When the village is cold, the child finds a match

There’s an African proverb that circulates easily and lands softly: it takes a village to raise a child. The extended version is less polite—and far more useful: if the child is not embraced by the village, they will burn it down to feel its warmth. That line isn’t an excuse for harm, nor is it a metaphor meant to shock. It’s a description of how human systems respond when belonging breaks down. (Read more…)