Media sensationalizes crime as religion
The murder case of Kaemogetswe Sefularo is once again in the news and eNCAnews has reported it as a “Satanic killing”.
The South African media should be aware of the harm they are causing to religious minorities in South Africa by calling murders “Satanic killings” or “Occult Killings” and by blaming Satanism for murders.
In this case, the accused has allegedly confessed that she believed her actions were a Satanic ritual and that the group was involved in some form of Satanism. Yet, when most people hear the term Satanism, what they think about is essentially a straw man, a boogeyman, a myth. A tool of evangelical Christianity to frighten and control. In truth, Satanism is an overarching term which contains many diverse belief systems – the vast majority of them having nothing to do with criminality. The media is essentially slandering law abiding Satanists who have nothing whatsoever to do with such fringe actions.
Real Satanism and Satanists would condemn these actions. Nothing in Laveyan Satanism calls for such murderous actions and a central text of their philosophy, the Satanic Bible, actually condemns such actions.
An in-depth examination of Theistic Satanist groups, which are usually more controversial, again reveal that the vast majority of them are clearly against these kinds of actions as well.
The question therefore remains, where do these youngsters get their ideas from then? Perhaps the current generation of young South Africans have very little in terms of “defensive mental shields” against nonsense propaganda. They did not experience the Satanic panics of the 80’s and early 90’s. In the case of South Africa, fears of a “Satanic threat” was also more prevalent among the white middle-classes, at least initially. Now these fears have crossed social and economic boundaries. Satanic Panic never really died down in South Africa.
New waves of preachers and cult-cops have remained to poison young minds with their “Satanism”, which is essentially a Christian myth. These pastors, cult cops and teachers warn against their false creation “Satanism” and describe the imagined atrocities of Satanists. Where do the youth get their information from – they get it from Christian propaganda against Satanism and Occultism, in essence creating the problem.
The above mentioned scenario, where rebellious youth engage in forms of pseudo-Satanism is supported by a vast corpus of Academic literature. For instance the works of folklorist Bill Ellis and Sociologist Jeffrey.S. Victor. The term for these criminal adolescents are “legend trippers”.
Is it fair to blame a whole religion or philosophy for the actions of fringes? Is Christianity blamed for the crimes of individuals who believe God spoke to them. The media should report responsibly. It would be better to report these cases as actions of self-styled Satanists or pseudo-Satanists who make up their own rituals as opposed to shifting the blame to entire groups and individuals, who are innocent of any wrongdoing.
Report by F. Fumarola
Reference News report:
Randfontein teen confesses satanic killing of friend | eNCA