RIP Gay Victims of Abuse: Will YOU Wear Purple on October 20th?

 

LGBT flag Image via Wikipedia

 

This post follows a previous article on Tyler Clemente Dead at 18: Teasing and Bullying Teenagers is an Epidemic.  Please click there before continuing…

Tyler Clemente wasn’t the only recent teenage victim of persecution for being gay.  There was also Asher Brown (an 8th grader who shot himself in the head after suffering abuse by other students), Seth Walsh (hung himself at 13 after school officials ignored the problem), Justin Aaberg (at 15 hung himself following three of five suicides thought related to struggles with sexual identity), Raymond Chase (hung himself at 19) and Billy Lucas (hung himself at 15 after making administrators aware of his LGBT bullying, and they did nothing).

According to the Miami Herald, Campus Pride (which recently released a study on attitudes towards LGBT students on campus) issued a statement in reaction to the deaths:

…the recent pattern of LGBT youth suicides is cause for grave concern. Campus Pride demands national action be taken to address youth bullying, harassment and the need for safety and inclusion for LGBT youth at colleges and universities across the country. We must not let these tragic deaths go unnoticed. Together we must act decisively to curb anti-LGBT bias incidents, harassment and acts of violence.

Many consider this terrible pattern of abuse as a call to action.

Tyler Clemente Dead at 18: Teasing and Bullying Teenagers is an Epidemic

This issue continues here: RIP Gay Victims of Abuse: Will YOU Wear Purple on October 20th?

From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl7z1N6LFh8

My heart goes out to everyone who suffers from teasing and bullying.  They are forms of persecution, and it’s treated far to lightly in our culture when its targeted at children and teenagers.  Teenagers are already going through a difficult transition point in their lives, a point at which they are establishing their identity.  It’s an especially vulnerable time to be subject to attacks on that identity.

Which Gods Can You Trust?

Pagans, particularly modern Hellenic Polytheists and those of the hard polytheistic bent, will usually agree that the gods have their own agendas. This is clear in the earliest mythos of Homer. The gods take sides, have personal alliances, have varied personalities, and while our prayers are sometimes answered they are also sometimes ignored. So how can we trust them?

I visited a forum recently in which a poster asked this:

Currently, I’m a new pagan, only been pagan for about maybe a year or so, but how did you guys know which gods or goddesses to trust?
I realize that upon entering a relationship with any deity, there will be conditions that you will need to abide by.

It’s a very general question that I’m not sure how to phrase properly. However, how do you find a god or goddess who is open-minded, willing to let you ask questions no matter how irreverent, and just think for yourself? – gracesong

Bust of Zeus via Wikipedia

My answer is this: Read up on the mythology of the god in question before approaching Them. This will give you a good start.

With many gods, you have to show that you are trustworthy first. That trust is built on exchange, you’re much more likely to develop that trust if you hold true to your side of the exchange than if you don’t. If you offer something in exchange for favor, then be worthy of Their trust and follow-through with your offering/sacrifice.

If you’ve done your reading, and keep your side of the exchange, then the rest is trial and error. Some gods will be indifferent to appeasement. Only They know who They favor.

If you’re not sure what to offer, then ask. If you don’t know which god to thank for something unexpected, you can say something like, “Hear me Zeus, if you are the right god to address, thank you for….” or “To whichever god blessed me with….thank you, I leave this offering for you.”

If you’re inclined towards the Hellenic Pantheon, these gods are known to be approachable:

Hestia – The hearth and seat of the home, what could be more inviting than that? She gave way to Dionisos and relinquished Her seat on Olympos when he was recognized as a god.

Hermes – He may play tricks on you, but he welcomes all kinds of people.

Asklepios – Very kind and known to accept all sorts of offerings (including a child’s dice) for healing.

Hypnos – The benignant god of sleep.

Which gods do you trust, and why?

Related Articles

• Zeus God of Gods (socyberty.com)
• The evolution of the gods (vmohanty.com)
• Dear gods and goddesses…. (tagg-lines.com)