Skatta Burrell Dismisses Incident At Oberlin High As “Superstition”
Dancehall music producer Skatta Burrell had a mouthful to say following the surfacing of videos showing students of the Oberlin High School in rural St. Andrew, falling to the ground and screaming during a religious exercise.
Skatta, a self-proclaimed atheist, in commenting on a Star report that classes at the school were disrupted “after students began displaying strange behaviours” which some have interpreted as demon possession, said it was a attempt at sensationalism bolstered by superstition.
“We attend Church services and see adults get into the “Holy Spirit” Please give these Children credit they ain’t naive and stupid. They know this will cause huge chaos and distractions and even sensationalize the effects among their Peers. Only takes 2 persons to start and others will follow. We all would love to believe some spiritual entity is at work rather than to acknowledge We need to take control of every aspect of the lives of the Yute and be accountable for the neglect and how we’ve continued to fail them,” he noted.
According to the Star report, the drama started after a teacher who reportedly informed the administration that she had a ‘word’ and wanted an opportunity to share, began speaking in tongues, and according to the school’s acting principal, Antoinette Gray, “during the worship some students were overpowered by the anointing and started to worship aloud as well”.
The report said that some students had to be taken to the school nurse “because they could not control themselves”, while others fainted and had to be transported off the compound for medical attention.
But according to Skatta, the issues manifested in the children were likely due to them being affected by shock, anxiety, panicking or being scared, as opposed to them being “in the spirit” as “superstitious people were arguing.
“In a state of panic heavy breathing, which leads to the formation of froth (bubbles of saliva) at the mouth. Foaming or frothing at the mouth occurs when excess saliva pools in the mouth or lungs and is mixed with air, creating foam,” he noted in response to one of the plethora of responses to his comments.
He then added: “Intense emotion can actually trigger a heart attack in susceptible individuals (especially those suffering from other heart conditions). But even people without an underlying heart problem can literally be scared (almost) to death. People rather jump to superstition than do a bit of research and reading.”
On a separate post hours after the first, which said that “children dropped like flies as “hell broke loose at Oberlin High after teacher told school God wasn’t pleased”, and that a member of the Greater Works Apostolic Work of Praise Church in Lawrence Tavern, St Andrew had to work overtime to rid a child of the demon that had taken up residence in her, Skatta rubbished these notions.
“This is unacceptable. Children are being targeted by these People of Christ because they have nothing tangible to offer this world, they can only perpetuate fear on the minds of the impressionable. They get so many massages from God but can never get information on missing children or identity of rapist and murderers,” he said.
“Superstition will drown the poor and ignorant. Until my foreparents who were murdered raped and castrated on the slave plantation comes back to haunt the slave masters I have no use of even adhering to nothing of ghost nor Spirits. Cause slave masters slept comfortably in their beds every night and their offsprings are still reaping the rewards from their terrible actions while we continue to be scared descendants of slaves still clutching the very Bible that was beaten into or People. I got time today so bring on the insults,” Skatta declared.