Pre-Enlightenment Life

I read a lot of disturbing stories in the press, but this from the New York Times is among the worst: “Albinos, Long Shunned, Face Threat in Tanzania.”

Discrimination against albinos is a serious problem throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but recently in Tanzania it has taken a wicked twist: at least 19 albinos, including children, have been killed and mutilated in the past year, victims of what Tanzanian officials say is a growing criminal trade in albino body parts.

Many people in Tanzania — and across Africa, for that matter — believe albinos have magical powers. They stand out, often the lone white face in a black crowd, a result of a genetic condition that impairs normal skin pigmentation and strikes about 1 in 3,000 people here. Tanzanian officials say witch doctors are now marketing albino skin, bones and hair as ingredients in potions that are promised to make people rich.

The next time I hear an over-the-top attack on “the Enlightenment Project” from the likes of John Gray, I’ll remember this article. It reminds us of a social order minus “the Enlightenment Project” that Gray and his ilk so revile.