The devil, demons, spirits, witch.......whatever you wanna call it. Call me culturally insensitive but I'm so sick of this f*cking "devil" business! It's such a cop out for so many things. It's so easy to not take self-responsibility for anything because everything is the work of the devil and demons are controlling your life.
One of my students had an epileptic seizure today. I wasn't there when it occurred but I was called in after the seizure was done. I found Fanta on the ground, she was dazed & confused while everyone hovered around her. Yes, of course they were yelling because that's what Sierra Leoneans do best.........yell. The principal told me of Fanta's pre-existing condition so I knew what had happened. She also told me that there were 2 girls in the class that knew what to do in the case a seizure happened. And just like any other Sierra Leonean student and their inability to learn anything, the supposedly trained students didn't do anything and what pissed me off the most is when I asked them what happened. Well, her answer was as clear as day.....I should've knew it was coming. She opened her mouth and said, "She has a demon in her." Well, color me stupid! Gat dammned I should've known! The devil of course! Really? Seriously?!?! These are the words that are coming out of the "smartest" stream. The Pure Science stream, the ones that want to become doctors?!?! They say that their classmate has been possessed by demons?!?! Give me a fucking break!!!
Am I really that culturally insensitive??? I'm Filipino and I come from a country that originally consisted of indigenous tribes people along with all that talk of devils demons and spirits. Yes, Filipinos can be superstitious at times due the residual history of our tribal beliefs but it doesn't govern our lives and is the end all explanation to everything. Wake up Africa! If you want to move forward towards becoming a progressive developed country then put all those chicken bones and voodoo-hoodoo aside, it's freakin ridiculous.
On another occasion, I came into class and a teacher asked me to excuse a student and let her put her head down at her desk. I looked down at my student and saw her crying. The story goes that she was at her desk, she heard someone calling her name so she ran out to see who it was. It was no one. So she freaked out and started crying because she said that the spirits were calling her. You really can't ask me to sympathize with this bullshit. I excused her to go to the library and said that she can put her head down and cry there because I don't tolerate the devil, spirits, demons, or witchcraft in my classroom. The students laughed and I said:
" What's so funny? You are the ones that believe in this garbage and I'm just telling you that I don't allow works of the devil in my class. So if you would like to entertain works of the devil then you can deal with the spirits outside of my classroom because I'm here to teach Math to serious students who can take responsibility for their own actions and not blame everything on demons and spirits."
Someone has to give them a reality check. If we continue to coddle these delusions and say it's "culture" then this place will go nowhere. I have one word......SCIENCE! Ya, I get it, I know. Using the word spirits, devil, demons, etc. were just ways to explain the unexplainable before scientific research and development proved everything. So Fanta has been formally diagnosed with epilepsy but since the community has convinced her and themselves that she is being possessed by her dead twin brother then that means everyone has drank the punch. I'm just hoping that she won't get killed because of the devil inside of her or die from village medicine that gets shoved down her throat and eventually poisons her to death....well, you know, to get rid of the demon inside of her. Am I joking? I wish I were. So call me culturally insensitive, but I'm living and I see it with my own eyes and this stuff happens. You tell me if that's OK.
Last vent. Term3 exams last school year. I went to proctor one of the exams. A teacher comes and informs me that a student in my class will be taking her exams in a separate area from her peers. I asked why and the explanation was that the girl had a dream that when she walked into the classroom to take the exam, 3 girls in her class threw sand in her eyes and made her blind. The girl was crying and I even saw another teacher crying for her when she heard the story. So everyone was convinced that these girls have witched her and entered her dreams so she will fail the class. Dreams are "real" here and come true. And all the evidence pointed to witchcraft, it was obvious. The girl used to be the top of the class but then her grades started dropping when these girls were tormenting her in her dreams. Hurry quick! Someone call the witch police! There has been a committed crime of unlawful dream trespassing! Puh-leez you really expect me to keep a straight face when I hear this ridiculous bullshit. How about we call it what it is: nervous anxiety. The mind is a powerful thing. She's not top dog anymore so it bothers her. But instead of taking matters into her own hands and say: I'm scared but I can control the situation and be successful. She can easily give up and say that her falling grades is not her fault but the work of witchcraft from her colleagues that wish to malice her. So all the teachers entertain this delusion so we all protect her from witchcraft. Well gee, I hope she doesn't have that same kind of witchcraft when she goes to university. That excuse will definitely not fly at a university abroad.
I dunno, maybe they have something here. Maybe I should incorporate it into my own life. It seems to make things easier. Like:
-Oh I never ever get sick, I'm real healthy but every now and then I get possessed by the devil
-Oh I'm sorry I'm late for work again, there seems to be demons in my bed that prevent me from waking up at an appropriate hour
-I really wanted to make that deadline but the Finance Dept. really hate me and they've performed witchcraft to affect my duties, it's not my fault. It's the work of the devil, I tell ya!
-Oh I wasn't being a bitch, the devil just possesses me sometimes is all.
Call it the DEVIL if you want but I'll tell you what it really is: STUPID EXCUSES
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