It always annoys me to hear the claim that “any press is good press”. Inevitably, these are the words I so often hear from those who think that securing a spot in the limelight, however temporarily, is a legitimate goal in and of itself, regardless of any greater goal beyond the vanity of recognition. In fact, for an organization like The Satanic Temple, with narrowly-defined, yet easily misunderstood goals, “bad press” comes not only in the form of disparaging calls-to-arms issued against us by fanatical bloggers and faux-zeal flouting talking heads, but in any press that confuses our statements, mission, capabilities, and/or message. In that regard, even “good press” can be bad press.

This past week, The Satanic Temple (TST) received an outpouring of positive bad press after one of our chapters posted a Facebook status update that was soon re-posted by another local chapter TST affiliate:

The offer was well-intentioned and genuine, and while The Satanic Temple has strict rules regarding the vetting of projects and campaigns through its Executive Council prior to roll-out, the responsible party here never imagined this offer would reach beyond the chapter’s immediate locale, and the post was made without consultation. Nobody could have predicted the massive outpouring of media enthusiasm for the idea of friendly Satanists offering protection to helpless Muslims. This proved immediately problematic as the national attention gave the impression that the offer was based upon a national campaign, and soon other chapters, as well as the national headquarters, began receiving inquiries about their personal protection services. Having neither the resources, training, nor sense of legal liability and logistics involved in offering personal protection services, we asked the chapters involved to remove their posts and replace them with this statement:

The media requests came, to which I issued a statement which proved apparently too disappointing to print:

The offer to concerned Muslims that has gained so much attention was posted on a local chapter's Facebook page without consultation with The Satanic Temple's executive ministry. While the sentiment was sincere, the logistics and liabilities involved in offering personal protection were not considered. Clearly, if anybody has received a credible threat of violence, they should contact Law Enforcement, not The Satanic Temple. If one has a more general concern warranting long-term personal protection, we simply haven't the resources nor training to dedicate to that end. While we have been the beneficiaries of an outpouring of positive response since the escort offer was posted, we think it only responsible to be transparent regarding our limitations. In the absence of any credible, active calls to violence against American Muslims we must also consider that the act of flanking American Muslim citizens on their way to carry out daily errands may, in itself, be unnecessarily provocative and threatening. Such ostentation may appear to issue a challenge in communities where dialogue may yet be more effective. The Satanic Temple focuses its advocacy exclusively on broad ideals that affect all people and it only promotes campaigns that it can effectively execute. We regret any confusion that may have been caused regarding the function and/or capabilities of our local chapter structure. Sincerely, Lucien Greaves Spokesperson Cofounder The Satanic Temple

I found myself a bit astonished by the positive response garnered by the simple Facebook posts as the idea of our small and marginalized population of Satanists offering personal protection to American Muslims might have easily been construed as paternalistic and absurd. The Satanic Temple stands in solidarity with the unjustly outcast and maligned, but our methods, mission, and capabilities don’t allow us to offer security services with any reliable credibility. We applaud the sentiment of our chapters who sought provide help where needed in their communities, but the offers for protection of Muslim locals would have been appropriately placed upon their personal profiles, not in the name of TST.

So, is all this to say that Satanists don’t, in fact, extend the compassionate hand of support to Muslims in need? Not at all. Individual Satanists can stand by their offers of support and personal protection as they see fit, and as they are able. TST, however, needs to be honest and up-front about its capabilities and resources as a national organization. The rest of our national organization’s membership can not be expected to have the means or ability to live up to the promises made by other individual members in their communities. Satanists are guided by their individual wills to follow noble purposes, whether they feel compelled to walk with a Muslim down the street or draw a cartoon of Muhammad in celebration of International Blasphemy Day. Satanists are a diverse people, with a wide range of political views and opinions, as our philosophy of personal autonomy would suggest.

Here, I believe, a quote from an interview I gave to Esquire.com about the whole debacle is worth repeating: "We can disagree with one another, we can even mock each other's beliefs, but hopefully we can ultimately engage in a productive dialogue that addresses our differences. Preemptive violence, restrictions, or prejudice based on irrational assumptions is every bit of the problem and never a solution." Let TST continue our fight(s) for secularism and religious plurality while our individual membership continues to act in accordance with our tenets. Hopefully, our efforts will help cultivate an atmosphere of unrestricted dialogue that will extend well beyond the narrow scope of our campaigns.