Cherished beliefs
Jan. 26th, 2011 07:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
catsittingstillThere is a belief in Africa (possibly in other parts of the world too) that children can cause harm to their parents and neighbors using supernatural powers. People who suspect a child of causing harm with supernatural powers punish the child. Machetes sometimes feature. So does acid, drowning, beatings, starvation and burnings.
Some people offer exorcism services to drive the evil spirits out of the children. Which, it turns out, in addition to being very expensive, also feature machetes, acid, beatings and starvation.
The Independent has an article.
So does the New York Times.
So does CNN
And MSNBC
Of course, suggesting that the supernatural doesn't exist, or that the idea that anyone, much less a child, could cause harm by supernatural means is bollocks, would be mockery. And some believers resent that rudeness and attack skeptics physically.
Part of the problem here is that well-respected individuals often share these evidence-free beliefs. Even senior police officers may genuinely believe in witchcraft, leaving the children, and the skeptics who would like to protect them, with nowhere to turn.
So when you're mad at skeptics, because the evidence for a cherished belief some people hold isn't strong enough to convince them yet, remember that a little skepticism can prevent a lot of harm, and that having someone say something that makes you think they think you are dumb when you're not is pretty small potatoes in the larger scheme of things.
Some people offer exorcism services to drive the evil spirits out of the children. Which, it turns out, in addition to being very expensive, also feature machetes, acid, beatings and starvation.
The Independent has an article.
So does the New York Times.
So does CNN
And MSNBC
Of course, suggesting that the supernatural doesn't exist, or that the idea that anyone, much less a child, could cause harm by supernatural means is bollocks, would be mockery. And some believers resent that rudeness and attack skeptics physically.
Part of the problem here is that well-respected individuals often share these evidence-free beliefs. Even senior police officers may genuinely believe in witchcraft, leaving the children, and the skeptics who would like to protect them, with nowhere to turn.
So when you're mad at skeptics, because the evidence for a cherished belief some people hold isn't strong enough to convince them yet, remember that a little skepticism can prevent a lot of harm, and that having someone say something that makes you think they think you are dumb when you're not is pretty small potatoes in the larger scheme of things.
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Date: 2011-01-26 07:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-26 08:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-26 08:58 pm (UTC)