Today was another in a series of days spent slightly dizzy and out of it. I have to wonder if I'm not fighting off a cold or something. I've managed a little bit of work around the house, but that's about it. Still with the slight headache (it's better today than yesterday), but the dizziness was more to the fore.

Needless to say, I wasn't in any shape to drive, so I didn't get out to the Shinto shrine.

I did get a chance to go over the notes I was sent the other day about a PCon presentation and will be getting a few comments together for the woman who sent them. She's doing a session on Pagan pastoral counseling, talking about the community's need for some kind of recognition, and how Pagans are routinely shut out of the process even if they have qualifications within our own communities. It's important stuff and I'm honored she would think I'd have useful things to say on the topic.

As to the "unusual" bit of the day, I got an email through my website from a guy who was spouting some really awful racist nonsense six or so years back. He says he's changed and he's offered an apology of sorts to the community. I do believe people are capable of change. I don't know what he's been doing in the intervening years, so I can't speak to that. I do know that it takes some guts to offer an apology after something that egregious, particularly years later, when one might instead hope that it's forgotten. I'm posting it here below the cut, unaltered, for folks to read for themselves.

He's included an email address where people can contact him if they have questions. There's also a link included to a post where I talked about what he'd been saying, so that there is some context here.


subject: druid apology

I wanted to send this message to you as you once wrote a short bit about me, and I thought you would like to know my own update.

so, once upon a time, I got burned out on paganism and out of my frustration, I tried to creation some kind of druid like group to vent, it did not go well, there was a lot of learning I needed to go thru, examining my inner self and the world around me, that was 6 years ago, it lasted about 6 months and 2 other people were involved, that was it, there was never a movement, never any reach into the pagan world, most anyone in the pagan druid world rightfully disregarded my ideas as rediculous. After six years and a lot of growing, I look back at my views and I see them as immature and misguided. I apologise to anyone I may have inadvertantly harmed or offended so long ago. At the time I was a student of Con Connor's, I paid for and signed up for his course online, after meeting him on Tara Hill where Jimmy Fagan performed our handfasting ceremony in June 2005. When my outrageous views were brought to Con's attention he placed a Geis on me, kicked me out of his school and refused to refund my money, though I had only just started the program, yet on the first lesson. Though I have grown past those destructive ideas, I can look back at them and understand them as growing pains and a youth, in his early twenties attempting to figure himself out. But Con sees this differently, though I need nothing from him, I have asked his forgiveness every couple of years and the most recent was yesterday. He insists the geis is my own problem and that I deserve it, in words which are clear he still holds the past against me. As bad as I was, I was 20 something, making mistakes as all 20 somethings do, and as Mr. Connor refuses to stop judging me based on old mistakes, I feel it is necessary to make this clear to the community. It is normal for young people to make mistakes, and to learn from them and to do better. He also indicates he is angry that someone who backed the M3 Michael Slavin wrote our wedding vows. I did not know who Michael Slavin was at the time, he had a coin jar in his shop that said save Tara, in fact! I had no idea he backed the M3 until after he had translated our wedding vows into Irish. If this is to be held against me, then I wonder what the criteria is? I would like to move forward in my life, I believe I deserve to, and thus I submit this to the pagan community, if anyone needs to ask me any questions or has any comments I am very glad to communicate.: Par Macpharlain pavi_guy@yahoo.com I am a human being just like anyone else.

I believe everyone deserves a second or even a third chance, especially when they have grown and changed. Your writing about my words was completely valid and I agree with your assessment. It was many years ago and I was stumbling about. Anyway, I hope this is of some value to you.

this is the bit you wrote on me:
http://erynn999.livejournal.com/108631.html