Normally, I do not discuss Asatru's issues on an Aldsidu blog. Due to the number of IMs I have received about The Troth and Diana Paxon, I have decided to make this one response. Aldsidu is against all forms of bigotry and hate. Aldsidu is also against misinformation. I have written a blog article about historical Heathen Thing. I suggest my readers check that out. The Saxons had local Things, as well as Althings.
Lebuini Antiqua 4, THE LIFE OF ST. LEBUIN, 9th Century CE: “In olden times the Saxons had no king but appointed rulers over each village; and their custom was to hold a general meeting once a year in the center of Saxony near the river Weser at a place called Marklo. There all the leaders used to gather, and they were joined by twelve noblemen from each village with as many freedmen and serfs. There they confirmed the laws, gave judgment on outstanding cases and by common consent drew up plans for the coming year on which they could act either in peace or war.”
Here is a response I made on Midgard Musings Facebook post. It is my thoughts on Asatru having way too many Social Justice Warriors who are not even Heathens in their ranks, on witch hunts spreading misinformation and chaos. Again, Aldsidu is 100% behind social justice causes being against all forms of bigotry and hate. However, mis-information has been the norm when it comes to Asatru and social justice issues. Here is what I said on Midgard Musings.
"There is a "list" going around of "Heathens to Avoid." I use this as an example to discuss Asatru's problem. An individual, not a member of The Troth or any Asatru group, a Unitarian Universalist is behind the anonymous list of "Heathens to avoid" (An IT guy tracked this down for me.) This individual makes a spreadsheet public and accuses many (including me) of women hating, bigotry, misinformation, and racism. The sheet is anonymous. (cowardly). There is no THING that confirms the accuracy of this anonymous list, and the person doesn't put their name out publicly, despite the fact many of the accusations are false and constitute libel. I too am against all forms of bigotry, but you outlaw bad behavior, and move on. But Asatru is in a position of its own making, where non-Heathen SJWs are involved with Asatru only to assist in witch hunts. When someone is outed as a bigot or racist, whether it is true has never been Asatru's concern. This is DISHONORABLE. To call out individuals as racists, or bigots, without Thing, is dishonorable. Calling people falsely, wrongly, is a HUGE problem in Asatru. Asatru struggles with mis-information and then apathy towards the mis-information and the harm it causes on innocent people. I have made mistakes online in the past, i.e. I mentioned groups like TAC and The Troth in my books and blog articles. Now, I just quote historical sources (Eddas, Sagas, historical sources), and mention no one by name, no org by name. Just teach, share information. But Asatru doesn't care (way too often) about the accuracy of who it throws under the bus. True Social Justice Warriors should care about accuracy, and not rejoice with libel towards people labelled as racists who are against racism. Aldsidu is NOT Asatru. We have a completely different religion, and we do not want to be a part of a "religion" that doesn't care about the TRUTH, and harms innocent people in the name of a legitimate social justice cause. Harming innocent people without THING is dishonorable. This is why I have lost 100% of my respect for Asatru. I have read Diana Paxon's books. I think she mixes and mashes various forms of Paganism under the Asatru umbrella. This is my opinion. (But that is what Asatru is, a mixing and mashing of Wicca, Christianity, and various Paganisms, along with made up stuff). But I would never make a claim against her character because I disagree with her personal practice. I think too many Asatruar, when they disagree with someone, call them a racist or a bigot to "win" their argument, and whether or not the person is actually a racist is irrelevant. I think Asatru has earned their problem of "bad behavior" because: What Asatru tolerates is what it accepts. Asatru tolerates bad behavior or public accusations against many individuals, and quite often, the information is mis-information, and a non-bigot is libeled, and Asatru doesn't care. This compounds Asatru's mis-information. Hence, this post, and these problems. I have no idea of Diana Paxon is guilty or innocent. Since Aldsidu is NOT a part o f Asatru, that whole matter is Asatru's problem. But much worse is going to come Asatru's way, because it festers false information about innocent people under the banner of SJ causes. The causes are just, but the behavior of these groups, is they do not care if they ruin someone who hates racism, burning them in a public witch hunt as a racist when they are not. This will happen over and over and over again, because Asatru tolerates this behavior, encourages this behavior, and therefore accepts this behavior. Another reason to divorce Asatru and start over outside of Asatru. This should be done by every honorable individual involved in Germanic Heathenry."
Racism, child abuse, bigotry, all need to be fought. Honorable behavior is the best thing any individual can do. If a person behaves dishonorably, but is actively fighting for social justice causes, this makes their fight less powerful. Throwing innocent people under a bus, one day will probably lead to innocent people being harmed with violence, or the false accusations could lead to a suicide or violence towards an innocent person. Shame can lead an innocent person to kill themselves, and if this happens, it would not surprise me. If Ms. Paxon is guilty, then she is guilty. But the mis-information in Asatru about people who are not bigots has become the norm, so if Ms. Paxon is guilty, I have my doubts, due to all the misinformation put out by social justice warriors. If misinformation stops, any Asatru org fighting bigotry will instantly be more effective in their fight. But in the end, I see Asatru tolerating misinformation, allowing misinformation to fester, and having complete apathy towards it. May we reconstructionist Old Ways Heathens, learn from the example of our Heathen Ancestors, on the custom of Thing. Aldsidu cannot make the mistakes Asatru makes. We in Aldsidu, must live the honorable Heathen values shown in our historical sources, and be a positive and effective voice of change, creating better and more peaceful life on Middilgard. We are what we do, we are our deeds, and what we say is an action. We need to hold people who spread misinformation about others accountable.
