Benefit for the Victims of the Kansas City Shooting

This is a worthy cause! 

This relates to the April 13 murders at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City (see the related HAH post from 04/15/14), and we are glad to see the Heathen community coming together in an expression of generosity and compassion. This effort is also a statement of the rejection of the agenda of hate. 

We once again hail the victims of this tragedy:

Terri LaManno

William Lewis Corporon

Reat Griffin Underwood

------------ Copied Post from Facebook------------

Josh Gamble 12:00pm May 21

hi! First, thank you for the generous donations we've received already from the Troth and Troth members! Would you be willing to post this link and message from me on your page? It's for a good cause and I appreciate it!

" https://www.facebook.com/l/sAQEFF71-AQGl56XZDFE3_XOX8b7wicBJuJHRag8_CrzStA/https%3A//www.youcaring.com/help-a-neighbor/benefit-for-victims-of-the-kansas-city-shootings/165331

Update:

Hi everyone! I wanna start by thanking you all for all the support we’ve received for this effort so far. I know things have been quiet for a while, but we have 10 days left for the final push, and we’re close to our goal! I wanted to update everyone on what’s going on with the fund, as well.

I’ve spoken to the director of philanthropy at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City, and they’ve already set up a permanent fund in memory of Cross’s victims. I’ve been assured the use of the funds is in line with the wishes of the families, and that’s where our donation is going to go. I’ve made sure they know who we are and why we’re donating, and the families are happy to accept.

Here is their website: http://www.facebook.com/l/eAQGFE9QHAQHpoyitDyLgRFYtViQbXbkCNs857wfmu3_ZQg/asoft9201.accrisoft.com/kcjcc/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=MemorialFund

So here we are, with 10 days left. I’m asking everyone to help up with a last social media blitz- even if you’ve already donated, please spread the word everywhere you can, and ask your friends and acquaintances to share it too! Let’s show the world what a force for good we can be! The ancient heathens valued community and generosity- let’s make them proud!

Response to the Overland Park, KS, Accused Shooter's Religion

News media outlets are reporting that the accused shooter in Overland Park was an adherent of Odinism. 

We abhor the appropriation of any Heathen identity for racist and bigoted agendas. We reject e the abuse of our religion as a justification for hateful and abominable actions. We condemn the violence and hatred that are at the root of this story.

Let us all hail the victims and remember their names:

Terri LaManno

William Lewis Corporon

Reat Griffin Underwood

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of the victims of this unconscionable act.

Othala Rune

There is a strange rumor circulating around Facebook that reads something like this:

"Apparently the Elder Futhark has one too many Runes according to Heathens Against Hate and The American Asatru Association. These groups have organized their members to complain to Facebook about this Rune and as a result FB has deleted all images of the Othala Rune from the Women of Asatru page. No one in either of these groups is a coreligionist of mine."

Just for the record, Heathens Against Hate has done no such thing. In fact, HAH has worked to make all of the runes MORE available to everyone, including incarcerated Heathens or to Heathens in mental health facilities, etc. 

While we cannot presume to speak for the American Asatru Association (AAA), we have been in contact with its manager and administrator, who ensure HAH that the AAA has also engaged in no such action.

Let's be clear:

Anything that states that HAH has any opinion to the contrary is a falsehood, and the agenda of those who propagate such absurdities should be examined.

Thank you.

The HAH Team

In-Reach Update

As many of our readers know, In-Reach Heathen Prison Services is an effort undertaken by The Troth, Distelfink Sippschaft, and numerous individuals who are concerned about the toxic environment to incarcerated Heathens. 

While some states are fairly well advanced in allowing Heathens access to ceremonies, others are still learning what Heathenry is (and is not). For many administrators and chaplains, Heathenry is an enigma, and most of their direct contact is tainted by white supremacism.

Many inmates convert to Heathenry while incarcerated, and the types of materials and individuals who control the discussion often create the inmates' understanding of what it means to be Heathen.

We've been working hard to provide positive Heathen materials to inmates, administrators, and chaplains. We are slowly beginning to see some successes.

Starting tomorrow, In-Reach is conducting its first Yule ceremonies in New Jersey with chaplain and administration support (which is a milestone). The ceremonies will be in six compounds in three facilities. 

Hail to the gods! Hail to the goddesses!

Black Friday Mayhem

Once again, the news is rife with reports of violence, rudeness, greed, and graft associated with Black Friday. Black Friday has long been a major shopping day in the United States, but, in the past few years, it has become simultaneously a holiday in its own right and a force of chaos that is tearing our social fabric apart.

I think most folks would recognize that Christmas has been poisoned for a long time by the Consumer Culture. That poison will eventually work its way towards Yule and Hanukkah, too. However, the holiday most in jeopardy now is Thanksgiving. 

This is one of those opportunities in which Americans of all spiritual persuasions can take a stand against the spiritless religion of the Consumer Culture. The major retailers are gradually opening earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving, forcing workers to leave their families on one of the most significant celebrations of family that we have as a nation.

The advertising schemes and media glorification urge people to throw their Thanksgiving meal dishes into the sink and run off to the stores right away, thus eroding this major holiday to the point where it will be little more than "Black Friday Eve."

It is up to the adherents of all religions and to Americans who understand the value of the spirit of modern Thanksgiving observances to take a stand against the onslaught of emptiness from the Consumer Culture.

On Black Friday, it would be far better to spend time at a craft show with our families than getting in fights with people over parking spaces at Macy's. Chances are that we won't be hit by a taser by someone at a craft show, unlike the victims of some nut in Cherry Hill, New Jersey earlier today. How crazy is this?

While the shopping will continue, I urge folks who take family and community seriously to shun the Consumer Culture at least through Thanksgiving. Sure, we may pay more financially for gifts later in the season, but we cannot place a value on the time spent with loved ones in a shared observance of gratitude for the miracle of life.

Peaceful Oregon Counterprotest to Westboro Baptist Church Actions

From some Heathens in Oregon:

Link to Facebook page:  http://tinyurl.com/kqjrh7g

Description: "The Westboro Baptist Church will be protesting a fallen soldier's funeral this Sunday (Oct.20). I want people to mirror the protestors and hold American flags. This is Peaceful reinforcement."

Lasells Stewart Center

Concert Venue, Campus Building

Corvallis, Oregon 97331

1:00 PM

Public Denouncement of the Misuse of Leif Erikson Day in Philadelphia

Thanks to author Joe LeVasseur and to Heathens United Against Racism for this post.

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The pre-Christian religion of ancient Germanic civilizations is known by many names, but is most commonly referred to as Heathenry or Asatru. This religion is a polytheistic one that believes in gods and goddesses such as Odin, Thor, Frey, Frigga, and Freya who are known through the famous Viking sagas. There is also a belief that our ancestors play a part in our lives, and a belief that spirits of the dead dwell in the earth, the forests, and the lakes and rivers. We celebrate spiritual traditions from Northern Europe, this is not a religion of hate.

Unfortunately members of White Nationalist organizations seek to misrepresent our culture and our spiritual heritage to disguise and gain acceptance among more mainstream demographics. The Leif Erikson Day celebration in Philadelphia is one such occasion in which a White Nationalist group is attempting to do this. This celebration is being organized by the Keystone State Skinheads, a group with a long track record of White Supremacist hate crimes among their members. Philadelphia Leif Erikson Day is not about Viking explorers, it's not about a cultural history that the Scandinavian-American community can get behind, and it is certainly not about Asatru. 

As members of the Asatru and Heathen community, we openly reject any attempt by the Keystone State Skinheads and members of other White Nationalist hate groups to appropriate and misrepresent this Holiday. We will not stand silently by as these racists misrepresent our history as one of hate.

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Manager's note: Leif Erikson Day in Philly is becoming an annual struggle between opposing racial hate groups, leaving the average citizen stuck in the middle. The rhetoric became amplified after October 2008, when racial extremists vandalized the Thorfinn Karlsefni statue with red paint. Since then this touchstone for Scandinavian culture in the United States has become the centerpiece of an annual struggle between racist groups and the people of Philadelphia who want all the hate groups to leave their community.

Hate cuts in many directions. The Thorfinn Karlsefni statue represents a Scandinavian contribution to world history. It is owned by the Philadelphia community, not by the racist extremists of any racial or ethnic group or by the extremists at either end of the political spectrum. To use the statue either as a rallying point or a target for the advancement of racist causes is offensive and intolerable.