[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

This is just a few miles down the road from me, and the poor boy is the same age as my daughter. It really is horrifying. It's also prompted a nice surge of local racism and xenophobia (as they are apparently not British natives), which is always fun . "Those sorts" have "all sorts of beliefs and rituals", apparently, and she "probably did it to stop herself getting the flu or ebola".



Well... "quiet" yes, but a bit... littered with junkies... But that's true of most smaller towns these days, sadly.

There are hundreds of very deep rooted superstitions in Botswana so it could be linked but as Josy has said it looks like some sort of mental issue.

[user104658]

Originally Posted by Scrooge

There are hundreds of very deep rooted superstitions in Botswana so it could be linked but as Josy has said it looks like some sort of mental issue.

I would imagine so, unfortunately there are a lot of small-minded people around who put two and two together and come up with slack-jawed idiocy. The quoted example (that she was doing it to find off disease and that this is "really common" in "those sorts of countries") is something I actually heard someone saying today, and they were deadly serious. I also heard a heated discussion amongst a small group, planning to query the local council about" why they let that sort move into the area in the first place", as if they have immigration controls on the roads in and out of the county...

I just wish people could mourn and abhor things like this for what they are without ridiculous gossip.