By Francisco Fumarola
Originally published: 02 October 2012
How do we even begin to debunk the years of
accumulated nonsense and propaganda against Satanism, Occultism and Witchcraft
in South Africa?
The fact remains, all the information is already out there and available to
anyone with a desire to seek it out and determine the truth for themselves.
The
phenomenon of Satanic Panic has been thoroughly examined and largely debunked
in diverse academic fields including Anthropology, History, Sociology and
Folklore. The FBI investigated claims of Satanic Ritual Abuse and the
conclusion was made that the evidence was lacking. There was no evidence found
of wide-spread satanic conspiracy or vast organized satanic cults perpetuating
crimes or ritual abuse.
With all this information available and
plenty of it in an online format, in addition to published sources, one has to
wonder why our SAPS chooses to rely on religious propaganda for their
information on Satanism, Occultism, Witchcraft, Paganism and other belief
systems and practices. Why do they choose the special edition of Servamus
dealing with drugs and the occult and its religious bias when there are
legitimate sources out there? Legitimate sources only serve to debunk their
“special edition” of Servamus and the influences of Jonker, Havinga, De Beer,
Lotter anyway.
Even the recent cases held up as “evidence”
for the existence of Satanism and Occult crime were constructed in the media
and through the influence of the above-mentioned biased individuals coming from
a fundamentalist Christian perspective.
I have compiled a few online sources which
I have found invaluable in taking apart the Christian Satanism myth. I have
also compiled as many of the media sources leading up to the current situation
as I could find.
The 1992 Report by the FBI
The 1992 “Lanning Report” or the
“Investigator’s Guide to Allegations of Ritual Child Abuse”. Special agent
Kenneth Lanning of the Behavioural Sciences Unit compiled this document after
he had been examining cases of Satanic Ritual Abuse since the early 1980’s. The
report largely deals with child abuse and especially with Satanic Ritual Abuse.
However, it also goes a long way in debunking the rampant satanic panic
hysteria of the 1980’s. Lanning claims that at first he was willing to believe
the various claims of ritual abuse and that he later became sceptical as he
found that evidence was lacking.
Lanning explores various reasons for why
“survivors” would potentially lie or misconstrue their experiences. The report
downplays the “satanic” or “occult” connection to crimes or to ritual abuse.
Lanning seems critical of the usage of “occult”and “satanic” labels applied to
crimes. He raises the question of why we do not label other crimes based simply
on the religious beliefs of its perpetrators. He also indicates that so-called
“occult” or “satanic” connections may be arbitrary. One part of the document
deals with advice for law enforcement - Lanning firstly advices that law
enforcement officers should minimize the satanic/occult aspect. He warns
against seeing Satanism everywhere and making connections where there is none.
“Often the eye sees what the mind perceives,” (Lanning, 1992). Lanning advises
that Police officers should also keep their own religious convictions separated
from the investigation. He advises that those who believe they are entering
into battle with the forces of evil should rather not get involved in such
investigations.
I can see how our own SAPS ignored such
common sense in the past with the occult crimes unit under Kobus Jonker. The
Lanning report is a complicated document and I can only touch upon it briefly.
The document contributed to a growing scepticism concerning SRA and today few
academics or researchers take Satanic Ritual Abuse too seriously. The
phenomenon can either be seen as akin to a “moral panic” or as containing
folkloric elements similar to the blood libel.
You can read the whole document at the
Religious Tolerance website (conveniently divided into smaller segments).
You
can also read it at the Internet Sacred Texts Archive
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/lanning.htm
Investigating the claims of Kobus
Jonker and the “occult unit”.
Kerr Cuhulain (Charles Ennis) was a police
officer and is a Wiccan and author. He takes on Kobus Jonker and his
investigations.
http://www.witchvox.com/whs/dt_whs.html?aid=cabc&id=8980
The
same rational reasoning can be applied to Jonker’s other claims and cases.
The
following is a challenge to Jonker’s input in the infamous “Thames Torso Case”.
http://www.saff.ukhq.co.uk/ttorso2.htm
The
following article is from the Police Forum, the official police section
newsletter from the Academy
of Criminal Justice Sciences.
1992. The author is Professor Phillip Jenkins. The article takes a critical
look at so-called “occult units” and the very need for such units. Jenkins
finds such units to be a waste of time and resources.
This
article is titled “Occult Cop” and it contains another account of a police
officer, Randy Emon, who became sceptical of the whole “satanic/occult” crime
label and its “survivors”. He compares the phenomena of “occult survivors” to
UFO abductees. He found that the whole phenomena served a purpose within
fundamentalist Christianity.
http://www.ipt-forensics.com/journal/volume5/j5_1_6.htm
General Sources
Shy
David’s Satanic Hysteria Page is an excellent
resource and it contains quite a few articles from various sources critical of
the Satanic Panic. Quite a few of the articles date from the time of the panic
itself. It also contains a few articles dealing with some of the personalities
involved in the satanic panic.
The
Satanic Media watch and news exchange is another
excellent resource. It has numerous links debunking the satanic panic and the
perpetrators behind the panic. It has numerous sources from academics dealing
with the meaning of the modern satanic panic as part of myth and folklore.
Diane
Vera’s Theistic Satanism Page logically takes apart
the phenomenon of Satanic Panic and offers very useful advice on how to deal
with it. This is an important page because it comes from a practicing Satanist
with an insider’s perspective. It asks all of us including Witches, Pagans, Satanists,
Occultists to be on our guard and work together to debunk the satanic myth,
rather than simply distancing ourselves from the issue. Basically, we should
all debunk the particularly Christian myth of Satanism (and not confirm it
while simply pointing the finger at others) as the influence of satanic panic
trickles down to other minority religions. The average Christian fundamentalist
makes no distinction between practitioners of African Diaspora religions,
Wiccans and Satanists and discrimination happens accordingly.
Diane Vera speaks up for the law-abiding
Satanist not directly associated with the Church
of Satan, while the Church of Satan
simply tries to distance themselves from such groups and individuals.
Giving
the Devil more than his due by David Alexander,
this article was published in the bi-monthly magazine of the American Humanist
Association, The Humanist March/April
1990. I include it as a general resource because it gives a nice overview of
the Christian Satanism myth and the personalities involved in perpetrating the
myth.
http://www.smwane.dk/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=13
Sources from within Satanism
The
following letters by South African Satanists appeared in Beeld and in Volksblad
during the time of the media storm surrounding the Van Eck murder. They defend
their position and their right to exist. Why should a hated criminal fringe
usually with a strong background in Christianity serve to stigmatize all
Occultists or Satanists? We certainly don’t afford Christians that some honour.
The hated fringe usually takes their ideas of Satanism and Occultism from the
Christian view of it.
We
don’t label crimes as Christian crimes. A mother may murder her child and
believe that God wanted her to do it and yet we will be quick to realize that
she did not act on behalf of all Christians or display behaviour common to all
Christians. Most serious Satanists and most Occultists remain law-abiding
citizens. Yet, in our case any crime that could even remotely be linked to
“Satanism” or “Occultism” can be used to stigmatize us all.
To
learn more about Satanism, the best place to start is with the Satanic Bible.
It soon becomes apparent that actual Satanism has nothing whatsoever to do with
the Christian mythical version of it. The Satanic Bible condemns and speaks out
against the very crimes that Christians attribute to Satanists.
Here
is advice for the youth from the Church
of Satan. Note the ideal
of respecting children and animals as a pure form of life.
http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/Youthletter.html
http://www.churchofsatan.com/
http://www.modernchurchofsatan.com
Diane
Vera’s Theistic Satanism main page
http://theisticsatanism.com/
Sources from within the wider community of
Occultists, Pagans and Witches
http://m.news24.com/news24/MyNews24/The-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-20120130
Rowan
Moonstone: Why I don’t believe the
“Survivors” of Occult Groups
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bos/bos335.htm
‘Christian Action’ and the
Halloween conspiracy by Damon Leff
http://www.penton.co.za/?p=1452
South Africa’s Satanic Panic by
Francisco Fumarola
http://www/penton.co.za/?p=630
Why we SHOULD speak out
against an SAPS occult-related crimes division in South-Africa by
Franicsco Fumarola.
http://www.penton.co.za/?p=2576
SAPRA
Objections to Investigation of Alleged “harmful occult related crimes”.
http://www.penton.co.za/?p=2580
Exposing the Lies – Inside
Servamus’ ‘Drugs & Occult-related crime’ Part 1 by
Bronwyn Katzke
http://www.penton.co.za/?p=2596
Evangelical Fundamentalism
threatens religious freedom by Helen Riding
http://www.penton.co.za/?p=2616
Also
published: http://m.news24.com/news24/MyNews24/Rise-in-fundamentalism-in-ZA-20120925
Ignoring the Elephant by
Bronwyn Katzke
http://www.penton.co.za/?p=2630
From
a blog by Bronwyn Katzke with numerous articles touching on the phenomenon of
satanic panic
http://crepuscularbron.blogspot.com/2012/09/so-youre-occult-expert-are-you.html
From
Christina Engela’s Blog
http://christinaengela.blogspot.com/2012/09/saps-occult-related-crimes-unit.html
Key published sources and academic Sources
Bromley,
D. G. 1991. The satanic cult scare. Society. May/June.
California
Office of Criminal Justice Planning. 1989. Occult crime: A law enforcement
primer. Sacramento, California.
Carlson,
S., & LaRue, G. 1989. Satanism in America. Buffalo, NY:
Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion. Gala Press, El Cerrito, CA.
Bill
Ellis is an English Professor and Folklorist. In Raising the Devil he examines the Satanic Panic as part of
folklore. He identifies young juveniles who participate in satanic vandalism
and other crimes as “legend trippers”. They fulfil the urban legends found
within the Christian mythical version of Satanism. Other works by Bill Ellis
should be consulted as well.
Ellis,
B. 2000. Raising the Devil: Satanism, New
Religions and the Media. Lexington.
University of Kentucky Press.
Ellis,
B. 1989. Death by folklore: Ostension, contemporary legend, and murder. Western
Folklore, 48, 201-220.
Hicks,
R. 1991. In Pursuit of Satan: The Police and the Occult. Buffalo, NY.
Prometheus Press.
Lewis,
J.R. 2001. Who serves Satan? A
Demographic and Ideological Profile. Marburg
Journal of Religion. Volume 6. Number 2.
Download:
http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb03/ivk/mjr/pdfs/2001/articles/lewis2001.pdf
Satan’s Silence
further helped dispel the idea of Satanic Ritual Abuse.
Nathan,
D. & Snedeker, M.R. 1995. Satan’s
Silence: ritual abuse and the making of a modern American witch hunt. New York. Basic Books.
Jeffrey S.Victor is a Professor of Sociology and has
numerous published articles and works dealing with the phenomenon of Satanic
Panic.
Victor,
J. S. 1989. A rumor-panic about a
dangerous satanic cult in western New
York. New
York Folklore, 15(1-2), 23-49.
Victor,
J. S. 1991. Satanic cult 'survivor' stories. Skeptical Inquirer, 15(3),
274-280.
Victor,
J.S. 1993. Satanic Panic: The Creation of
a Contemporary Legend
Victor,
J.S. 1998. Moral Panics and the social
construction of deviant behaviour: a theory and application to the case of
ritual child abuse. Sociological Perspectives v41, n3.
Download: learn.uci.edu/media/W03/99012/Victor.doc
Review
of Satanic Panic by Institute for
Psychological Therapies. Hollida Wakefield.
http://www.ipt-forensics.com/journal/volume5/j5_3_br6.htm
A South African study and Master’s Thesis
by Danielle Dunbar. The Devil’s Children:
Volk, Devils and
Moral Panics in White South
Africa, 1976 – 1993. University of Stellenbosch.
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
The originators of the Satanic Panic
The Satanic Panic emerged from within
Christianity and served a particularly Christian agenda. It started with the
stories of so-called occult survivors who claimed to have been high-ranking
satanic priests or priestesses or they claim to have been powerful and
influential Witches (usually also meaning Satanist to them). Conveniently,
these “occult survivors” always find Christ in the end and they have quite
fantastical testimonials to share. Quite a few of them confess to witnessing
and even participating in horrendous crimes like human sacrifice, mutilation,
torture and infanticide and yet no arrests were ever made or bodies uncovered.
Most of these sources turned out to be frauds, attention seekers and in a few
cases there may have been real mental health issues.
These accounts can never fool the serious
Occultist, Witch, Pagan or Satanist as the accounts told by “survivors”
frequently do not match up with actual beliefs or practices. These “survivors”
quickly reveal that they know nothing about contemporary religions or occult
practices. Quite a few of them are still taken seriously by a few
fundamentalist Christians and unfortunately a few of these works were taken
seriously in law enforcement seminars during the height of the Satanic Panic.
Unfortunately, our SAPS while under the
influence of former occult unit members and their religious agenda’s may still
take these and similar accounts seriously.
I will only touch on a few of the
personalities involved in the creation of the modern myth of “Satanism”.
Additional resources can found in the above mentioned links.
Doreen
Irvine
Irvine is the author of “From Witchcraft to Christ”. This was one of the
very first books that sparked the satanic panic. Interestingly, it does not
contain the concept of “Satanic Ritual Abuse” or even references to such a
thing. The SRA scare emerged later. She makes the fatal mistake of confusing
witchcraft and Satanism as the same thing. What true occultist would not be
able to tell this most basic difference? There is absolutely no corroborating
evidence for the fantastical events described by this “Witch-Queen”.
http://www.saff.ukhq.co.uk/dirvine.htm
Lauren Stratford (one alias among others)
She was the author of Satan’s Underground and claimed to be a breeder for a satanic cult,
giving up babies for sacrifice. She later emerged under a new name, Laura
Grabowski, and claimed to be a holocaust survivor. Her story was completely
debunked by Cornerstone Magazine,
which used to be a Christian publication. She was exposed as a fraud for her
holocaust story. Interestingly, Beeld and Volksblad used accounts from Satan’s Underground to link the Van Eck
murder to Satanism. They tried to provide a source and motive for the face skinning
aspect and ended up using a source with suspect credibility. It is tempting to
speculate that Auksano had a hand in providing this misinformation (see media
category below)
http://www.answers.org/satan/stratford.html
http://www.answers.org/satan/laura.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornerstone_(magazine)
Michelle Smith and the start of Satanic Ritual Abuse
The book that started the Satanic Ritual Abuse scare
was Michelle Remembers by Michelle
Smith and Lawrence Pazder. 1980. She recalled lost memories while under
hypnosis and horrific stories of satanic cults soon emerged. The hypnotic
induction methods used to recover lost memories have since been discredited and
are largely considered to be unreliable. It was Pazder who coined the term
ritual abuse.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Remembers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_memory_syndrome
The
original article debunking Michelle Remembers was in the Mail on Sunday. Michelle Remembers:
The Debunking of a myth. 1990. It is reproduced here:
https://xeper.org/pub/pub_wh_michelle.html
The following is an article by Kerr Cuhulain
exposing the highly unlikely and even impossible accounts from Michelle Remembers.
http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=cabc&c=whs&id=4349
Further scepticism regarding Satanic Ritual
Abuse: http://www.skepdic.com/satanrit.html
General
overview: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_ritual_abuse
Rebecca
Brown and Elaine Moses (Pseudonyms)
These two women were thoroughly debunked by
a Christian evangelical organization known as Personal Freedom Outreach.
The organization seeks to educate
Christians about heretical doctrines and cults. Their article entitled “Drugs,
Demons and Delusions” goes a long way in debunking the strange accounts of
Rebecca Brown and Elaine Moses.
The books by Rebecca Brown include “He Came
to Set the Captives Free”, “Prepare for War” and “How to Become a Vessel of
Honour”. They contain a fanciful account of satanic conspiracy that includes
the rock music industry and even the Catholic Church. The books describe
horrific rituals witnessed by Elaine and they even contain an account where
Satan comes in physical form to take Elaine as his bride. “Rebecca Brown”
eventually had her medical license revoked for over-prescription of Demerol in
patients. She believed that hospital staff was either possessed or involved in
a “satanic conspiracy”.
Read
the article here (pdf):
http://www.culthelp.info/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=1091
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Brown_(Christian_author)
The
Bizarre Case of Dr.Rebecca Brown http://www.answers.org/satan/brown.html
Mike Warnke
Warnke
is the author of the Satan Seller who
claimed to be a former Satanic High Priest. Investigations by Cornerstone Magazine revealed most of
his claims to be fraudulent. His response included calling his critics
Satanists.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Warnke
http://www.answers.org/satan/warnke.html
The Media in support of a Satanic
Panic and the Satanism myth
Michael
Van Eck and the “Graveyard Murder”
It was Danie Krügel who first
called the Van Eck case a satanic killing. It should be noted that Krügel
has ties to Auksano and to former occult-unit member Johan De Beer. Krugel
called the Van Eck case one of the “most gruesome satanic murders”. Soon the
press started focussing on any small link to supposed Satanism – it turned out
to be a colossal waste of time focussing on “Satanism”. What did their beliefs
have to do with motive? Conveniently, the press ignored the history of mental
illness and other problems.
Some wheat among the chaff – This article
was written by Johannes De Villiers during the media storm surrounding the Van
Eck case. It takes a look at a particularly South African history of Satanism,
especially the Christian myth of Satanism.
An attempt to answer Johannes de Villiers’ question regarding, “Where are all the
Satanists?” follows. Their answer is the usual sensationalistic propaganda.
Note how Jonker claims that all the top-satanists are either dead or in jail -
convenient. Where was anyone convicted in a court of law where the “satanic”
aspect actually played a significant role in the case? Where did supposed
Satanism or occultism actually have anything to do with motive? In most cases, and as will be seen below all cases that
were labelled as satanic or as “occult” in the media or by police merely had
arbitrary signs, which were interpreted
as “Satanism”. What exactly does Jonker classify as “signs”of Satanism? Based
on his track record, including calling a hexagram, a “witchgram” and revealing
metal music posters and Dracula Sherbet as potentially “satanic”(seen in
Servamus), why should we trust his interpretations or the opinions of those who
trained under him? They are all still Christian fundamentalists. Plenty of the
articles below also involved teenagers and the usual “legend tripping” aspects
of “Satanism”. These perpetrators were the “tabloid prophecy fulfillers” who
tried to frighten and shock through the use of satanic trappings. It should be
remembered that Jonker and the former occult-unit members, now with their own
anti-occult ministries actually believe in the Christian satanic myth. They
expect an organized and vast conspiracy of evil with none other than the devil
himself at its helm. They cling to a mythic worldview where we in a war between
“good” and “evil”.
Evil exists in a literal form and seeks to tempt the youth
away from Christ and damn their very souls. The Satanists in the myth usually
have actual supernatural powers of the Hollywood
kind.
Yet, all these cases labelled as “satanic”
were isolated incidents and not evidence of a wider network of evil. As
mentioned before, the connections to Satanism seem arbitrary. We should call a
crime with a Bible near the scene a “Christian crime” then.
The Satanic Panic surrounding the murder of
Michael Van Eck begins....
Some old background about Danie Krügel.
Here are some old articles about Auksano.
It confirms the ties between Danie Krügel and the organization. Also note the
“threatening letter” supposedly written by a “Satanist”. It looks more like the
work of a child or young teenager who can’t even spell.
Soon the case spiralled out of control in
the media and we can see how it elevated into a case of “satanic panic”. We can
see how elements within Christianity could use the myths that arose around this
case to further their own agenda’s.
The devil is on the loose!
South Africa must
be on its knees and turn back to the Christian God. Note how the case is
labelled an “occult murder” and Van Eck suffered an “occult death”
http://www.beeld.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/SA-hoort-op-sy-kniee-na-man-se-okkulte-dood-20110412
The story surrounding the case becomes a
“moral panic” with a specific purpose within a Christian context. The youth are
turning their backs on God/Religion and should turn back or we will all suffer
the consequences.
In comes Auksano with Barbara and Johan De
Beer
The sensationalistic Beeld and Volksblad is desperate to find the
Satanism/occult connection. They refer to the account of Lauren Stratford. Yet,
Lauren Stratford is one of the debunked “occult survivors” mentioned above.
Ambiguities about Chane’s actual beliefs
arose. She denied any connection to Satanism. We should also ask just what
exactly did Chane’s beliefs have to do with anything. Clearly, it had nothing
to do with motive and should not have played such a big role in this case and
the media. The Sunday Tribune even called Chané the “Welkom
Witch” (cannot find original article).
Beeld and other sources changed their tune.
Kirsty
Theologo burnt in a “Satanic Ritual”
The second case of 2011 that received a
sensationalistic headline, it further fuelled
the idea that Satanism was
apparently a real problem and threat. Yet again, these young men created their
own rituals and yet again they were acting out and fulfilling the Christian
mythical ideal of what Satanism should be as espoused by cult-cops and
concerned pastors. This was another case of “legend tripping” and “tabloid
prophecy fulfilment” even if an actual ritual formed part of their motive.
The following headline links the crime to a
mythical battle between God and the devil
Kyle
Mudaly’s Suicide
Note that the family denied any “satanic”
involvement in the update. The star found near the body was said to be “Star of
David”, meant for protection. Also note that rumours and a Blackberry Messenger
broadcast claiming that Kyle had “supernatural powers” contributed to the
“Satanist” label. I believe that this nonsense seems to detract from the real
motives behind this incident. Dr. Dale Wallace provided a voice of reason in
the one article stating that the satanic label may hide bullying, family or
psychological problems.
After this particular case several more
articles arose concerning a growth of Satanism in KwaZulu-Natal. Several symbols were found at
the University of
KwaZulu-Natal leading to
speculations about Satanism. Yet, no evidence of actual crimes has emerged.
These symbols and rumours are used to fuel a satanic panic. The real motive
behind the symbols could have involved a practice significant to its creators
or it could have simply have been a prank by students meant to frighten.
Jumping to conclusions and forming sensationalistic links to other incidents is
folly. The sensationalistic articles also confound belief systems and draw no
distinction between them. Animal parts (mentioned in one article below) perhaps
meant to be used in traditional African practices cannot be called “Witchcraft”
cannot be called “Satanism”.
This is the infamous “witchgram” article.
According to Jonker, the witchgram is used to mock Jews and Christians and
Witches drink blood and traffic with demons around it.
The
case of the Lotter siblings
This case had everything from being raped
by a Tokolosh to following advice from the “third son of God”. Initially,
articles clearly stated that the Lotter siblings believed that they were doing
God’s work as instructed by the “Third Son of God”. Later articles gave the
crime the “Satanism” label, while the Lotters clearly came from a Christian
context. In one article it is stated that the Lotter girl blamed Naidoo for
using “witchcraft”. If this case is used as an example of Satanism, the Occult
or Witchcraft out of control then it should also count against Christianity and
belief in the Tokolosh.
The
case of the mutilated rabbit in Kempton
Park and Aserac
F.H. Havinga’s comment about this case
sparked an outrage amongst Witches and Pagans. Soon Havinga and Aserac came
with the usual nonsense that there was a rise in Witchcraft and Satanism in
South-Africa and the public should be concerned.
A reaction from within the Pagan community
- Witchcraft had nothing to do with the
case of the mutilated rabbit by Damon Leff.
Lifeline steps in to defend themselves
after the article about Occult and Satanic practices on the rise. They try to
defend their position and their training by Aserac. Aserac’s website is still
filled with biased information and outright misinformation along with Christian
propaganda against other belief systems. The distinction made by the lay
counsellor between “Satanism” as dark magic and Wicca or Paganism as “good” or
“white” magic is still an oversimplification. Most real Satanists and most
Witches, Pagans and Wiccans are still law-abiding citizens.
Morne
Harmse, the “sword killer”.
Blame shifted to the band Slipknot and Satanism
Source of Jonker’s silly comments of what
makes a Satanist - He dwells on the colours of the curtains and the candles.
The
madness continues
Here are a few other cases that have led
the country to believe that Satanism and Occultism is growing and that it
somehow poses a threat to safety and national security. South African Satanic
Panic is an ongoing phenomenon.
Playing with an Ouija board is equal to
Satanism and a girl frightening herself is equal to the occult being a danger
to society?
These so-called “occult” or “satanic
gangs”, if these rumours are true, are merely “legend trippers” and “tabloid
prophecy fulfillers” who use “satanic trappings” to frighten and intimidate.
Note how Witchcraft is confounded with
Satanism in the title of the article below. The only evidence is that juveniles
made some graffiti. The rest about rape, orgies, 62,000 Satanists and 14
sacrifices a year is Jonker’s addition.
Note the misuse of “Witchcraft” linked to
these crimes.
Example of Moral Panic in article below
What did the so-called “Satanism”
identified by Kobus Jonker have to do with anything?
Typical legend tripping and tabloid
prophecy fulfilment in following article
Some consequences to satanic panic
Terrible crime, but why do they link it to
satanism? Is this the kind of time wasting and following possible red herrings
an “occult unit” contributes to?
Attacks on Harry Potter. The second article
refers to a spoof article from The Onion.
It was distributed through email as serious and reveals how satanic panic is
alive and well in popular culture and in South Africa. The rumour that Harry
Potter led to a rise in Satanism was debunked by Snopes.
EC
police establish occult task team
Additional
Resources:
Beth Winegarner
is a San Francisco
journalist and author. This blog deals with controversial influences upon the
youth and has plenty of interesting articles that touches upon the subject of
satanic panic and occult influences.
In
conclusion:
While it may seem
that the above media reports indicate that there is indeed something like
“occult” or “satanic” crime, it should be noted that in the span of about ten
years these accounts actually form a miniscule amount of the actual news
concerning violent crimes. A lot of the above mentioned cases involved mere
rumours where no evidence of a crime ever existed and no evidence of crimes
ever emerged despite the predictions of “increases in dangerous satanic cults
or witchcraft”.
The various
sources provided can provide some explanation as to what is really going on.
Spreading Satanic Panic is a tool of fundamentalist Christianity meant to
frighten and to demonize other religions. The Christian version of Satanism,
witchcraft and occultism is part of folklore and mythology.
Most Occultists,
Pagans, Witches and Satanists are law-abiding citizens and there is absolutely
no evidence that any of these groups are to be associated with an increase in
crime. Having an “occult unit” to imply that these are “special interest
groups” because they may be more prone to crime is ludicrous.
The term “occult”
should be restored to its lofty honours and the term should not fall into the
hands of fundamentalist Christians who would seek to stigmatize all beliefs
which could fall under an occult banner. When they label a crime an “occult
crime” stigmatization does occur. There is an implication that occultism or
Satanism is somehow a root cause of misbehaviour. Yet, when it comes to major
religions like Christianity the actions of a few fringe elements is never
enough to condemn the whole religion as inherently corrupt. Lanning (1992)
states that he is reluctant and uncomfortable to admit that the vast majority
of crimes is performed by participants in major religions, yet nothing is ever
made about these links.
It should be
remembered that far more people have been killed in the name of God than in the
name of the devil or Satan.
