A daily dose of philosophical food for your noodle!		 NoodleFood : RSS Feed | via E-mail | Recent Comments | Archives
NoodleCast : M4A via iTunes (MP3) | via Feed Reader | via E-mail
Diana Hsieh : Rationally Selfish | PhiloFiles | Explore Atlas Shrugged
OList Mailing Lists | FIRM | FRO | Secular Government

 Friday, June 13, 2008

Death by Superstition

By Diana Hsieh @ 3:58 PM

As today is the supposedly unlucky Friday the 13th, it's a fitting day for a reminder of just how deadly magical thinking can be. Via the New York Times comes a chilling example of albinos in Tanzania hunted down and slaughtered for their supposedly magical properties:
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania -- Samuel Mluge steps outside his office and scans the sidewalk. His pale blue eyes dart back and forth, back and forth, trying to focus. The sun used to be his main enemy, but now he has others. Mr. Mluge is an albino, and in Tanzania now there is a price for his pinkish skin. "I feel like I am being hunted," he said.

Discrimination against albinos is a serious problem throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but recently in Tanzania it has taken a wicked twist: at least 19 albinos, including children, have been killed and mutilated in the past year, victims of what Tanzanian officials say is a growing criminal trade in albino body parts.

Many people in Tanzania -- and across Africa, for that matter -- believe albinos have magical powers. They stand out, often the lone white face in a black crowd, a result of a genetic condition that impairs normal skin pigmentation and strikes about 1 in 3,000 people here. Tanzanian officials say witch doctors are now marketing albino skin, bones and hair as ingredients in potions that are promised to make people rich.

...
As if being born with a serious genetic disorder wasn't enough of a burden in life, these people face the prospect of a gruesome death thanks to primitive superstition -- in a scientific age when men have walked on the moon. It's almost unfathomable.

Labels: ,

Share |
   E-mail Diana Hsieh     PermaLink ()    Comments (New Page)
  Subscribe to NoodleFood Blog Posts via Feed Reader   via E-mail
Subscribe to NoodleCast Podcasts M4A via iTunes (MP3)   via Feed Reader   via E-mail

 Comments

Friday, June 13, 2008 at 19:23:23 mst
Comment ID: #1
Name: Monica
E-mail: monicabeth10(at)gmail.com
URL: http://sparkasynapse.blogspot.com

How horrible. Hunted as if they were animals.

Saturday, June 14, 2008 at 11:17:41 mst
Comment ID: #2
Name: Wendy

Tut tut. How dare we criticize another culture! Why, it's just as good as ours! And I'd bet they don't pollute, either.

*sigh*

Monday, June 16, 2008 at 7:32:03 mst
Comment ID: #3
Name: Gina Liggett
E-mail: GLiggett(at)comcast.net

I echo Wendy's comment. Many multiculturalists glorify the charmingly primitive life of "native peoples." How about a little hacking party with some machetes?

 Post Your Comment

Name or Handle:
E-mail:
URL:
 Remember Me
 
Comment:  
No HTML is allowed. URLs will be automatically converted into clickable links.

Commenters are welcome to clearly state their own views, as well as to criticize opposing views and arguments. Unjust personal attacks are not welcome.

The NoodleFood comments are not a general discussion board. Do not post random questions or comments, except on the designated "open threads" posted on Wednesdays and Sundays.

To weed out spammers: 0 plus 6 equals 1134456953388492853