So about bone stealing…

witchy-words:

dead-men-talking:

A quick perusal of posts tagging the tumblr user in question shows that a lot of people think this is a joke and/or shitpost.

I am a biological anthropologist.  I am a scientist who studies human bones and the ethics surrounding them.  I am here to remind you that grave robbing, while in and of itself pretty abhorrent, has a particularly nasty history attached to it, especially in America.  Early medical specimens were not curated with consent; they were often bought from China and India at best, or taken from graves of poor and/or minority communities.  Shit, a couple dudes in Scotland straight up murdered people for medical specimens, not to mention the real-life serial killer/doctor from Devil in the White City.  Universities are still finding remains of Holocaust victims among their collections.  This is why we have laws like NAGPRA and the Human Tissue Act.  Today, medical specimens are donated with consent.  My university department and so many others operate thanks to these amazing gifts.

By extension, I don’t find non-scientists buying human bones any more ethical.  They were once people.  They don’t belong in your curio cabinet and are not yours to own.  Want one because they look cool?  I don’t blame you, because bones are pretty rad.  But there’s an alternative.  I’ll let one of my personal heroes, Dr. Kristina Killgrove, explain it to you.

Want one for religious practices?  Definitely do not.  Look, I don’t advertise this, but I used to be pagan.  I get the appeal of human remains for spiritual practices; it’s not uncommon throughout the world.  But you’ve got to understand how icky it is for white, New Age American pagans to use the bones of a complete stranger for religious purposes.  What kind of energy do you think can possibly come from them?  

If you find a bone just hanging out on the ground, call authorities and don’t touch it.  Best case scenario, it’s an animal bone (which might also be illegal to take – check local laws).  Worst case, it’s from a grave or a modern missing person, and now you’re complicit in a major crime, and their living, breathing family members will have a problem with you.

This neo-colonial attitude of entitlement to access to other humans, living or dead, is disgusting.  Learn some empathy.  I don’t care if you wouldn’t care if someone were to do that to your skeleton; everyone’s beliefs are different, and it’s the assumption that your beliefs matter more is what is so dangerous about this.  You don’t speak for the dead, and they don’t belong to you. 

Finally, a post a wholly agree with and literally the only thing I’m reblogging on this subject. There’s been enough of this running around the Tumblr Witchcraft and bone collecting communities as it is.  I’m not here to fill your feed with the same stuff, but I think this is 100% worth reading.