Bunky Business
Today is the sixth anniversary that will go down in American history as a day of absolute infamy. I am referring, of course, to the start of the Bush administration's assault on our constitutional liberties and George W. Bush's war of genocide against everyone he hates, which is a very long list.
And that's the last I care to write about concerning 9/11 on 9/11 six years later.
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As both a Wiccan and a regular player of the state lottery, I suppose I do need to comment on the strange case of Elwood "Bunky" Bartlett.
Bunky is a more professional Wiccan than I am, insofar as he makes a living at it as an employee of an occult shop in the suburbs of Baltimore. He made the news recently by winning a jackpot of more than $330 million on MegaMillions, a multistate lottery game. Actually, he shared the pot with three other winners, but even after taxes, he took home more than $30 million.
What made his case of particular note, however, is what he told the press after receiving his check. Basically, Bunky said he made a deal with the Gods. He told them that if he could win the lottery, he would use some of the money to teach Wicca.
We have another way of putting it in the Craft. He used magick to win the lottery. This raises some ethical questions, to say the least.
Now, as a gambler, I recognize some practical problems. I've never been able to magick the games when I visit the casino any more than I can magick the ball into the hole when I play golf. This is because the intense concentration required to work magick makes it impossible to simulataneously put enough concentration into hitting the golf ball accurately...or playing well at the casino table. The Gods don't just win games for you.
But this goes well beyond casino gambling. Winning the Lotto is the luck of the draw, unless you have a way of rigging the odds. Bunky claims that he did.
The ethical dilemma that needs to be solved here is whether or not Bunky deserved the Lotto money more than anyone else. In terms of need, he probably needed the money more than I would. Being a part-time employee of an occult shop certainly doesn't pay much, probably not even the rent by itself in the Baltimore area.
But then I read in a different account that Bunky actually is a free-lance accountant, and the store likely isn't his only source of income. Being an accountant means he probably won't end up like that cliche in which the lottery winner blows all the cash and ends up bankrupt in nine months. But he probably wasn't hurting all that much for money when he won.
Anyway, I hope he does follow through with his promise. A nice building to serve as sanctuary for Wiccans would certainly be a good thing, in and of itself.
Still, it's not something I would have done.
And that's the last I care to write about concerning 9/11 on 9/11 six years later.
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As both a Wiccan and a regular player of the state lottery, I suppose I do need to comment on the strange case of Elwood "Bunky" Bartlett.
Bunky is a more professional Wiccan than I am, insofar as he makes a living at it as an employee of an occult shop in the suburbs of Baltimore. He made the news recently by winning a jackpot of more than $330 million on MegaMillions, a multistate lottery game. Actually, he shared the pot with three other winners, but even after taxes, he took home more than $30 million.
What made his case of particular note, however, is what he told the press after receiving his check. Basically, Bunky said he made a deal with the Gods. He told them that if he could win the lottery, he would use some of the money to teach Wicca.
We have another way of putting it in the Craft. He used magick to win the lottery. This raises some ethical questions, to say the least.
Now, as a gambler, I recognize some practical problems. I've never been able to magick the games when I visit the casino any more than I can magick the ball into the hole when I play golf. This is because the intense concentration required to work magick makes it impossible to simulataneously put enough concentration into hitting the golf ball accurately...or playing well at the casino table. The Gods don't just win games for you.
But this goes well beyond casino gambling. Winning the Lotto is the luck of the draw, unless you have a way of rigging the odds. Bunky claims that he did.
The ethical dilemma that needs to be solved here is whether or not Bunky deserved the Lotto money more than anyone else. In terms of need, he probably needed the money more than I would. Being a part-time employee of an occult shop certainly doesn't pay much, probably not even the rent by itself in the Baltimore area.
But then I read in a different account that Bunky actually is a free-lance accountant, and the store likely isn't his only source of income. Being an accountant means he probably won't end up like that cliche in which the lottery winner blows all the cash and ends up bankrupt in nine months. But he probably wasn't hurting all that much for money when he won.
Anyway, I hope he does follow through with his promise. A nice building to serve as sanctuary for Wiccans would certainly be a good thing, in and of itself.
Still, it's not something I would have done.
posted by Da Zedman at 8:53 PM
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