But. I do have a copule of brief things to say.
A) I believe in freedom of religion. I also believe in free speech. That means you, whomever you happen to be, have the right to believe what you believe, practice what you feel is "right" (within the context of what's legal--although you certainly have the right to campaign to change those laws). You also have the right to post on your own site what your beliefs are. You have the right to talk about it.
B) I have the right not to listen. So does that guy over there and the guy next to him. I have the right, if I think your beliefs are bigoted, arrogant, ignorant, or just plain offensive, to say so. I am also within my rights to not only not support you, but to do so publically. I am within my rights (and make no mistake, I will exercise that right) to campaign long and loud that you not be allowed to come to any event over which I hold any sway. I am just as within my rights to decline to attend an event at which you have been invited to speak.
C) We are under no obligation to agree; we are however oblidged to be civil to one another. We should fight with facts, not lies. Not slander.
And last, but not least, I will not allow myself to be ashamed of my stating my opinion. I will, loudly and clearly, say "Not my Paganism" to any person or group that is transphobic, "racist" (in quotes for a reason I'll get to in a second), or bigoted. I do not believe, not for one fraction of a second, that the Gods care what color a person's skin is, what their gender is, what their sexual orientation is. I do NOT believe that one must be of any particular ethnicity to worship any particular set of Gods--so long as you do your homework and approach Them (and Their native/original culture) with respect.
Your love for your Gods comes from your heart, not your skin-color. Not your ethnic origins (which in this day and age quite likely mixed.) Stephen McNallen has the right to his opinion. I don't believe in violence or even in spewing viterol. It accomplishes nothing. But neither will I quietly sit down and ignore the problem. I'll wrote. I'll speak out.
And if you don't like it, you don't have to listen.
Now. Racism. I'm going to defer to someone more well-spoken than me.
