Love Medicine

Love Medicine
Detail of beadwork from an Ojibwe medicine pouch

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Response to "Doomsday Cult"

I am utterly shocked that the leaders of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments could comment such atrocities. I am baffled that the human race is capable of such terrible acts. I feel confusion concerning the victims/followers. I believe they must have had little options in life and the few benefits the Movement offered (2 meals a day, schooling for children) must have seemed worth giving away all of their money and possessions. I believe this reflects the inadequacy of the government of Uganda and the indifference of the world concerning the poor of Uganda and elsewhere. I am sickened by the fact that these leaders would kill innocent people, including children. This event exposes a dark element of organized religion: how easy it is for people with ill intentions to take advantage of people who seek help. Furthermore, I am upset at how poorly the investigations were handled. I believe leaders of Uganda handled the situation quite badly. Though I understand they had little resources to conduct a thorough and adequate investigation, I think they could have made efforts to attain help from other countries…perhaps they tried but were unable to attain assistance. It is atrocious that the people of Uganda were forced to uncover the remains of the followers without the specific attire needed to handle decomposed bodies. I found it disturbing that there was not a proper ceremony to honor the victims and that instead some of the remains were buried in pits together. This event reveals a truly sick side of human nature. I believe the leaders of The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments were truly evil

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