Not learned much in 600 years, have we ... ?
Subscribing to a bit of the old double, double can seem nothing more than a giggle, but as is the case with all who take hocuspocus as gospel, be it the Eucharist or “He turned me into a newt!”, it always results in damage to some innocent bystander.
Today’s example comes from the BBC in this report on an increasing number of kids in Africa being accused of witchcraft, and the horrible consequences of those accusations.
A new Unicef report warns that children accused of being witches – some as young as eight – have been been burned, beaten and even killed as punishment.
(… burned, beaten AND EVEN KILLED … What the hell sort of sentence is that? Oh … never mind … )
In rounding up the usual suspects, it’s orphans, street kids, albinos and the disabled, mainly boys between the ages of 8 and 14 who are victims.
Unicef … always so good at counting atrocities, but not so hot on preventing them … reports that 20,000 street kids have been tarred with the black magic brush in Kinshasa, DRC alone.
The agency [Unicef] said there was little it could do about the belief in witchcraft itself, and that it was not trying to eradicate the practice. But it said violence against children was wrong, and that it would do everything it could to stop it.
Well … isn’t that special?
Urbanization and war are fingered as prompts for a shift from picking on old crones and focusing on kids as harbingers of evil sorcery as more and more children fend for themselves in ways that just might make some uncomfortable. Of course, there’s always a few folks who have figured there’s a buck or two to be made, as well.
It is reported that some evangelical preachers have added to the problem by charging large sums for exorcisms. One was recently arrested in Nigeria after charging more than $250 for each procedure.
When some of those rituals involve petrol being poured into the eyes, one must wonder at the price of fuel.
As logical as it gets ...
But it’s never been about sense. As Nietzsche so aptly put it, “’Faith’ means not wanting to know what is true.”
True is that tens of thousands of children are being tortured and murdered over something that J.K. Rowling has made a mint from.
A collection of my short stories:
I'm in this one, too ...
And I'm in here, as well ...
Paradise Preoccupied 
YOU are brilliant! The last sentence says it all and is right on the money! The “even killed” sentence reminded me of when I was living in Sacramento and Stan Atkinson reported that a man came home to find his wife “seriously murdered”……. is there another kind of murder I wondered. Good blog as usual.
Ah, thanks, Luv … and don’t pick on Stan. He’s a sweetie, and only reading what rolled by him on the prompter.
This is one of those things that is so horrific that my brain tries to shut down when I imagine what these poor kids go through. I had read about this phenomenon some time ago; what seemed particularly horrible to me was when the kids’ own parents and other family members took part in accusing and torturing them.
I guess I’m just not a good Christian, because one could present me with proof that my son was the Harbinger of the Apocalypse and I would still slaughter anyone who tried to hurt him.
Well, Coco … my thought would be that you’re a good person, and isn’t that what counts?
So Sandra… Jeeez, I’m starting this post with with SOS.
What is the big question/answer with all of this? Nature vs Nurture? Can Margaret Mead help? DNA scientists help? Wonder Woman?
Does it come down to the need for strict societal structures that keep us in line? Can the organism be “fixed” at a deeper level?
I make software for a living, and when I see a need for lower level change I contact a Russian who writes an external that gives me the system adaptions I need and then patch things. All then appears “Well in Heaven” to the user.
But messing with biology is messy. Messing with consciousness is uncertain and a long term thing. Legal enforcement is a tough thing to implement.
What can be done with the cases you bring into view?
Do we destroy structures that are in place or do we make changes to those existing structures to get desired results?
Is there redeemable value in those structures?
It seems to me that large systemic improvement is not possible. Small, incremental bits are all we can do. Focus for effectiveness.
Maybe I am being too complicated, an accusation that has been thrown at me before.
You raise large questions Sandra… but they are vital questions.
Those are some large questions you ask, Sims, and I thank you for them.