Rep. Akin and Legitimate Rape

Thank you, Kirk Cameron, for stepping into the fray.  Your semi-religious bent on the subject means I now have a fairly decent opening to discuss the issue on my Pagan blog.

Pretty much everyone has heard about the remarks Rep. Akin made concerning rape and abortion.  For clarity’s sake, here’s the quote:

“First of all, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something. You know I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.”

Before I rip into Cameron’s response, let’s examine this quote, shall we?

• “That’s really rare.”  This references the idea that pregnancy resulting from rape is rare, and Akin seems to have gotten this information from doctors.  I’m curious to know who those “doctors” are so I can avoid their practices in future.  It is not rare for pregnancy to result from rape.  The figures I’ve seen (and from reputable sources, mind) place the number at about 5 to 6.5%.  This excludes the estimates for those victims who are on the pill, medically or physically unable to bear children, or whose rapist used a condom or used a foreign object.  When those factors are eliminated, the percentage makes more sense.  [Source: RAINN]
• “…the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”  Really?  That’s news to me.  And what is “that whole thing”?  Pregnancy?  Why is pregnancy a bad word of a sudden?  He can say “rape” but he can’t say “pregnancy”?  Unless he’s referring to some magical way the female body has of shutting “legitimate rape” down, because with the sentence structure he uses, that would make more sense.  But back to the issue with this statement–Akin shows an astonishing lack of understanding of basic biology.  Perhaps he should have paid more attention in biology and health class.  He is right to assume one thing: it wouldn’t work, because the female body has no magical or special means of rejecting sperm injected into it all by itself.  Now, the sperm could fail to impregnate the woman, say, if she’s infertile, but that’s a fertility issue and is unique to each woman, not a special byproduct of biology.
• “…the punishment should be on the rapist…”  Then Akin should answer why he’s attacking the victims and placing the blame for the rape on the victim and not on the rapist where it belongs.
• “If it’s legitimate rape…”  This is the most offensive portion of Akin’s statement.  He implies with this wording that not all rapes are “real,” not all rapes are “true.”  He implies that victims who have suffered pain, abuse, humiliation, and violation at the hands of another somehow mean less than those victims who were impregnated.  He implies that some rapes somehow don’t mean as much–are less horrific–than others.  This is the core of the outcry over Akin’s statement, in my opinion, because in this one phrase he denigrates the pain and experiences of victims simply because what happened to them doesn’t fit some narrow idea of rape.  Rape is rape.  One type or version of rape is no less horrible and damaging than another.  Rape causes physical, psychological, emotional damage to the victim.  These are wounds that may never fully heal.  Rape, and the shame that often accompanies it for the victim, has led to suicide and murder.  The idea that there is legitimate and non-legitimate rape is offensive, insulting, disrespectful, and abhorrent.  Some defenders of Akin have said that his remark was meant to separate kinds of reported rapes–meaning, that there are some women out there who would say they were raped in order to get an abortion, and therefore the rape was not legitimate.  If that’s what Akin meant, that’s not what he said, and the remark is open to interpretation because he did not clarify.

OK.  Now that I’ve gotten my rant out of the way… on to Cameron’s statements.  Cameron, in his own interviews, has said that we should cut Akin some slack, that Akin was advocating the sanctity of life, and that Akin misspoke and apologized for it.

If that’s Cameron’s idea of an apology, then we have differing definitions of the word “apology”.  Akin, typical slimy politician that he is, made the apology about himself and his campaign.  It also lacked any sincerity (surprise!).  You can find a video of the original statement and the apology ad here.  That’s right; Akin put his apology in a campaign ad.  How lovely, how sincere, how gracious!  The man just insulted every woman on the planet and doubly insulted rape victims, and he puts his “apology” in a campaign ad.

Akin has also said his statement was “off the cuff.”  Like when a person is drunk, I find that the truth tends to become most clear when a person is speaking candidly, without thinking, without a script.  If that’s his opinion when he’s speaking off the cuff, then I find it difficult to doubt that it’s not his real opinion of the issue, and that is what is most disturbing.  In the campaign ad/apology, Akin reverses course and heavily backtracks to contradict his spontaneous remark.  That speaks volumes to me about his real opinion.

Back to Cameron, since its his religiously-motivated remarks that allow me to bring this up in the first place… Akin was defending the sanctity of life.  While I do think Akin was trying to discuss abortion and why he thinks it’s bad or immoral or a sin or whatever, even abortion in rape cases, that’s not really what he talked about.  He talked about the legitimacy of rape.  He brought up the supposed rarity of pregnancy from rape.  He mentioned biological processes and where the punishment for the rape should belong.  I don’t see him mentioning abortion.  Oh, that’s where he was trying to get–but that’s not really where he got in this statement.  I’m not going to debate abortion here–this post is long enough already–but Akin’s attempt to discuss abortion and argue that abortion is wrong even in cases of rape went horribly awry for him.

Finally, Cameron says we should cut Akin some slack.

How about…no.

This man is running for office.  This man holds office.  He does not deserve to be cut slack.  Because he’s an elected official, the people have a right and a duty to question his statements however long we want to.  We have the right and the duty to place his statements under the microscope and examine them.  Why?  Because he is supposed to represent us.  He is supposed to serve the people.  If he’s not capable or competent enough to do so, then he shouldn’t be in office.  If his personal beliefs are going to shape his policies, then we have every right to know what those beliefs are and what he’s going to do with them.

Newsflash, Kirk Cameron: Akin does not deserve slack.  He hasn’t earned slack.  How has he used his office to help anyone other than himself and his party–although his party isn’t very pleased with him at this point.  Akin essentially put the blame for rape squarely on the victim, and not only that, but he used a religious excuse (the sanctity of life) to tell rape victims that because their rape did not result in a pregnancy, their experience is somehow not worthy of being called a rape, a crime.

No, he does not deserve slack.  If I thought for one moment he didn’t mean exactly what he said, I might consider giving him slack.  But I think he meant it when he said “legitimate rape,” and that is the element that I cannot push aside.

For a good summary video of Akin’s remarks, check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE1SehxGnNM

**PLEASE NOTE: the opinions expressed above are my personal opinions. They are not representative of the opinions of Wiccans, Pagans, or the larger Pagan community.**

How to Make a Wand

I’m a big fan of making your own tools.  I believe it really creates a connection with the tool and gives you a greater appreciation for it.  Not that buying tools is bad or wrong in any way!  I have to buy tools still because unfortunately I have no idea how to work metal to make an athame, for example, or cast iron for a cauldron.  But a wand is fairly easy to make.  Here are my steps.

A rowan wood wand (Image from Google search)

Step 1: Gather the wood
First, you need wood.  I’ve seen some wands made of metal, but if you’re looking for a very simple wand, go with wood.  When gathering the wood you’d like to use, pay attention to what kind of tree you are getting it from.  I recommend looking for a fallen stick or small limb that you can easily lift and shape as necessary.  You don’t want something terribly long, but if you can only find a long stick, then you can cut it down to size.  You also don’t want something too thick.  Hold the prospective stick in your hand and see how easy it is to hold and wield.

If you’re gathering the wood from your backyard or nearby woods, it’s easier to learn what kind of tree the stick is coming from.  Become familiar with the associations/meanings of trees before going on a search!  It makes things a little bit easier, and if you take an already-fallen stick, you can generally assume that the stick fell from a tree nearby.  If you should decide to cut or snap living wood from a tree, be sure to ask permission first and thank the tree for its gift.

Step 2: Shape the wood
Next comes the shaping of the wood.  Whittle off the bark from the stick and use sandpaper to create a smooth surface.  Once you’re sure you won’t get splinters, you can rub your hands over the surface.  The oils in our skin can help to smooth the wood.

If you found a good piece but it’s too long to easily use, then find a handsaw of some kind or some other cutting tool and carefully and with reverence cut the wood down to a proper size (which is whatever length feels best to you).  If you have not already charged the stick and begun to connect with it, then return the stub to nature.  If you’re doing this after you’ve completed the wand and connected with it and such (like me), then I recommend holding on to the piece until you can safely burn it.

Step 3: Carve
This step involves blades and carving and is entirely optional.  If you want to dress the wand up a little, you can add shallow carvings.  Examples are magickal symbols, symbols that have meaning to you, etc.  You can also carve a grip on the end.  To do this, simply carve a number of even lines at the end of the wood.  Evenly space them along the length until you have enough that would equal roughly the width of your palm.

Step 4: Add stone
I like to add a small stone point to the end of the wand.  This stone should be something that ends in a point on one end and a roughly flat end on the other, like this:

Quartz pillars. (Image from Google search)

Choose a stone that is an appropriate size for the wand.  You won’t want a stone that’s too huge and weighs the wand down!  I like to use stones that are pointed because part of the principle of the wand is that it guides and focuses energy and the will, and the point is a part of that guiding and sending out.

You can choose any kind of stone, as long as it is appropriate for how you intend to use the wand.  I chose clear quartz for mine because of the meanings and attachment I have for that particular stone.  Other types of stones I would recommend are amethyst, lapis lazuli, hematite, sapphire, tiger’s eye, and carnelian.

Step 5: Use
You’re done!  All that’s left is to clear and charge the wand and start using it how you see fit.

You Only Have One Life

Reincarnation is a popular belief among Pagans, and seems to be growing every day.  The majority of monotheists reject the idea of reincarnation because they believe there is only one life which we all live, and then our souls go on to some kind of Heaven or afterlife (depending on the belief system in question).

Many times I have rejected the notion of having only one life.  I very much believe in reincarnation.  However, after giving the matter a good deal of reflection, I find that I can agree with both points.  The two ideas seem incompatible–how can a person have only one life yet still reincarnate–but they may not be so incompatible after all.

In the concept of reincarnation, the idea is that a soul lives many lifetimes as different people, but the soul is always the same.  A soul may do this in order to learn and grow and advance itself to a higher wisdom.

In the concept of one life, a person lives only once and then the soul moves on at death to Heaven or some kind of afterlife, where the soul remains for all eternity.  The soul is not reincarnated, and may not move across levels at all, but remain in one afterlife.

How I now view these two is that I do live one life.  I, as the person I am right now, will never exist again.  The person who writes as Sita will not come around again.  The soul that powers me, the soul within, will be reincarnated as a new person, but the person I am in this life will not be seen again after I’ve died.  I do only have one life to live as the person I am right now.  My soul, on the other hand, has been many different people with many different names, and those individual people have only lived individual lives.  Never again will the women who were hanged live again.  Never again will the priestess from an ancient culture live again.  My soul, however, could live a life in which it is a priestess or in which its body is hanged, but the soul is not the same as the individual who is aware and talking and walking.

[This post would be easier to write if I could use my own name.  To make this a bit easier, I will use my pseudonym, so please forgive me for using Sita as my personal/real name.  I do it only for the convenience of this post, not from arrogance.]  Never again will my soul be Sita.  As Sita, I will only live this one life.  My soul, however, has lived as Judy, or Gwen, or Amy, and will live again as Sasha or Amanda or Skylar.  But Sita is one life that will not be repeated and cannot be changed once passed.  The chances of my soul living another life with the name Sita, in the exact same circumstances, with the exact same choices, is really very low.  Not impossible, but so small as to be almost impossible.

I hope that made sense.  Because of this, I personally don’t find the two ideas completely incompatible.  You can incorporate the two with a little creativity.  So when someone says that there is only this one life, I end up agreeing, because I will not have this particular life again.  My soul will have another life, but I as this person right now will not.

Happy Yule!

It’s Yule!  I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!  Merry Yule from A Witchy Life!

When I Say No, You’re Supposed to Walk Away

“Hi, we’re from a Christian student group on campus.”
“Sorry, I’m not a student, I’m staff.”
“That’s OK.”
“Sorry, I’m not interested.”
“Have you been to church?”
“No.”
“Um, have you read the Bible?”
“Yes, twice, but I’m not interested in your group.”

That was a real conversation I just had while finishing up my lunch.  I work for a university, and today was one of the rare days in a while that I had gotten out of work early and could go get my favorite lunch from the food court in the student union.  Since I’m still a part of the school, I can still park and use the buildings and such.  So I was happily enjoying my delicious and rare lunch and doing some work on the computer when I see two people come up to me out of the corner of my eye.  I look up, confused.  They smile, and say their opening line, that they’re from a Christian student group on campus.

Great.  Just what I was looking forward to during my lunch.  I so appreciate being interrupted, thank you for doing so.  I sat in the corner for a reason–because I wanted to be left alone.  How is this less than obvious?

At first I was polite to them, just telling them that thanks, but I’m really not interested.  But after the third time of them trying to give me their pamphlet and get me interested in their group, I’d about had it.  I just wanted them to leave me alone.  At last they did.  I think I confused them with the “Yes, I’ve read the Bible, and I’m still not interested” line I gave them.

Which is truth.  I did not once lie.  I have read the Bible, both in Sunday School as a kid and as a scholar for my literature and mythology classes.  I know it fairly well, though it’s not memorized.  My plan is, since I have a copy thanks to school, to read it cover to cover and really get a feel for what others believe, what others see when they read that book.

I don’t particularly like missionaries or proselytizers.  Most Pagans don’t.  My personal feeling on the matter is, if I were interested in joining a church, or learning more about whatever faith the missionary or proselytizer is trying to feed me, I would go find more out about it myself.  Plus, we get into the whole “freedom of religion” thing, which is a big deal in this country, though other countries do not have such laws on their books.

As much as I don’t like evangelists/missionaries/proselytizing, I think the best approach is to be polite.  You don’t have to be kind, or pitying, or hateful or annoyed, though you may feel any of those.  Being polite is usually the best way to shake them off.  Most people respond appropriately to a polite and quick “No, thank you” by moving on to the next target.

It’s the one that don’t take the hint to leave you alone that are problematic.  Luckily, these girls got the hint that I really was not interested and left me alone, but the fact that I had to repeat myself three times is annoying.  Kudos to them for being tenacious–but it’s rude and annoying to bother people like that.  I have to wonder how they would react if I had turned the tables on them and asked them if they knew anything about Paganism and would they like to know more and have they read any New Age books?  Sure, not quite the same thing, but just imagine if the situation were reversed.  Would they not feel the same thing I felt when they wouldn’t leave me alone?  Most likely they would.

There really isn’t much of a point to this post, I suppose, other than to rant a little bit.  Luckily for me, I live in a liberal state, one in which there aren’t many evangelists or other such people who go door-to-door.  On occasion the Jehovah’s Witnesses come by, but they’re pretty nice and leave us alone after handing out whatever flyer they brought.  The ones I’ve seen at my house don’t hang around or ask too many questions.  But since this is a public university, of course we get many diverse cultures and religions in one place, so it makes sense that there would be groups such as the one the two girls today were a part of on campus and walking around talking to people.

Anyway, I just had to get that off my chest and share the experience.  I hope it doesn’t happen again any time soon!