Friday, December 24, 2010

Voodoo persecution and voodoo validation

This Reuters story (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BN2P420101224) out of Haiti on the lynching of voudou priests is disturbing on so many levels. First, that the violence stems from utterly preposterous attacks on the religion last January after the earthquake, when evangelicals and other mostly right-wing Christian religious figures tried to blame the disaster on the presence of the voudou religion in Haiti. This is a direct consequence of that.

Second, if the orisha truly were to be held accountable for natural acts of destruction such as earthquakes and hurricanes, why would they punish their own followers? Ochosi and Ogun and the other protectors of the faith would be among the many orisha who would argue for punishment of those who have enslaved, oppressed, murdered and otherwise harmed the religion and its adherents, whether in Africa or in the New World. Haiti would be protected and a paradise for its people if voudou really were in charge there. But of course pursuing this whole line of ascribing powers and affixing blame to supernatural entities is pointless on its face and is the cause of much violence and destruction globally. The current wars in the Mideast and Southwestern Asia cases in point.

Killing anyone in the name of religion reaps nothing other than more killing, in an endless and irrational loop of revenge and righteousness.