Bush aide stirs up a nest of pagans
 

Bush aide stirs up a nest of pagans

By Alan Cooperman
Washington
December 10, 2003

A senior White House aide has caused a stir by suggesting pagans do not care about the poor. Remarks by the director of the White House's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, H. James Towey, have incensed Wiccans, Druids and other pagans across the country.

Mr Towey was asked, during a White House sponsored online chat with someone in Missouri, whether pagan groups should be given the same considerations as other groups when applying for government funds.

"I haven't run into a pagan faith-based group yet, much less a pagan group, that cares for the poor," Mr Towey replied.

"Once you make it clear to any applicant that public money must go to public purposes and can't be used to promote ideology, the fringe groups lose interest. Helping the poor is tough work, and only those with loving hearts seem drawn to it."

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I'd say I care but I don't.

-Rudey
--Put a spell on me.

Cool

I think we can all just chalk this up to another one of Bush's minions putting his foot in his mouth and showcasing general ignorance and intolerance. Now let's move on in anticipation of another similar incident. It shouldn't take long.

If the article is accurate, all Towey said was that he had not found a group yet. I'm sure the same could be said about a lot of special interest groups.

I dont' care either.

I don't think the pagan vote is going to lose him this election. And if they get their mystical robes in a wad over that statement, they're reaching.

Kitso
KS 361 times i'll vote for Bush just to spite them

Well as a Pagan and Demetor Cult Member I'm outraged :p

I would call pagans (or nontheists in general) a special interest group inasmuch as African-Americans are a "special interest group." In fact, African-Americans make up about the same percentage of the population in America as do nontheists. About 13-15%! So, if you replaced all that above, with talk about how blacks don't care or something to that effect, would it still be fair to say, "Oh, just another special interest group?" No. It may not matter to some, because it won't lose an election and as long as you personally don't feel the discrimination, fine, right? I mean, not that that statement is gonna make anyone cry, but it is indicative of the American attitude toward nontheists. And I just have to say that is ironic. Why is it ok to consider one group a special interest group but not another group that comprises almost exactly the same percentage of the population? To put one group down, because you perceive them as less powerful is just rude, IMO.

I would be careful grouping pagans with nontheist since many are theistic.