and
International New's
ARE WITCHES IN VOGUE?
HAROLD REIMANN Wednesday July 21, 1999
If witches are to be viewed in the pleasant light of redefinition
--nature-loving girl scouts with flowers in their hair, championing the
causes of Wicca in the chipper language of a country club brochure -- then
perhaps we church-goers can complete the circle.
Our forebears in this great land were no strangers to witchcraft. They had
witches and they knew how to regard them: Mostly as kindling. Can we put a
happy face on witch burning as well? It's historical, even traditional, and
has even enjoyed -- once upon a time -- the blessing of the church.
If witches are coming back into vogue, perhaps there can be a revival of
other ol' time religious practices. Witch burning could become the next big
thing, and it might even be lots of fun.
We will, of course, have to make some serious changes. It is wrong to pollute
the air with the foul smoke of witchly torment, so maybe we could just build
a large, self-cleaning microwave oven in old downtown, fill Colorado with
people (great for business) and everyone could dress up like pilgrims. Drunk
fraternity boys could be thrown into makeshift stocks for the afternoon (sell
tomatoes) and vendors could serve roast turkey and pumpkin pie.
A fabulous object lesson -- a big and important lesson that has been learned
by generation after generation of civilized people: a culture that roundly
condemns witches and witchcraft in all its dandied forms actually walks
forward, not back. Heck, we might even wear flowers in our hair.
REV. NOEL ANDERSON
PASADENA
CRUISING LAWS NOT ANSWER
© Media News Group, Inc. and Los Angeles Newspaper Group, Inc
Missouri town will remove Christian fish from city seal
Copyright © 1999 Nando Media
Copyright © 1999 Associated Press
By JOHN ROGERS
REPUBLIC, Mo. (July 20, 1999 7:17 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - The
town Board of Aldermen has agreed to remove the Christian fish symbol from
the city seal, ending an 18-month legal battle that has driven a wedge
between neighbors.
Gasps, hisses and shouts of "Spineless cowards!" filled a packed community
center as Mayor Doug Boatright announced his tie-breaking vote Monday night.
"This has been a very trying, a very difficult year and a half," Boatright
said, his voice shaking slightly. "There are a lot of hard feelings on both
sides."
After listening to nearly two hours of public testimony - almost all in favor
of keeping the symbol - the Board of Aldermen voted 5-4 not to appeal a July
9 federal court ruling ordering the fish removed from the city's seal within
30 days.
About 200 people attended the meeting.
Former Republic resident Jean Webb, represented by the American Civil
Liberties Union, sued the city last year claiming that the symbol - known as
an ichthus - blurred the separation of church and state and created an
uncomfortable environment for non-Christians.
Webb is a practitioner of Wicca, or witchcraft. She moved to Republic, a
southwestern Missouri town of about 8,000, in 1995. She wrote an opinion
piece in the city newspaper opposing the seal, saying the symbol suggested
her religious practices would not be tolerated.
After her essay was published, Webb said she and her two children were
harassed. She moved to Springfield after the lawsuit was filed.
The ichthus, a historical symbol of Christianity, has appeared on Republic's
seal since 1990. Resident Marilyn Schexsnayder designed the ichthus for a
public competition and has said she thought the fish represented all
religions.
