Retractions, Lessons, and Changing Perspectives: Lokeans
Once upon a time I wrote a rather shitty post about Tumblr Lokeans. I decided today to remove it from the blog because in the year since I wrote it some of my perspective has changed, and I want my blog to reflect that. I also removed it because since I wrote it I have harbored some guilt and shame over how it might have contributed to negative opinions about Loki worship in general. There was some initial backlash against the post, but to be honest it was minor and I really haven't heard anything about it since about a month after it was published. I am not removing it because people were angry with it, or expressed disdain against the post. I am removing it because my own perspective has changed, and also because I felt that some of what I implied was outright hurtful to some, though that was never the intention.
Looking back, I can see that much of that post was motivated not by any rational sentiments, but rather a period of strife between myself and a few individuals online, as well as some personal events that were going on in my life at the time it was published. At the time I felt that the post was fair and made some good points, and I still agree with SOME of what I wrote. However there was an element or tone of disdain behind the writing itself which was quite obvious to me when I revisited and reread the post today before I made the decision to cut it from my blog. It could have been much more neutral and much more honestly written, and for that I apologize as well as for anyone whose feelings were hurt by my generalizations about Tumblr Lokeans.
Since then I have made an effort to branch out and try to understand some of the Lokeans I know much better than I did at that time. As a result of this my perspective has shifted. Part of this is a result of my concerns about social justice in general, and how that increased awareness had made me aware not only of discrimination in general but also subtle hints of it that often coincide with the derogatory remarks made against and about Lokeans in the heathen community. Those who know me well know that I consider myself a humanist first and foremost, am a liberal, and I support any and all in the fight against inequality. There are so many who are vocal about fighting racism within heathenry now, yet I do not see the same outrage when it comes to sexism, transphobia, and other types of discrimination based on sexual preference and gender identity that I do in comparison to racism. I have made a commitment to make my blogs and social media profiles a safe space for EVERYONE, and I feel as if that post is no longer in line with that purpose and my own sacred ideals about compassion and human dignity. Therefore, it was time for that post to go.
I am sure there are those who will not care about this apology or what I have to say, and I accept that. Some of the insinuations I made about Tumblr Lokeans in the post were very gross and if the places were reversed I would have no trouble telling myself to Fuck off. Everyone has a right to their own feelings and I totally respect that. I just want the people who read this blog and those who have been around me for awhile to know that I am sorry for what was written and am trying to move forward with a changed and less ignorant perspective. Most of all I want people to know that my blog is a safe space for anyone regardless of sex, skin color, gender identity, size, etc.
Am I retracting everything I ever said regarding Lokeans and Loki worship? NO. It is still an issue that I am not one hundred percent comfortable with and nor do I really think I understand well enough to say this is ultimately what I think or feel. I still have issues with some aspects of it and a very small minority of folks out there who I feel are not the most sincere. But there are always going to be a few of those individuals, regardless of what god they are worshipping, be it Loki or Freyja or Zeus for that matter. In the past year I have met many more Lokeans and have found that on the whole they are some of the most knowledgeable and sincere individuals out there working in the heathen community. I really don't know if I can ever truly get behind the idea of Pop Culture Paganism however. I plan on writing more about that topic in the near future but for now I simply wanted to make the retraction of the post public, tell my readers why, and most of all apologize to anyone who might have been hurt by my words last summer.
In Frith
Cena
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| My inner voice every time I thought about the Lokean post for the last year... |
Looking back, I can see that much of that post was motivated not by any rational sentiments, but rather a period of strife between myself and a few individuals online, as well as some personal events that were going on in my life at the time it was published. At the time I felt that the post was fair and made some good points, and I still agree with SOME of what I wrote. However there was an element or tone of disdain behind the writing itself which was quite obvious to me when I revisited and reread the post today before I made the decision to cut it from my blog. It could have been much more neutral and much more honestly written, and for that I apologize as well as for anyone whose feelings were hurt by my generalizations about Tumblr Lokeans.
Since then I have made an effort to branch out and try to understand some of the Lokeans I know much better than I did at that time. As a result of this my perspective has shifted. Part of this is a result of my concerns about social justice in general, and how that increased awareness had made me aware not only of discrimination in general but also subtle hints of it that often coincide with the derogatory remarks made against and about Lokeans in the heathen community. Those who know me well know that I consider myself a humanist first and foremost, am a liberal, and I support any and all in the fight against inequality. There are so many who are vocal about fighting racism within heathenry now, yet I do not see the same outrage when it comes to sexism, transphobia, and other types of discrimination based on sexual preference and gender identity that I do in comparison to racism. I have made a commitment to make my blogs and social media profiles a safe space for EVERYONE, and I feel as if that post is no longer in line with that purpose and my own sacred ideals about compassion and human dignity. Therefore, it was time for that post to go.
I am sure there are those who will not care about this apology or what I have to say, and I accept that. Some of the insinuations I made about Tumblr Lokeans in the post were very gross and if the places were reversed I would have no trouble telling myself to Fuck off. Everyone has a right to their own feelings and I totally respect that. I just want the people who read this blog and those who have been around me for awhile to know that I am sorry for what was written and am trying to move forward with a changed and less ignorant perspective. Most of all I want people to know that my blog is a safe space for anyone regardless of sex, skin color, gender identity, size, etc.
Am I retracting everything I ever said regarding Lokeans and Loki worship? NO. It is still an issue that I am not one hundred percent comfortable with and nor do I really think I understand well enough to say this is ultimately what I think or feel. I still have issues with some aspects of it and a very small minority of folks out there who I feel are not the most sincere. But there are always going to be a few of those individuals, regardless of what god they are worshipping, be it Loki or Freyja or Zeus for that matter. In the past year I have met many more Lokeans and have found that on the whole they are some of the most knowledgeable and sincere individuals out there working in the heathen community. I really don't know if I can ever truly get behind the idea of Pop Culture Paganism however. I plan on writing more about that topic in the near future but for now I simply wanted to make the retraction of the post public, tell my readers why, and most of all apologize to anyone who might have been hurt by my words last summer.
In Frith
Cena
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