reasoning about "voodoo" perception in american culture

[professorK]

i man heard today that george bush called a economic policy's statement about some supply curve or someting, he called the policy "voodoo economics" using "voodoo" as a derogatory term. though few people know anything about voodoos components, its african roots, etc. in america, (even black people have no idea), almost everyone tinks its a "primitive" magical pagan ting, associated with all those backwards babylon perceptions of africa as a brutal uncivilized jungle. they make insults at voodoo in music, movies, books, television. in dem language "voodoo" just means somethin stupid and nonsense that doesnt work.

the real story from the point of view of the black slaves is: voodoo was everything to some enslaved africans, just like rasta is everything to ini- voodoo, like rasta include diet, herbs and natural medicine, social practices, religion, an every other ting in life. due to western cultural arrogance, so-called "scientific method" brushed aside voodoo as primitive african pagan magic, and christian missionaries outlawed voodoo and converted all slaves to x-tianity using the threat of the whip. when dem lost voodoo they lost all the lifestyle tings then it was replaced with slave system which forced ini ancestors to eat scraps of pork and spoiled vegetables, to build all life and relationships around servitude to whites including the family structure, to drink alcohol smoke tobacco and take pill "remedies" that really were no good, and all the other nonsense that harms ya health.

in i opinion dis is just one of those other things that, now that i know about i african history, cause me to remember and mourn when i hear it. like when i take a look at de american dollar bills closely, im reminded that the men on it were slave owners, which can mek me depressed remembering slavery times. usin "voodoo" as a insult in american popular culture is similarly disturbing to i, it reminds me of all de things ini lost and all de arrogance against african peoples in the world.

[Still_an_Empress]

this is highly insightful,
too many times people use what is depicted on t.v. as truth, And sometimes it's not even t.v. alone, it's just one bad perception that is forever attached to that subject;
Sometimes man goes so far as to place it in books, and that's what really hurts: when you read about your culture, as it was some primitive form of expression. 
I remember one college course on religion, which described "rastafarianism" as a cult, and of course the picture had some brethren smoking the hola herb (yet another sterotype).

[discipleofthenile]

greetings, I am a newbie-n to this forum.  I ask that you welcome my sights and opinions into your fold.

I would like to first comment on the following phrase:
*******almost everyone tinks its a "primitive" magical pagan ting*******

now, I completely see the point of the poster, but just to nit-pick a little on semantics:

What is so bad about "primitive"?
What is so bad about "magic"?
What is so bad about "pagan"?
...except for the negative connotations that the europeans have placed on such terms?

For instance, I would love to see the historical body count by the hand of those considered primitive versus the ones who are considered 'advanced'...advanced in treachery and atrocity, indeed.

Do you see my point?  I am not belittling nor undermining your truthful word/sound, I am only trying to emphasize that european poison is proliferated thoroughly within our worldview.

No different from afrikans who boast that "we have paved roads and skyscrapers too".  So Kudos?!?! european advnacement has made its way to your village and now you feel validated?

So I wholeheartedly agree with the original post, but just wanted to take the reasoning a step further by adding that we must not analyze OUR culture/spirituality using european eyeballs.

From admittedly looking in from the outside, I sight voodoo as indeed "primitive", "magical" and "pagan", but my overstanding of those terms are nothing to be shameful of, reject or hide from.

Just my opinion and again I hope to share and learn much from my Brothers and I-sis-ters.

[professorK]

greetings, I am a newbie-n to this forum.  I ask that you welcome my sights and opinions into your fold.

I would like to first comment on the following phrase:
*******almost everyone tinks its a "primitive" magical pagan ting*******

now, I completely see the point of the poster, but just to nit-pick a little on semantics:

What is so bad about "primitive"?
What is so bad about "magic"?
What is so bad about "pagan"?
...except for the negative connotations that the europeans have placed on such terms?

For instance, I would love to see the historical body count by the hand of those considered primitive versus the ones who are considered 'advanced'...advanced in treachery and atrocity, indeed.

Do you see my point?  I am not belittling nor undermining your truthful word/sound, I am only trying to emphasize that european poison is proliferated thoroughly within our worldview.

No different from afrikans who boast that "we have paved roads and skyscrapers too".  So Kudos?!?! european advnacement has made its way to your village and now you feel validated?

So I wholeheartedly agree with the original post, but just wanted to take the reasoning a step further by adding that we must not analyze OUR culture/spirituality using european eyeballs.

From admittedly looking in from the outside, I sight voodoo as indeed "primitive", "magical" and "pagan", but my overstanding of those terms are nothing to be shameful of, reject or hide from.

Just my opinion and again I hope to share and learn much from my Brothers and I-sis-ters.

true, true that these negative connotations are attached by the eurocentric point of view and that primitive magical and pagan is not wrong, i just meant from a babylonian perspective, which how is the peoples all around me are thinking.

iman actually yearn strongly for the day when iman can meet and learn from some of these voodoo "witch doctors" who are really just herbal medicine men, because babylon pills and medicines and such tings have caused i pain in the past an i want some real medicine knowledge

[afrikanrebel06]

this isa timely posting professork, there are lots of misconceptions and assumptions about vaudom, our ancient afrikan esoteric knowledge, kamdomble,vaudom,santeria,palo mayombe, have been taken over by white hippies/new age people who thinks they are hip and getting with the program,the ignorance lies also among our people,who some of dem,are hardcore christians,and thinks that ancestor reverence is evil,and in turn,whites come along and adopt our ancient traditions,i have to say,that those high priests and priestesses in nigeria,sell our culture for europeans,white amerikans,even in amerikkka,there are some white guys,who owns this store roots and rooted, how can it be,how did it get to this way,professork,jews in amerika also know about vodoo,to my dismay,i purchased one book about roots and herbs sumthing of that nature,was edit and published bya jewish woman,who lived among the gulags,this people are learning to do mystikal work and in turn,they will do it on us,because some of those people in the continent allowed it to happen,it is for good purpose but some people have turned it around, i know in kanada,some priest,but as one friend of mine told me" they have been taught the secrets to harm us,not to help us"