I am nothing like Christine O’Donnell
"I'm you...only smugger."
I thought I could let the whole Christine O’Donnell dabble-gate blow over without comment. But then the candidate from Delaware released a new political ad in which she says, “I am not a witch. I’m nothing you’ve heard. I’m you.”
Oh, dear Christine, you are so not me. Unlike you, I believe in evolution, I don’t believe that scientists created mice with human brains (human brain cells do not a human brain make), I don’t believe that masturbation constitutes adultery, I do not believe all homosexuals suffer from mental illness, I think women should be able to continue serving in the military…goodness, the list goes on and on. And let’s not even get into the hard core political questions behind the Tea Partiers in general. But none of that has to do with religion, or whether you’re a witch or not. Why do you have to keep putting that in the spotlight?
The way that O’Donnell has played this whole thing has been disrespectful of Pagans and Wiccans from the very start. When she first said she “dabbled into witchcraft” (uh, preposition much?) on Politically Incorrect in the ‘90s, she confused Witchcraft with Satanism. (And seriously, what self-respecting Satanist would even have a picnic on an altar?) Then when those old comments saw the light of day during her current campaign, she defended herself by saying, “How many of you didn’t hang out with questionable folks in high school?” Because certainly any teenagers who start spiritually seeking – or even outright rebelling against their parents’ religion – are “questionable folks.” (I would say “questioning” instead.) Then she followed it up with a joke: “There’s been no witchcraft since. If there was, Karl Rove would be a supporter now.” Ha ha.
And now this. This whole, “I am not a witch. I am you” line of reasoning casts witchcraft into the negative column – something that no everyday person would ever want to be. Something that no one would ever admit to even if they were. And this is the final insult to plenty of Wiccans who now feel forced to speak up to defend their beliefs – indeed, to defend their right to follow any religion they please without it being trotted out in political debates and scandals.
This whole thing reminds me of how hard Barack Obama had to fight during his campaign to stress he was a Christian, not a Muslim. And how hard he’s still fighting, when his religion should have nothing to do with how he runs the country. It depresses me to no end that Americans have this idea that if you’re not Christian, there’s no way you could be voted (or remain) President of our land.
Here are some links to YouTube videos by Witches responding to O’Donnell’s annoying “I am not a witch” ad. If you see any more – or upload one of your own – please post the link in the comments section so we can have a great collection!
Star Foster: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOjmZWeCBo4
Peter Dybing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbKZvo7ijxY
The Pagan Mom Blog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9laxaPBZyKY
Kei Dallmer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRMt6jNPDSY
Rebecca Chow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjsDD_DDsd0
Sara, a.k.a. Mabonwy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12g6vTgJJIM
Firstly, thank you for posting this article. Hopefully, with more eyes on the frequency of this situation, more people will be aware of the threat that Christine O’Donnell poses for all of us, not just witches.
Secondly, thank you for posting the videos — knowing that there are real people behind the movement makes me, as a witch, feel the sense of community that we have, in the fact that we are all striving for justice and fairness.
BB,
Kei Dallmer
Thankyou 🙂 Nicely Said. BB.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Star Foster, kei dallmer. kei dallmer said: Llewellyn's website addresses C O'D and other counter videos — http://t.co/R6KHlXY […]
Yes, yes, and yes! My first response when I saw that ad was also, “Oh, honey, you are SO not me!” Thanks for writing this.
This was so beautiful. Thank you for writing this! I couldn’t have said it better.
Hi! I love your response, too!
I did an “I’m a Witch” video, too. Here’s the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSwJzZb0T-U
Also, the Pagan Newswire Collective has been collecting the videos, too, at http://www.youtube.com/user/pagannewswire#p/c/2755B0261E66E866
Thank you, beautifully written response. Yes, she is definitely not me either. I am open-minded. I am a witch. And I am proud of it.
“That’s the problem – too many stupid people and no one to eat ’em!” – Carlos Mencia
Well said and thank you for sharing!! I posted right on the MSN link a comment that I am proud to be a pagan and blessed to be a witch and Thank the Goddess that this woman is NOT LIKE ME!!! BB )O(
I am glad she is not a witch. I AM a witch and proud of it. I am You. I am the Goddess. Blessed Be.
I’m not sure if I am offended or amused by the SNL parody of O’Donnell’s commercial that aired this past weekend (see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/09/kristen-wiig-parodies-chr_n_757116.html) What do you think?
I found the comment offensive, ignorant, and just plain stupid and I’m not even a pagan, but have many friends who are. Why does she even bother to get up in the morning? Ech! She has stolen money and lied about her education (or lack of it, I should say) and who knows what else. Just what we need serving the public, another looser who’s posing, lieing and cheating their way to the top of the heap of poo. I’m all for women in politics or anything else they choose, but I can’t rally around this idiot. As a woman, I am totally disgusted and revolted by her antics.
Thanks for posting this article. I’m so glad to hear that people in the pagan and witch communities are standing up and speaking out against her hate speech.
Some Deleware Pagans do speak out against her insults. Please look at my broadcast interview on http://www.wmdt.com search under Pagan Speaks Out for the interview.
Update! Thank god/dess, they’ve auto-tuned the commercial. Just what I’ve been waiting for!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44mqiBrB0zI&feature=player_embedded#!
I just found another Pagan response to the ad on YouTube, by Snoozepossum, whose handle on YouTube is Snoozegoat instead (?!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfecPxFI8ho&feature=related