The Nacirema

While surfing the internet the other day, I ran across an article about the North American groups called the Nacirema. I found the original article published in the American Anthropologist in 1956, called "Body Ritual among the Nacirema" by Horace Miner. 

Link: https://www.msu.edu/~jdowell/miner.html

Skimming through the article, I find the Nacirema to be a very strange people. They believe the human body to be ugly and to have diseases and disabilities if certain rituals are not followed. They follow secretive rituals every morning to rid the body of disease and even have special medicines prepared for each and every disease or disability that could happen. They even go to the extent of visiting a holy-mouth-man who will open holes in the Nacirema's teeth and fill them with paste believed to rid the mouth of disease. The medicine men of the Nacirema have a latipso where the sickest patients are treated. The patients are made to go through torment while they are being "treated," getting poked and prodded, having magic needles stuck into them, and being forced to eat substances that "heal" the subject. Many patients do not make it out of the latipso alive, but the Nacirema have faith in the medicine men. The Nacirema also go to "listeners," who listen to all of the patient's troubles and fears and somehow remove the devils in the minds that makes the Nacirema think bad thoughts. They have feasts and fasts to fatten and thin people, and procedures to alter the body shape if it is undesirable. 

I have heard of very many strange people, but these are the strangest. Following rituals to extinguish disease? Drilling holes in teeth and filling them with magical paste? Making sick patients go through torturous procedures and having a strong chance of not being cured? 

I suspect some kind of strange gene that all Nacirema people have that makes them think like that.

But then again, if aliens were to land on Earth and look at us, then they would probably think we were the weirdest people they had ever encountered. We even think many of our own kind strange - people who have fetishes, people who do or don't like a certain object, people who do strange things, often dangerous, etc.

The Nacirema may be strange people, but I think that the article is unjust in that it judges them as crazy people who may have mental issues.

They're Americans. 

Responding to "Say Something"

Lyrics from www.azlyrics.com

Say something, I'm giving up on you

Why? Why are you giving up?

I'll be the one, if you want me to

The one what? The one who makes all my meals and cleans my rooms? That would be nice.
Anywhere I would've followed you

Even to Antarctica? Or the moon? Or Neptune? Or the bathroom? Gosh, you're freaking me out...
Say something, I'm giving up on you

You still haven't said why you're giving up...

And I am feeling so small

Well, let's see. How tall are you? The average American woman is 5'4" and the average American man is 5'9". But then again, you might not be American. You might be German, like 6 of you are. I don't feel like looking up the average height of German women and men.
It was over my head

What? The football? Well, if you're short, then there is a good chance that unless you jump, the ball is going to go sailing above your head. Sorry. You just gotta get used to being small.
I know nothing at all

You definitely know how to write needy lyrics.

And I will stumble and fall

No! If you do, you might hurt yourself badly and die. Maybe you're needy, but don't die. You should be careful! If you fall on the stairs, then you'll be in big trouble... That happened to me once. My butt hurt for four days straight.
I'm still learning to love

That's okay. Everyone needs to learn. By learning, you won't lose more of those brain cells.
Just starting to crawl

Um... How old are you? I started crawling when I was 8 months old. I don't think you're 8 months old.

Say something, I'm giving up on you

Didn't your parents tell you that you should never give up? That giving up means that you're a loser? Can I call you loser now? Loser, loser, loser...

I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you

It may be a happy thing. I'm not sure if I would have liked you.
Anywhere I would've followed you

You stalker.
Say something, I'm giving up on you

You should have at least learned from The Little Engine That Could. You know? Never, never, never give up... No?

And I will swallow my pride

No chewing? It's not good to just swallow. You could choke. Unless you're swallowing pills. Those are terrible to chew. They taste really bad.
You're the one that I love

Okay.
And I'm saying goodbye

Why would you say goodbye if you love me? That's really stupid. Don't let your loved ones go away! 

Say something, I'm giving up on you

Something! Something! There! I said it! Are you satisfied!
And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you

Does it occur to you that both you and me are probably better off since you didn't get to me?
And anywhere I would've followed you (Oh-oh-oh-oh)

Stalker. And what's with the oh-oh-oh-ohs? Did some kind of revelation happen? Did you invent the next lightbulb? Did you come up with the greatest thing to happen ever after the invention of the smartphone?
Say something, I'm giving up on you

Something! Something! Just don't give up! Do you know how bad that is? It's going to become a habit. Then you'll fail at life and die thinking "I was an epic fail at life because I gave up."

Say something, I'm giving up on you

You really don't listen...
Say something...

Look at that. You're already dead. I told you.

Edit: After multiple complaints about how "Never, never, never give up" appeared in The Little Engine that Could before Thomas the Tank Engine, proper revisions have been made.