Ladies & Gentlemen…

by Magister George Sprague
an article for The Black Flame—March, LI A.S.

“…Your attention please!”

Such
delightful words, uttered by those who wish to direct attention towards
themselves or an event that is about to happen. The connotation is there: those
being addressed are presumed to be ladies, and gentlemen. However, how often is
that not the case? How often is the polite call for attention reciprocated with
rudeness by some?

 After all, there are exceptions
everywhere. At every gathering, there are those who simply do not want to
engage in civil discourse and behavior.
Their actions and words cause disruptions, on the one hand, and on the
other, for those who are adept at such things, they may reveal aspects and
patterns pertaining to the person(s) engaged in such behavior.



The
possibility is real, to the point that admonitions often are provided in the
guidelines to participate in those wonderful cyber spots known as message
boards, such as Letters to the Devil and of course, that ocean of fun fish
known as Facebook.



Ah yes, what a unique little world that
Facebook is, and it could be deemed to be wonderful if it were not for the
myriad of boorish types who seem to think the way to prove a point and persuade
others such point is valid is by insulting, bullying and exploding in dynamic
expletives—the behavior of those who cannot support their views with facts, so
they try to overwhelm and intimidate with strong-arm tactics and profanity. 

Nothing
wrong with expletives, mind you, as they can be useful in driving a point home.
And when used sparingly, they can become dramatic punctuation in an otherwise
civil discourse. But the tirade of obscenity that is so prevalent amongst the
interweb vermin these days is rather profuse—and hardly exemplary of those who
would call themselves elite, or in our case, the Alien Elite. There is
absolutely nothing elite about someone who constantly expresses themselves in
terms like *&^%$@$%^ and (*(&%$%%^.



Consider the Church of Satan’s duly
appointed representatives. Has anyone ever read an interview, or heard
Magistras Barton or Nadramia, Magus Gilmore, or any member of our Priesthood of
Mendes regularly express themselves in terms akin to “Dude, WTF, that’s an epic
fail, go read the f—–g book first you asshat, then call me”?

 Is
that how they do it— how they express themselves? Or do they carefully measure
their words, keep a level tone and articulate their points in such a manner
that the listener, or reader, is persuaded that they know what they are talking
about, and their points are worth considering?
Indeed, it’s an act of Lesser Magic.



A curious thing happens every so often
when people are attempting to conduct a conversation on Facebook or message
boards. Some become emboldened by the anonymity the interweb provides—they sit
in front of the keyboard and construct sentences they would almost never repeat
in the presence of the person they are deriding and/or insulting. They see
themselves as invincible, “neener neener you can’t stop me” type of thing. The
moderators usually intervene and the posterior aching syndrome comes forth,
prompting more expletives, etc. and they depart, or are kicked out, in a flurry
of whipped excrement.



And so, with all of this in mind, the
next time any of us engage in conversation, debate or outright confrontation on
the interweb (had enough of that term yet? I like using it!) it is up to us to
demonstrate how the elite, the Alien Elite, behave and express themselves. 

We
can look at this as an exercise in Lesser Magic, honing not only our
communication skills, but also our skills of persuasion. And remember: even if
you are not an official representative of the Church of Satan, unofficially,
you are! Outsiders will look at how you express yourselves and measure the
worth of our esteemed organization by your personal presentation. They may not
admit it out loud, but they do. 

Assume the ways of the Alien Elite. Practice
the ways of the Alien Elite, Satanic Lesser Magic in motion, and you can be
proud when the roll call begins with “Ladies and gentlemen of the Infernal
Empire,” for surely you will be recognized as such!