Modern Day Witch Hunts

[corporatewhore]

I just finished watching a great documentary called Witches in Exile about a northeren rural region in Ghana where women are accused of being witches and are sent to "Witches Camp" and are ostricized from their villages.Most of the "witches" are elderly women hardly any younger women are accused or if they are for the most part just required to drink a potion and society accepts them.In the film there was a younger woman about thirty ish and she said that she thought she was accused and not wanted by her husband any more was because she could no longer bear any children (the director went back to her village and confronted her husband and he basically admitted it) In the begining of the film a sociology proff speculated this practice was used as a means of control of the villagers in their everyday lives (in terms of if they are loners or quarrlesome or just different)The camps are looked down upon by womens groups and some think they should be shut down but when they investigate it isnt that simple because they have become a sacntuary and the villagers would not accept them and the women are affraid of being lynched.The director interviewed a human rights worker and he said that there are waves of witch hunts during like during brittish colonialism when disease breaks out and he thought right now it was because of increased poverty.This made me think of right after Sept.11th when an evangelical preacher said god was punishing america because of gays and abortions and feminists.What are your thoughts on american witch hunts

[donco6]

1. I think they . . .

. . . should just give us gays and lesbians the Hawaiian islands as a concentration . . . er "sanctuary". What harm could we do, waaaayy out there in the ocean? It would serve us all right, I say.

[donco6]

2. But seriously,

I think if another disease outbreak was somehow traced vaguely back to gays, we'd see a serious witch hunt here in the U.S.

[corporatewhore]

7. i think so

[shance]

3. Wow. The subject of Patriarchy and womens invisibility in our leadership

with particular attention to the war, or God forbid, promoting peaceful outcomes instead of profit driven war has certainly been on my mind alot lately.

I think this planet is suffocating from a lack of feminine oxygen it needs (doesnt just mean women)and I think the world will not survive if the masculine energy which these days is being used in many unproductive ways, by dominating and destroying a lot of stuff. We are in desparate need of balance in so many realms. Because we are seeing extremities like this one you posted and so many war like agendas being initiated by our government in the name of Terrorism.

Whats concerning is that women have lost their identity throughout the centuries due primarily to patriarchal governments that are pretty hostile and certainly dismissive towards women and their gifts other than of course to give birth, and patriarchies teach women to be hostile, divisive with each other and compete with one another. Women have also learned, however subconciously to allow their own beliefs to be dictated and dominated by more masculine belief systems/patriarchy and have neglected our own instincts and inner knowledge. Most "successful" women you see these days have primarily succumbed to the patriarchal poster of success and have followed in accordance.

Men at the same time have lost their way and their own truth, experience their own lack of direction and meaning and have been greatly influenced by a patriarchy which defines what a good and successful male is as well.

I think feminine energy on the planet is essential to the survival of the planet and the health of the planet. It must counter balance the masculine energy. I believe its pretty imperitive if we are going to survive.

[corporatewhore]

4. Oh i totally agree

[smirkymonkey]

5. You said it all beautifully!

And the imbalance of masculine/feminine energy does not mean that men have to go. It means that the masculine principle has become far too dominant in the world and the pendulum needs to swing the other way in order to restore the balance.

In my opinion, unless there is some major paradigm shift, this world is not for long. There seems to be an all out war on nature in all its manifestations. War, destruction, death, hate and intolerance seem to looming larger in our daily lives and I don't think we as a species will last unless something changes soon.

[shance]

8. You said it as well***

<<There seems to be an all out war on nature in all its manifestations. War, destruction, death, hate and intolerance seem to looming larger in our daily lives and I don't think we as a species will last unless something changes soon. >>

Great points.

I think this blind destruction is born out of delusional thinking and ignorance that somehow assumes the earths natural resources and environment will continue to merrily merrily* thrive, despite these never-ending assaults, continued neglect, over-development, and rapid draining of resources like oil that took thousands, if not millions of years to create.

Its like the tale of the goose that laid the golden egg, and the greedy owner that killed the goose in order to extract the eggs, but then of course realized he killed the creator of the eggs and was left with nada.

[corporatewhore]

6. kick