116 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
116 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
GROVE OF THE UNICORN
|
|
P. O. BOX 13384
|
|
ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30324
|
|
|
|
Hi there:
|
|
|
|
Finally--an update on happenings in Atlanta. Sorry to be so long in
|
|
getting this out, but all of us have been so very, very busy. With no
|
|
urgent news to dispense, and the holidays claiming their share of time
|
|
and energy, time quickly slipped away! (Then the flu bug struck!)
|
|
|
|
The furor here has calmed down and we are almost back to "normal"
|
|
(whatever that is!). The things that have transpired since our last
|
|
letter have been, for the most part, favorable.
|
|
|
|
Lady Galadriel appeared on a number of local talk shows during the
|
|
"Halloween" season, including "Sound Off", which covers about 40 states.
|
|
Listener response was encouraging, and, to be honest, a bit surprising,
|
|
for the majority of calls, both while Lady Galadriel was on the air and
|
|
after she left (the program continued), were positive. Many may not
|
|
have agreed with our beliefs, but they stood up for our right to follow
|
|
then. There were also a number of newspaper articles about the group,
|
|
and several about individual members of the group. We were pleasantly
|
|
surprised when media interest continued past Halloween, with a newspaper
|
|
article on our "resident herbologist" and TV coverage of our Samhain
|
|
rite. (We follow the astrological, rather than the calendar, dating of
|
|
Sabbats.) The reporter and cameraman observed the rite, had us
|
|
"re-stage" parts of it for filming and it was shown later that evening
|
|
and the next day. Numerous small positive incidents have taken place,
|
|
such as neighbors of those identified as Wiccans dropping by to offer
|
|
support. And, most surprisingly of all, we have received only one
|
|
anti-Wiccan religious tract at our P.O. box!
|
|
|
|
We can't deny that there have been a few unpleasant incidents, but they
|
|
have been so outnumbered by positive ones that we are very encouraged
|
|
and feel more strongly than ever that we did the right thing in going
|
|
public with our protests against the desecration of our sacred site.
|
|
|
|
On that subject, our efforts to deal with the situation through the
|
|
legal system were both frustrating and rewarding. We received token
|
|
support from the local police, but they didn't go out of their way to
|
|
help us identify those who actually desecrated the site. We did take
|
|
warrants against three of the men who were involved in the second
|
|
incident, when we were accosted and threatened by the group of drunken
|
|
rednecks who were tresspassing on our property.
|
|
|
|
The case was scheduled to be heard in November, but at the last moment
|
|
was postponed until December. And guess when they scheduled it?
|
|
Friday, the 13th..... We found that rather interesting, and still
|
|
aren't sure if it was just a "coincidence", or if someone at the court
|
|
house has a sense of humor!
|
|
|
|
It went well, and most of the spectators (the courtroom was packed) were
|
|
obviously pulling for our side. However, because of a small legal point
|
|
which our attorney was not familiar with (even the judge was a bit
|
|
surprised when the defendant's attorney pulled this one out of the
|
|
depths), the men were let go with a stern warning and a public injunc-
|
|
tion was made to the effect that we are guaranteed the freedom of
|
|
worship without harrasment and that anyone doing so would be subject to
|
|
prosecution to the full extent of the law. The legal point? Falure to
|
|
file notice of the posting of the property to the courthouse. A very
|
|
obscure and unknown law which meant that even though we had posted the
|
|
property and put chains across the driveway, the posting was not
|
|
official because we had negelected to file a notice of same with the
|
|
county authorities...
|
|
|
|
We feel that even though we "lost", in one respect, as the men were not
|
|
officially punished, we still "won", for they were punished in other
|
|
ways. The suffered the indignity of being arrested, spending time in
|
|
jail, and having the newspapers report these facts. They spent money to
|
|
make bond, and money on attorneys who were some of the more expensive in
|
|
the area, which means they were frightened of what the consequences of
|
|
their acts could be. And the worst punishment of all, they had to spend
|
|
all that time listening to their wives and mothers berate them for their
|
|
"evil ways"!
|
|
|
|
All of the events, from the original desecration through the court case,
|
|
were reported by the media, and the majority of their reports were very
|
|
slanted toward our defense. We feel that much was accomplished through
|
|
bringing our views into the light, for many discovered that "witches"
|
|
aren't what they thought we were!
|
|
|
|
We sincerely thank all of you who sent us so much support. We were very
|
|
aware of the inflow of positive energy, drew on it, and know we couldn't
|
|
have made it through all of the turmoil without that support. All of us
|
|
at The Grove of the Unicorn say "THANK YOU!".
|
|
|
|
We have debated the subject of pursuing these matters further, through
|
|
court cases against the police, individuals, etc., but reached the
|
|
decision that no real purpose would be served. The persons who
|
|
desecrated our site did so more from ignorance and fear than anything
|
|
else, and the police were caught in the middle of a situation which they
|
|
had never come up against before and weren't quite sure how to handle.
|
|
We will continue our efforts to educate the public as to our beliefs and
|
|
open practices, and perhaps these efforts will help to avoid such
|
|
clashes in the future. After all the publicity the cases received, we
|
|
believe others will think twice before acting in the same manner as the
|
|
people who desecrated our site.
|
|
|
|
Court cases cost money. After consultation with our attorney, we
|
|
acknowledged that we don not have the finances to pursue this through the
|
|
courts to the full extent. The only thing we would gain through further
|
|
legal action would be a monetary award, which would have to be paid for
|
|
by the taxpayers. Our right to worship openly and as we please has been
|
|
recognized and legally documented, which was our basic purpose in the
|
|
beginning. We will continue to work with and through the media in an
|
|
effort to help the public understand us and our beliefs a little
|
|
better.
|
|
|
|
We have learned many things from our various experiences, one of the
|
|
most important being that there is unity amongst the Pagan community
|
|
when there is need. To all our new friends, our thanks and our love.
|
|
|
|
Blessed Be!
|
|
|