Asatru mistreated in Jail… or is he being unreasonable?

Inmate says he needs Thor’s hammer, drum

I’m not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand I understand he needs/wants these things but he’s in jail as well. What are your thoughts?

Fri Dec 21, 10:10 PM ET

An inmate is suing the Utah Department of Corrections for denying him his right to practice an ancient Nordic religion while behind bars.

Michael Polk is serving time for aggravated assault and robbery. He filed a lawsuit against corrections officials in federal court, accusing them of denying him religious items that he says are necessary to practice the Asatru religion.

The religion worships ancient Nordic gods like Odin, Thor, Tyr and Heimdal.

In the lawsuit, Polk says he has been a member of the Asatru faith since 2005, and in order to properly practice it he needs items including: a Thor’s Hammer, a prayer cloth, a Mead Horn used for drinking Wassail, a drum made of wood and boar skin, a rune staff and a sword.

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Information from: Deseret Morning News, http://www.deseretnews.com

Fox News airs repulsively false story on Asatru

thorswitch Pointed out a story on Asatru done here in Chicago. The link to her post is here. I’m so fucking furious… just furious. I wish I’d seen this live otherwise I’d have called in then and there.

I’m so sick of Asatru being misrepresented as a religion of racists, white supremicists and criminals.

Video clip is here

“My response to Fox news” I’m a Chicagoan who practices Asatru, and I am deeply offended that you chose such a malicious, well known bigot Tom Metzger as a representative of the faith on Fox News.

Not only did you misrepresent the faith as that of one practiced by criminals, racists and white supremecists; you chose the one of the worst combinations of three to represent the faith to viewers.

For your information not all practicers of Asatru are white neo-nazi’s, nor do they use the “Viking Faith” as a shield for heinous acts. I’m a black Chicagoan who practices Asatru who hasn’t gone to jail, don’t go around lynching people nor use my faith as an excuse for immoral and illegal acts.

Next time, get your facts straight Fox and for the Gods sake get someone who knows what they are talking about before you hold them up as an example of something. In closing I will borrow from a friend who already has emailed you:

“In the segment of his interview you aired, did you notice that he said nothing about having had a religious experience or spiritual breakthrough that led him to abandon Christianity and adopting Asatru. He said that he could not get the kind of power he needed using Christian ethics, so he’s now using Asatru. Hardly the words of a true believer. But exactly the way someone who is trying to manipulate people would strategize.

I hope that you will do the honourable thing and speak to member of a group such as The Troth, one of the largest Asatru/Norse Spirituality groups in America (http://www.thetroth.org) to get their side of the story, rather than just placing the burden on two lone individuals. People need to know that there are far more non-racist, non-hateful Asatruers than there are people trying to bastardize our faith to justify their own hatred.