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Death of an Occult Crime Expert Reawakens Controversy
Police Officer Don Rimer stoked fear during the "Satanic Panic" of the 1980s
By Joseph Laycock for Religion Dispatches - January 24, 2012
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/culture/5608/death_of_an_...
On Saturday, retired police officer Donald “Don” Rimer, 65, died from complications arising from a stroke. Rimer graduated from police academy top of his class. He served the Virginia Beach police department for 34 years during which he received the department’s medal of merit and was inducted into the city’s hall of fame. He was also an active member of his Methodist church as well as a loving husband, father, and grandfather. However, what Rimer will most be remembered for is his career as an expert on so-called “occult crime.”... [article continued at link above]
See Also: http://www.atlantavampirealliance.com/forum/index.php?topic=2535.0
Permalink Reply by Laramie Roush on It's quite alright :)
Don Rimer and Mike Warnke were both in the same "business", so to speak. I feel nothing but sympathy for Rimer's surviving family and wish them well. I've lost everyone of my immediate blood-kin except my brother and know what that feels like.
Blessings to you :)
Permalink Reply by Sparrow on It's Ok Racheal No I was Not talking about Don Rimer.
Sorry if I drifted off topic.
I am sorry For the Families Loss.
I hope he is in The Kingdom of Heaven. He was a Man of his Passions, I can Certainly respect that - Amen
Permalink Reply by John Thomas on I don't remember Don, but I do remember Mike. My cousin and I listened intently to his tapes and read his books to see what he was saying about Paganism. My cousin was a Pagan before he converted to Catholicism for his wife.
Mike was relating his own experiences with a group that wasn't a typical Pagan group. He basically tried to associate us as a Charles Manson-like cult.
But before all of you go hating on Mike, let it be known that Mike's Christian preaching against magic and Paganism just made young people more curious and fascinated with it. I sat up in the stands watching him preach live and secretly let out a cry of joy knowing that my fellow students needed, no thirsted for more information on this secret world.
In fact, I just thanked him on Twitter.
Permalink Reply by Rachael Sue Rubin on agreed. I just don't feel the need to hate on anyone.
Or the need to constanly protest to everyone, "Wicca is good, we are good, we aren't satanic,blah,blah, blah"
Since when does any religion need constant validation from anyone? If you are on the right path for you, and you know it to be true to yourself, and your gods, why do you need the validation of your fellow human being?
The only reason i can think of is you either want money out of the religion, or you want fame, and attention.
Well, then you would have to go around being holier than thou and just as righteous as a christian in church on Sunday morning.
You would'nt be able to be your true self, express your true feelins on anything, you would constantly be worried that if you do, people would think bad of wicca or withcraft. (then you would'nt get your followers or attention)
I am wiccan, nobody around me does'nt like it, to bad, i am not here for you. blessed be
Permalink Reply by Merticus on http://www.religionnewsblog.com/26468/don-rimer-controversial-exper...
Don Rimer, controversial ‘expert’ on occult crimes, passes away
ReligionNewsBlog.com
Thursday January 26, 2012
Last Saturday retired police officer Donald H. Rimer passed away. (http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pilotonline/obituary.aspx?n=donald...)
He was, by all accounts, a successful law enforcement professional with a career at the Virginia Beach, VA. Police Department spanning 34 years.
But during the mid-eighties Don Rimer also managed to establish himself as an internationally known authority on ‘Ritual Crime and the Occult’ — which he referred to as ‘the new youth subculture.’
This was at the height of the so-called ‘Satanic Panic’ period when the media was full of hysterical reports (read: urban legends) about ‘Satanists,’ ‘Pagans,’ ‘Witches’ and others who used secret underground networks to traffic in stolen children.
There were sensational reports about the sexual torture of children and the ritual sacrifice of babies. Stories appeared in newspapers and on Usenet of people who, all or not with the help of therapists, had ‘recovered’ memories about their early childhoods in which they had been subjected to ‘satanic ritual abuse.’ (http://www.apologeticsindex.org/s05.html)
Those who believed they themselves might have been victims of such crimes were warned against contacting the authorities, as many law enforcement officers, judges and other authority figures were said to be undercover Satanists.
The story of this period of hysteria can be read in the book, “Satanic Panic,” by Jeffrey S. Victor. (http://amzn.to/w93re0)
Unfortunately, Rimer — who presented seminars on the occult to police departments, justice agencies, schools and churches throughout the US and Canada — very much contributed to this Satanic Panic.
While some observers considered him fair and sincere, most people familiar with the subjects Rimer addressed claimed he misrepresented minority faiths. They included Pagans, Witches, vampires, and even Goths and people who are into role-playing games.
Many pagans and witches viewed him (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2009/03/the-return-of-don-rim...) as an uninformed fear-monger. (http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_article.html?a=cabc&id=8939)
To their credit, many in the Pagan and vampire groups — communities much affected by Rimer’s work — have called for respect (http://www.facebook.com/groups/vampirecommunitynews/322883694417903/) for those he leaves behind.
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