are those people. Thorbjorn being one of them, for he shares my belief system, and he is a relatively insightful person. But as well, I love what Thalassa posts, so I will usually reply on hers. That doesn't mean I will not check out newbies posts, for if I can be of help, I will do my best. I just hope that when I make my random threads that people don't see it's "that Norse Angel guy" and not reply to it. I feel like I've been a typically enjoyed person here.

[MaskedOne]

Re: Running into quite a few on-line Heathens who are quite immature and nasty

Oh there are fights, there haven't been many big ones recently but there are fights. They just normally result in staff being more vocal than normal (yes, I can upgrade from moderately vocal to really vocal )

Past that. I agree with a part of Monsno's post. There is no obligation on the part of most people to assist a newbie. There are several perfectly acceptable reasons from "I'm a lazy bastard and you aren't kin" to "oaths restrict me on this subject" to a number of other reasons not to speak up on a topic. However, it is perfectly doable in many situations to keep silent by literally keeping silent and not posting anything at all regarding the question. This is frequently less dickish than some of the others ways chosen to keep quiet on a topic and I highly endorse it as being simultaneously work free, practical and more polite than some of its alternatives.

[monsno_leedra]

Re: Running into quite a few on-line Heathens who are quite immature and nasty

From my own experience on this forum, for I am still quite new, even if I am know, is that everyone when I first started out, including yourself Monsno, was very helpful and kind. You will not find such a large online Pagan community like this one we have. I have never seen a fight, nor such a nasty argument as I've seen on social media. Just like Thorbjorn, I have been ousted from a couple groups on Facebook, but for differing reasons.
But in a small way can I agree with you. There are a couple people on this forum who I will reply to just because they are those people. Thorbjorn being one of them, for he shares my belief system, and he is a relatively insightful person. But as well, I love what Thalassa posts, so I will usually reply on hers. That doesn't mean I will not check out newbies posts, for if I can be of help, I will do my best. I just hope that when I make my random threads that people don't see it's "that Norse Angel guy" and not reply to it. I feel like I've been a typically enjoyed person here.

I do agree on this site in general there are a lot of people that will try to aid but not sure I'd say guide. I know personally i'm more inclined to respond to threads that pertain to Shamanic or Hellenic type things faster than other things. Or in areas or discussions where I think what is influencing for me might be equatable to what is being experienced in another pathway though it is not specifically shamanic or Hellenic. It's like berserker rage and it's skin wearing aspect matches up to a number of warrior societies around the globe. I'll cross over into Heathen things at times both because of similarities but also because I enjoy the Edda's, Saga's and aspects of heathenism that intrigue me from a historical aspect. It's like those things often define as paranormal have always intrigued me so I will participate in those discussions.

Where I am less likely to respond is the McWiccan stuff or even the Buger King Wicca of have it your way. Though I admit theory based questions will draw me in where what does a thing mean to me questions tend not to do much for me. Well not in the McWiccan or Biger King Wiccan stuff anyway.

Not sure I can say there are those I respond to simply because of who they are. Though will state I am more inclined to respond to certain people because of the subject content they present. It's like I know Thalassa is prior military so I can relate and empathize with those postings though may not identify when she goes into her Wiccan past. So for me it would be more proper to say I am subject driven vice personnel drive in how I respond.

[Jaxxie]

Re: Running into quite a few on-line Heathens who are quite immature and nasty

I'm not sure it's limited to Pagan circles. Over the past few years I've seen people, in general, become more and more angry, negative, and rude. I've witnessed this both online and in the real world. I think what happens is online you can sort of say whatever you want, without inhibitions. You don't have to see the recipient's face when you've hurt or angered them. You don't have a face-to-face confrontation. But now that everyone is balls-deep in technology - tethered to smart phones and all sorts of devices that keep one foot in the real world and one foot in cyberspace at all times - I think the line between person to person civility and internet persona has blurred a little bit.

Case in point, I am a member of a health and fitness community that has a "support" forum. I put the word "support" in quotation marks, because it's really anything but supportive. Yesterday a woman posted a "benefits of drinking lemon water" thread and it was met with so much negativity, even downright hostility. And I see similar things happen on other Pagan websites when new-comers ask an innocent question. I've also witnessed this on interfaith message forums and message forums about knitting. There are very few places on the internet where I can truly say it's almost 100% drama-free.