Non Fluffy Wicca

It may not be nice to "bash" Silver Ravenwolf, but it may be MORE than nice to bash the inaccuracies in her work. Often, on many pagan oriented lists, the topic of Silver Ravenwolf rears its head to be rehashed over and over. It usually happens when a newbie raves about her work, and someone else attempts to steer people away from it. Inevitably the discussion disintegrates into a flame fest with the "bashing people is against the Rede" vs. "when something is wrong, you should speak up."

Silver Ravenwolf is the object of a lot of discussion because she has, like it or not, brought her brand of Witchcraft to the larger community. Her books adorn the shelves of many Borders, Barnes & Noble, et al. She has done a lot to bring the subject of Witchcraft into the mainstream. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing can be discussed ad infinitum (and often is) but is not the point of what I'm trying to say. I see it more as a debate between "rocking the boat is bad" vs. intellectual integrity and our duty to point out where it may be lacking.

The idea that "bashing" others is against the Rede is one that I find dangerous and highly unfortunate. That view may be taken by those who fail to understand the complexities of what the Rede encompasses. The Rede is not a knee jerk "white line" test, but a balancing act. It puts a significant amount of onus on the individual to carefully weigh the options, and come out on the side of the greater good. It is careful analysis. It is not dogmatic adherence to a path of cyclically bashing people for their perception of bashing others, while simultaneously patting themselves on the back for being "good."

Now don't get me wrong. I don't believe that everything that Silver Ravenwolf ever wrote is awful. I don't believe that every word is inaccurate or misleading. However, I do believe that enough of what she has to say is questionable if not downright "bad," (especially for those new to Wicca) that I am using her work as ONE example to make my point.

I find it ironic in the extreme that some will defend the "rights" of others to peddle misleading and possibly dangerous information (i.e. it's ok to lie to your parents if you're a "teen witch") while conveniently ignoring the harm that such information causes. Does pointing out inaccuracies "harm" the creator of the inaccuracies? Possibly. Does not pointing them out harm the collective knowledge base? Definitely.

I have stated before that I feel it is our duty to stop the spread of historically inaccurate or otherwise incorrect information. If we do not, especially when that information is disseminated in books as widely as Silver Ravenwolf's, that information gets passed on in our community as well as throughout the not so forgiving outsiders. The harm that is done could be far greater than that of debunking the information.

Those who perceive the debunking of inaccurate information as "bashing" the author, often do not realize that by attacking the messenger, they are ALSO bashing. And in this case, they are bashing those who are trying to protect the greater good.