Oh, I'm not sure it's legal, mind you--but Texas, at least, is a "right to work" state. Very few unions, and basically an employer can fire you for not breathing right. The Religious Right is very powerful in this state. I have a friend who sincerely believes that Wiccans worship Satan, and she's afraid they really do sacrifice animals. Can't convince her otherwise. One Wiccan down here was literally run out of her small town by the local sheriff for teaching "Witchy" things. Guess what she was teaching this small community?
Yoga and aromatherapy.
The sheriff of the next town told her "We don't allow people to harass other people like that here" and as far as I know, she's still in that town. But a local preacher was proud of running her out of the first town and is trying to run her out of the second. There was a real fear someone might try to burn her out. (A good friend is a Wiccan--she keeps up with the regional news.) Anyplace except a very modern computer-oriented business, you'd better keep it quiet you're gay, too.
Heck, I'm a registered massage therapist, and we can't do SQUAT about all the sex ads run in the paper. We say, excuse me? They're advertising something that's ILLEGAL? But the papers say they can't stifle "alternative lifestyles." The hypocracy makes me ill--and will make it that much harder the next time they try to slap extra regulations on my industry. It doesn't slow down the sex trade at all, but it sure makes my bookkeeping a nightmare.
In fact, writer CJ MIlls' sister is a judge down here, a moderate Republican. Her own party ran a hard right candidate against her, after 12 years of faithful service, because she wasn't "on board" and religious right enough! She won, because a lot of Democrats who couldn't impact their own races at all (we have declared primaries, no split tickets) voted Republican in an attempt to get the lesser of many evils, and voted for her. But that's how it is in a lot of places right now.
So advise your friends--if they value freedom of speech, and not being oppressed by the religious right (RR), they'd better vote this election. If the RR has four more years, I'll be hiding from people that I write fantasy novels.
Have fun at WFC--wish I was going! Hope very much to be on board for next year. Right now, getting car souped up for driving to OK next month for Panda*Monium.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2004-10-27 07:30 am (UTC)Yoga and aromatherapy.
The sheriff of the next town told her "We don't allow people to harass other people like that here" and as far as I know, she's still in that town. But a local preacher was proud of running her out of the first town and is trying to run her out of the second. There was a real fear someone might try to burn her out. (A good friend is a Wiccan--she keeps up with the regional news.) Anyplace except a very modern computer-oriented business, you'd better keep it quiet you're gay, too.
Heck, I'm a registered massage therapist, and we can't do SQUAT about all the sex ads run in the paper. We say, excuse me? They're advertising something that's ILLEGAL? But the papers say they can't stifle "alternative lifestyles." The hypocracy makes me ill--and will make it that much harder the next time they try to slap extra regulations on my industry. It doesn't slow down the sex trade at all, but it sure makes my bookkeeping a nightmare.
In fact, writer CJ MIlls' sister is a judge down here, a moderate Republican. Her own party ran a hard right candidate against her, after 12 years of faithful service, because she wasn't "on board" and religious right enough! She won, because a lot of Democrats who couldn't impact their own races at all (we have declared primaries, no split tickets) voted Republican in an attempt to get the lesser of many evils, and voted for her. But that's how it is in a lot of places right now.
So advise your friends--if they value freedom of speech, and not being oppressed by the religious right (RR), they'd better vote this election. If the RR has four more years, I'll be hiding from people that I write fantasy novels.
Have fun at WFC--wish I was going! Hope very much to be on board for next year. Right now, getting car souped up for driving to OK next month for Panda*Monium.