Respect
14 years ago
It must be emphasized that:
We are not an official Church of Satan group. We are not here on behalf of the Church of Satan. We are not a "Satanic Community."
We are a group on FurAffinity that are made up of individuals who follow the Church of Satan and the works of Anton LaVey.
The other day at work a customer came up to me, this man was about 6' 4" and 250 lbs and in his mid 30's. He didn't have a hostile demeanor but I could tell that he saw my pentagram and wasn't too thrilled about it. So he came up to me and said "So you're a Satanists huh? Mind if I ask you some questions?" I let him know that was fine and with a relaxed stance waited for the interrogation. His first question was what would I do if he were to grab my pendent and rip it off my neck. Honestly I was expecting him to try it or something, so I told him that I would call security and have him banned from the store. He simply nodded and proceeded to asked more questions like: What is the big deal about worshiping Satan, do I have a problem with other people of faith and what my parents thought of it, and why I wear my pendant out in the open. (At that time he also announced that he was a devout Catholic, more reason for me to expect things to get ugly.) So I simply pointed out that we don't worship the devil and that I have no problem with anyone who believes in anything different than me. Finally I did let him know how my parents feel about my choice of faith and that I have just as much right as anyone else to display my belief. By the end of our conversation he simply nodded, shook my hand with a firm grip and said that I had earned his respect.
The point of this story is to show that as a LaVeyan Satanist if you want respect form others you have to give it first no matter what. This man had it set in his head that we were bad people but because I treated him with respect, answered his questions fully and honestly he now thinks a little lighter of us. Now if people come up to you and start asking you questions about Satanism you don't always have to answer them, just let them know that you're not comfortable with it. I choose to take the time to answer people's questions and 90% the person will thank me for it and walk away with a little more understanding about us.
The point of this story is to show that as a LaVeyan Satanist if you want respect form others you have to give it first no matter what. This man had it set in his head that we were bad people but because I treated him with respect, answered his questions fully and honestly he now thinks a little lighter of us. Now if people come up to you and start asking you questions about Satanism you don't always have to answer them, just let them know that you're not comfortable with it. I choose to take the time to answer people's questions and 90% the person will thank me for it and walk away with a little more understanding about us.
"Treat others how you would like to be treated"
This man obviously know it, and thus, is cool.