The Bull Speaks!

My blogging bro over at Frizzen Sparks, GrauMagus, sent me an email concerning a news story he had ran across. I’ll quote it in its sickening entirety in a moment, but first some words from Grau, a non-Pagan person, (Christian, I think. It’s never been an issue..). These are straight from our emails.
(Quoted with his permission.)

Grau’s email:

“You have GOT to read this.

[link below]

“Seems a Judge has decided in family court that a couple getting divorced can’t speak to their son about Wicca, even though that’s the religion BOTH of them practice and neither of them requested this at all.

“Our judicial system is completely screwed, and family court is an order of magnitude more jacked up than the rest…. “

My reply:
” Thanks for bringing this to my attention, Grau. I’m NOT surprised though. This has been the norm in the way Wiccans have been treated by the law. Even in the more accepting military, (imagine that!), I had to have my dog tags remade three times because they kept coming back with everything but “Wiccan” printed on them. First, they were “Baptist”, then they were “No Pref.”, finally after my CC walked with my recruit ass down to the shop they got it right. But I was “challenged” by the guys running the thing to prove it was legit.

“This is also why I couldn’t challenge my ex-wife for custody of my children even though she has proved to be a lousy mother. She wisely filed for divorce in Pickens Co. South Carolina. Had I fought and she had brought up my faith – even though she had known during our entire 15 year marriage – I would have had my rights to visitation stripped by the court. Forget custody! Had I proved her an unfit mother the kids would have went to foster care. THAT is the law in South Carolina. She knew it. She had me by the short-hairs. Pagans are considered not-quite-human in some state courts even today.

Thanks, Grau.”

Then, in one of his moments of total brilliance and clarity, Grau sent this:

“It bugs the shit out of me that if you say something bad about Islam (or more specifically, those who do bad things in Islam’s name) you’re branded as an intolerant bigot, but nobody bats an eye at the government running roughshod over the faith of people who don’t hurt anyone. Ditto with certain hardcore elements of the Christian right. I may not share the Wiccan faith, but you never see headlines like “Wiccan suicide bomber kills 43 at supermarket” or “Pagan guns down 16 at abortion clinic”.” (emphasis mine.)

Now, here’s the entire disgusting story, with my comments, from the Indianapolis Star…

Judge: Parents can’t teach pagan beliefs
Father appeals order in divorce decree that prevents couple from exposing son to Wicca.

By Kevin Corcoran
kevin.corcoran@indystar.com
May 26, 2005

An Indianapolis father is appealing a Marion County judge’s unusual order that prohibits him and his ex-wife from exposing their child to “non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals.”

The parents practice Wicca, a contemporary pagan religion that emphasizes a balance in nature and reverence for the earth.

Cale J. Bradford, chief judge of the Marion Superior Court, kept the unusual provision in the couple’s divorce decree last year over their fierce objections, court records show. The order does not define a mainstream religion.

Bradford refused to remove the provision after the 9-year-old boy’s outraged parents, Thomas E. Jones Jr. and his ex-wife, Tammie U. Bristol, protested last fall.

Through a court spokeswoman, Bradford said Wednesday he could not discuss the pending legal dispute.

The parents’ Wiccan beliefs came to Bradford’s attention in a confidential report prepared by the Domestic Relations Counseling Bureau, which provides recommendations to the court on child custody and visitation rights. Jones’ son attends a local Catholic school.

“There is a discrepancy between Ms. Jones and Mr. Jones’ lifestyle and the belief system adhered to by the parochial school. . . . Ms. Jones and Mr. Jones display little insight into the confusion these divergent belief systems will have upon (the boy) as he ages,” the bureau said in its report. (Confused as to what the hell his country was doing to him and his family. Otherwise it sounds to The Bull that the boy will have a more open mind and a good understanding of BOTH belief systems. But what do I know…)

But Jones, 37, Indianapolis, disputes the bureau’s findings, saying he attended Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis as a non-Christian.

Jones has brought the case before the Indiana Court of Appeals, with help from the Indiana Civil Liberties Union. They filed their request for the appeals court to strike the one-paragraph clause in January.

“This was done without either of us requesting it and at the judge’s whim,” said Jones, who has organized Pagan Pride Day events in Indianapolis. “It is upsetting to our son that he cannot celebrate holidays with us, including Yule, which is winter solstice, and Ostara, which is the spring equinox.” (Yeah, Yule. Christmas to you Christians. Ostara is near your Easter.)

The ICLU and Jones assert the judge’s order tramples on the parents’ constitutional right to expose their son to a religion of their choice. Both say the court failed to explain how exposing the boy to Wicca’s beliefs and practices would harm him. (Because they CAN’T!)

Bristol is not involved in the appeal and could not be reached for comment. She and Jones have joint custody, and the boy lives with the father on the Northside.

Jones and the ICLU also argue the order is so vague that it could lead to Jones being found in contempt and losing custody of his son. (Which is exactly what they are after.)

“When they read the order to me, I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding,’ ” said Alisa G. Cohen, an Indianapolis attorney representing Jones. “Didn’t the judge get the memo that it’s not up to him what constitutes a valid religion?”

Some people have preconceived notions about Wicca, which has some rituals involving nudity but mostly would be inoffensive to children, said Philip Goff, director of the Center for the Study of Religion & American Culture at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

“Wiccans use the language of witchcraft, but it has a different meaning to them,” Goff said. “Their practices tend to be rather pacifistic. They tend to revolve around the old pagan holidays. There’s not really a church of Wicca. Practices vary from region to region.”

Even the U.S. military accommodates Wiccans and educates chaplains about their beliefs, said Lawrence W. Snyder, an associate professor of religious studies at Western Kentucky University.

“The federal government has given Wiccans protection under the First Amendment,” Snyder said. “Unless this judge has some very specific information about activities involving the child that are harmful, the law is not on his side.” (Like judges today care…)

At times, divorcing parents might battle in the courts over the religion of their children. But Kenneth J. Falk, the ICLU’s legal director, said he knows of no such order issued before by an Indiana court. He said his research also did not turn up such a case nationally.

“Religion comes up most frequently when there are disputes between the parents. There are lots of cases where a mom and dad are of different faiths, and they’re having a tug of war over the kids,” Falk said. “This is different: Their dispute is with the judge. When the government is attempting to tell people they’re not allowed to engage in non-mainstream activities, that raises concerns.”

Indiana law generally allows parents who are awarded physical custody of children to determine their religious training; courts step in only when the children’s physical or emotional health would be endangered.

Getting the judge’s religious restriction lifted should be a slam-dunk, said David Orentlicher, an Indiana University law professor and Democratic state representative from Indianapolis.

“That’s blatantly unconstitutional,” Orentlicher said. “Obviously, the judge can order them not to expose the child to drugs or other inappropriate conduct, but it sounds like this order was confusing or could be misconstrued.”

The couple married in February 1995, and their divorce was final in February 2004.

As Wiccans, the boy’s parents believe in nature-based deities and engage in worship rituals that include guided meditation that Jones says improved his son’s concentration. Wicca “is an understanding that we’re all connected, and respecting that,” said Jones, who is a computer Web designer.

Jones said he does not consider himself a witch or practice anything resembling witchcraft.

During the divorce, he told a court official that Wiccans are not devil worshipers. And he said he does not practice a form of Wicca that involves nudity. (…and what would it matter if he did?)

“I celebrate life as a duality. There’s a male and female force to everything,” Jones said. “I feel the Earth is a living creature. I don’t believe in Satan or any creature of infinite evil.”

Freakin’ sad, ain’t it? Here, in America – the Land of Freedom. Here, where the Freedom of Religion is Constitutionally guaranteed, men and women must continue to hide thiner faith for fear of some robed ass-wipe taking their children from them to be placed in a stranger’s home. Children are denied the benefits of have both parents in their lives simply because one parent is of some faith other than Christianity.

Once I was a huge backer of the ACLU. Then they got involved in so many totally screwed-up causes that I left them behind. Now I’m once again beginning to think that they may yet have usefulness. American’s minorities are still in danger of having Constitutional Rights written off at a moments notice. Seems that the American Courts are becoming nothing more than a State-sponsored Ku Klux Klan.
Omar, out.

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