„Interpretations, beliefs and prejudices precede the facts and to a very large extent determine the way we hear and see them. Faced with such a monstrous and terrifying event, without living witnesses, we are invited in some way to fantasize and imagine whatever we want.“
This is what social anthropologist Haralan Alexandrov commented on „This Morning“ on bTV in connection with the „Petrohan“ case.
He sees in all this „a stirring of the conspiratorial imagination“.
„There is a lot of research on these cultures that arise around specific cults or sects. Some of them really end in group suicides," he pointed out.
„A large part of these characteristics are present in the texts, in the self-presentation of this movement. This is related to the idea that the world is a corrupt and bad place and that people need to be isolated and saved from it. That there is a charismatic leader who knows the truth and who leads to enlightenment. In this case, we have no way of knowing whether it is a cult,“ said Alexandrov.
„This is terribly traumatic for the parents. They have no choice but to accept that this is a matter of murder, because otherwise it means admitting that they have given their children into the care of extremely unreliable people. The same goes for their friends and the people who supported and sponsored them,“ the social anthropologist also commented.
„I am sure that no one realized what was happening. Another question is why in our society we cannot distinguish the norm from the pathology and that is the big question“, he added.
“There is something very perverse in the whole story – from the very beginning to the end. In my opinion, we have a normalization of perverse practices. This is part of this culture, which unfortunately has become established in recent decades, and all this voyeuristic unhealthy delight with which the audience stares at this event, does not speak well of the mental health of society“, believes Haralan Alexandrov.
“We can ask people to let those who have lost loved ones grieve, to calm down a little and trust the professionals, instead of indulging in their insane conspiratorial fantasies“, he urged.
According to him, there are already two conspiracies – is it an evil state with some terrible secrets it is hiding, or is it an evil pedophile network that performs dirty rituals and abuses children?