Posted: 5/30/2008 at 08:41 PM
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As many of you know by now, I am Pagan.. Yesterday at work there wasn't much going on so we were just standing around a lot at the registers and a co-worker just walks up to me and thinks she has the right to grab my pent (a neckles that I waer) and just put her hand down my shirt as she forcfully puts my pent inside my shirt.. Not a big deal? No other than the fact that I hate it when anyone besides me or my wife touching it, I once had a guy I didn't know from adam ask me if he could LOOK at it, I told him he could LOOK at it and he then ran up and grabed it, and the next thing I knew I lost it for six months, this caused me to have to bury it in salt for another three months in salt to cleans it.. I know a lot of you won't understand that but.. Anyway, this pent is a very important religious symbol to me, it's like a christians cross, or a jewish persons star of david.. I have had a lot of people just run up and get grabby with it, and so far but for the one guy I have been able to get rid of anything bad left on it without problems.. The thing is though why the holy hell do people think they have the right to just run up and even touch what I wear as a symbol of my religious beliefs.. This kind of thing can really cause problems for me and mine.. Let alone that other women besides my wife touching me in any way without my premission is just offensive and disrespecful, I don't have many boundries but the ones I do are very important to me.. You don't touch me (it disrespects my wife and my family), you don't have the right to overtly flurt with me (I married the person that has that right, and it is not you), and you don't have the right to force your religious views on me (I don't find your beliefs offensive and like it or not I have the right to practice my beliefs as I see fit as long as I don't force my beliefs on you)..
Just so people know this is the pent I wear.. http://www.azuregreen.com/Jewelry/Pentagrams/Pentagram:_Theban_w.Scrying_Disk/Page_9/JPTHE.html
I just don't get it, I don't have the right to say someone else can't show their cross in public.. Why the hell do some think they have the god given right to force me not to show my pent in public?
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You can always simply say, "No, don't do that" if you feel someone is violating your physical space. If someone 'complains' about your jewelry and ignoring them doesn't work then a simple explanation of "It's a symbol of my religious faith, the equivalent of wearing a cross or Star of David", and leave it at that, unless you feel you'd like to have more of a discussion. After all, what you're describing is a religious symbol, not something vulgar, hateful or similarly offensive.
People don't have to, or need to, tolerate others physically invading their body, and a simple, "No, don't touch me" should suffice.
P.S. I frequently wear an American Atheists symbol necklace earrings and necklace and no one has ever touched me or tried to hide the necklace inside my shirt. Many people have asked me about it, as many have never seen the symbol and aren't familiar with it, and when I tell them no one has ever given me a hard time or been rude. Of course if anyone touched me they'd be sorry. ;-) They can say anything they want to say, and that's fine - but touching me isn't okay. I may be disabled, but my arms work just fine.
People are always interested to learn about the symbol, even if it isn't their 'thing', and it's just never been a problem.
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