Posted by Simcha on December 12, 2001, at 12:23:42
In reply to Cutting as a religion. , posted by JohnDoenut on December 10, 2001, at 18:10:44
I heard of a cult that went down to South America where they all drank purple Kool-aid laced with cyanide and they all died.
Mass self-mutilation and mass suicide are perhaps similar in that they involve self-human-sacrifice and that they seem to be mal-adaptive behaviors. I hate to bring up Darwinism...that cult who went down to South America no longer have any followers.
Something tells me that self-preservation is a very healthy mindset. It seems that harming oneself knowingly is not so healthy in the long run.
I think I'll stay away from purple Kool-aid and razorblades.
> I just recently found out that in Africa, some of the soldiers there (and who knows who else) practice this kind of voodoo magic. One practice involves making incisions in the skin all over the body and then putting some substance in it to allow the incision to stay open. They believe this makes them invisible. Soldiers use it of course to avoid being hurt in battle.
> I found this page about this type of magic, subculture etc. (may not have info about this specific practice)
>
> http://www.secularhumanism.org/ahal/religioncult.html
>
> Just thought you might be interested to know.
poster:Simcha
thread:15308
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20011207/msgs/15399.html