Lynchings in Congo as penis theft panic hits capital

[Mugu]

By Joe Bavier, Reuters

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Police in Congo have arrested 13 suspected sorcerers accused of using black magic to steal or shrink men's penises after a wave of panic and attempted lynchings triggered by the alleged witchcraft.

Reports of so-called penis snatching are not uncommon in West Africa, where belief in traditional religions and witchcraft remains widespread, and where ritual killings to obtain blood or body parts still occur.

Rumors of penis theft began circulating last week in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo's sprawling capital of some 8 million inhabitants. They quickly dominated radio call-in shows, with listeners advised to beware of fellow passengers in communal taxis wearing gold rings.

Purported victims, 14 of whom were also detained by police, claimed that sorcerers simply touched them to make their genitals shrink or disappear, in what some residents said was an attempt to extort cash with the promise of a cure.

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL2290323220080422">Complete article

[rurallib]

1. were they from the Bobbit tribe of sorcerers?

[MindPilot]

10. No, it's Ford and GM...

just trying to open up a new SUV market.

[Bozita]

19. nothing like a Hummer to cure the ol' shrunken penis problem.

[Dr.Phool]

2. On first glance I thought it said Chicago.

No wonder they had so many murders there!

[yurbud]

3. did they use a potion mostly composed of cold water?

that usually does the trick if applied directly to the organ.

[icymist]

4. Quick! Get those sorcerers to a gender reasignment clinic!

eom

[MindPilot]

9. And why does that remind me of Mr Garrison chasing his mouse-borne

penis around South Park?

[Fox Mulder]

5. "Hey, don't laugh. The sorcerer shrunk it! I swear!"

[thereismore]

6. The republican base in Congo. nt

[DCKit]

7. I'd blame the optometrists. n/t

[MindPilot]

8. They just need some western-style religion; the trinity will protect them

Viagra the Father, Livitra the son, and Cialis the holy spirit.

[bazoona]

11. And this whole time I thought my ex-wife took it in the divorce...EOM

[npincus]

12. do the thieves charge per penis or by the pound?

[Tesha]

13. You can probably find the swiped sausages at Peter Paul's Penis Pawn Palace. (NT)

[A HERETIC I AM]

14. What? No righteous indignation? I'm shocked.

If this story was about sorcerers making womens breasts smaller and folks were having a bit of a giggle at the idea, surely the DU finger wagging crowd would be out in full force. But because it's about dicks...hmmm...

It IS a funny story, BTW.

"What I did on my Spring getaway" By A Heretic I am

[0rganism]

20. what *isn't* funny is that people really get hurt and killed over this bullshit

Not to be a finger-wagger, as I had to suppress a bit of a chortle myself, but there really is a painfully ugly reality lurking behind this phallic idiocy... or is it the other way around?

[A HERETIC I AM]

23. Ya think?

Or perhaps what is more alarming is that virtually an entire society holds onto such absurd, backward, superstitious thinking and is so easily swept up in the hysteria of it all.

Of course, that could never happen in this society, eh? I mean, it isn't like we fill stadiums and auditoriums to see men who are supposed to have the ear of an invisible sky-deity, men who lead organizations designed primarily to promote Bronze age superstitions, men who often promote a way of thinking that is completely contrary to reason, some of whom wear special robes and hats for the purpose and lead their followers in ritualistic cannibalism.

That sort of thing never happens here.

But I digress.

Attention African men! Your genitals are exactly the same size they were yesterday!

Unless you just went swimming.

[Occulus]

26. "virtually an entire society holds onto such absurd, backward, superstitious thinking"

<1920x1080 HD closeup of circumcised human penis here>

And the fact I can't actually post that says what exactly about us here in the US (AND on this very forum)?

(I'm not trying to be mean or snarky here... just making a point.)

[A HERETIC I AM]

29. Your point is well taken.

And is an offshoot of the one I was trying to make.

Silly superstitions can cause harm, regardless of the society.

[uppityperson]

28. But did you hear about food rationing going on in the US?

adding to being swept up in the hysteria of it all.

It is too bad that people are getting hurt about this.

[nomorenomore08]

15. I saw that exact headline last night and started laughing out loud.

Probably helped that I'd smoked a fat one beforehand, but still...

[MindPilot]

16. Smoked a fat WHAT? eom

[Vanje]

17. An attempt to extort cash with the promise of a cure?!

Oh My God. I'm SO glad we dont have anything like that in the good ol (and VIRILE!) USA!

[Harry Monroe]

18. "...sorcerers simply touched them to make their genitals shrink or disappear..."

What the article didn't say was that the sorcerers were all made up to look like Ann Coulter!!!

[Hannah Bell]

21. I think if you put this story in the context of what's happening in Congo

it wouldn't be so funny, i.e 5 million + dead in ongoing conflict, much of it sponsored by foreign governments.

http://www.theirc.org/special-report/congo-forgotten-crisis.html?gclid=CPz05pWg8pICFQEGxwod3UC35A

People living in crisis are stressed & fearful.

[Uncle Joe]

22. I would say these guys have brain washed so bad regarding sorcerer's power,

they mentally create their own physical ailments.

If you're cold or deathly afraid it usually shrinks as your blood and adrenalin goes in to fight or flight mode, such is the power of the mind.

[depakid]

24. DSM IV actually recognises things like this as "culture bound syndromes."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture-bound_syndrome

There's a similar condition in Asia:

Koro

Origins: China, Malaysia, Indonesia

A man who suffers from koro, or genital retraction syndrome, is gripped by the fear that his penis is shrinking and gradually being absorbed by his body. (Women suffer from koro, too--afraid for their nipples or vulva--but this is much rarer.) A typical case of koro goes like this: A man goes to urinate and notices that his penis is becoming smaller. Usually this happens because he's in a cold place or because he's upset about something--his sex life, for example. Both anxiety and exposure to cold cause male genitals to shrink temporarily.

But rather than shrugging the incident off, the man--who has heard about koro attacks in his community--only grows more anxious, particularly since koro is considered deadly. As panic mounts, the man grabs his genitals before they can retract into his body and calls for help. According to one scholar: "If no one is around to help hold onto his penis, he may even use mechanical devices--including cords, chopsticks, clamps, or small weights--to keep the penis from retracting." Koro attacks usually occur in epidemics rather than striking on an individual basis, further proof of their social nature.

http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/21/mental_illness.html

[lumberjack_jeff]

25. This is a big deal. We must do something!

The world can't afford any more Republicans.

[uppityperson]

27. Don't complain about rice shortages in USA, these guys are having their penises stolen!