June 6, 2006

How is the "actual Satanist community" reacting to 6/6/06?

The BBC investigates:
Rev. John D Allee is the founder of the First Church of Satan in Salem, America, which split from the original Church of Satan 12 years ago.

"I plan to take Lillee, my High Priestess, to the opening of The Omen movie," says the self-styled Dark Pope. "Then it's out for dinner."

The Temple of Set takes a more solemn view. This is another breakaway from the Church of Satan, claiming a history of several thousand years, and "formally incorporated in 1975 CE".

Louise Renard is a priestess and assistant to the executive director in London. "There is nothing significant about that day or that number" she says. "Unless the new Omen movie turns out to be better than expected."

Meanwhile, Vexen Crabtree, the Minister of the London Church of Satan, plans to go to one of the alternative clubs that are celebrating 06/06/06. "My official take on it is that 666 is really only a Christian number," he explains. "But any excuse for a party is a good one."

Crabtree dissociates the Church of Satan from the Temple of Set and the First Church of Satan, saying it is the only Satanist group that is "sane and worthwhile".

He says any Satanists who actually worship the Devil, rather than revering "Satan" as an abstract value, are "immature, unstable and nothing to do with us".
I've got to say that the thing that upsets me the most about that passage is the placement of punctuation in relation to quotation marks! The Satanists themselves seem amusingly ordinary. Or is that a trick? But really, what's with the Satanic British punctuation? I know the argument for why it makes more sense than what we do, that our approach was to make things easier for printers, but it looks so wrong.

14 comments:

Bruce Hayden said...

Showing my naivity or plain lack of class, but could you remind me quickly about which rule is which? I think I know what you are talking about, but am not quite sure.

Beth said...

Are you referrring to the placement of the period inside or outside the quotation marks? I notice it varies in this passage. I saw that as bad proofreading, not adherance to another set of rules, since in some paragraphs, it was inside and in others it was outside.

Ann Althouse said...

The period is only inside the quote if the quote itself warrants a period. It's the rule we follow with question marks and exclamation points.

Jennifer said...

In this passage, the period seems to be inside the quotation marks when capping a full sentence and outside the quotation marks when a fragment is used.

Jennifer said...

Wow, ALL this blogging! You're not grading are you? :)

Ann Althouse said...

Buck: It's only correct within a scheme that isn't ours.

Jennifer: Today, I'm trying to draft a book review and grade. Somehow, that causes more blogging...

Jennifer said...

Ann: Yeesh! Talk about a full plate. Ah well, more blogging is better for us!

Icepick said...

Wait a minute. All of this talk of punctuation has made you guys miss the big picture.

Rev. John D Allee is the founder of the First Church of Satan in Salem, America, which split from the original Church of Satan 12 years ago.

Okay, if they split from the Church of Satan, how can they be the First Church of Satan? Damn protestant schismatics are mucking up the dark side....

Jennifer said...

Icepick: LOL. I actually saw a Second Presbyterian something or other in Charleston last week and had to laugh. I've only ever seen Firsts before.

Michael E. Lopez said...

It's the way the British do things... and it makes TOTAL sense.

You only put the punctuation inside the quotation marks when the punctuation belongs to the thing being quoted.

So if you were talkinga bout "freedom", you would only put punctuation inside the quote if it somehow belonged to the word "freedom". Perhaps if you were recounting that some sage hero said, "All we have is our freedom."

It makes so much more sense than American style.

-M

Freeman Hunt said...

I also greatly prefer the British style.

Unknown said...

Yes, the Brits reverse our comma, quote rules, but they drive on the wrong side of the road, too. That must mean something...

Beth said...

Ann, thanks. I like it! It makes great sense, and is consistent with the other rules.

Freeman Hunt said...

When I saw the title of this post, this was the first thing that came to mind. I guess that's how I imagine actual Satanists.