A Cautionary Tale
Wednesday August 15, 2007
Folks, take the case of Brenna Barney as an example of how not to present a positive image of Wicca to the neighbors and local law enforcement.
Barney, 42, was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, as well as getting a ticket for improper handling burning materials. This, gentle readers, was thankfully not a case of a bunch of average, normal Wiccans celebrating a ritual and being persecuted by the Evil Police. No, it is my pleasure to report that Ms. Barney was, according to reports, yelling at the top of her lungs and throwing lighter fluid on a bonfire that included rubber car mats and a plastic cooler. Lest the fun stop there, she was belligerent when officers asked what she was up to.
I don't care if it was the full moon -- if she was my neighbor, I'd have complained too. This is one case where I'm quite willing to overlook my normal distaste for the term "self-described Wiccan."
Barney, 42, was arrested for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, as well as getting a ticket for improper handling burning materials. This, gentle readers, was thankfully not a case of a bunch of average, normal Wiccans celebrating a ritual and being persecuted by the Evil Police. No, it is my pleasure to report that Ms. Barney was, according to reports, yelling at the top of her lungs and throwing lighter fluid on a bonfire that included rubber car mats and a plastic cooler. Lest the fun stop there, she was belligerent when officers asked what she was up to.
I don't care if it was the full moon -- if she was my neighbor, I'd have complained too. This is one case where I'm quite willing to overlook my normal distaste for the term "self-described Wiccan."
I completely agree. If she was burning plastics and being belligerent to the police, she has no case. i would have complained too.
Of course, the other possibility is that she was trying to exorcise the demons of a cooler-toting, headphone-wearing rubber-mat-using ex-boyfriend, in which case I should maybe be more sympathetic.
HAHAHA…That was funny paganwiccan! And indeed, we shouldn’t think we are above the law.
How much of this is really true? A lot of serious hard questions need to be asked… Did the police make up that she was burning a cooler in order to Justify her arrest? Or Did the neighbors only call the police because of prejudice? Is it illegal to wear only underwear in your backyard in her county? Was she really beligerant to police, or is this a false claim? How does her criminal activity tie into the religion? And vice versa, how does the religion tie into criminal activity? On a personal note: Most Wiccans I know are law abiding citizens, and breaking the law is not one thing we wish to do… however this does mean that we might not break the law unwittingly if we are ignorant of said law.