Archive for the ‘Ethnography’ Category
Man as God? Five Percent Nation of Islam | Nation of Gods and Earths
The Nation of Gods and Earths (NGE) is a religion that was started in 1964 which borrows ideas from traditional Islam. The NGE is also known as the Five Percent Nation of Islam, which refers to the NGE’s explanation that 5% of black people are chosen ‘Gods’ of the world and Islam is the black man’s natural culture (but not religion):
The 5%, who are the enlightened divine beings, the poor righteous teachers, having repossessed knowledge of the truth regarding the foundations of life and of oneself, and seek to liberate the 85% through education. (Wiki)
Reborn Babies, Real Dolls, and the People Who Buy Them
As a child I watched on as my grandmother meticulously maintained and added to her collection of figurines and dolls. It’s not like grandma didn’t have anything to do with her time - it seemed as though all she did was cook, clean, and entertain guests. I thought her obsession with dolls was strange…until I learned about two strikingly life-like dolls that have both enjoyed television specials on BBC America. I’m talking about Real Dolls and Reborn Babies.
These dolls are made my a select few niche manufacturers, and likewise, they are purchased by a very specific type of customer. The people that buy these dolls don’t buy them to decorate their bedrooms, they use these realistic-looking rubber creations to replace their real-life counterparts…human babies and women.
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Pakistan, Motivation to Succeed, and US Intervention
There is no doubt that the US has been earning itself a poor international reputation…and this most recent decade of bad PR has definitely helped to negate just about everything ‘good’ the US has sponsored throughout the world. For example, USAID is one of the main reasons behind the success of two of Pakistan’s most elite business schools, including the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). It is also the source of funding for efforts to improve maternal health and water quality - just two of the terrible ailments that keep the bulk of Pakistanis at the very bottom of the pyramid.
There are many potential reasons for the current dilapidated state of the nation, in fact, the left, right, conservative and liberal populations often have overlapping theories. Each political party selects facts that appreciate their respective agendas, whether it’s the sixty years of overwhelmingly out of touch rule, a consistently increasing percentage of poverty (currently at least 25%), or the shameful 50% adult literacy rate - all ideas seem to point to a consistently increasing divide between the upper class (ruling class) and lower class (majority).
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Women Sworn to Virginity, Living as Old Men in Albania
Women in Albania…living as men - Their number is diminishing but a good handful of elderly women several in their late 70s still live on in northern Albania. These ’sworn virgins’ each took a personal vow of celibacy in order to preserve their position as the head of household, maintaining the same level of control and power over their own households and communities as the next man. By taking the oath of virginity these women enjoy rights usually available only to men: the right to own a weapon, move about freely, even pray in the mosque alongside men.
Girl from Ecuador Assaulted on train in Barcelona - El Racismo no es Blanco y Negro
Random Act of Violence
On October 7th in Barcelona, Spain a young lady of 16 years old was attacked for no apparent reason by a man, that claims he was drunk - but is not remorseful of his actions. It’s sad to watch this video of the innocent girl getting kicked, punched, and spat on…the reporter narrating the video explains that the man was heard yelling out racial slurs in Spanish (of course).
