Neighborhood practice of Santeria stirs controversy

[The Straight Story]

Neighborhood practice of Santeria stirs controversy


TRACY, CA - Betty Marquez is one of at least 22,000 Americans who practice the complex blend of East-African and Carribbean religious tradition known as Santeria.

But to some neighbors, the ritual slaughter of geese and goats at a Tracy woman's home is too close for comfort.

"I don't care what they do to express their religious belief, but I don't believe it should be in a residential area," said neighbor Vicki Pease. She is worried about the animal sacrifices that take place at her neighbors home and the impact it could have on children in the neighborhood.

Marquez said the sacrifice of animals is part of her protected right to practice her religion. "We treat them with respect all the way up until the moment that we them. After that, we cook it, we eat it ourselves and we offer it," she said.

Last weekend, Marquez was cited by Tracy code enforcement officer for having a goat on her property which is located inside city limits. But that citation is being reconsidered because the goat was only at the home for a short time before being sacrificed.

http://www.news10.net/news/story.aspx?storyid=79366&catid=2

[sharp_stick]

1. People and irrational belief

go hand in hand, I don't care if it's Santeria, Druidism, Christianity or any of the other thousands of "true faiths".

I long for the day when we don't need to cling to myths to get through the day.

[TexasObserver]

2. Health codes should prevail over religions.

We're not saying you can't butcher animals. We're saying you have to do under regs for slaughtering animals. That means not doing it in a residential neighborhood, for one thing, and not clogging the residential sewer system with animal blood and parts, for another.

[madmom]

3. Why are people outraged here? What is the difference from their

"sacrifice" and then eating the animal and when grampa went out and slit the throat of a goat or pig or whatever for a Sunday family get together or church social? People need to get their noses out of other peoples lives. If there is nothing illegal going on DEAL WITH IT!

[sui generis]

4. most "faiths" entirely miss the concept of sacrifice

A sacrifice when you are a subsistence level peasant would be to take the chicken that would feed your family and instead "feed" it to your local deity.

A sacrifice is taking your best and most favorite christian slave and roasting him in a wicker basket . . . . I really miss those days.

Getting a chicken from your local chicken-and-goat dealer is not a sacrifice, especially if you eat it afterwards. Giving up tittie bars and chocolate for lent is not a permanent sacrifice.

It's got to be something dear to you to qualify, and the sacrifice has to be permanent. Otherwise it's just an offering. Sacrifice and offering are two different concepts in ritual.

Don't even get me started on non-rituals like lent and ramadan and shabat.

If I were a minor deity, which I am, and some backwater cretin slaughtered a chicken and then fed themselves, I'd blast their ass with itch-butt or crotch rot.

But more importantly, in the 21st century, if you're still demanding that people sacrifice livestock and farm animals to you, you are so behind the times. Go out and get a job just like the rest of us and try to blend in. Poking through entrails is soooo second century.

[sui generis]

5. testing, one two three

this comment is not showing up in my comments list. Having a bad technology day, I guess. For the record Pope Otto delivered a screed forbidding us from sacrificing any slaves at all only two centuries after they started handing out tickets for sacrificing christian slaves.

I mean what's the point. Really who in their right damn mind is going to actually volunteer for that? :shrug:

[Hestia]

6. Having actually attended a Santeria ritual, it's not what you think, though the ritual

involved a chicken, not a goat. It's very hard to describe, but a lot of sincere devotion was displayed by the High Priestess during the ritual. The chicken was shown a lot of respect during the ritual. Others did eat the chicken, but I could not, only because it wasn't prepared to my liking. It was not gross or anything, though a lot of people did end up leaving. It's just one those things I can put on my notch belt of life experiences.