Closets

When I first get marred and moved out of my parents home I decided to ware my pentagram openly. I wanted to live out of the broom closet for a while. One day met a lady at a gas station, we were both in line to pay. It was a long line and she was in front of me. Wanting to pass the time she turned and saw me and probably assumed that since we both were female we would both want to talk but she also saw my pentagram and got curious. So, after making some ideal chit chat about gas prices and lines she finally asked "Is that a star of David" I had a split second to think before I answered "yes, kind of" she promptly ignored the kind of and went an to excitedly, explain that she had never met a Jewish person (never would have guest) and that I was not what she had expected. She was probably expecting the stereotypical Jew with a big nose and the spending habits of Scrooge. I realized that my first inspiration of her was correct. She knew so little about other religions, me saying I was pagan would be saying I was a Satanist, to her they were the same thing.

"Is that a star of David"

Can see how she was confused

as it was she had all kinds of questions like why I didn't believe in Jesus, would I be willing to go to a Christian church... Thankfully I was saved be my husband, who plays the bad guy all too well. I do understand that not all Christians are like this, my mother-in-law and I have talked on length about our beliefs and find then very similar. But there are others that believe that anything that has to do with my way of life is evil. I know there is no changing their minds. The very argument would convince them they were right. I dread these people, and yes I have met them, they are so brainwashed into believing whatever their priest tells them, that if he told them to kill their first born they might not even bat an eye while doing it. These are the people that keep my from wearing my belief on my sleeve and they are the people who will never get GLBTQI either, they don't even know that that means, of coarse the not so brainwashed Christians are not much better with their questions and assumptions. It is hard for me to explain me belief there complicated and I not very good at it. then there are the ones we just want to twist you words to fit their reality and for some of them it is just a game and has nothing to do with religion. They just what you to play their fool. But mostly it is the everyday people who are just curious and not too judgmental. Again I not very good at the explaining bit and having social anxiety does not help. I am not even out to my family, I just don't need the complications or the judgmental statements. My parents know, boy have I had fun with that one. My Father told my son, when he was two that he was going to hell because of me and my mother tried for years to try to get me to be Jewish or Baptist, anything but Pagan. It has been so long that I doubt they realize I still am though. They have a knack of forgetting anything they don't deem important or worthy to know. But enough of them, my point of this is there are and always will be people out there that do not understand anything society deems different, and pagans are different, Goths are different, GLBTQI, are different.
I commend anybody who chooses to live outside their closet, just don't bitch about it later, you choose to be public about this, no matter what you thought that meant, people will come to you with questions, comments, grievances... be strong, don't back down and don't delude yourself into thinking people should know this stuff already, don't convince yourself that you are not different to them and therefore not something to be studied. They are not ready for us and all we can hope for is to converse with the ones around the edges (the young, the curious, the liberal) and slowly become normal to them.

And as always; I don't what to convert anyone to my way. You leave me to my path and I will leave you to you're I wish the same as anyone else, to live my life for me and so longer as I am not truly harming anyone, to be left to find my own happiness.