Neopagans vs. Recons Arguments: aka STFU already!!

I am so sick of listening to supposedly intelligent pagans/heathens bitching about things like "neopagans," "fluffy bunnies," "ren-faire types," etc... Everytime I see one of those debates, I feel like this guy...

Can we leave the self righteous bullshit back at the pulpit? Since when does specialization=truth? Newsflash!!! YOU are doing as much damage to the "pagan community" with this constant bickering as that "fluffy bunny" communing with fairies and dragons with her gothic eyeliner and pentagram necklace listening to emo music writing dark poetry around the corner.

Choosing a specialized spiritual path such as Asatru, Hellenic Reconstruction, Kemeticism, etc. DOES NOT make your opinion more valid. You know what does make your opinion valid? Basic Human Intelligence and Emotional Maturity.

Dare I say it...there are plenty of specialized pagans who are just as moronic as the next fluffy bunny. Reading every book their is about Heathenism and Germanic paganism means nothing if you are a moron who lacks a basic depth of understanding of literature. Spending a lifetime studying the Egyptian pantheon isn't going to make your opinion more valid than a pagan who takes a comparative approach to mythology, especially if you were an idiot to begin with.

How about reserving judgement about another until we know them as an individual? How bout we judge another by their actions rather than words? How about we start thinking more about how we can improve ourselves and our communities rather than worrying about what another person is doing "wrong."

I don't know about others, but the reason I became a pagan was because I saw the falsehood in the black and whiteness of mainstream spiritual thought (aka christian). When I see pagans bickering about Neopagans and Reconstructionists, my first feeling is pity. Because it simply illustrates to me how far the ideals of patriarchal christian thought are still ingrained in many of us, even after we have abandoned the falsity of it as a spiritual system. We are STILL labeling an entire group of individuals without any valid reasoning. We have simply changed the labels of "saint and sinner" to "Neopagan vs. REAL pagan."

We are pagans. Regardless of what we specialize in. Regardless of whether we are intelligent or not. Regardless of whether we are serious about our path or do it simply to "look cool." We will be labeled as "sinners" in mainstream society regardless of our sincerity.

The only way we can move forward as a "community" is to live our faith fully and responsibly regardless of the opinions of others. And hopefully sometime in the far reaches of the future, the rest of the world will realize that there is no wrong or right, but rather a diversity that has value, and does not negate our value as a human being.