Thursday, October 9, 2008

But Does She Float?

It is said that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. This point may have been proved true recently in an adult education class in Ferndale, Michigan.

Students in a classroom at Taft Education Center were studying The Crucible, a play pertaining to the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. On September 10th, 20-year-old Darin Najor asked the educator outright if she believed in witchcraft. She replied in the negative and further explained that the point of the play was to demonstrate unjust persecution. Najor then tossed his studies to the floor, declaring it "blasphemy".

The following day, he stepped up behind the teacher who was sitting at her desk. While chanting what reportedly sounded like "religious verses", he poured a liquid (later said to be holy water—Najor's attempt at "purifying" the professor) over the head of his teacher and produced a cigarette lighter to "burn the witch". Najor fled the class but was soon found by the teacher and a security guard in his car in the parking lot where he further attempted to burn her with a lit cigarette.

Darin was arrested Monday on an assault and battery warrant. The pretrial is scheduled for October 23rd. Fittingly, Najor does not have an attorney for the case.

After over 300 years, some people just can't quite grasp the lessons of history. Or perhaps he isn't as dim-witted as we percieve and merely attempted to reenact the proceedings of the times.

This isn't the sort of "live history" anyone had in mind.

At least he didn't drop a house on her.

4 comments:

Cullan Hudson said...

The Burning Times, indeed. Some people need to seriously unplug from the crazy.

Liam said...

"Oh don't pay her any mind, she's been really upset since someone dropped a house on her sister." Otho (Glenn Shadix), Beetlejuice 1988

Anonymous said...

OK, I say the boy is just crazy. Went a bit to far with reinacting the past.

Jeanne said...

What is frighteneing is that he didn't get the point of the play. There are still too many around who don't get it!