headlines.agapepress.org/archive/10/afa/252004b.asp

Fearful of Offending Wiccans, School District Invokes Vanishing Act

By Jim Brown
October 25, 2004

(AgapePress) - A school district in the state of Washington has banned all forms of Halloween activities, arguing they are a waste of time and disrespectful to witches.

The decision by Puyallup School District to ditch its annual Halloween celebration has outraged scores of parents and students. District spokeswoman Karen Hansen says students dressed up Halloween costumes might be "offensive" to members of the Wiccan religion. The district says its decision to ban the festivities is final and irreversible.

Tonya Reynolds, whose daughter attends an elementary school in the district, says she was shocked the district would consider taking this action. "This has been a tradition in our schools for years and years," she laments, "and we've already changed most of it over from being a Halloween [observance] to just a harvest festival anyway."

She also takes issue with the argument about offending people of the pagan Wiccan religion. "The idea that the costumes were offensive to Wiccans and such? I don't think it ever crossed a child's mind that that was an issue, nor an adult's," she says. "I think they're being very outlandish about the whole thing."

The Puyallup mom says it seems the rights of Wiccans supersede those of non-pagans. "A Wiccan now has more rights than [me] -- they're protected, yet I am not. We need to be very sensitive to all of their needs and all their concerns, but not mine," she offers somewhat sarcastically.

"What about my concern that this is tradition; that this is what our schools have done, this is what our children have done, this is what our parents have done for years and years?" Reynolds asks. "And because all of a sudden we have this irrational fear of being politically correct, we're going to change all of our traditions?"

Since the district has been sued in the past, Reynolds believes it is afraid of not being politically correct on every issue. But, she says, that attitude has to end.

I betcha even to a wiccan this is complete BS.

Nngh. Who gives a fuck what they think? If this did offend them, then they're petty, attention-whoring whiners who are in the " ' religion' " just to bitch about how they're being "repressed".

Oh, wait.

I just described Wiccans normally.

Come on! Look who wrote the story.  "I feel good" James Brown is off his meds.

Quoted: Nngh. Who gives a fuck what they think? If this did offend them, then they're petty, attention-whoring whiners who are in the " ' religion' " just to bitch about how they're being "repressed". Oh, wait. I just described Wiccans normally.

Bingo. Anybody who picks a religion out of an internet catalog and then whines about historical mistreatment of "my people" is a neurotic piece of shit - who with patience would  have eventually attracted plenty of disrespectful attention without adopting a wacky new minority religion.

Is it common for Wiccans to go around suing everyone for halloween?
If not, I can't see why this would be a valid excuse for the school district.

Art Bell spent the first hour of his show last night discussing this very topic.  All of the witches that called in said they thought it was ridiculous and were not offended at all by kids dressing up for Halloween.

What do you expect?  My little brother is 13 and would be expelled, arrested, and charged with assault if he throws a snowball at someone in school!  Everyone is so afraid of "bothering" or "offending" someone that it leads to everything being off-limits, and everyone else goes along with it.  All the while, we cannot even have the national anthem sung at my college without hundreds of libs shouting down the singer...

Most Wiccans I've even heard of love Halloween and putting up all the decorations, and wearing the costumes.  It's their favorite time of year.  It's like a super trekky going to a convention.

This is bs.  I'll bet no-one has found a Wiccan arguing for this.  Isn't going to happen.

This is about being so politically correct, that you have to guess and make up shit as to what is political correct.

The guy's a nutsack.

that's a load of BS!!!!