The Satanic Temple

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I noticed there wasn't a TST Lemmy community. The Satanic Temple is a modern satanic religion that aims to promote human rights and compassion. Check out their about page on their official website at https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/about-us. Note that this community is not an official affiliation. TST is also separate and not affiliated with the Church of Satan, who have a slightly different viewpoint of what satanism truly is. Dunno what to post in here, but maybe some will search for this and take part. Hello!

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Satanic display at Iowa Capitol vandalized ‘beyond repair’; arrest made (www.kcrg.com)

submitted 11 months ago by Artyom@lemm.ee to c/thesatanictemple@lemmy.world

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DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) - On Thursday, the Satanic Temple of Iowa announced that their display at the Iowa Capitol had been significantly damaged.

The controversial display, which Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds called “objectionable,” featured a ram’s head covered with mirrors on a mannequin before being damaged.

Organizers say it’s a symbol of their right to religious freedom.

The Satanic Temple of Iowa posted the following message on their Facebook page:

“This morning, we were informed by authorities that the Baphomet statue in our holiday display was destroyed beyond repair. We are proud to continue our holiday display for the next few days that we have been allotted.

We ask that for safety, visitors travel together and use the 7 Tenets as a reminder for empathy, in the knowledge that justice is being pursued the correct way, through legal means.

KCCI has reported that 35-year-old Michael Cassidy of Lauderdale, Mississippi, was charged with Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree. He has since been released.

Solve et Coagula! Happy Holidays! Hail Satan!”

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[–] ElderWendigo@sh.itjust.works 35 points 11 months ago (4 children)

No links to articles. This comment chain sounds like a sock puppet account talking to itself.

[–] Oderus@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Sock puppets are smarter than those 2.

[–] Dempf@lemmy.zip 0 points 11 months ago

TST had every chance to set the record straight, but the only statement I found from them was a long post on Reddit from their lawyer saying he hopes the ex-members keep bleeding money.

A lot of anger there, and I mean I get having anger and emotions when it comes to legal battles. But since he's a lawyer representing the organization I'd hope for a more professional response.

I haven't seen any explanation of why the things the ex-members and Newsweek said constitute defamation. In the US, defamation is usually difficult to prove, as speech is protected by the 1st amendment. Often you have to show that the defendant is lying in order to win a defamation suit. I haven't seen a statement from TST to that effect, just that the statements didn't properly represent the religion (which seemingly did not make for a strong argument in court).

I'm a relatively neutral party here. You could even argue that I'm biased towards TST. I've donated money to TST before. The stated values of TST are very much in line with my own. I'm hesitant about continuing to support an organization without a clear explanation of why they are getting wrapped up in lawsuits that don't seem to have anything to do with the organization's purpose or values. For now I'm keeping a skeptical mind. I realize am organization like TST attracts controversy and haters basically by design. But right now it seems like there's a lot of smoke (again, there were some specific creepy things brought up in my local subreddit), and TST could clear the air if they choose to do so.

Yes, I'm not a very smart person. I've learned that many times throughout my life. If someone out there wants to dumb things down for me, I would really appreciate it. Otherwise, I will continue to be happy when I see news like the satanic holiday displays, since there is no other group doing this kind of work. And I will keep my eye out for other news about whether or not the smoke is not substantive, and whether the lawsuits were justified.

[–] leraje@lemmy.blahaj.zone -2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Hardly, I just didn't have time to link the articles until now. Here's the Newsweek article if you'd like to read it, here's an interview with the person who posted the TikTok video and here's the website of the people in the Newsweek article which is a bit of a rabbit hole but has links to all the court actions and results so far (TST are still suing them, despite losing every stage so far).

You don't have to take anything I say as true and you're under no obligation to care either way and certainly, if you can find any, I'm sure TST leadership have their version of events, but I do think more people need to be aware that the leadership of TST are, in my opinion, problematic.

[–] ElderWendigo@sh.itjust.works 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Those are all pretty one side sources heavy on hearsay and light on details and facts.

[–] leraje@lemmy.blahaj.zone -2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Then follow through to the court documents - the links are on there.

[–] ElderWendigo@sh.itjust.works 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I already explained to your sock puppet why that's your responsibility in the argument, not mine.

[–] leraje@lemmy.blahaj.zone 0 points 11 months ago

My sockpuppet? Let's be adult about this please.

You asked for a source, I'm telling you where they are. I've led you to the water, but I can't make you drink it.

[–] Dempf@lemmy.zip -4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It's stuff you can easily Google if you feel like it. I'm just some guy with a passing interest in TST, and do like the work they are doing in general.

[–] ElderWendigo@sh.itjust.works 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

That's not how debate works. If you make a grand claim, it's not incumbent on me to validate it. That's your burden.

[–] Dempf@lemmy.zip 1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

The Newsweek article that talks about the lawsuit against the Seattle ex-members:

https://www.newsweek.com/orgies-harassment-fraud-satanic-temple-rocked-accusations-lawsuit-1644042

An article talking about The Satanic Temple suing Newsweek:

https://reason.com/volokh/2023/03/09/most-libel-claims-by-the-satanic-temple-against-newsweek-dismissed-but-not-claim-over-sexual-abuse-allegations/

This is all clearly public and known information, and I don't know where the confusion lies about what specifically we're talking about. But if you feel like it, you may read the articles I've linked.

I understand how debates and burden of proof works. But really, I'm not out to prove anything, since I don't know all the details and can't take a stance that I would feel comfortable formally defending. I have no intention of making grand claims. What I'm giving you is my honest-to-God (honest-to-Satan?) opinion and first impression based on something that probably would have taken you less effort to Google than it took for you to type that comment. And my first impression is basically "wtf that clearly looks like a SLAPP suit, and makes me rethink some other things I've read about TST". My hope is always for someone knowledgeable to jump in if they wish to. The truth is, I'm also lazy, and I have no desire to spend hours digging into every issue just because it looks odd. I don't owe you that. How you'd like to interpret that is your own burden.

By the way, when it comes to citing sources, I'm under no obligation to place the information into your lap. Yes, the web often makes that easy. But I could just as easily cite a book if one exists. Or just say The Satanic Temple, Inc. v. Newsweek Magazine LLC and now it's your job to look it up.

Edit: speaking of burdens of proof, where is yours that I'm a sock puppet?