50,000 Page Views Guest Post: Keep Britain Black

'A Lincolnshire priest has suggested in his parish magazine that black clothes should be banned at funerals and everywhere else. The normal arguments given to support this rest on two premises, that black clothes are drab and that funerals should be joyful things, celebrating a departure from this vale of tears into the happy abode beyond.

The only reason that black is thought drab is because it is associated with death and the clergy. But if kept clean, which the clergy often can't manage, it can be devilishly attractive. I can also think of several of my acquaintances whose death will leave me with no happy certainty as to their future abode. One could always modify one's dress at funerals according to one's estimate of the dead man's chances.

The real reason, I'm afraid, for many people's objections to black is because they do not like to reminded that with all the twentieth century's advances in the fields of teenage thought and cosy living, our scientists have not yet abolished the ancient and time-honoured institution of death. For myself, if anyone attending my funeral is not dressed in black, I shall haunt him through all his waking nights, dressed in South Sea shirt and Bermuda shorts and howling like a banshee.'

- Auberon Waugh, 'Keep Britain Black,'Catholic Herald, 1 March 1963

Result: Laurence Soper Arrested

The spells, prayers and sacrifices of the internet (you will see that my page on him is one of the most visited here) have resulted in the arrest of the fugitive former abbot of Ealing Abbey, wanted for child abuse charges. Rejoice, folks, this is exactly what the witch's intervention is for, and celebrations are in order. This is how the Telegraph reports it:

ACatholic cleric accused of historical sex offences has been arrested in Kosovo after a five year police hunt.

Father Laurence Soper was wanted on a European Arrest Warrant over allegations of child abuse dating back to when he taught at St Benedict's School, a private independent Catholic school which is part of Ealing Abbey in west London.

In March 2011, Fr Soper was believed to have been living in a monastery in Rome and was due to return to London to answer bail.

However, he failed to show up, sparking an international search.

After more than five years evading officials, he was arrested in Kosovo on Wednesday.
Source/

Spirit of Place: Another Day in Paradise

Urban Grimoire: Spell for Problem People

And I'm not talking about just difficult people, I'm talking about the kind of nightmare people who are usually exes or in-laws. You can't come to a sensible agreement with them and there's no point trying.
So here is the Hound's simple spell for solving this problem once and for all. All you need is two of these people. I'm sure if you are lucky enough only to have one in your life you could borrow one from a friend. Now, using a method of your choice, attach them together (personally I visualise them attached together inside a long grey sausage shape thing), sit back,  and let their nonsense affect each other.
Let's end with a song suitable for this occasion and these people.

Queer: Anti-Pride and Marsha P Johnson

It's that time of year again and time for my usual anti-equality and anti-Pride post. This year it takes the form of a repost about a largely ignored figure in Stonewall history :
The Shot Glass Heard Around The World

In 1969, the Stonewall riots – precipitated when the NYPD burst into the famed gay bar and started being their usually abusive selves – defined the modern gay movement.

Among the first to physically resist the police was Marsha P. Johnson, the now infamous transgender rights activist who co-founded S.T.A.R. (Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries) with Sylvia Rivera in the ‘70s.

At 1:20 in the morning on Saturday, June 28, 1969, four plainclothes police officers entered Stonewall Inn and announced “Police! We’re taking the place!" 

Officers forced the customers to form into two lines divided by perceived gender and show them their genitals to confirm if it matched the gender on their identification card.

At some point during the raid, Marsha Johnson proclaimed, ’I got my civil rights!’ and then threw a shot glass into a mirror, adding on to the tension and creating an atmosphere of resistance. Some witnesses and historians believe her action is what instigated the riot.

Patrons began to refuse to produce their I.D. and police decided to arrest everyone still at the bar. Those who were not arrested gathered outside the bar and quickly drew a crowd of over 1,000 queers. As rumors spread through the crowd that those inside were being beaten by cops, they began throwing pennies, beer bottles and other items at police.

A drag queen who was shoved by an officer in front of the crowd responded by hitting him on the head with her purse as the crowd began to boo.

Soon after, an unidentified lesbian was hit on the head with a billy club after complaining that her handcuffs were too tight. She faced the bystanders and shouted, ”Why don’t you guys do something?“

Police threw her into the back of a patrol wagons, at that point the crowd became a mob and collectively resisted the police.

—–

Along with Sylvia Rivera, the two transgender revolutionaries created S.T.A.R. and STAR House in which they housed, fed and clothed homeless drag queens and trans* youth by hustling in the streets of NYC so that their children didn’t have to.

Marsha P. Johnson is often credited for inciting the Stonewall Riots, yet she receives close to no recognition by mainstream Gay Organizations and the queer community. I have no doubt that the erasure of Marsha’s participation in the riots and the Gay Liberation Movement is due to her being a black, transgender radical. Had she’d been a white gay cis-male, her name would be permanently embedded in every queer’s mind.

I know Marsha as a courageous queer revolutionary, a queen of Queens, a Stonewall Veteran, a dedicated activist, a mother of S.T.A.R. and a personal idol. She deserves more than anyone I know, to be recognized by the queer community.

In July 6, 1992, Johnson’s body was found floating in the Hudson River off the West Village Piers shortly after the 1992 Pride March. Friends of Johnson claims she was harassed near the spot where her body was found. The police disregarded this and ruled her death a suicide without any evidence. However, in November 2012, the NYPD re-opened the case.
Source: http://anarcho-queer.tumblr.com/post/55132691214

Self Love

'You're too apt to fall on your own sword and too hasty to speak the truth,' said my union rep the other day. She doesn't get it. One of the advantages of having such a mother as mine is that you learn how to seem completely reasonable, and a major way to do that is to reflect on what's happening and own ones own part in a situation. She didn't notice that what I'd actually said was after reflection I'd concluded that my manager is an idiot and my colleagues are c*nts! And people think I can't do subtle.
You see I do actually chew things over at length and I have reflected on the lessons the universe has had for me over the past six months or so. The lesson is simple: it is that love of self comes before anything else. I'm always banging on about the connectedness of everything in the magical world view and it is necessary to have a worthy view of oneself. I don't want to say that this is a necessary precursor to some required love of other people, because I don't think that is necessary. Rather, loving or appreciating myself frees me not to seek love, appreciation, approval, from other people.
Of course the muggles hate this. I have commented before on how wonderful some people's disapproval can be. On the other hand this love of self acts as a magnet for those ready for that love themselves. It also acts as a magnet for the gifts of the universe. The lady will provide for her children, although we are as strangers in the world. If I love myself, I give myself permission to take the gifts of the universe and invite the universe to give them to me.