Do you see what’s happening?!
Usually when I scan the news for “Wicca” or “Pagan” I get a whole lot of Yahoo questions or comments. I see one or two Pagan-related blog posts. Sometimes a You Tube video or WiccanTogether item gets caught in the mix. During the Spring and Summer, I get a ton of baseball related hits due to Angel Pagan, but that’s another story. (For non-sports fans, Angel is the San Francisco Giants center fielder from Puerto Rico, not a mystical being.)
However, in the course of two weeks, Wicca and Paganism have hit the mainstream media in big ways. Wicca, and to a lesser extent Pagan, has been everywhere in print:
- In January, the Boy Scouts announced the possible rethinking of their anti-LGBT policy. This past week, the media has been doing write-ups on the alternatives to the Boy Scouts. One of these is Spiral Scouts. (USA Today)
- Wicca makes a brief appearance in the Jodi Arias court case. After repeated attempts to use Wicca to sensationalize the case, the media appears to be dropping that angle and sticking to more pertinent facts. (ABC, CNN’s HLN)
- Fox News mocks Wicca in both a written article and the Fox & Friends Weekend show. Interestingly enough, the other big networks haven’t picked up the original story or the backlash it caused. There are some smaller media outlets that have mentioned the University of Missouri’s diversity policy. (Fox News, Fox & Friends Weekend, The Christian Post and others)
- Just yesterday, the media has been publicizing the possible over-turning of California’s exclusionary prison policy with regards to Chaplains. (All major news outlets – broadcast & print – plus smaller print sources)
The Chaplain case seems so deliciously perfectly timed after Fox’ ridiculous comments…. All I can say is WOW! Wicca is becoming a “household” name…
We are going from:
“I’m… um…spiritual”
“Oh. Why don’t you come with me to Church this weeked then?”
to
“I’m Wiccan.”
Huh?
to
“I’m Wiccan.”
“Wow! So, you have you like 20 holidays?”