I am the owner of Mystic Moons in Huntington Wv. I've been open for three months and my landlord's agent has repeatedly called me a withdoctor and much other, less kind words related to my Wiccan religion and my new store. They will not allow me to enter the office to pay my rent and receive a receipt like the other tenants.
They cashed November's check, but did not cash the checks for Dec. and Jan. Now they are taking me to court claiming I am three months in arrears and are trying to evict me, as well as collect money for not only the two checks they did not cash, but also for the Nov. check which was cashed. (at least I have that proof of payment) . The landlord also is responsible for the wataer bill and there are actual live-in tenants in the building who have been without water for three days now becuase of nonpayment by the landlord.
This same landlord did the same thing to Avalon, a pagan store that had to close down when he did this to them. I knew nothing of this until after I signed the lease.
If anyone can help, light a candle, anything at all, I'm going to court Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 3 p.m. It's magistrate's court in Huntington, WV. It's my right to elect to have a jury trial, but I cannot afford proper pagan legal representation.
Does anyone have any adivce?? Please help a sister in need! I need much magickal support to defeat this, especially in the area I live, pagans are treated as devil worshippers and cults. What can I do??
Blessed be,
Lady Elizabeth
Well and wow! This post reminds me that I have heard and had first hand experience with situation like this all over Arizona. The difference is that we anticipate community responses from the locations of the stores. Some areas are decidedly of Mormon majority, others Christian, and some Catholic. Beef usually follows in the Christian communities, and occasionally in the Mormon heavy areas. Landlords, other business owners, and every now and again even police officers make operating a pagan-friendly business difficult at the least, and I have known landlords to create reasons to legally evict a business.
Now, I am not saying this is always the case, and I am unclear to the details surrounding the above incident, but by description it sounds familiar and I would't be surprised to find each statement true. I am not lawyer or have any real experience with law, especially in regards to business, so I feel bad that I cannot offer her any advice. Maybe one of you reading this could? If so, please, visit that post and share.
Prejudice, bigotry, and idiocy are all too common elements which crop against Wiccan/Pagan communities, business owners, and more. The same goes for anyone or any establishment that is deemed "wrong" by any majority of a community. We are not unique or alone in our persecution... although in many ways ours touches on the more sensitive issue of religious reality. In any case of persecution our community tends to be very good about rallying around our oppressed or persecuted kin, but when it comes to businesses I think we lack in response to the degree which we should.
First off, Pagan/Wiccan businesses are far and few between as it is. Our communities are not known for their abundant wealth, so alot of these businesses struggle just to exist. They are a valuable resource to any community where they do operate, providing us with a comfortable resource for items or services we would prefer to acquire "from our own", and typically becoming hubs of social networking.
Secondly, its ridiculous that ANY business could suffer this type of persecution and direct assault. Why wouldn't a landlord opposed to any type of operation make a lease with a business they weren't comfortable with? Duh. Anyhow, there should and must certainly be some law(s) that protect businesses faced with this type of difficulty.
Lastly, if you or anyone you know is ever faced with a similar problem or situation I think it is best to first contact a lawyer. Then, as the author of that proclamation did, speak up, and the web is not a bad place at all to find an audience who might be able to help out. Let others know what is happening and who is responsible. You never know what kind of skeletons will creep out of the closet in your/their favor.
On her behalf, I encourage you to spread this post or her original around as far and as often as possible. I have a variety of pinging icons below, you can share by email, and you could easily make a printable copy, copy and paste it into your email client and dish it out. it's the good thing to do.
