LATEST TST NEWS & CAMPAIGN UPDATES

"SURVIVORSHIP" CONFERENCE CAN NO LONGER PROVIDE CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDIT

Following a complaint from The Satanic Temple's Grey Faction campaign to the American Psychological Association, Survivorship's conference can no longer provide continuing education credit.

"Survivorship courses and presentations heavily focus on Satanic cults, mind control, and related unproven conspiracy theories. Needless to say, this material is anything but informed by the latest scientific developments in the field of psychology," notes Grey Faction Director Evan Anderson.

The complaint includes extensive quotations of Survivorship presentations. Quoted speakers include Alison Miller, a psychologist who resigned last year following a complaint submitted by Grey Faction to Miller's licensure oversight board; Neil Brick, the President of Survivorship who claims to believe he was a brainwashed assassin for the Illuminati; Eileen Aveni, who spoke about supposed ongoing military mind control experimentation used to create assassins; and Wendy Hoffman, who talked about "generational Satanic cult children" and "cult plant therapists" who she claims are themselves victims of mind control and ritual abuse.

"This is more than a symbolic victory," said Anderson. "For far too long, the APA has allowed conferences steeped in bizarre conspiracism and pseudoscience to offer continuing education units, in contravention to their own course guidelines. Hopefully, this represents a turning of the tides, and the mental health field can at long last rid itself of the Satanic Panic hysteria that has plagued it for decades."

Grey Faction is a campaign of The Satanic Temple dedicated to fighting conspiracism and pseudoscience in the mental health field.

WASHINGTON STATE REP. VANDALIZES CAPITOL STEPS

IN FAILED ATTEMPT TO FOIL SATANIC INVOCATION

State Rep. Matt Shea recently attempted to upend members of TST's Washington chapter prior to their invocation in March by pouring olive oil on the Capitol steps. Shea was issued a cleaning bill for $4,761 after surveillance videos caught him in the act. More on this from King5 News.

TST Washington chapter media liaison, Tarkus Claypool, noted:

"The fine people at DES (Department of Enterprise Services) are actually very protective of those granite steps. They asked us to change to our ritual to ensure that our invocation didn't damage them. We showed respect for public property as all responsible citizens should, especially elected officials. It's going to take a lot more than Matt Shea and his bottle of salad dressing to stop us from exercising our first amendment rights. So he and the rest of the WA State legislature can count on us asking to give an invocation next year."

Lucien Greaves gave a statement to Hemant Mehta on Friendly Atheist about the incident:

"This brings to question Mr. Shea’s state of mind, his ability to distinguish reality from fantasy, and his competence in acting appropriately in ways that do not threaten the safety of himself or others. But while one might reasonably question whether or not Mr. Shea should at least temporarily be denied access to sharp objects and his own bank account pending further evaluation, there is no question that anybody possessed of Mr. Shea’s flagrant antipathy towards the most fundamental principles of the United States Constitution should not be holding the office of one charged with upholding those principles. If Mr. Shea is so offended by our First Amendment guarantees that he finds it impossible to accept public religious expression that does not align with his own, then I hope the people of Washington will demand his immediate resignation. This is America, Mr. Shea. Love it or leave it.”

John S. Hall is a poet/spoken word artist, musician (if ukulele counts), and singer-songwriter. He has released numerous recordings, including nine albums with various incarnations of his band King Missile.

He is the author of a collection of poetry (Jesus Was Way Cool) and a self-help parody (Daily Negations), both on Soft Skull Press, and over 100 unpublished children’s stories.

His most recent releases may be found at:

https://dromedaryrecords.bandcamp.com/album/garden-variety-fuckers

and:

https://silkcut.bandcamp.com/releases

THE SATANIC TEMPLE SALEM

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Malcolm Jarry ©2020

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Tenet Study: On Being Offended

Tenet IV: The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own.

Periodically, we receive emails from people who want to know more about our 4th Tenet, which affirms the freedom to offend.

There is a difference between what one should do and what one should be able to do. In general, one should not be cruel and say hurtful things for the sake of being cruel; however, outlawing speech that hurts the feelings of others is problematic for numerous reasons.

First, it gives the government too much power.

Second, there is tremendous arbitrariness regarding what speech is considered hurtful. 

Third, anyone can claim to be offended for any reason. Many people are offended by the mere invocation of Satan. These people believe our organization should be outlawed. Under a system that protects people who take offense, The Satanic Temple would cease to exist.

Lastly, social norms change. Many people once took offense at the suggestion that people of certain races and religions were deserving of the same rights as everyone else. In this instance, offense arises from bigotry.

Keep in mind that while being offensive can be hurtful, it can also be an agent for constructive change, such as in assisting in the struggle to overcome prejudices.

The Satanic Temple TV continues to broadcast original programs created by and for TST members, which include original series, rare movie screenings, and live stream events from around the world. Below are selections from the many shows and live broadcasts offered on The Satanic Temple TV. An array of content has been made public and available to non-subscribers for the duration of physical quarantine measures.