So... how do you feel about human sacrifice?

[AL!CE]

Re: So... how do you feel about human sacrifice?

Willing human sacrifice is fine in my book.

Unwilling human sacrifice is murder.

If someone is willing to be sacrificed they're probably depressed and even if they're not, what they need is (psychiatric) help.

It's murder either way.

[Ophidia]

Re: So... how do you feel about human sacrifice?

If someone is willing to be sacrificed they're probably depressed and even if they're not, what they need is (psychiatric) help.

A lot of people choose to die, or place themselves in positions that risk death, for one reason or another. Life is incredibly complex and I tend to think along lines that aren't so narrow or judgmental.

I've got major depressive disorder, I do tend towards suicidal ideology, and whenever my time of choice comes around my death will probably be absolutely pointless... but if some random person came up to me and asked me, "Hey, would you be willing to let us offer you up to our God?" I'd have to have probably several long, detailed conversations with the person/group to determine if my views were in line with theirs. And I'd hope they would be a little more picky about their choice of offering as well. A willing sacrifice is great but it could also undermine the whole point of the sacrifice. For instance, if they were going to sacrifice me to the Flying Spaghetti Monster, I'd have to turn them down because in my heart of hearts, I know tomatoes are pure evil and the FSM seems pretty dedicated to rich, tomatoey marinara (no offense intended to the FSM, may He bless you all with His noodly appendages). Maybe that's why people have a distrust of the too-willing sacrifice victim. The first guy in line at the Aztec pyramid jumping up & down screaming 'Ooh! Oooh! Pick me! Pick me!' might have had some ulterior motives.

[AL!CE]

Re: So... how do you feel about human sacrifice?

I've got major depressive disorder

I think you just proved my point.

[Ophidia]

Re: So... how do you feel about human sacrifice?

I think you just proved my point.

Yes, you did. But if I keep it up, this thread will most likely become filled with pictures of cats. So I will stfb for now.

[AL!CE]

Re: So... how do you feel about human sacrifice?


Ok I'm not going to deny a simple request for a cat picture, from someone with depression. Hope this cheers your day.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: So... how do you feel about human sacrifice?

IMHO - to die for a god is stupid. To kill for a god is vile.

What willing adults do to each other is of no concern of mine - except to say that I think it's stupid.

What people do to children, though, does concern me. The murder of a child is always murder, even when done for stupid and/or vile reasons.


Let's sacrifice the kitties instead...

[AL!CE]

Re: So... how do you feel about human sacrifice?

IMHO - to die for a god is stupid. To kill for a god is vile.

What willing adults do to each other is of no concern of mine - except to say that I think it's stupid.

What people do to children, though, does concern me. The murder of a child is always murder, even when done for stupid and/or vile reasons.


Let's sacrifice the kitties instead...

No the Goddess likes Cats more than Babies. That's why they appear more often on Google. She also likes porn, yup yup. Or maybe that's the God.

[volcaniclastic]

Re: So... how do you feel about human sacrifice?

I think you just proved my point.

To bring another side to this coin, I agreed with Perze, and I haven't got a depression issue, or bipolarity, or any kind of mental issues whatsoever. I'm not suicidal, and I generally love life, and all the things that live on earth.

Just like I am pro-choice, and I am pro-capital punishment, I'm pro for willingness. What a person decides to do with their life is their concern, and their concern only. To give a slightly racist example, if Billy the Hawaiian decides that the only way to appease the volcano gods is to be sacrificed, well, little Billy can go for it. Does it actually appease the volcano gods? That's a different question entirely, and from the viewpoint of a geologist, I might have a different answer than some.

But he willingly did it. Gets one more stupid fuck off the planet, and no harm done. Besides, it's never nice to be rude to the gods, and if they demand a sacrifice, well...

[Sarkana night]

Re: So... how do you feel about human sacrifice?

Willing human sacrifice is fine in my book.

Unwilling human sacrifice is murder.

I agree with this.

[Corvus]

Re: So... how do you feel about human sacrifice?

It dosen't really surprise me that this is occurring. People have and still receive payment for all sorts of works of magic, good and bad. People are shallow and greedy enough to kill people for normal reasons. However someone would pay someone to kill someone to bring money and luck to them? that's vile and evil and wrong. It disgusts me completely. I can only hope there's some spirit/deity/karmic backlash coming for them. These witch doctors are proud and boastful of their murder and abduction of unwilling children.
Just so disgusting.

[Djnn]

Re: So... how do you feel about human sacrifice?

A lot of cultures who participate in this practice today have many practices that we would find... Immorral and hanus in nature. To these people its their reality its their world. So for them its a way of life. So in this sense I can't say we have any right to disrupt their way of life. I don't agree with it. I'd never participate or allow participants to be around me. But when you look at it from a anthropological point of view... You can't be biased at all.
If a culture infringes onto another to do this practice I'm not against defending the life....
It's a very... Touchy topic that's for sure. I guess it goes back to it being okay for the willing. If they participate in the culture they are willing even if they don't want to be sacrificed themself.

I find it disgusting and out dated personally

[Maria de Luna]

Re: So... how do you feel about human sacrifice?

A lot of cultures who participate in this practice today have many practices that we would find... Immorral and hanus in nature. To these people its their reality its their world. So for them its a way of life. So in this sense I can't say we have any right to disrupt their way of life. I don't agree with it. I'd never participate or allow participants to be around me. But when you look at it from a anthropological point of view... You can't be biased at all.
If a culture infringes onto another to do this practice I'm not against defending the life....
It's a very... Touchy topic that's for sure. I guess it goes back to it being okay for the willing. If they participate in the culture they are willing even if they don't want to be sacrificed themself.

I find it disgusting and out dated personally

This is all lovely sounding in theory, but in the context of the article, it is quite clear that this was a dead practice re4vived only within the last couple of years (a couple of years ago...) It isn't cultural and the only ones who seem to want to participate are the witch doctors and the rich A**h**** paying for it. there are a few cases of parents selling their children, but not for their religion, but because they are poor...
Now I am allfor revival, and history and all of that, but this is unacceptable within the constraints of law even. It is illegal in their country, but no one is arresting these people! If one of them moved into the U.S. and paid a man to kidnap, mutilate, and murder someone elses child, would it still be ok? It is this man's culture, would'nt we be infringing on his rights to practice his religion? F*** NO! Children, whether you like them or not, whether they belong to you or not have basic human rights too! They are Children for goodness sake, How can they even remotely knowingly consent?
These people arent allowed to go out and kill elephants for ivory anymore, why can they go out and kill children? It makes no sense, these are not un touched tribal cultures doing this, they know what they are doing, they know it is wrong, and they are still doing it for money, if that is not sick and depraved, what do they need to do to qualify as such?

I've seen dumber reasons for military strikes....

[Djnn]

Re: So... how do you feel about human sacrifice?

I agree in the instance of the practice being revived and for greed no less... It is wrong on so many levels. More than just for the death of children or others.

[AL!CE]

Re: So... how do you feel about human sacrifice?

To bring another side to this coin, I agreed with Perze, and I haven't got a depression issue, or bipolarity, or any kind of mental issues whatsoever. I'm not suicidal, and I generally love life, and all the things that live on earth.

Just like I am pro-choice, and I am pro-capital punishment, I'm pro for willingness. What a person decides to do with their life is their concern, and their concern only. To give a slightly racist example, if Billy the Hawaiian decides that the only way to appease the volcano gods is to be sacrificed, well, little Billy can go for it. Does it actually appease the volcano gods? That's a different question entirely, and from the viewpoint of a geologist, I might have a different answer than some.

But he willingly did it. Gets one more stupid fuck off the planet, and no harm done. Besides, it's never nice to be rude to the gods, and if they demand a sacrifice, well...

I fully understand your desire for there to be less people on the planet but that doesn't mean that we should kill all the volunteers. What if someone you loved volunteered to die would you encourage them or try to talk them out of it? People who volunteer for such things are usually crazy rather than stupid (or in the case of imaginary Billy poorly educated and misguided). If you want less people on the planet there are various approaches you can take, for example if we stopped providing places like Africa with food and medication and instead only provided them with contraceptives and education.

[volcaniclastic]

Re: So... how do you feel about human sacrifice?

I fully understand your desire for there to be less people on the planet but that doesn't mean that we should kill all the volunteers. What if someone you loved volunteered to die would you encourage them or try to talk them out of it? People who volunteer for such things are usually crazy rather than stupid (or in the case of imaginary Billy poorly educated and misguided). If you want less people on the planet there are various approaches you can take, for example if we stopped providing places like Africa with food and medication and instead only provided them with contraceptives and education.

But then you run into the problem of "Who's to say places like Africa deserve to die, whereas white middle-class America can live in comfort?" ...If someone I loved volunteered for any number of things, I would grieve, and I would move on. From my POV, having a loved one join the army to go to war is damn nearly the same as having them volunteer to kill themselves, and lots of husbands and wives and mothers and fathers deal with their loved ones going off to war. I'm not saying we should all jump up and sacrifice ourselves to some gods that may or may not even exist, but if someone, a zealot, say, is so firmly convinced that this is their way to salvation, or to their culture's salvation, well, fuck. Just go for it, then. What if they wanted to do it so badly it made them terribly upset? Unreasonable, miserable, and unconsolable? A person's gotta do what a person's gotta do.

Why is Perze excused from her beliefs because of depression, but I seem not to be? Is it more acceptable for someone with a psychological issue to think these thoughts than it is for someone without depression?