Opinion

HIS view

Mutual respect of rights needed

Dear Mr. Hughes and company,

I'm terribly sorry that I'm not your public relations agent. Perhaps if you want your events covered with your own particular spin on them, you should hire one.

I understand that last year, you complained because you weren't covered enough, maybe you would prefer no one cover you at all after what you must see as a debacle.

After reading your column, written en masse apparently, I was shocked to learn that you found my article anything but informative. This being the case, I have a few problems with what was said.

You say that the coordinators of the ritual never contacted the media and would have preferred our absence from your rite.

It may be true that you didn't expressly contact the news media, but you did have fliers plastered all over campus. Surely you at least suspected in the back of your mind that we would show up. It's just common sense to think the media will cover an event like that.

Perhaps you could have stipulated "no cameras allowed" or "no media allowed" to alleviate some of your problems, but then that would be against the First Amendment provisions of your freedoms of assembly and religion.

The very nature of your ritual, being public, is extremely media conducive. I realize that you require nature and the outdoors to celebrate your religion, but might I suggest that next time you not advertise so much and hold your ritual on private property. Were you to do that, I would have no problem keeping away.

In your column, you say that I was mistaken about the phrase "working group." By my presumption, working group referred to everyone involved in the event.

If this is truly the case, then I apologize for my error. I did not realize that you just meant the organizers of the event: Amber Turrill, Mike Stanley, Stephanie Holcomb, Jenny Harbert, J.T. Hurley and yourself. I must respect you for being the only Pagans in the group open about your beliefs. You are at least on the right track to having the courage of your convictions -- the next step is not caring if people know what you look like, discrimination or not.

Not to sound disrespectful or rude. I'd like to mention that the so-called anthropology major and former Parthenon reporter with whom you spoke is neither an anthropology major nor a former Parthenon reporter who didn't need to be drawn into this.

I never made the claim that Mr. Hughes was a member of the clergy, but according to what he said, every Wiccan can be referred to as priest. I suppose my error was in capitalizing "Priest".

In regards to the matter of Mr. Capetina and the camera blockade, I asked all the blockaders why they were there and it just so happened that Mr. Capetina was the only one who spoke up. I cannot help it if the other blockaders, who you encouraged, were too timid to speak. It's also out of my control if Mr. Capetina spoke in a sensationalistic manner. I do regret, however, that Mr. Capetina was associated with your religion.

I hope this has addressed and cleared up the grievances you have with me. I would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused because of my article. I only ask that my First Amendment rights be treated with the same respect as yours and that I be allowed to write the facts without annoyance.

You have had your say and I have had mine. Perhaps we should both just show some restraint, respect and maturity, stay out of each other's way and let the matter drop. I hope in this column I have usurped the last word because there are far more important things going on in the world.

Dingess is a reporter for The Parthenon. Comments may be sent to parthenon@marshall.edu