Why is it the only people who seem to have any first-hand "knowledge" of Satanism are rightwingers?

[Rabrrrrrr]

I've never met a Satanist. I've never seen ads looking for people to join a satanic cult or join in on some kind of satanic rituals.

I've never heard anyone ever talk about knowing or meeting such people, except for rightwing crazies.

Same with witchcraft (other than the few people who like to think of themselves as 'witches' but just go out in the woods and dance and have whatever harmless rituals they do; I'm talking about here about anyone who thinks they're actually casting spells, doing demonic summoning, or the other shit that the rightwing crazies accuse witchcraft of).

I seriously think the rightwing just makes the shit up. It makes for great sermon material if the "preacher" can, instead of using something from real life, invent some fictional "I read in the paper about another Satanic sacrifice of a baby!" to stir up the fear or pull out some bullshit line "I used to be a satanist/witch/whatever and did evil things with blood and hexes and we made zombies but then I met Jesus!" instead of just offering a more real, genuine story of their epiphany or encounter with the divine. Though since they're crazy power-hungry rightwing assholes, they've probably never actually had an epiphany or encounter with the divine other than the epiphany "Holy crap, I can make shitload of money by twisting people's religious sensibilities!"

I never hear liberals or educated people talk about such things as though they actually exist.

Rightwingers talk about this shit all the time, especially on Christian radio and in their churches.

Just going on the number of stories I've heard from these assholes, about a tenth of our population must be secret satanists and witches with, apparently, a shitload of Very Real and Very Evil Power.

Curious that they never use it. A ten percent population with magic abilities should have been able to take the country over easily a generation or two ago.

[baldguy]

1. Because Satanists are conservatives.

Obviously.

[Zephie]

3. Theres a Satanist here on DU.

He seemed very nice.

[baldguy]

20. We have gun nuts & fundamentalist Christians here, too.

They're conservatives also.

[hobbit709]

2. Probably because it's them.

takes one to know one and all that.

[derby378]

4. The closest I got to that sort of thing was an associate who was a member of Astrum Argentum

Personally, I am not aware if any of my friends or associates are members of the Church of Satan, Temple of Set, or anything of that sort.

And if Michael Aquino and I were alone in the waiting room and bored out of our skulls, I'd happily challenge him to a game of Senet, if he's into that sort of thing.

[Javaman]

5. Because they are possessed. nt

[tanyev]

6. It's just like they all know that condoms don't work.

But abstinence-only does.

[jberryhill]

14. That's only because they put them on backwards

Heh.

[derby378]

7. If you're talking about witches, however...

...I used to know a few honest-to-goodnesss Wiccans, although most of them didn't share that info with me.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. They're (a) dumb and (b) hungry for 'power' (nt)

[mrcheerful]

9. Because wing nuts watched to many movies like Exorcist and Omen

which blurred their minds vision of reality and make believe. Notice that very few people had a problem with Halloween before the religious right entered the politico scene, sure we had warnings about razor blades in apples or drugs in candy put there by hippies after the Mason family murder spree, wing nuts were behind those scares too btw. I remember the religious nuts talking about satanic rituals the first time around 1978 or 79 when most Americans just thought the religious right were just the usual crack pots who did tent revivals in the 60's. Which also started around Halloween that year and the local paper reported that after a number of false police reports around the area that mentally unstable folks were making the reports.

[Brickbat]

10. I do know someone who worshipped the "dark side" of energy, and he was a kind, thoughtful and very

funny person.

His work wasn't about destruction, power, or, you know, bloody altars and dead babies; it was much more about self-knowledge, the paradox of the dark side of human nature, and how to channel or harness it.

[Raksha]

13. It's important to recognize the dark side of human nature and learn how to integrate it.

That way it's less likely to take you over and possess you like it does with the RWWs, especially the religious ones who compulsively project it onto others. Possession and projection--it's ALL they know how to do!

I knew a guy like your friend who called himself a Satanist, although to this day I don't know why. He was one of the nicest people I've ever known. Guess he just liked to shock people.

[Peregrine Took]

11. If you listen to the fundie Christian stations - they are pornography mad, too.

Wives are always calling up about their husbands porn addictions as are men about themselves, too. I guess its all those taboo subjects that enthrall them.

[RKP5637]

12. It's all of the repression they have endured since birth will generally find an

outlet and/or compulsion one way or another.

As you say, "I guess it's all those taboo subjects that enthrall them."

Anyway, that's my 2 cents. It always seems to me it's the RW that has a lot of F'ed up things going on in their lives, and then are trying to tell everyone else how to run their lives. The RW is perpetually uptight about something or another. Now the MSM stokes them for profit.

[jberryhill]

15. If you think about it - it's a Christian cult anyway

You have to first have the foundational Christian belief in Satan.

[The_Commonist]

16. "I seriously think the rightwing just makes the shit up..."

Whatever gave you that idea?

I've known a number of Wiccans.
Never met a Satanist.

[damntexdem]

17. Well, they get their first-hand knowledge from those with whom they hang out.

And Satan just LOVES hanging out with his minions.

;-)

[DCKit]

18. They seem to have a handle on all deviant behavior.

The obsession with butt-sex or how they equate everything with bestiality, for instance.

Methinks thou dost protest too much.

[Still Blue in PDX]

19. I don't know any Witches who even believe Satan exists.

There are Witches who call themselves "Christian Witches," but I think they are trying to appease Christian family members. They probably "believe in" Satan but I doubt they worship him.

I know Druids, Asatru, Wiccans, Green Witches, and lots of neopagans of various levels of eclecticism. Most tend not to "worship" any deity the way the Christians insist their God has to be worshipped. Yeah, some of us cast spells. Sort of. Sympathetic magic. Sending out good energy, good thoughts, healing. Sometimes bad thoughts, though that is frowned upon. In my experience it isn't as wacky as a bunch of pentecostals getting together in a circle. Now THAT was scary.
:scared: