Current News In Our Witchy World

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Is FACEBOOK on A Witch Hunt???

By Rev. Starr RavenHawk HPs Elder

When I joined facebook it was with the intent of putting my business www.charmedbystarr.com and then followed by www.wiccanfamilytemple.org and wftacademyofpaganstudies.org. I was assured that it would help our different businesses grow.

I have been using the name Starr RavenHawk for over 30 years and that is who I am since the day or rather night it came to me, it is what I have always been known as in my religious community.  I am now being forced by FACEBOOK to change my religious name to my birth name.  I am not ashamed of my birth name it is what my mom gave me and a part of my husband who passed on.  But my Craft religious name is what and who I am known as by pretty much everyone other than my doctor and the government.  This is not the government or my doctor this is FACEBOOK a social media site, demanding to see my private ID’s.  As FACEBOOK knows you get to know people on their site as your ‘friends’, you know when they are hurting, when there is a death in the family, when they are laughing, crying or in need of help and many of us including myself  you promptly send healing energies when it is needed, they are there for you and you are there for them period.  Doing so after I have formed a community on my pages and groups for over 8 years, is unconscionable.  They essentially hold your groups and pages community hostage until you do as they ask.  Which is to display on your pages your ‘authentic name used in the real world’.  I smiled as I thought well gee, that is the name I use in the real world.  It is on my business card, in our Temple Bylaws, on a NYC Lease for the Temple on our City Clerks etc, etc.  As Witches some of us tend to use our Craft religious names to protect our families, to retain our anonymity from the outside world.

A friend of mine suggested FACEBOOK should give people out of courtesy approximately 30 days notice to provide sufficient information or documents backing up what or how long they have had their names, so as to not have it be one day you show up and you cannot get onto your own page or groups.

After all there are still Witch Hunts going on around the world, so I beg to ask is this what is happening now on FACEBOOK?   As I have observed many other Witches or Pagans on FACEBOOK also being targeted.  Has FACEBOOK joined the hunt.

Then I took notice and realized they are also targeting many different groups such as authors especially IR authors with their pen names, the LGBT, artists, musicians etc.  You have to ask when will the list end?  What are we conforming to, why does FACEBOOK who already owns so much of what we say and do on their site, what is it now or next will they demand?  Must we conform more now to have them pad their bank accounts as they peddle our real information to their advertisers, for FREE? Yes we are on here supposedly for FREE, but we all know it is not for free, it is an exchange of currency of favor for favor, our information with ‘authentic real world names’ for being on their platform.  Nothing in life is FREE! But at least FACEBOOK should not sling the bullsh*t and say it is for our protection.  Bullying, harassing, stalking and other crimes committed on platforms like FACEBOOK has not lessened, but rather has gained momentum and with our ‘authentic real names’ even more fodder for crimes against us.

By law we are allowed people are allowed to use religious names.  Why are we targeted? There are people on FACEBOOK with names like ‘Fairy Janedoe’ or ‘Junkinmytrunk Johndoe’ (using these names to protect the innocent) 🙂 and they are still on FACEBOOK without harassment. Hmmmmm.

But, I will give credit where credit is due, I am also going to lay this blame at the feet of Pagans, Witches as well, as any minority group of peoples, as they seem always tend to be ‘their own worse enemy’.  All people who do not like us or have anything against our differences whether it is your race, your color, your choice of partner or as in this case, my choice of religion, have to do is sit back and watch us tear each other apart, without lifting too much of finger to do anything. We sabotage ourselves out of jealousies, envy, racism – since I have actually had people say to me things like ‘you are black therefore you cannot possibly be a Witch’ or ‘I have nothing I can learn from you I need to go to a real Witch who is white’ or ‘she calls herself a Witch and she is black, what a joke she is’ and this from many people that I do not even know, some may have met me one time, or a few times and do not know me, but have deemed themselves worthy to judge me, or those that I have actually gone out of my way to help in some way, whether with a place to stay, money, some even if I have $10.00 I have given them $5.00, speaking up on their behalf, finding them work, or I have simply just be there for them.  Then they in return have stolen from you, lied and become your biggest and worst enemies.  Well, to the people listening to and befriending these said people now, ask yourselves why have they suddenly become my enemy and speaking ill about me, especially after many years?  Will they do the same to you one day? They are who they are and always will be, changing sides will not change them, just gives them another place to have their needs met. I have a disease called ‘the people pleaser’ if I do not please people they turn on me.  Well I have the cure now.  SO BE IT!!

According to FACEBOOK they only go after people that have been TARGETED by someone.  So suffice it to say I call to the forefront so many ‘Oath Breakers’ among our kind. Such a shame that we are our ‘own worse enemy’ SMH.  Well, I am now saying to you all, it is not necessary for me to say your names ‘dearies’, you know who you are, 😀 that is my big smile, and that is not usually a good thing.  I AM DONE taking your lies, underhandedness and your misdeeds….. this…. is the straw that broke the virtual camels’ back.  For you all, I say, KARMIC THREEFOLD LAW IS, THAT LIKE IS, AS LIKE DOES, SO BE IT!!

One thing I have to say, to the groups of Drag Queens who stood up for their rights, when will our minority Pagan groups do so?  When will the so called Witch Warzzzz stop.  Really, so fu**ing childish.  It is like listening to kids say, ‘1,2,3, I declare a thumb war’ Really!!  I once had a Witch say to me, when I said I could not do something for her, ‘you really want a Witch War don’t you?’ that was my first personal experience with it, I said, ‘you can’t have a war by yourself, because I am not at war with you’ and hung up.  To those who are declaring Witch Wars…. GROW THE FU*K UP!!!

I commend these Drag Queens:  http://online.wsj.com/articles/facebook-changes-real-name-policy-after-uproar-from-drag-queens-1412223040

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/01/victory-drag-queens-facebook-apologises-real-name-policy

For the were the impetus for FACEBOOK saying they will ease up on names…..

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/facebook-agrees-to-ease-rules-on-real-names/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

We are still waiting to see some of it yet to be applied…..

So with all that I have said here, I am asking for your help to sign this petition in support of this form of injustice on the social platform called FACEBOOK!  If we don’t as a minority religion continue to fight for our religious rights, then we will have failed those who have gone before, that has in one way or another placed themselves out there to fight for our rights.  It is up to us to pick up the torch at some point and join in the fight and not just bask in the rights we have now, thinking passively that we have won the fight.  We have come a long way, but there is still much to be done.  Thanking you all in advance who will take a stand with me……. <3   As Silver RavenWolf has said, Spread the word, and this is the time to SHARE, SHARE, SHARE AND SHARE…..

https://www.change.org/p/facebook-stop-closing-people-s-accounts-who-change-their-name-for-religious-reasons 3?recruiter=1994579&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive

As I was writing this I was invited to a new platform, that is similar but different that FACEBOOK.  Check it out and let me know your thoughts, but it does sound promising….. www.tsu.co.

Current News In Our Witchy World