A Heathen’s View, For What It’s Worth: George Floyd and Riots

June 2, 2020 The Rational Heathen Comments 0 Comment

“There’s battle lines being drawn
Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down”

— For What It’s Worth, Buffalo Springfield, Lyrics by Stephen Stills

George Floyd’s Death Was Wrong

If you even pay attention to the news in a small way, you know the current riots have been precipitated by the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for minutes even after he gasped, “I can’t breathe.” This post has to address that incident before I can get to the issue that also needs addressing: riots. I’ll say right out that cops have some of the most thankless jobs, and most are good people. There are black cops, Hispanic cops, and cops of various minorities. But, there are bad cops too. The police force is made up of people. Some people are good; others bad. It’s just what it is.

That being said, what those Minneapolis police officers did was wrong. Floyd may have resisted arrest that warranted him being in restraints, but there was absolutely no reason the officer in question should have put his knee and body weight into the Floyd’s neck, especially after he stop resisting. The neck, as anyone with medical, or even martial arts, experience can tell you, is particularly delicate and harbors the trachea and critical blood vessels. Take out the windpipe and there’s a good chance for asphyxiation. Block off the carotid and jugular, and you can cause brain damage or death.

You can argue that the drugs in Floyd’s system may have contributed to his death. Granted. But cops restrain people who have done drugs all the time without resorting to kneeling on their necks. Yes, we haven’t seen what led up to the arrest, but seriously? The end shows us the guy’s final minutes of life where he wasn’t struggling. There was no excuse for killing Floyd. Period.

Peaceful Demonstrations Versus Riots

Naturally, there have been protests. But there have also been riots. A lot of them even in cities where there are black mayors and black police chiefs. The peaceful protests, I get. Really. It’s our Constitutional right to protest peacefully. It’s the riots that have me scratching my head.

While I can’t say with certainty that there are two different groups at play here, it does seem like it. There are the peaceful protesters who march during the day, and the rioting and looting people at night. Now, I get that people are angry. I’m angry too. But destroying one’s neighborhoods and the your neighbors’ businesses have always been counterproductive. We’ve seen that in the 60s and 70s. It solved nothing except bring anarchy. More people get injured and killed. More tensions. The question that I have to ask is, what’s the end game here? Justice? How will more death bring about that?

Why Do We Have to Go Through this Again?

I grew up when the nightly news was filled with race riots and protests over Vietnam. By the late 70s, early 80s, I thought that people had finally accepted that people of different color were entitled to the same treatment. I made the (stupid) assumption that because I harbored no ill will towards minorities, very few other people harbored ill will. Apparently, I was naive and wrong in my early adulthood. I apologize for my gross assumption.

At the same time, I have to ask myself why the fuck do we have to go through this yet again? Why are there people who insist that being prejudice is really the way to go? Do we really have to devolve to the point where we’re treating people according to the color of their skin? And why is it that people insist on rioting whenever there are protests? It really boggles the mind.

A Heathen Perspective

If you’re anywhere familiar with our gods, you know that the Aesir welcomed other so-called “races” into their pantheon. They accepted the Vanir after ending the war with them. They accepted the Jotun who were willing to join them. How many gods took Jotun consorts or were the result of a Jotun and Aesir coupling? We can look at the gods and goddesses and find tolerance even when it came to Loki (at least for a while). When someone in higher authority such as a police officer kills another human being under his control, does that anger you or make you fearful? It should. It shouldn’t matter whether the person is black, white, yellow, blue, or purple. Intentionally or not, it is murder. If you are white, and the roles were reversed, would you feel angry if a black cop did that to a white suspect? (If you aren’t as angry about Floyd’s death?)

We are all human. At some point in our ancestors, we all had black ancestors. The white coloring occurred to adapt to the less sun of the northern latitudes. A simple genetic adaptation to enhance our Vitamin D production has somehow made some people think they’re better than people who aren’t in their ethnicity. Ludicrous.

This is why we can’t allow folkish and prejudicial attitudes to stay in Heathenry. When you start segregating our one species into colors and deciding who is better by the arbitrary decision, we get what we see in Minneapolis.

Just something to think about.

Add Coronavirus and Mix

To make matters worse, we’re still in the middle of a pandemic. Which means we are probably going to see a resurgence of COVID-19 again. The virus doesn’t care about black or white—all it does is infect. I fear deeply that we aren’t dealing with the real enemy, which is one that doesn’t discriminate.

Back to the Riots

People are going to have their own opinions—and surprise! Some people you’re just not going to agree with. Just like you’re not going to agree with everyone. Hel, you may not agree with me. I won’t go and riot about it, if you don’t. The problem with the riots is I don’t think they’re the protesters. I think the rioters are people who have the most to gain from civil unrest. Namely the extremists on both the right and the left. When you watch what’s going on, keep this in mind. And in the immortal words of Buffalo Springfield, “It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound. Everybody look what’s going down.”

Freedom of Speech Versus Dealing with Nazis

August 30, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

Freedom of Speech versus dealing with the Nazi asshats:
I have a moral dilemma. The situation isn’t cut and dried or black and white. Like most things in a Heathen’s life, there are many shades of gray.

Let me explain.

Nazis and Antifa

I hate the Nazis. I really do. I’m against them 100 percent. As a writer, I am pro First Amendment. That means that I am all for freedom of speech. I believe that freedom of speech is necessary for a free society. So, when the Nazis hold a rally or are met with the Antifa forces, I go into cognitive dissonance. I really don’t know what to think.

The First Amendment

As a champion of the First Amendment, I believe that everyone has their right to say or write whatever they want. (I don’t have to read it or listen to it, mind you. And I sure don’t have to agree with it.) Now, obviously freedom of speech has even been limited in America, but for the most part, you can spout the most absurd rhetoric and no one from the Government is going to visit you in the dead of night and drag you from your home (yet). There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. Threats made against the president, for example. But overall, you can be as stupid as you care to on the Internet, in a paper, or out on the street corner.

Suppression of Freedom of Speech

This brings up Antifa. I agree that one needs to be anti-fascist. But I think they’re doing it wrong. Antifa is aimed at suppressing the Nazis’ freedom of speech with violence. They are a leftist group who are also anti-capitalist and socially leftist. Yes, they are pro-LGBT and anti-racist, but their leftist affiliations makes me wonder what their end game might be. Suppressing freedom of speech, even from Nazis–and you have NO IDEA how much this pains me to say it–is wrong, if the Nazis leave it to only speech and rhetoric. When someone eliminates freedom of speech, one eliminates it for all people.

When Do They Whittle Away Our Rights as Heathens?

Think of it this way: yes, we can ban fascist statements, but when does what you believe start disappearing as well because the prevailing view shifts? Right now, our right to worship our gods are tied to the First Amendment in the United States. That means we have the right to honor Thor, Odin, Freyja, Tyr, and even Loki, if we wish. We can also choose to worship nothing, worship the Christian god, or worship a snake in a bathtub. This is a basic right guaranteed by the First Amendment. What’s also guaranteed in the First Amendment is that the government will not prevent you from expressing your beliefs, AKA, the Freedom of Speech. It doesn’t stop individuals or corporations from trying to stop you from stating your beliefs. Other laws that deal with physical violence are supposed to prevent that.

While Antifa isn’t the government, I’m truly wondering what their intentions are. I’m as anti-Nazi as they come, but even I recognize the implications if we don’t uphold the freedom of assembly and freedom of speech, even for Nazi assholes.

Are the Nazis a Clear Threat Yet?

Obviously the Nazis can’t handle peaceful demonstrations–are we all that surprised?–but the question of whether it’s right to attack Nazis shouting their bullshit is the question I’m going to ask. I mean, it’s one thing to claim you’re a Nazi, believe their propaganda, and demonstrate; it’s another when you start beating people.

You could claim that every single Nazi gathering has been violent. I haven’t paid that much attention to the Nazis until recently, but I’d imagine that is probably true. In which case, yes, cancel them on the grounds of violence. But our Constitution and its Amendments guarantee that they are entitled to their opinions and beliefs, however awful they are.

I’m not sure if they’re a clear threat yet, but they could be. As a Heathen, I recognize violence against evil as being sometimes necessary. For example, during war or when one is attacked. But to instigate violence against a violent group seems to just incite them further. I learned this training animals. You don’t punish the dog when it does something bad. You ignore it. Eventually the behavior stops if you reinforce the behaviors you want. It’s basic training techniques, and one that work exceptionally well, even with human animals. If we enforce the right behavior, i.e. tolerance, and ignore the bullshit rallies (and have an armed police presence that keeps them in their own little spot where they can’t harm civilians), fewer and fewer people are going to want to join up.

Han Shot First

We all know the argument in Star Wars that Han shot first in the original version. Lucas edited later editions to have Greedo shoot first and miss. In the first Star Wars, Han shot Greedo before he could shoot because we all knew what was going to happen if he didn’t. We cheered over it, because not only Greedo was a debt collector, but he also was an assassin. Han acted in self defense over a clear threat.

I’m not saying that we should shoot first when it comes to Nazis, but there is such a thing as self defense given that someone is armed the same as you (or better) and makes a credible threat. Still many states don’t recognize this as defense and consider it murder. Also, there’s a matter of showing up ready to fight. Legally, one could, I suppose, say you were there to incite more trouble. (We Heathens are great at that, by the way.)

So, What Should We Do?

The violence is Charlottesville ended in a death of a woman and the Nazi is being tried for murder and attempted murder. (As he should be.) I am saddened by the woman’s death and the injuries of people who were protesting these evil people. I saw the video of the attack and was appalled, because it was apparent the injured and killed people weren’t doing anything violent. That woman should not have died, nor should the people who were protesting peacefully been injured.

Right now, I know that it isn’t in human nature to belittle and ignore Nazi rallies. It’s in our DNA to want to fight the injustice and insanity. I can’t tell you what to do, but by giving these Nazi morons someone to fight against, it validates their threat. Let me ask you one question: which is more insulting to an aggressor: acting like they’re not worth your time or fighting them on their terms? Yes, you will get bigger noise, and even more outrageous behavior, because they want to call attention to themselves, but eventually, they’ll find it not worth their while if they aren’t given center stage all the time.

Just a thought. Your mileage may vary.

Chickens and Nazis, or maybe, Chicken Nazis

May 22, 2017 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 0 Comment

Lately I’ve been reading about how the Nazis and the White Supremacists have been joining and

changing Heathen and Asatru groups. Quite frankly, I just don’t get it.

Let’s Talk Chickens

Apparently folks here like to hear about the cluckers, so let me tell you a story. My mom would only eat white eggs (true story). She thought the brown eggs tasted funny. She was pretty sure there was something wrong with the brown eggs, because they were brown and not white. Try as I might to convince her otherwise, she hated brown eggs.

When my coworker sold chicken eggs from his farm, the eggs were brown. I bought the eggs and enjoyed them. My mom wanted fresh eggs, but I told her he only had brown eggs. She was disappointed. She actually told me to tell him to get chickens that laid white eggs.

My coworker told me that egg color had to do with the breed of chicken (back before I had my own flock). He explained that most white egg layers were leghorns. He considered leghorns to be flighty and aggressive, so he didn’t have them. Instead, I believe he had Rhode Island reds, which he thought were more docile. (I actually think they can be a pain, too, but that’s my opinion.)

I told my mom this, but she never ate a brown egg if she could help it. As a result, she didn’t get farm fresh eggs.

People versus Chickens

Obviously people aren’t chickens, but there’s a good point here. Whether you eat brown eggs, white eggs, green eggs, or blue eggs, they’re all from chickens and they all taste good if they’re fresh. I tend to like the blue/green eggs because they’re cool looking, but I’ll eat brown and white eggs too. Oh, and I have chickens that lay chocolate colored eggs. Those are the coolest to see.

Now, granted people aren’t chicken eggs, but the prejudice is similar enough to talk about. It’s about judging by the outside wrapping. You can’t look at an egg by the color and say it is a great tasting egg. You can’t point to a brown egg and say it is better than a white egg because it it brown. Likewise, you can’t point to a white person and say he or she is better than a black person just by the color of their skin.

Apparently, Some People Don’t Get It

Race is a construct. We’re all humans under the skin. We’re mostly Homo Sapiens mixed with Neanderthal and Denisovian. We may have genetics from a third race (race in the true sense) running around in us. And you know what? Only those who are purely from African roots are pure Homo Sapiens. Surprise!

So, if you’re a white person, you’ll find you are not only not a race, but you’re a mutt as well. There isn’t anything special about that white skin, except that those of us with lighter pigment needed it to absorb more of the sun’s rays to produce enough Vitamin D to avoid rickets. Gee, using color is really a great way to determine worthiness of an individual. NOT!

My Experience with Nazis

When I was growing up, no one except the fringe lunatics would ever consider joining the Nazi cause. Hitler’s Germany was a totalitarian government. He oppressed people, including his own people. Hitler and his Nazis tortured and murdered millions. And he started an incredibly horrible and costly war that involved most of the civilized world.

I was born less than 20 years after that war, which probably puts me on the end of the Baby Boomer generation. My dad joined the Army when he was 17. He was in Germany after the war and got to see the horror of the concentration camps and the overall devastation. He was also in Japan in the late 50s.

I grew up knowing full well that Hitler and his Nazis were evil. It is no secret, which is why it puzzles me that anyone would be attracted to those beliefs.

Uh, You Weren’t Even Born Then

A lot of white supremacists weren’t even born during the time Hitler rose to power, let alone experienced the Third Reich for themselves. Hitler and the Nazi party rose to power because of the terms of surrender enforced on the Weinmar Republic after World War I. We could argue all day whether the Treaty of Versailles actually caused Hitler’s rise to power and World War II, but that’s not really the point of this piece. If you were born after 1945 and claim to be a Nazi, I’d asked with all sincerity, “What the fuck?” You weren’t affected by the war personally. Maybe your grandparents were, or great-grandparents, but seriously? It’s HISTORY. Most WWII veterans are dead. Most people who lived through it are either dead or in nursing homes.

Nobody has Held you Down

One of the things I really don’t get about white supremacists is the thought that other ethnicities (often called incorrectly, “races”) are inferior and that somehow they’ve held the white man down. Seriously? Let’s address the holding the white man down idea first.

According to the United States census, about 77.1 percent of Americans are “white,” and “whites” are expected to remain in the majority at 73.1 percent by 2050. Looking at the largest minority class, that being blacks/African Americans, they are around 12.4 percent in this country. Every other minority is a smaller percentage yet. As for businesses, guess who owns them? Yes, whites. According to US News and World Report, only 17.5 percent of businesses were owned by minorities.

Now, let’s look at the Jews, since the white supremacists and Nazis seem to have issues with them. In the United States, we have a 2.2 percent population (or 5.3 million people) of those who are Jewish out of a population that is more than 300 million. This includes those Jews who are atheist, those have a Jewish background who don’t practice, and those who only consider themselves partly Jewish.

Are there a lot of Jewish business owners? Yes. Why is that, you wonder. Could it be that they worked their asses off to get where they are today? Could it be that because they weren’t allowed to own land in the past due to discrimination during the Middle Ages, they were forced to become bankers (because Christians didn’t become moneylenders at the time) and business people? So, they have a legacy of working in those areas. Nowadays you have fewer people who identify as Jewish than back in the 1950s (I believe the number was around 4 to 5 percent), so those whom you consider Jewish don’t even consider themselves such.

If you feel that Jews or other ethnicities have caused some sort of wrong against you, I’ve got news for you. You’re wrong. Nobody has held you down. If you’d get off your ass and get a job, or at least move out of your parents’ basement, it would be a good start. You can still get educated, get a job, and be a productive member of society. Look, kid, nobody hands anything to anyone on a gold plate. You have to go out and work for it. Quit wasting your time with losers (the Nazis, by the way, were and still are, losers), and try working toward improving your life. You’d be amazed at what a change of attitude can do.

I hope I’ve at least given you some thoughts to consider. If you’re the bigoted type, maybe I’ve brought you a bit out of your comfort zone to start thinking about your worldview. Maybe you might quit blaming other people for your problems. Or maybe, at least, you won’t care what color your eggs are.

When Did the AFA Join the Westboro Baptist Church?

September 3, 2016 Tyra Ulfdottir Comments 7 comments

With all the Asatru Folk Assembly crap being flung around, you’re probably wondering what The Rational Heathen has to say. Well, if you haven’t read my posts before, now is the time. But I digress…

Before we get started, I must point out that I didn’t mean to insult the Westboro Baptist Church…Oh fuck, who am I kidding? I most certainly did. In a stunt that could only be pulled by people of that kind of caliber, the Asatru Folk Assembly, has determined that straight whites who uphold what I can only consider “traditional” Christian roles are allowed in their group. That means, my friends, that “blacks need not apply” and that LGBTs and other minorities aren’t allowed to join in their goosestepping sessions. Hel’s bells, I don’t fit the submissive, subservient woman, so you can betcha I am most certainly not welcome. But I may try to get in just for a laugh and to spy on them until they kick me out.

Can you imagine me on their boards?

We hates Nazis, precious. We hates it forever!

Tolerance: We’re Not Asking Them to Get Married to a Minority

Thanks to Huginn’s Heathen Hof for this clip.

In the words of the AFA states:

“…we believe gender is not a social construct, it is a beautiful gift from the holy powers and from our ancestors. The AFA celebrates our feminine ladies, our masculine gentlemen and, above all, our beautiful white children…”[emphasis mine]

Well, okay then. Whether or not you agree with the LGBT lifestyle, whether you believe gender is a social construct or nature, whether or not you choose to marry a person of the color of your skin, whether you prefer powerful or demur women or men, the reality is that we must live honorably. That means living to a moral code that honors our ancestors and our gods. We are not judged like Christians are with their god, but we ARE judged by our actions. Were they honorable? Did they uphold the heathen codes of conduct?

People are many things in this world. They are husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, Christians, Heathens, Jews, Catholics, Muslims, atheists, daughters, sons, soldiers, doctors, dentists, plumbers, scientists, unemployed, teachers, friends, volunteers, firefighters, EMTs…the list goes on and on. But the first thing every person is, is a human being. Judging a person by the color of their skin is a stupid, meaningless exercise since we’re so closely related, we’re basically a bunch of inbred primates. In fact, race is a construct. Judging the person by their sexual orientation is beyond idiotic. If you have cancer, you don’t tell the greatest cancer surgeon that you don’t want him to operate on you because he’s gay. You don’t ask the airlines about the pilots who fly you somewhere if they are your color or if they are straight. You don’t stop depositing money in your bank account because the teller is Muslim. Chances are you don’t even know those facts about those people. You just hope the doctor is good, the pilots will get you where you need to go safely, and the teller inputs the right information. Why is this so hard for some people?

Treat the people with respect that are trying to help you. Treat everyone as the human beings they are and if they prove not worthy of your respect by their actions, you can modify it. It’s that simple.

Thanks to Xan of HHH for this

The Dirty Laundry — or Toleration for Goosesteppers

It’s no secret that Heathenry has its share of dirty laundry. Most is in the form of white supremacists and Nazis who think that by worshiping our Northern gods, we automatically cut out other races and minorities. The truth, however, is far from what the goosestepping crowd wants people to believe. The Northern peoples didn’t care about the color of your skin. They were an inclusive group who married into other cultures and fought beside those who considered them allies, regardless of their perceived orientation. In fact, there were “black” Vikings. No, kids, we aren’t pure. Deal with it.

We have plenty of folks in Heathenry who dismiss the white supremacists as not being true heathens, and because they are not part of their kindred they aren’t a problem, but the reality is that if we have one group who tolerates bigoted behavior, it casts a bad light on all of us. You might as well be called a racist or intolerant bigot, yourself. No matter what you think or believe, if the AFA insists that unless you fit their bigoted criteria, you can’t join, you can bet the public and the media are going to color us all in that light.

It’s not enough to say you are against racism, bigotry, and chauvinism. The fact that AFA promotes those “values” is enough to make you look racist, bigoted, and chauvinistic to the rest of the world. Because our religion has such small numbers, we can’t afford to have these people among us.

Our Stories Do Not Support the AFA Stance

My good friends at the American Asatru Association drew up this little statement that brings our
religion into perspective. Throughout our stories, our gods and goddesses prove time and again that they don’t behave anything like what the AFA wants to see in terms of traditional gender roles. Our gods have had interracial relationships, have changed genders, and have crossdressed. If you need to look for goddesses who are not overly feminine, we can point to Skadi and Freyja. Any women who handle weapons are not “traditional.”

The gods have had children with Frost Giants, Humans, and even a horse. I am not saying that I approve of incest and bestiality (I most certainly do not), but we can’t point to our religion and claim that there is a basis for exclusion when it comes to people of other ethnicities and other sexual orientations.

Heathenry Should Be Open to All, Not Just White, Heterosexual Bigots

The reality is that Heathenry should be open to all except bigots, whether they are of a different ethnic background or have ancestry from Northern peoples, whether they are gay or straight, or whether they are crossdressers or dress according to whatever custom society expects. I have often said that we need to keep our doors open to everyone, and to make Heathenry a big tent, whether or not the person is of a different skin color or ethnicity, whether they are LGBT or heterosexual, and whether they have beliefs that shift toward Wiccan and Recon. There are places for these people within Heathenry. Opening our doors to those who are different, but are not Nazis or white supremacists, means that we allow our religion to thrive and grow. Staying in lock step with those who would exclude them makes absolutely no sense.

At this point, I applaud those groups who have taken a stance against bigotry and chauvinism. While I don’t necessarily agree with all their beliefs, I must say that they are awesome groups who are willing to stand up against what is obviously wrong. To the Asatru Folk Assembly, I would say that if you insist on being bigoted and upholding false, and ultimately Christian, beliefs by insisting on being racist, misogynistic, and homophobic, then I denounce you. You are not Heathens, even if you claim to worship our gods.