Student Calls Teacher a Witch, Tries to Set Her On Fire
Thursday October 9, 2008
From the Oakland Daily Trib, there's a story about an adult education student who called his teacher a witch, chanted religious verses, and then poured a liquid over her before trying to set her on fire with a lighter. The 20-year-old suspect told police that he was trying to "purify" the teacher, who had been doing a unit on Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible.
The teacher, who not only says she isn't a witch, but also says she doesn't even believe in witchcraft, had explained to the students that the events in the play were a metaphor for unjust persecution. Officials say, "The suspect threw his homework papers on the floor and declared it was all blasphemy... The next day he came up behind her chanting what sounded like religious verses while she was working at her desk."
Detectives say that the suspect, Darin Najor, poured "holy water" on the teacher, and then stood there waving a green barbeque lighter, saying he was going to "burn the witch." Najor was arrested and is being charged with assault and battery, but is currently free on bond.
Oh, and he's been expelled from school.
The teacher, who not only says she isn't a witch, but also says she doesn't even believe in witchcraft, had explained to the students that the events in the play were a metaphor for unjust persecution. Officials say, "The suspect threw his homework papers on the floor and declared it was all blasphemy... The next day he came up behind her chanting what sounded like religious verses while she was working at her desk."
Detectives say that the suspect, Darin Najor, poured "holy water" on the teacher, and then stood there waving a green barbeque lighter, saying he was going to "burn the witch." Najor was arrested and is being charged with assault and battery, but is currently free on bond.
Oh, and he's been expelled from school.
Comments
Can anyone say PSYCHO?
Yet another example of stupidity born of ignorance and fanaticism.
Holy water, flammable?!? That was certainly one of the many things he didn’t think through. Of course, assuming this guy could think at all might be a stretch. He’ll probably get off on some insanity plea unfortunately. Wonder if the class finished going through The Crucible. It was a good book.
My Gods!!!
Will the madness ever end??
we dont run around setting christians on fire!
Agreeing wholeheartedly with Phoenix Windwalker. At least the kid was evaluated after his arrest.
The Crucible was required reading in my school and nobody even thought about it like this. I was taught it was a metaphor for the McCarthy Hearings that were going on at the time it was written and debuted.
The kid clearly cannot separate fact from fiction and that is an absolute travesty.
This person is totally psycho! My friend is terrified. At least she doesn’t weigh the same as a duck.
Like Quelkaima, I was taught that The Crucible was a metaphor for the McCarthy hearings.
This sort of thing sickens me to the core.
This is to the friend of “the witch”:
I hope your friend alright. Also please give her my sympathy and good wishes. No one should be terrified in this manner. Witch or not.
This is a sad day for the imagination and wit of dramatists and authors everywhere. We have clearly hit the bottom of the barrel if the youth of today cannot seperate fact from fiction…and also if they believe Holy water is flammable *headdesk*
This would be hilarious if it wasn’t so clear that the student is mentally ill. I’m not surprised the teacher is upset and frightened by this little episode. I would undoubtedly be too. As much as the mentally ill need our support and understanding, this woman has the right to go about her business unmolested.
The Burning Times yet again? This one needs to be thrown to the lions.
The scary part is, he’s running around free as we speak (or type).
Oh my word, by the Godess…flamable Holy Water….
Shame, poor woman…and pity any pagan in the vicinity.
Ignorance is no excuse for predjudice
)o(
It is a tragic case of a person who is mentally ill who acted out. Statistically, when you have an occupation where you deal with the public, like this teacher, you will encounter them. It doesn’t sound as though this individual was in the proper class to understand the material presented.
bless his little cotton socks . he reading and watching to many horror books and movies
someone tell him there good witchers and wizards out here in this big bad world trying to get thing right
the only black magic we know is the chocolate one which we eat
Oh My Gods!!!
Perhaps this guy thought that like in the Wizard of Oz water would make her disolve!
I am so glad that I live and work in an area that is more open minded and the people will ask questions before they make an assumption.
Love and Light to the teacher
He obviously has never tried to start a campfire…cuz things that are wet usually don’t burn well anyway.
I can’t believe they aren’t holding him for observation before he tries to torch somebody else.
Another example of how Christians make fools of themselves. I’m sorry this happened… because now everyone will say to me, “You’re a Christian?? EWWWW! Get away from me you ignorant bully!”
This is very sad on both sides not to mention a bit creepy that something like this could happen. This guy sounds like a Palin/Pastor Muthie fan. Lock him up before he votes!
That is what christian philosophy teaches to be very afraid of what you don’t understand. Now let’s is what prison philosophy teaches him. It would have been nice if some of that liquid had accidently spilled on him and he caught on fire.
Have you all tried to talk to these supposedly “well educated” youngsters today, especially the allegedly college educated ones? It goes to show how bad education has gotten in America today. Doesn’t surprise me that dude couldn’t understand a metaphor to save someone else’s life!
And that nutjob was set free? Any conditions imposed upon his release? Well, if he tries to or actually does harm someone else during his release then the victim/victim’s family has grounds to sue the local jurisdiction.
It doesn’t matter if the person was actually a witch or not (the article makes it seem that it would have been fine okay to set the woman alight if she actually WERE a witch). Someone basically committed a hate crime because they perceived her to be somehow “other” as the motivation for their actions.
It was a metaphor for the McCarthy hearings, if you read Arthur Miller’s biography he mentions it. Also it can be a metaphor for how gossip and underhandedness and lies permeate society and create chaos and therefore create scapegoats.
Please Jesus save me from your followers!
To “PaganNProud”;
No,No, Oh Please No, Don`t throw him to the Lions…Feed him to Us WOLVES…We get so little fun these days!!!!! And Psyco`s are SOOOOO much fun to Chase Down before the Kill!!!!!
unfortunately, I do not believe that this “kid” is mentally ill… well, unless you consider being brainwashed an illness. There are some scarey people out there - people who are just like everyone else, until religion comes up. They have been taught/brainwashed to think that it is their job, their duty to rid this world of evil beings. I’m not sure, but I’m thinking there are scarey sects like this in every religion. And the worst part is, it makes the whole religion look bad. The reason many people are afraid of witches… the reason many people are afraid of muslims… the reason many people are afraid of christians…
We have to remember it is only part not the whole.
This kid also must be part of a christian religion that teaches this sort of behavior. I don’t think any amount of hospitalization will help.
If he thought the liquid was flammable, then he should have been charged with attempted murder. Unfortunately he will probably get a slap on the wrist.
This is just one more example of stupidity in our society. Why is it that most religions are tolerated in today’s society but when a Pagan idea is put into play people start getting stupid. I understand having strict devotions but there is such a thing as to much.
Hi! my name is SHIVA, I choose this (GOD) because I Identity with him in meny ways. I’m also glad that I fond this web site. I have not been a witch for very long but loving every moment of it. My D.O.B. is also OCTOBER 31, A bless it day. Again just knowing there is others out there just like me makes it a whole lot easier. Shiva
This is horrible. In Southern Illinois, where I live, this happened a month or so ago. An employee at a New Age store was doused in kerosene and threatened with a lighter by a “customer”. Thank the Gods, she ran before the perpetrator could finish the job, but they’ve yet to catch her (her being the woman who did it). This sickens me.
Perhaps the crucible is not material that should be taught in a special education class. I think that if the teacher had thought through her class plan she could have picked out something more suitable, especially knowing that she is dealing with mentally challenged students to begin with. not all students are slow learners some have very specific disorders that prevent them from understanding certain things. It is unfortunate that the incident happened but then it goes with the territory.
Not only is this boy religiously ignorant he’s a moron to boot! Setting fire to a soaking wet person? Ok…
Sometimes I do wonder when the heck the Aquarian Age is supposed to start, not soon enough it seems with disgusting behaviour like this.
We were never taught the crucible as a metaphor to anything, my teacher saw it as a chance to do an extra research paper on the Salem Witch trials. We even watched the movie made about the play.
Maybe it was Holy Oil??? And maybe the voices told him to do it. He might be a schizophrenic who hasn’t been diagnosed. I used to work with one who was completely normal as long as the meds were taken, but was really scary if they decided the meds weren’t important.
I am 16 personally think the kid is to mental to relize what he did.
stupidity offends us all
And most teens can diferntiate between fact or fiction
She should have had a legally concealed handgun and legally shot him in his head to stop him from murdering her. How did she know that liquid was just water? No report of another student helping to stop him? Slow witted cowards? That is a call for intervention. His church and family needs to be interrogated. A sound whipping would make me feel better.
This is absolutely unbelievable!
How can he be out on bail? At the very least he should be having an intense psychiatric evaluation!
It frightens me to think that in this day and age we still have to live in fear of being called a witch. My daughter is now doing the crucibel in her class and doesnt think of burining her teachers,by the way I am a pagan and my daughters are chirstian, they choice was theirs and we get along just fine. I hope there will be more security in the schools if the christians are going to react in such a way as to eliminate what they perceive as a threat, the boy should be charged with attempted murder and a hate crime, it does not matter that he used holy water, in his mind it was something to do away with what he saw as evil.
This is too ridiculous. I also do not believe that the student was/is mentally ill, but that he was “brain washed” by whatever religion he practiced. It is a sad thing in this day and age when persecution such as this (even if it WAS untrue) exists. I myself was the victim of “persecution” at one time, losing a job, after which my boss told my co workers they had “better watch out or she will go home and put a hex on you, and you will all wake up dead in the morning”. How does a person “wake up dead”? I live in a right to work state, tried to do something about it, but couldn’t as none of my co workers would testify and jeapordize their jobs…
You know, I live in Wyoming. I have yet to meet more than 2 or 3 people who know what it really means to be pagan. Most people here think what they saw on “The Craft” and “The Wickerman” is how we really are. I have had a whole congragation of “christians” try to save my soul on 2 occasions but they never tried to set me on fire.
This kid does have mental issues. He attended my high school in birmingham michigan and he had schizophrenia. Which probably had a big factor in this “kill the witch” story.
We covered The Crucible in my English class last year; I belive it’s part of our Junior curriculum. However, it’s a surprise to me to hear that the book was in reponse to the McCarthy situation; we never learned it as a metaphor for anything. Then again, we didn’t really read the book; we watched two educational videos on it. The only trouble we had in discussing it was when one of the videos showed a clip of “modern witches” holding a ritual in Salem to honor the people who died in the witch trials. They were wearing long black robes and in a large circle with candles; afterward one of the women made comments about how witches are generally beneficial and they’re people just like everyone else. I, personally, was very impressed that the video included this, but my class got very uncomfortable and started making jokes about those people being crazy and possessed and schitzophrenic. I kept my mouth shut for peace’s sake.