Photo by MARIOLA GROBELSKA on Unsplash
What it's All About:
In this episode of Music From the Goddess' Vault Podcast, I talk about dealing with alt-right Christian trolls online and offline. It's something that affects us all, whether or not we're pagan. I will provide practical tips and strategies for responding to trolls and protecting yourself from their harmful rhetoric. This is a must-listen episode for anyone who has experienced online harassment or wants to learn how to stand up against hate speech and bigotry. Feel free to engage in the conversation and express your opinions on this noteworthy topic.
Songs Featured:
Spirit Guide of the Week Background Music by AlexiAction from Pixabay
Dream Symbol Background Music by TheFealdoProject from Pixabay
Meditation Background Music by TuesdayNight from Pixabay
Links Mentioned:
Get in Touch Through Social Media:
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Affiliates:
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Spirit Guide of the Week:
By editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner - 'Monuments of Nineveh, Second Series' plate 5, London, J. Murray, 1853, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18217886
Lamashtu
Dream Symbol: (There are three)
Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash
Test
Photo by Artiom Vallat on Unsplash
Guards
Photo by Klara Kulikova on Unsplash
Back
Transcript:
(03:47)
Welcome to another episode of the Music From the Goddess’ Vault Podcast. I am your host, Midnight Starr. You just listened to Alexander James Adams' Trolls of Valhalla. On today's show: Dealing with Alt-Right Wing Christian Trolls. First, some stuff to get out of the way. A compilation album called the Red Album is set to be released on June 24th. The album features 19 artists who have donated their music to support organizations working for women's reproductive health. You can help by donating money. Some musicians in this project are Krista Chapman Green, Primal Rhythm, Alexander James Adams, and more. Learn more at The Red Album Facebook page or https://pagansong.com. If you want to donate to the Abortion Access Pagan Music Project, there is a GoFundMe page linked in the show notes. They've already raised over 12K and the album will be released this summer. Are you a Canadian Pagan musician trying to get your music out there? Contact me! There's a shortage of Canadian Pagan music, and I need more. I'm looking forward to discovering you and your band and hearing some of your great songs! By having your tunes played on the Music From the Goddess' Vault Podcast, you'll gain many new fans and increase your exposure. If you're a Pagan musician who's not Canadian, don't worry, I'll still play your music on this podcast if you get in touch with me. If you love this program, donate at http://www.ko-fi.com/goddessvault or http://www.patreon.com/goddessvault to show your support for the Music From the Goddess’ Vault Podcast. Stay up to date with Music From the Goddess’ Vault Podcast by subscribing to the newsletter. Get notified when new shows are available. Access past episodes for a fee of $7 a month or $70 a year. Subscribe for free at http://musicgoddessvault.substack.com. If you have a suggestion for a show topic, spirit guide or dream symbol, you can reach me on my blog or on social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Mastodon, Minds, and Pixedfed. Now, let's talk about dealing with alt-right Christian trolls online and offline. Three years ago, I did a show called Don’t Feed the Trolls. You can hear that show through the paid version of the newsletter. This topic arose after I found a current Wild Hunt article about Taylor Swift being accused of witchcraft during her tour. Some things included are the Witch Trials being brought back. I have an article for you to check out on the show notes! You think of one simple solution to getting rid of trolls. But what would you do if it happened to you? It is not as simple as it seems. I was bullied when I was young. But this subject is universal and not tied to any religion. And if you have kids who are bullied, have them listen to this podcast. But before I do, let's listen to some more music: here's Winged Bull by Magicfolk.
(12:59)
There's only one reason that online trolls even exist: They love it when you react to their comment. That’s all they want. When you're dealing with those online trolls, the best thing to do is just ignore them. When I say ignore them, I mean you shouldn't respond to their comments. Please don’t do that. If you get a comment that's discriminatory, just report it to the social media platform you're using and block that troll. That’s all. Sure, trolls sometimes make another account just to keep harassing people. But don't react and respond back when they do. All you got to do is to report and block them repeatedly. After the 5th or 10th time, they’ll soon get bored and move on. All the popular social media sites have ways to report people who are being abusive or trolling others. Use that to your advantage. That’s even if you do that 10 times. I talked about how I messed up by sharing a racist comment on my social media feed during my “Feeding the Trolls” show. In response, I heard from all of you not to feed the trolls. I listened to you and deleted that post. If you get a discriminatory comment, don't screenshot or copy and paste it to show everyone on social media. Just ignore it. The reason you shouldn't do that is that you’ll only make the troll more popular than they already are. I've been on TikTok for a year and I wish people would stop feeding trolls by sharing their Alt-Right discriminatory comments or stitching videos. If you're on TikTok, you know what I mean. If you're on there, why not show some positive comments and stitch videos of those whose viewpoints you agree with, instead of feeding trolls all the time. If you see any discriminatory comments or videos on TikTok, it is best you report them there. But most people there don't do that and they just keep feeding the trolls. As of late, I have not been using TikTok as frequently as I used to. If I do, I just scroll past the politics and feed the trolls videos. I still post video samples of this podcast there. And I still haven't gotten any mean comments yet. If I do, then I do what I already mentioned. However, some people believe that ignoring trolls or bullies solves nothing. For me, it depends on the situation. And one situation where this theory works is online. I will discuss the controversy surrounding the decision to ignore trolls or bullies later. I want to listen to more soulful music, like Good Friend by Libana.
(18:09)
Time for another Spirit Guide of the Week. I'll be discussing the Sumerian spirit Lamashtu. She represents witchcraft, infertility, miscarriage, and crib death. Lamashtu also prevents conception. She also causes illness like fevers and inflammations. And she notoriously puts down anyone she prosecutes. The Sumerians and Assyrians describe her as more of a demon. Lamashtu is a very dangerous goddess. Lamashtu is often depicted with a lioness head and donkey ears and teeth. Her feet look like a bird with sharp talons, long fingernails, and a hairy body. The reason behind this goddess's anger towards humans is a mystery, but she causes them suffering simply because she wants to. Lamashtu’s rival is the demon Pazzuzu. He has a bad reputation as a plague spirit. However, both demons hate each other, and Pazzuzu actually feels bad for humans, so he tries to protect them from Lamashtu. And Lamashtu is also a fierce and protective guardian. She will protect those who don't have personal deities. That is it for now. Stay tuned for another spirit guide of the week.
(25:07)
That was A Demon’s Fate by Within Temptation. I said earlier that it's probably best to just ignore the trolls you encounter online. In person, that’s a different story. Ignoring bullies in person isn't always such a great idea. The reason is that if you choose to ignore them, the bully will continue to escalate their behavior until they get your attention. They will never quite give up, until they get what they want. A personal example I can think of, is ignoring my bullies coming home from school when I was a kid. My dad told me to ignore them the night before. I did until one of them asked me, “Are you deaf?” During my time in high school, there was a situation where ignoring bullies turned out to be the right course of action. In particular, when I had forgotten about having an English assignment due that day. I had some time to do that in the cafeteria, and these two bullies came over and tried to get my attention. However, I focused on my homework and they left me alone to finish it. There are plenty of other ways your kids can handle bullies at school. You need to tell your kids that bullying doesn’t end once high school is over. It is highly likely that you may face bullying from your boss or coworkers in the workplace. Bullying may be subtle or overt in this case. These are the people who refuse to own up to their behavior. They also have low self-esteem and are jealous. When it comes to dealing with Far Right Christian Bullies, it's probably best to just ignore them. They are strangers, after all. If they're your relatives, it's a totally different situation. But these dangers strangers don’t know you and you don’t know them. They don’t get it that they can’t force their opinions on what’s right or wrong onto you. If you come across one, just ignore them. I'm worried that those on the Far Right will get too aggressive and start attacking us for being pagan. I read a post from someone in the LGBTQ community who had an experience with people from the Far Right. They're getting out of control and it's becoming a problem. It's just better to ignore them, even if they're forcing you to pay attention in order for them to get your reaction. I want to get to some more music. And this one shows what I was just talking about - People Just Scared by Cloud the Pagan Rapper.
(31:21)
Here's another dream symbol to interpret. Here are the three: Test, Guard, and Back. If you had a dream where you were taking a test, that may suggest that you are being evaluated or inspected. If you had a dream where you were passing a test, that may suggest that you are ready and well-prepared for the job or task that lies ahead of you. When you fail a test in your dreams, it might be a signal that you're feeling unsatisfied or uneasy about something in your real life. When you see a security guard carrying a gun in your dream, it is considered to be a sign that you are engaging in logical or rational thinking. If you dream of a prison guard, it is a sign that your beliefs or mindset may block your personal development. This dream symbolizes you may limit yourself in some way. In your dreams, your back is a representation of your thoughts, resources, obligations, and position in the world. If someone turns their back on you in your dream, this implies that you will suffer great hurt because of jealousy and resentment. And the presence of a naked back represents either hidden or guarded portions of yourself or secrets you may have withheld from others. If you want a dream symbol to interpret and maybe have a dream symbol featured, I will mention the contact information at the end of this show. So keep dreaming.
(37:07)
It's time for a nice, deep, and relaxing meditation. If you're listening to this podcast while driving or operating machinery, please skip ahead for your safety. This episode features a guided meditation by Molly McCord, titled I Just Need 5 Minutes to Myself.
(42:54)
Before the meditation, you hear Fay Brotherhood with The Backward Path. That is it for this show. Again, I am your host, Midnight Starr. I would like to remind you that if you are interested in donating to the Red Album project, which I mentioned at the beginning of this show, the Access Pagan Music Project has a GoFundMe page linked in the show notes. Alternatively, you can find it by searching for it on GoFundMe.com. So far they raised over 12 thousand dollars. Get more details about this project by checking out The Red Album Facebook page or visiting https://pagansong.com. You can hear samples of each of the songs that is going to be on the Red Album and they are now looking for some sponsors for each song. Got an idea for a show topic, spirit guide or dream symbol? Share it on the website https://goddessvault1.wixsite.com/home and on social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Mastodon, and Pixelfed. If you’re a Canadian Pagan musician, I'd love to hear from you. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me! I can't wait to discover and play more Canadian pagan music! If you want to help keep this show going, you can donate money to either https://www.ko-fi.com/goddessvault, or https://www.patreon.com/goddessvault, If you want to be the first to hear the latest episode, you can sign up for the newsletter, https://musicgoddessvault.substack.com. I am going to leave you with Inkubus Sukkubus and Church of Madness. Blessed be.
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