TAW122
Emissary of the right to die.
- Aug 30, 2018
- 6,723
I'm pretty sure that most of you have heard this well known African proverb before. "The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel it's warmth." I can relate to this quote in many ways and see many areas IRL where it is applied. Before I go on, I'm going to break down this quote and analyze it a bit.
The child (or children plural) refers to the individual or (small/minority) group that is marginalized by the majority group.
Not embraced means not supported nor accepted, loved, made to be a part of, etc.
The village would refer to society or the majority of the population or ruling party (monarchy, government, elites, etc.).
Burn it down refers to rebellion or taking action against said group (in this case, the village), sometimes violent action.
Feel it's warmth refers to getting pleasure or fulfilling their ego, restoring their honor, or justice (in some cases) for the transgressions of the majority.
With that said, just this quote resonates with me a lot because growing up I was oftenly the marginalized individual either by other "superior" individuals or by the majority group in charge. Also, it can explain why there are people who eventually take revenge and do other drastic acts as a result of not being embraced by the larger, more dominant group. Some examples include why some bullied victims go on a rampage against the society (people in power or even the majority, masses) who they perceive to have been responsible (or even indirectly responsible) for their troubles. One such example would be the story of the killdozer, who went on a rampage against a town that has done him wrong. (Note: I don't condone his actions.) There are so many more examples but these are just a few to get my point across.
Now to relate this to the marginalized group, we are one of those who are persecuted by just about every group in society and maybe one or two other groups may be neutral with us (we are pro-choice). Many organizations and groups oftenly espouse pro-life rhetoric (not limited to religious groups but secular ones as well) and to make matters worse, our credibility is ruined by default, simply because the majority of people are ignorant and are programmed to believe that the choice to die (instead of living) would be considered mentally ill and thus de-legitimize our cause and claims. Hell, even claiming that system is wrong even damages our own credibility and people think that we are insane or mentally ill for whistle blowing or bringing attention and exposure to the abuses in the pro-life world. In a sense, we are the children who are NOT embraced by the village (society at large and the masses). While we all won't be burning villages (societies) down, there are just a very few that are extreme and if pushed far enough could actually deal real damage to society (Again, not endorsing nor condoning it, just making sense of the logic here).
In short, I believe that if the world treated people better, didn't marginalize and persecute various people or disenfranchised groups of people, then there would be less villages burned (metaphor intended) down. Whether that will change is another story and in my personal opinion, not likely. Throughout human history, there has almost always been an underclass or scapegoat and sadly, we just happen to be one of those who fill that role in society. I wished it wasn't so but I digress.
Just as a disclaimer, I do not endorse nor condone the actions of the child nor children (individuals or groups) who carry out such acts of violence or other ill actions towards society. This is simply me explaining how this African proverb and quote resonates with me and how I can see it explain the "why" to lots of these tragedies and/or other things happen in the real world. Does anyone relate to this quote or see things in a similar manner?
The child (or children plural) refers to the individual or (small/minority) group that is marginalized by the majority group.
Not embraced means not supported nor accepted, loved, made to be a part of, etc.
The village would refer to society or the majority of the population or ruling party (monarchy, government, elites, etc.).
Burn it down refers to rebellion or taking action against said group (in this case, the village), sometimes violent action.
Feel it's warmth refers to getting pleasure or fulfilling their ego, restoring their honor, or justice (in some cases) for the transgressions of the majority.
With that said, just this quote resonates with me a lot because growing up I was oftenly the marginalized individual either by other "superior" individuals or by the majority group in charge. Also, it can explain why there are people who eventually take revenge and do other drastic acts as a result of not being embraced by the larger, more dominant group. Some examples include why some bullied victims go on a rampage against the society (people in power or even the majority, masses) who they perceive to have been responsible (or even indirectly responsible) for their troubles. One such example would be the story of the killdozer, who went on a rampage against a town that has done him wrong. (Note: I don't condone his actions.) There are so many more examples but these are just a few to get my point across.
Now to relate this to the marginalized group, we are one of those who are persecuted by just about every group in society and maybe one or two other groups may be neutral with us (we are pro-choice). Many organizations and groups oftenly espouse pro-life rhetoric (not limited to religious groups but secular ones as well) and to make matters worse, our credibility is ruined by default, simply because the majority of people are ignorant and are programmed to believe that the choice to die (instead of living) would be considered mentally ill and thus de-legitimize our cause and claims. Hell, even claiming that system is wrong even damages our own credibility and people think that we are insane or mentally ill for whistle blowing or bringing attention and exposure to the abuses in the pro-life world. In a sense, we are the children who are NOT embraced by the village (society at large and the masses). While we all won't be burning villages (societies) down, there are just a very few that are extreme and if pushed far enough could actually deal real damage to society (Again, not endorsing nor condoning it, just making sense of the logic here).
In short, I believe that if the world treated people better, didn't marginalize and persecute various people or disenfranchised groups of people, then there would be less villages burned (metaphor intended) down. Whether that will change is another story and in my personal opinion, not likely. Throughout human history, there has almost always been an underclass or scapegoat and sadly, we just happen to be one of those who fill that role in society. I wished it wasn't so but I digress.
Just as a disclaimer, I do not endorse nor condone the actions of the child nor children (individuals or groups) who carry out such acts of violence or other ill actions towards society. This is simply me explaining how this African proverb and quote resonates with me and how I can see it explain the "why" to lots of these tragedies and/or other things happen in the real world. Does anyone relate to this quote or see things in a similar manner?
Last edited:
