Today I stopped to grab replacement frames for my daughter’s glasses. The lady asked about my daughter’s name (Hermione).

Me: Like the girl from Harry Potter.

Clerk: Oh I’ve never seen those movies, I don’t believe in the witches and warlocks and such.

Me, jokingly: Well it’s all make believe, nobody actually thinks that witches or warlocks are real.

She then informed me that they are indeed real and she’s a member of a missionary group who “casts them out” all the time…

This is a fully grown (looked to be 45-50ish) adult woman, who is allowed to vote and reproduce, who straight up believes that magic, witches and warlocks are real, and not only that, she is a member of a larger organization of people who go out on “missions” to “cast out” these evildoers. And she works in a business where she holds at least some authority over an aspect of peoples’ health and well being.

The crazier thing is, she’s not the first person in this area I’ve met who thinks witches and warlocks are real life people out there casting spells and shit.

And that is why Trump won re-election.

Edit for clarification: Around here when somebody says they “don’t believe” in a thing, specifically in this context, what they mean is they “don’t support” that thing. I’ve also heard people say they “don’t believe” in guns, despite them being very real. What they mean is, they don’t “support” a thing, not that they literally don’t believe it’s real.

  • Hegar@fedia.io
    16·
    12 days ago

    Clerk: I don’t believe in the witches and warlocks and such. Also clerk: they are indeed real

      • leftzero@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        6·
        12 days ago

        Reminds me of Dorfl the atheist golem, from Terry Pratchett’s Feet of Clay (set in the Discworld, a world where gods very much exist, and have rather short tempers):

        Another priest said, “Is it true you’ve said you’ll believe in any god whose existence can be proved by logical debate?”

        “Yes.”

        Vimes had a feeling about the immediate future and took a few steps away from Dorfl.

        “But the gods plainly do exist,” said a priest.

        “It Is Not Evident.”

        A bolt of lightning lanced down through the clouds and hit Dorfl’s helmet. There was a sheet of flame and then a trickling noise. Dorfl’s molten armour formed puddles around his white-hot feet.

        “I Don’t Call That Much Of An Argument,” said Dorfl calmly, from somewhere in the clouds of smoke.

        Also of note the Ephebian philosopher “Charcoal” Abraxas, writer of the Disc’s most significant treatise on gods, struck by lightning at least fifteen times.

      • vateso5074@lemmy.world
        3·
        12 days ago

        I think that’s basically it. Gods are not omnipotent and can be killed. Powerful mortals can likewise attain godhood. A D&D atheist can accept they’re real but also believe that they’re just really powerful people and not true divinities.

        Heck, on that line of thought, it’d be cool to have a faction of militant atheists in a campaign whose goal is the eradication of all gods as a way to help bring order to the world. Additional twist: in this faction’s effort to produce champions powerful enough to go at it with a god, they inadvertently create additional god candidates.

        Edit: Actually I think I just summarized the plot of Neon Genesis Evangelion