There are worse things than bigots

Written by thehouseofvines

Yeeesh. They’ll let anyone sign this thing:

Pyrokanthos says:
November 7, 2019 at 2:33 pm
Pyrokanthos, Hiereys Basileys of Thiasos Olympikos, endorses the Xenia Declaration, which is in full accord with the principals to which we have adhered for the past thirty years.

I mean, I hate Nazis as much as the next red-blooded American but that dude is Pyrokanthos aka Don Studebaker aka Ramfis Firethorn aka Jon DeCles. As in the dude who gropes mediums while they are carrying deities. As in the spouse of Diana Paxson, at whose home children were molested, also known as the adopted brother of Marion Zimmer Bradley.

I feel dirty having my name on that list now.

16 thoughts on “There are worse things than bigots”

  1. That whole situation gives me a bad vibe. I mean, that guy groped somebody who was horsing a Goddess just because he wanted to grope Aphrodite. That’s three different things in one action that I’m not okay with.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I would have beaten that son of a bitch bloody. What he did and what he said is blasphemy pure and simple. There is no room for pedophiles, perverts, molestors, and rapists in our communities and ESPECIALLY not in our holy rites. Those in hrafnar who knew about him and did nothing are nearly as culpable as he is. This is disgusting, absolutely disgusting and one of the main reasons I distance myself from CA “pagans” and heathens of a certain generation.

      I once had someone fake possession during a ritual and i picked up a staff and beat the shit out of them and drove them from my home. I stand by that action. THIS situation that is described above is worse. Zero tolerance.

      Liked by 4 people

      1. I couldn’t agree more. It’s bad enough he groped someone and even worse she was essentially under the influence. But to top it all off, he groped someone because he wanted to grope Aphrodite and then pretty much disregarded the consent of the medium and the Goddess. And it wasn’t a mistake. He chose to do that. He actually thought about it and went with it. He made a decision. That’s just wrong.

        Liked by 3 people

        1. Violating someone who is performing a holy rite is particularly revolting. People who are performing sacred rites like that medium was are sacrosanct. End of story.

          Liked by 5 people

          2. That too. The more I think about it, the more I find disturbing about it.

            As an Aphrodite devotee, I feel personally offended by this. I think I’m going to give Her extra offerings tonight. This shit is just too much

            Liked by 2 people

            1. This first and foremost. we should be protecting and nurturing our sacred specialists. It is a violation beyond the pale. i think making offerings to Aphrodite tonight is a very good idea.

              Liked by 3 people

  3. I’m part of the mod team of the Xenia Declaration, but have no involvement of who signs. (I’d happily have The Starry Bull listed! But its not my decision.)
    Anyway, we’ve taken your allegations against Pyrokanthos seriously and attempting to investigate. The issue here is the names associated with this person. If Pyrokanthos is indeed the same person, he’ll be removed.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s the same Pyrokanthos who was active on the early HP lists on Yahoo (and was pretty chummy with Kyrene btw despite her attempts to disavow knowing him.) Beyond interactions with him online back then I’ve had direct encounters with the man at Pantheacon in 2006 and ’07. Although I didn’t personally see anything too egregious (beyond his son making out with a girl while we were trying to do a cleansing rite for Apollon and persisting in talking during a silent procession for Hekate, even after multiple people shushed him – both of which Pyrokanthos not only observed but even seemed to approve of) there are plenty of horror stories circulating, especially in the Bay Area. I can refer you to several respected members of the community who can attest multiple instances of unethical and sexually inappropriate behavior that they either witnessed or were the recipients of, if that will help.

      Although there are plenty of things one might criticize me for, I don’t lie and I wouldn’t be bringing up accusations like this unless there was grave concern.

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        1. Excellent news, Markos. From all I’ve heard, this Pyrakanthos fellow is not the most savory person to be associated with. Normally I try not to judge but I can’t abide by such egregious actions such as those he (and apparently his own son) have taken. May Justice be upheld.

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          1. I do what I can, I know why Sannion was rejected and no amount of comments from me will change anything.
            I support the declaration as there has been an increase of violent speech towards many from so-called Hellenic Polytheists. (Mostly mainland Greeks and American Greek nationals.) Even close to home, in Australia, there has been cases where the Golden Dawn have funded anti-immigrant protests, which has resulted in violence.
            Sure this is just an online thing, but also a small step to try to weed out the hate speech directed towards many.
            If a case like Pyrakanthos happens again we’ll do the same process of investigation and removal from the list.

            Liked by 1 person

            1. I pray that your co-moderators listen to you more often in the future. You are wiser than many.

              May our community band together and buckle down on our values. The Gods belong to no singular tribe of humans but rather those who worship the Gods belong to Them.

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