i don't practice santeria

You never know what will wash up on the beach. This morning's find was a tad grisly. I can't pretend to be one of my favorite sleuths, Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes, but a discovery of a plastic shopping bag with claws and feathers sticking out of it on the beach yesterday morning brought out my inner armchair detective. The horrible package seemed to be a clear clue pointing in only one direction—some ritual was performed on the beach involving the death of a rooster or very large winged bird. I didn't open the bag to check. I've said before I hate those CSI shows. To support my theory, there was a full moon a few nights back. If there was an attempt to dispose of the corpse in the ocean, the ocean refused to be an accomplice and gave it back to the beach.



There have been recent stories in the news that local animal shelters won't allow any black cat adoptions this time of year because of ... rituals. I'm not sure this is connected to Santería, which was my first guess, or some other religious practice. I don't have any problem with people practicing whatever faith they want to, but I'm a little baffled as to why there still needs to be blood sacrifice. Other religions are o.k. with metaphor.

Are some people trying to get back to the earlier rites, the brutality of their ancestors? It makes me think of my recent reading of Neil Gaiman's American Gods. Do we really still need to hang Odin in the tree for nine days and nights to get results? Can you feel good about whatever you have asked the gods for when you have spilled blood to get it? Is that why there are so many stupid vampire and zombie bowdlerizations? Misdirected blood lust?

I don't think the sacrifice of animals in a religious practice is considered illegal. I'm not questioning that right. But if you are using a living creature's life in a ceremony, shouldn't you dispose of its body in a respectful manner?And not just dump it, unceremoniously? Animal sacrifice may not be a crime, but I think littering is.

I really like Sublime [sigh]

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