Pagan Coffee Talk

Identity Politics and Mental Health

Life Temple and Seminary Season 2 Episode 34

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In this episode, we are discussing identity politics and what it means for traditionalist pagans as well the general pagan community. We also discuss mental health and Lord Night gives his opinion on how to handle treatment. 

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SPEAKER_01

Welcome to Peg and Coffee Talk. Here are your hosts, Oswin and Lord Knight. Today's topic is identity politics.

SPEAKER_02

You know, I think people would expect me to sit here and bitch and complain about everything I do not like about this philosophy.

SPEAKER_01

Well, sure, yeah. But that ain't my problem with it. Okay, so what are we actually talking about here? Please read number 10 from the uh uh Council of American Witches. Our only animosity toward Christianity or toward any other religion or philosophy of life is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be the only way and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practice and belief. Here's what I'm seeing.

SPEAKER_02

These people that are pushing these identity politics, the whole nine yards. Uh-huh. You have to believe our way, or we're going to cancel you. We're going to dox you. We're going to try our best to make sure you get fired and never have another job.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Is basically what they're doing. If you do not believe our way, then this.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that seems to be the way things are going nowadays.

SPEAKER_02

To me, I'm seeing this as nothing more than the new Spanish Inquisition. You know, it it's the same thing. You're you are forcing us to believe in something we don't. Now, with that said, I don't have the right to tell these people what to believe in. If y'all want to believe this, go ahead. We're not stopping you. I might argue or debate why in the world I don't like it, or you don't, you know, why you might not like that. But at no time am I sitting there telling anybody, no, you cannot do that. I do know I even sit here and I fuss about people using words, you know, like traditional witchcraft for us traditionalists and everybody else is just wicka. And that's just my viewpoint. You know, y'all can hate me if you want on that and we can debate it.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_02

But I'm not telling you have to. My whole view on we on the word witch. Yes, I believe you have to be initiated to be a witch, and those who are not, no, aren't witches to me. But I'm not gonna sit there and have a freaking meltdown like a freaking Karen because some woman wants to call themselves a witch because it's well, a day that ends in why or because they read a book. You with me? Uh-huh. Y'all keep it. Why in the world y'all keep on forcing it on us? Why do you r have to force it on everybody else? I mean, I'm sorry, these words came from our elder's elder. Right. I mean, y'all you'll realize this. What is it? Anything old is no longer good.

SPEAKER_01

Well, if that's the case, then there's a lot of people in the uh pagan community. Well, that just need to go away.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

Including us.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. But do you see what I'm saying? No, we can't sit there and tell other people, but then the same thing's true on the other end. Thorn Mooney signing the piece of paper saying that the um other Gardnarians who believe that male and female and blah blah blah, and she stood up again. That to me is a Spanish Inquisition thing. She is forcing her beliefs on other people. Which is again against a lot of the principles of witchcraft and the occult and the whole nine arms. We don't do this shit. But yet, we're doing it.

SPEAKER_01

Right. We're not we're not supposed to be the ones telling people you need to believe this way, or you need to act in this manner, or you need to do this, you need to do that. But yet that's what we're doing.

SPEAKER_02

Well, again, trying to get people to understand, like my problem with Taya Kennedy is not the fact that what she did or what she says on her stuff, she can believe whatever in the hell she wants. My problem is she keeps on calling herself one of us. Right. And not playing by the rules. All right. I mean, I'm sorry if I called myself Wicca, Wiccan or whatever, I'd have to play by the rules, but I'm not.

SPEAKER_01

Well, as far as that goes, there really are no rules.

SPEAKER_02

No. But I mean, but do you do you see what I'm saying? I mean, there's rules in traditional craft. Well, yeah. We have the laws, we have rules, we have things that we have to follow. We don't have a choice on these things. But I'm still back to how in the world do these people think they have the right to tell us that I have to believe men can get pregnant now? Where do you have the right to tell me that just because a woman has her damn boobs chopped off that she's a man now? And especially if you're going to the logic of, hey, we can cut off breasts, but God forbid if a six-year-old asks for breast implants or a tattoo or anything. It's still a body modification. I mean, I get a little bit more hyper with kids because kids can't choose. Kids are easily influenced.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_02

Kids don't make the best decisions. No shouldn't be. Hence the reason they have parents who help them make those decisions. Right. What do you what do you see? Do you see what I'm seeing, or am I just full of it?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, well, no, I I do. I see a lot of the same stuff, and it's this concerning for sure. And then, you know, along the same lines as what you were talking about with the male and female and the gender reassignments and all that other stuff, I mean, we just saw not too long ago, we just saw a thing on YouTube about a man who literally just falsified his license. In Canada. In Canada, to say he was female, and then he entered a weightlifting competition for women, showed up in a male singlet with a beard, full beard, didn't change, didn't shave, didn't do nothing to even appear female, said he was transgendered, and they let him in, no problems, no questions asked, and he shattered the records.

SPEAKER_02

With like 370 pounds, and I'm sorry I watched that. When he did it, he looked like he was doing a warm-up.

SPEAKER_01

And I have a problem with this. This is this is people being sheep, and they're just following along with whatever they're told, and I'm sorry I can't do that.

SPEAKER_02

It does baffle me the logic we have in the community on this, considering we are a centrist religion around females.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

I I want you to think about that for a minute. Our whole religion sent is literally around women.

SPEAKER_01

Right. It's it's been centered around goddess worship from its inception.

SPEAKER_02

So what? It takes a man to be a real woman? I I guess. I don't know. Yeah, I I'm still surprised the Dianics are not like setting their hair on fire.

SPEAKER_01

Right? Come on, y'all. Where are you at?

SPEAKER_02

Come on, where y'all at? I have some reliable thoughts here. And it's y'all should be the ones sitting, you know, out there going, what in the hell are y'all doing letting men and women sp no.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, how come we're how come we're not seeing? I mean, y'all, step up. Come on now. This is your territory.

SPEAKER_02

Again, to get back to the central theme of this was is that's my problem with this. All right. Again, you can believe whatever you want. We can argue over ethics and morals and stuff like that, right?

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_02

And debate all that all we want. But you can't sit there and tell me I have to believe something. Absolutely not, no. That I have to do it this way or anything. No. That goes against the whole entire spirit of paganism in its whole.

SPEAKER_01

Well, yeah, and I was gonna say it's not like you're on a job where you're being told you have to do things this way. This is the standard, this is it. It's not the same.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, no, no, no. We we'll accept those standards at work because we realize they're made this way or whatever to keep us safe in the whole nine yards.

SPEAKER_01

Right, but that's what I'm saying. It's a completely different thing because when it comes to paganism, we are our own. Right. So it's not my place to tell you this is the right way to do it. I can tell you I don't agree with what you're doing, but I'm not gonna tell you you're wrong for doing it.

SPEAKER_02

I mean, I don't know what the actual percentage is, but from my understanding from all the years I've been around at most pagans tend to lean more libertarian.

SPEAKER_01

You know, I don't know anymore.

SPEAKER_02

I mean, but political climate nowadays is just so I mean, but when we were com when I was coming up in this and we were all we had the gathers and stuff, most of the people I met were more leaned they might call themselves Democrats or Republics or whatever, but when you sat down and talked to them, they more leaned more libertarian. Right. It's just nobody wanted to be libertarian because God forbid you actually voted for a party that loses all the time. I know, right. I mean, but they don't have bad ideas, but you know, I don't think they have always the best, but there's something to work there. I mean, come on. Anyway, but yes, this is my problem. My problem is, is yes, that these people doing this, and I've seen them do it, I've seen them on Blues Channel do the same thing.

SPEAKER_03

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02

Sit there, go, no, no, no, no. You can't believe this way, you can't criticize this person like that, and blah, blah, blah. All right, because we had a whole entire incident there where I was sitting there going, well, isn't this what in the world this woman doing technically cultural appropriation because she's stealing from the Christian culture? But no, everybody's like, no, no, no, no, that's fine because it's the Christians and we don't like them.

SPEAKER_01

Right. We've been traumatized by them for so long.

SPEAKER_02

So long, and we're gonna we're gonna find whatever we have to to justify.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_02

But yet if it was any other culture, anything else, these people would be up in arms. That's hypocritical.

SPEAKER_01

Right. And and for reference, that was it was uh Blue Sage, the animated witch, right, uh, his YouTube channel, and it was a video on Black Lint.

SPEAKER_02

Right. Which the only other comment I made there was, you know, just look at her. Which people came back and was like, uh, that's fat phobic. I I'm sorry, I am not responsible for what you think.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, well, I mean, that was a whole nother conversation.

SPEAKER_02

That's a whole nother conversation, but I I'm still back to I again, this still falls under this as far as I'm concerned. I am not responsible for what you think. Right.

SPEAKER_01

You are responsible for what you think. Right, and I can tell you, I I can make a statement, but I can't tell you how to interpret that statement.

SPEAKER_02

I worked in electronics. Electronics diversity is like completely insane. Right. All right. I mean, I was like the only white guy with somebody from uh India in front of me and Taiwan on the other side, and every damn last one of them were amazing people to work with. Right. So I'm looking at the um the guy from India and I asked him where he was from. Oh, what do you mean? And that whole nine yards of this is some type of racial. No, I'm actually curious. I'm a pagan. I'd like to know more about their culture, not from a travel fucking book.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_02

I want to hear that more personal. Oh, yeah, we used to go down here to this deli and we we'd we'd, you know, get this kind of candy or whatever as kids, and then we'd go over here and do. But you can't ask that anymore because, God forbid, identity fucking politics.

SPEAKER_01

Right.

SPEAKER_02

Nobody can learn or do anything about anybody because asking anybody any questions now is either racial or whatever. Because everybody has to be ignorant. You off that soapbox shit. Well no, you want to talk about the melting pot, and doesn't that also require uh also mean, you know, culture too, that all the culture is supposed to melt together here? Right. Along with all the races and everything else, people. Uh duh. Yes, I'm okay.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. Anything anything else you'd like to say about this?

SPEAKER_02

I don't think so.

SPEAKER_01

This topic is gonna be fun. I don't know how we're gonna approach it, but we're gonna try. Mental health. What should we do as a society regarding mental health?

SPEAKER_02

This is an interesting question for me. Because back in the 50s and stuff, we had sanitariums for these people that had these longer problems. Remember? Longer problems? Yeah, where they're they're gonna need Oh more long-term care. Long-term care. All right, yeah. The problem is is that they well, they became corrupt. Yeah. You know, they would bring these people in, take the money, and just let 'em sit and swallow, you know, filts and stuff like that. So they quit doing it. Well, sure, because families just dropped them off and forgot about 'em. And forgot about 'em. You know, I'm so I'm not going to argue about families dropping them off or not if this is right or wrong. All right. All right. Because I can understand where some people might be like, I I can't do it. Where it's too rough. Other people, no problems. All right. So not trying to degradate. But we got a lot of people out on the streets and a lot of them seem to have problems.

SPEAKER_03

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02

So, I mean, what do you think we ought to do? Should we open the sanitariums back up? Should we have places kind of like I like military bases where they're fenced in and stuff like that, where these people can live a life but their environment's a whole lot more controlled to help them?

SPEAKER_01

I don't know. I mean, theoretically these folks could go to well and I don't know how it is in other states or other countries. But where we are in North Carolina, we have state health departments where people can go and get free treatments. Or they can get free diagnosis.

SPEAKER_02

But it doesn't stop the person that's that has psychological problems living out on the street.

SPEAKER_01

Well, no, but those people could go get help. You see what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, but the majority that but that's my point. The majority of these people aren't. They don't want help. There are some of these people that are out there and they want to live this way.

SPEAKER_01

Very true. Well, I think in in that case, well, I mean, I don't know. Do you do you lock them up? Well essentially that's what it is. Even if you put them in an environment where they have basically, you know, excellent living quarters.

SPEAKER_02

They have Well, not even excellent living quarters. If they're wanting to well, I'm talking about areas that are fenced off to where if they want to live in a tent, blah, blah, blah, there, but they have an easy access to get food, showers, materials, but yet it's guarded enough to where drugs are easily controlled coming in and out. Do you see what I'm saying? Yeah. That way those those people that are sort of on that line, that are conscious that are somewhat sane enough to live a life that they can live in this, but with less fear of b hurting themselves or other people if they happen to have an episode. All right, but how do you make that determination? Well, I guess we would require professionals to sit down and to, hey, this is the type of care you need. What I'm thinking is like a long-term care facility for old people. Like we do, like the um the communities where there's a little bit of help, but not a lot. Oh, okay, like an assisted living. Right. Versus something else. You know what I'm saying? Where you sort of set up a city just for them where they can have jobs and do certain things. And it might not actually be real money, what we would consider on the outside world, but in there it works. That way these people can still be productive members of society, but controlled to a certain extent.

SPEAKER_01

I guess. And you're probably talking like jobs that would benefit the outside society.

SPEAKER_02

Well, no, I'm talking about in there, them them running their own shops, their own grocery stores and stuff like that. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01

Did do you see what I'm saying? So it wouldn't be it wouldn't be like our prison systems where, you know, we have inmates making license plates.

SPEAKER_02

No, no, no. This would be a person would get up, go to their store at the grocery store, even though they might have psychological problems, but because of the environment that they're in, it's easy to switch employees out and the bosses understand what the world's going on. Okay. To a certain extent.

SPEAKER_01

Because again, these stores aren't made set up to make profits. But then who's who's going to run all of that? Who's going to be responsible for that? Is that going to be placed on our governments?

SPEAKER_02

Well, I I don't know.

SPEAKER_01

Our government's already corrupt as it is. I'll wait.

SPEAKER_02

I Oh, yeah, you said that.

SPEAKER_01

Hold on.

SPEAKER_02

Let me divine a real answer here.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, they're corrupt. I mean, how how are we going to trust the government to take care of that? Well, I mean, how do we trust the government now to do this stuff?

SPEAKER_02

We don't. Hence the reason we still don't have universal health care.

SPEAKER_01

Right. I mean Right. We can't trust them. So how well, I mean, how are we going to trust anybody for that matter to run something like this? Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Right. Because again, you also run into the what if somebody doesn't want to go into these? Do we force them there? I mean, I don't know if this is a feasible solution. Well, I'm just saying, I think we need to start thinking about stuff like this. The sanitariums, when they originally came out, were good ideas. There were people there that cared about them. It's just over time it became too much.

SPEAKER_01

Well, yeah, and let's face it, a lot of the um quote unquote care those people received was experimental and it was very dangerous. And which a lot of that's changed over the years.

SPEAKER_02

Because I I know they still do electric shock, but it's a whole lot more targeted and under sedation and all this other stuff to make it less traumatic. Traumatic and harmful.

SPEAKER_01

You know, I'm I'm being as long as you realize that that doesn't actually sound good either way, right?

SPEAKER_02

Well, no, no, no. I'll admit I d I was one of the first people when I became a super finally became a supervisor, and I that was one of my areas was a psychiatric unit as a housekeeper to monitor. Yeah, one of the nurses explained this. No, no, no. We still do this, but we do it at lower voltages and stuff like that. We've we've fine-tune it enough to where it's not as like it is in the movies.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, but it still doesn't sound like a good therapy.

SPEAKER_02

But it actually does help. I'm quite surprised. Don't know why.

SPEAKER_01

Hey, that's all the lady told me, and like they do it under Edistadic. But anyway, so Right. I just I I just don't know how feasible something like this would be. I mean, I I'm sure there's got to be other options.

SPEAKER_02

Well, see, I'm I'm thinking in an environment like this, if the boss well, because we're talking about like the bosses of these stores aren't actually there as bosses of stores, they're there as counselors and stuff like that. All right. They're just happened to be in this environment, hey, we're just trying to teach you how to deal with your issues in this type of environment. So if you decide to go out into the real world, you might be able to deal with it better.

SPEAKER_01

Okay. I can kind of see that then.

SPEAKER_02

Do you see what I'm saying? Because I'm thinking of these places as like a testing ground for them to gain their confidence.

SPEAKER_01

So it would kind of be more like um more like a m medical treatment facility type thing. Right, where you're as a as disguised as real life. Yeah, real life.

SPEAKER_02

Real life. Because again, where we have this problem when you're training people and stuff like that. Like I'm like, I hate to put it this way. When I train people to like strip strip and wax floors, I can train you in about two weeks. But I will sit there and tell you it's gonna take six months to a year to become professional because you have to run into how in the world all this way is gonna go wrong. I feel like in this environment, we can put these people in these situations to where if they do freak out or anything, it's controlled, they can calm them down and bring them back to a safer place. Instead of them just trying to do it in life. And I'm sorry, the bad boy ain't got a clue what in the world's going on, why in the world some lady's like freaking out because somebody touched her. Right. I d do you see what I'm saying? And not nothing wrong with her, but that kid's gonna handle it completely wrong. Oh, absolutely. But if you're in an environment like this, to where that some of the people that are in the store, managing or whatever, have that psychological training to help these people to get to a better place. Instead of just leaving them out on the streets, I find this sad and desperate just to leave these people that have these psychological problems out on the street like this.

SPEAKER_01

Right, but again, how do you how do you get those people into something?

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

Into this type of treatment. Do you force them?

SPEAKER_02

Do you force them? Do you sit there and go, look, it w you know, you're gonna pack up your tent and stuff and we're gonna take you to a different place to where it's not as far for you to walk for food and facilities and stuff like that. We're not kicking you out of your tent. We're just taking you off this street corner and taking you over here to this camp and ground.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, but what if they don't want to go?

SPEAKER_02

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01

That's that's my point. Do you go ahead and do you force them or do you try and convince them?

SPEAKER_02

I I I I would say you try to convince them. And especially if you can get their other friends or some other people that have you've already convinced the go to come back and talk to them about how much easier it is and stuff like that. They still have their freedom and all this, they feel like it, but it's a little bit more controlled area. You know, they can go to sleep and not worry about somebody stealing their shit because they know there might be more guards walking up and down, maybe not to mess with anybody, but just to make sure you don't mess with somebody else's property. Because you can't do this out on the streets of LA. You can't do this. I can't see them doing this out on the streets of over here in just in Charlotte. No. But do you see what I'm saying? Where does this actual kindness come from? At what point do we sit there and go, yeah, we know it's going to be rough on them, but we need to put people in the situations. We need to get them to learn how to, even us, to face our fears about things. Instead of just running away and screaming at the top of our lungs because we don't want to hear what the other side has to say. I mean, this to me goes beyond just the people we're talking about that are the extremes. What do you think?

SPEAKER_01

I mean, it's it's something like this could have big implications. Yeah. You know, and it could be a good thing. It does it have its potential to go really bad? Yes, but so does everything else.

SPEAKER_02

Well, and I realize you're gonna run into the same problems, not my backyard. Nobody wants any of this stuff in their backyard. Nobody wants the low house in you know, housing in their backyard, nobody wants the reward in their backyard.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, in all honesty, if I had the money and I had the property, I would donate it to something like this to build, you know, to have somebody come and build whatever type of community just to test it out, see if it even works.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

I'm not talking about you because I, you know, I think it's got good potential, but I think it does too.

SPEAKER_02

And I again I think it might help to put people in control, well, what seems uncontrolled but actually controlled situations. Right. You don't know what in the world that guy, the guy that has psychological problems going to do just going to the grocery store.

SPEAKER_01

Well, and see, I I think it could work both ways because not only would you have a place to get some of the homeless people off of the streets per se. Per se. But you would you would also have a place where quote unquote everyday people who might have an issue dealing with homeless people or dealing with people with psychological disorders could go and under supervision work on their interaction with other people. Well, I mean, and so I mean, I th there's potential here for a lot of applications.

SPEAKER_02

Well, see, and I'm trying to think of like families, all right? Right. If I had a family member who's just gum nuts, won't take their meds, whatever, and it's living out on the streets and stuff like that, I would probably get if I could find them, try to convince them because then I I know where they are, I can visit them. Yes, I realize you're living in a tent, this is what you want for right now, but I can still come and see you and know that you're safe. Right. You know, I'm not sitting there wondering, hey, you know, am I gonna pick up the paper and find out they got killed in the alley because they decided to overdose on drugs or something? Right. Because they were having some type of manic attack. You don't know.

SPEAKER_01

No, you don't.

SPEAKER_02

But I I think we need to make a safe environment for these people so they can learn to grow and interact with the world. You know, to where in the world they have places they can live and go and not be picked on or poked at or pointed at. I don't mean that in a bad way, I just mean because I'm I'm sorry, the real world's not a kind place all the time. No, it's not. You know, I I just hate to be that way. But it is something we need to deal with. We all need to deal with at some point. Even in craft, we we have to deal with these issues. We have to find a way to get people b I don't want to say fix or whatever, but get them to a place where they can live a better life.

SPEAKER_01

Well, yeah, because even even in our classes when we teach meditation, we are fully aware that there could be a situation and there have been where meditation's not gonna be the fix for everybody. No. And somebody or a couple of somebody somewhere down the line are gonna need some professional help.

SPEAKER_02

I mean, which I think we've said plenty of times when we talk about meditation. It's not a fix, but it is a tool to help.

SPEAKER_01

Right. But I mean, we have known quite a few people who were able to work through whatever it is they needed to work through just by meditating and talking with coven members.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

And but that's not gonna work for you know, that's not gonna work for everybody. We're fully aware of that, and we we make sure that people know look, this is not gonna be easy, and you may need some additional help that we can't provide. So, yeah, it is something that the pagan community needs to be aware of, and that is something that we need to talk about.

SPEAKER_02

I mean, because I'll be the first one to tell you every priest, every priest and priestess out there should have a list of people who counsel.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

From people who do sliding scales based on income for those who don't make as much to those who do specific style training for specific problems.

SPEAKER_03

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02

So, you know, that way you can go to a therapist who is specifically designed with who who have trans issues in their mind and how to deal with it and help these people to come up with what's best for them. Right. To make sure that they are emotionally and mentally stable enough to live a good life. Right. You see, I think that's where a lot of people get confused about us is we see things as you don't fix the problem per se, you fix it enough for you. Right. It's like you you I'm never gonna sit there and tell anybody, oh no, no, no, you need to go out and find the perfect man or woman. No, no, you need to find the perfect insane person to match you.

SPEAKER_01

Right? Someone who compliments your insanity. It's pretty much kind of what we did. Thirty something years later. All right.

SPEAKER_02

So I th I think that's all I have to say about this.

SPEAKER_01

I think that's it. All right. Thanks for listening. Join us next week for another episode. Peg and Coffee Talk is brought to you by Life Temple and Seminary. Please visit us at Life Temple Seminary.org for more information, as well as links to our social media Facebook, Discord, Twitter, YouTube, and Reddit.

SPEAKER_00

We travel down this trodden path, a maze of stone and mire. Just hold my hand as we pass by a sea of blazing pyres, and so it is the end of our days, so walk with me till morning breaks, and so it is the end of our days, so walk with me till morning.

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