Maybe that wasn't such a good idea

Our regular readers may recall one of our awards from April 2. Within that award, we decided that the practice in the Phillipines of submitting oneself to crucifixion in honor of Christ's own sacrifice just maybe wasn't the best idea. Then we wrapped it up with something pithy about Chuck Norris.

If only Chuck Norris could have been the last word. A good swift roundhouse kick would've taken care of this whole mess before people could've started saying things like, "We're going to nail you to a cross after you whip yourself bloody. What could possibly go wrong?"

Because, well, now we know what could possibly go wrong. And what could possibly go wrong is that one of the men could die from rabies, thereby possibly exposing all the rest to the disease. See, before they got hammered to some wood, and before they even flogged themselves with bamboo, they shared a knife to start the bleeding and the ripping of skin.

Since the announcement, over 100 people have received anti-rabies vaccines, in an attempt to keep them from actually coming down with the disease. Of course, with the amount of time rabies can remain dormant, the scare may not be over for another couple of years.

See, this is exactly why we here at the CSM prefer to use things like make-up and special effects when recreating the passion play, or anything else even half-way as bloody and painful. We're not big fans of pain, least of all pain inflicted on ourselves. Sure, we all like a little snark now and then, but physical pain is one of those lines that we just can't bring ourselves to cross. So when we first heard about people recreating the crucifixion, it boggled our minds a little.

Of course, even with the rabies scare, there's little indication that next year won't feature the same passion play, or some variant thereof. After all, the steps that they take to showcase their faith involve a certain level of fanaticism. And there's nothing fanatics like better than having an even higher risk for more pain and suffering.

Why couldn't they have just been a quiet group that drink their Kool-Aid, had some pudding, and went to sleep chasing after an improbable dream? Kind of like Don Quixote, with more barbituates.