Pagans, have you seen this story? What are your thoughts?

<sigh> Really makes me appreciate Aussie Anti-Discrimination laws. It'll be up to them to prove they are not "refusing to service" those from another religion.

Obviously they are happy to leach money from the "right kind" of Tourists. Unfortunately it's obvious that community is dependant on the Tourist dollar and this attitude is counter-productive.

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I agree with YOU Crystal, they ARE being foolish. Yes they have the right to close for the occasion and they even have the right to make their so-called prayer wall. However it merely shows them for what they truly are, a group of Religious Bigots. The businesses that chose to remain open received the lion's share of business and also generated enormous good will among the non-Christian portion of the community. That good will will be rewarded long AFTER the event by those who saw that they resisted the bigotry of the businesses which closed. I am sure that many of the attendees to that event made it a pint to shop in the businesses which remained open and spent money that they had NOT planned on spending in order to show their appreciation for the good will that those businesses displayed.

The ones that closed may have made a "good" decision as far as their Faith was concerned (and that is even in question) but they made a very BAD business decision due to the loss of profits which they would have gotten if they had remained open.

If such an event happens again, in the future, I'd bet dollars to donuts that many of the ones that closed will remain open the next time.

Brightest Blessings.

Raji the Green Witch

"We are asking the Christians in the community to come out and make a circle around the entire facility and stand there for one hour and pray on behalf of the community, and then go home," Horning said. "No signs, no shouting, no protests, just a visible sign that we disapprove ... of the whole underlying theme."

I wonder when people will wake up and realize how absolutely ignorant they are being. Not just ignorant of the Pagan faith but just acting ignorant in general.

How rude it is to circle a group of people you don't agree with...to do what? Block them from infecting the community? What an ignorant, rude thing to do.

What amazes me is that they will pray for their community but not for the Pagans that they are surrounding. Where are the teachings of Jesus in all of this? What happened to setting a good example for others?

I don't think this is sad, I think it's scary that people still act this way. I am thankful that times have changed and they wont be attending the festival carrying torches but still...to know that people still think that Pagans are devil worshippers is frightening. It's 2009 for crying out loud.

BTW, although I say ignorant meaning uneducated, I am also using it as a slang term. For example, what Kayne West did to Taylor Swift was ignorant. These people have ever right to close their shops if they choose to but to surround the gathering like they plan on doing, is totally ignorant.

I think this story goes to show just how successful the early Christians were at spreading misinformation. Even today Pagan=Devil worship. I can GUARANTEE non of the "protesters" will say to themselves "oh, they weren't worshiping the devil at all. They seemed to be peacefully giving thanks/worshiping/enjoying NATURE."

If any of the shop owners that will be closed had bothered to do ANY research - which is very easy to do these days with the internet and all- they would have learned the truth and could have BENEFITED, maybe substantially, from this situation! I am a pagan (Wiccan) and I LOVE to shop! Especially if I am visiting a new place (i.e. being a tourist) Oh, well. Their lo$$ I guess.

Strike up another victory for ignorance. How sad. The first woman they quote in there said she'd be closing because she sees no value coming to the community and yet further down in the article is the information that all those pagans are bringing nonperishable food items to donate to the local food banks! The shop owners of course have the right to close their shops whenever they wish, it's just a shame they'd close for such a foolish and ignorant reason.

I saw a show where different people won the lottery. They also said people were always yelling at them and calling them names b/c they didn't believe the Christian way. I'm pretty sure they were pagans and they had a spiritual store also served coffee. Its sad to me, people just can't except that people have other beliefs and its not our duty to tell them they are right or wrong. Ya what happened to freedom of religion. We might not get killed over it from another american but they sure do make it hard on the ones they don't believe the same way.

That's just really sad. They're not even bothering to learn about something before refusing to do business with them. They say they're not okay with Pagans and Witches, but make it clear they know absolutely nothing about us. Our world is never going to get anywhere if we can't learn to get along and respect each other despite our differences. It's good the protesters weren't yelling and screaming, but the "wall of prayer" thing still disturbs me. Think about the symbolism - a wall to block out people who are different. Personally, I wish the protesters had been screaming: it would have shown their hatred instead of hiding it under the pretense of civilization. If you're going to be a narrow minded, hateful, disgusting bigot, show off your nastiness for the whole world to see.

Given the Pagan code of morals, they probably would have seen a decrease in shoplifting.

Sad, sad, sad

Sounds to me like they are insecure and unfulfilled by their faith, but they are so wrapped up in their small town politics that they would rather run away than face their own doubt. They could just be grateful for the blessing of money into their community. Besides if they are such "strong christians" and all that, then why didn't they jump at the chance to spread their "gospel" to the "lost" souls participating in the festival. It's funny how when someone professes a strong and sensible belief in something other than what they are spoon fed they stick their noses in the air and say we won't do business with you. Instead of engaging in a peaceful discussion they would rather hold themselves aloof from situation by dong a "prayer wall" to pray against them, instead of a "prayer circle" to pray for them. Real compassionate and christian like.That's the thing about catholic/christian religion, your damned if you do and your damned if you don't. It's nice not to be so conflicted and confused anymore. I don't mean this as a personal attack on anybody, just my personal opinion. Bright Blessings to you and yours!

Actually, I'm pleasantly surprised.

Seems like a handful of people who are afraid of anyone different want to lose business for the day... at least they are peacefully going away.

Another handful of people who fear people who believe differently are coming to protest, but in silent prayer. Hopefully they will stick to that promise and keep quiet and not make spectacles of themselves.

Either way, it sounds like the nay-sayers are keeping quiet and moving aside to rightfully let the festival take place.

Meanwhile, there are others who are open and accepting. And they will prosper for it as Witches & Pagans LOVE to shop at festivals!!!

And the news gave a fair and balanced report to boot.

I don't think bigotry is ever going to go away... I'm more interested in peace and fairness. This one sounds like a win to me.

I wish I could say it was unbelievable...unfortunately it's not.

I have to say, that is one of the more extreme reactions I've ever seen, though. A lot of businesses may wrinkle their noses when a pagan festival comes into town, but most of them keep their doors open. And while it is sometimes initially difficult to book a space, most places are happy to have pagan gatherings return, because we tend to cause a lot less disruption than, say, a lager fest or (dare I day it? Yes, I dare) a tent revival.

And the "wall of prayer..." *shakes head* If I were a member of that group, I wouldn't know whether to be offended that they thought I needed "saving" or flattered that they thought I was some sort of threat.

Since I live in a largely pagan-indifferent country I'm puzzled for the reaction of the business owners.

They're free to close, but if some of them, while being open, refuse to provide services (as a beer-hall refusing to serve beer) towards pagans because of their faith, a good court case might ensue.

The fact you don't believe in the religion of some people ain't no reason for not selling them a damn ice-cream, unless, of course, you're an idiot.

Evangelical Christianity and idiocy have a strong positive correlation.

There can't be no-one less supportive of Christianity than me, and I wouldn't refuse to do business with Xians. I regularly fix their damn PCs and set up their networks on their shops and homes.

Refusing clients because they don't share your belief is stupid beyond what can be expressed with words.