[shadowfyr]

There are worse things than Satanists. How so? Well, Satanism is made up. Until probably the mid 20th century a lot of people *claimed* such a thing existed, but they where usually pointing at pretty much every non-Christian and insisting they where Satanists. They still pull this BS in some camps, claiming that everyone from Atheists to Unitarians are "really" Satanists, since they don't follow radical dogma. Point of fact, Satanism, as officially recognized (which is to say the made up BS people actually practice) is an odd mix of, "Do what though will", extreme 60's liberalism, a rejection of God as the true anti-Christ, being as in the OT he tends to behave more like a sociapath than a god of justice and love, etc. They are basically nothing more than Christians that have mixed some S&M and stuff. Most of the things attributed to them, like human sacrifices, have nothing to do with their practice. In fact, if you where to write a list of stuff that people believe about them down, I am sure you could find "some" right wing group some place claiming that everyone from Scientologists to Jews is doing the same things (depending on how irrational and fascist the right wing group was). Fact is, if you know anything about Satanism, instead of just falling for the rhetoric used to describe it, its nothing more than an idiotic yuppie version of Catholic ritual, which replaces some of the silly rituals they use with ones more likely to be found in a porn flick.

Frankly, having Pat Robertson for a neighbor would scare me personally far more than living in a city entirely populated by Satanists. Robertson is about 500 times more likely to kill me for not showing proper respect (i.e. kissing its backside via the proxy of kissing Robertson's) fire, brimstone and death to all heathens version of god.

But, as you say. Often our morality isn't entirely rational. One good start though is to make you own informed decisions based on what other people actually believe and do, and not on the second or third hand claims used to demonize them. I am sure, if you looked, you could find lots more people who where not Satanist who killed their kids, either intentionally, or by accident, because they thought they where "possessed", than you are likely to ever find any Satanist in the news doing so (that being pretty much the #1 claim used against them). Sure, they might sacrifice animals, within state allowed limits, but so did Christians for *most* of their history, right up until they replaced that with communion wafers (which most later got rid of as well, probably for being too elaborate and silly). Big deal. Its as silly and stupid as some poser Vampire going to a club and drinking someone's "chi" or what ever those people call it when they bite each other. Its all just a lot of silly nonsense, and frankly, as near as I can tell from what they do believe, most Satanists would fit right in at a church picnic, since its only their "your god is the *false* god, not ours" and "we BBQ little critters" stuff that makes them any different than any other attendant. Hmm. Ok, so its just the "we BBQ little critters" stuff that makes them different, the first one is pretty much standard for all religions that claim there is/are god(s). lol