Saturday, May 22, 2010
The Ideal Satanist
It's been said many times before, but, I do think it's worth mentioning again: The intellect of the Satanist MUST be elevated! When one speaks of one's own set of beliefs or principles, it is imperative that it is done with diplomatic assertion and conviction. The only way that this assertive diplomacy can be achieved is through eloquent, intelligent, educated speech. Anger, emotion, irrationality will never get the attention of the potential reader or listener. What it will do is elicit emotional backlash or out-right ignorance of one's statements. The thing that we Satanists must remember is that while we do not aim to recruit, we DO intend to be heard and taken seriously. That which we stand for and fight for is very real and of utmost importance to us. In order to convey that to another person or group of people, it is futile that the representative Satanist is one who is well versed and eloquent in his/her manner of delivery. In addition, it is equally important to be schooled and well read in the area of specificity that one is speaking about. In other words, it is definitely possible to be an eloquent bullsh...er and seem effective, but it is of much more value to actually know your topic deeply and fully and, therefore, truly be effective. This effectiveness is what will get the due attention from those that the attention is required from. One can say anything to anyone and elicit a response, but the point is to elicit the correct response from the correct people. Know who you're talking to, know what you want to say, and know the response you're trying to get, in other words, know the goal you're trying to achieve. It doesn't help anyone in the Satanic community to have representatives of our community (we're all representatives in some respects) rant and rave out of pure emotion. Fellow Satanists, I implore you to truly think before you speak. If you're unwilling or unable to do that, then please leave the representation to those more qualified.
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May I ask then what is it you believe about Satan? I was also wondering if you could tell me what it is you believe happens when we die.
ReplyDeleteI fully agree that it is important to be able to communicate diplomatically, confidently, and knowledgably. However, I don't think it's the only way to communicate. Different people respond differently to different styles of communication. There are some times when people DO respond to emotion and anger more than a cool tone and a list of facts. And to be perfectly honest, I feel like the onus is upon anti-Satanist bigots to listen, not on us to make ourselves easier to listen to. If there's someone who's hell bent on squashing out free expression of minority religions, then they're not of much use to us if they'll only slightly behave themselves if someone sweet talks them into it. We need the sort of allies who are willing to look past the ranters and ravers, to see that the point is that everyone has a right to their religion, not, well, 'fairweather allies' who will only listen to us if we make ourselves sound like smooth talking theology experts. I don't personally have much use for people who are only impressed by good manners or intellectualism. I am more impressed by people who recognize that right is right no matter who they're talking to.
ReplyDeleteCheck out this link-> http://genderbitch.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/a-m-o-communication/ It describes various styles of activism, and the series goes into the pros and cons of each style.