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Neville Sinclair · (10-19-2017)

October 19, 1840

David was bored with his life. Growing up in the small town of Blantyre, his father had planned out his entire life for him. Papa was a door-to-door salesman, tea mostly, but he also spent a lot of time handing out Christian tracts, trying to win people over to Christianity. He was sometimes more worried with people’s souls than trying to put food on the table. It was a noble cause, but some days David found himself growing resentful of his Father’s faith.

He had earned his way into College, primary school had been a stepping stone to being able to get out of the small village he had come from. He had his choice of different colleges, but had chosen Anderson’s college because of it’s strong sciences program. His father was forcing him to attend Theology and Greek classes, but his real heart was to learn scientific theory. He would attend the classes his father wanted, he owed him that much, but the staff at the school knew his heart was for science, they allowed him to sit in classes for free.

All this had led to him becoming a doctor, there wasn’t a better way to blend faith and helping people than to help the Lord heal people during the day and preach sermons at night. But this was getting old fast, his heart wasn’t into it. A few years of it could itch the place in his life to prepare for adventure, but eventually that too would grow old. David needed something to work with his fascination, and he needed it quick. One of the Bishops of the church had attended his sermon and given him the review “worthy but remote from brilliant”. That review weighed on his mind. He knew he needed to take it as feedback to work on things, but it still showed him that he wasn’t doing what the Lord had created him to do – explore.

A friend had suggested becoming a missionary. Once more that seemed appealing. It was once again a place where his faith and fascination could coexist. David considered China, and eventually was signed up to go. But the First Opion War broke out and that seemed more of a dangerous place so funding would be minimal. Disappointed from losing the chance to go to China, David met a missionary travelling through Great Britain from Kurumun.

Have you considered Africa?

David Livingstone sat drinking tea across from this man. He had pictures of himself with animals David had only seen in Encyclopedias. He had pictures of himself surrounded by locals who were teaching him new things to locals. He had heard of the plight of native men being sold into slavery and knew that he had a chance to stop things.

I must admit, I have not. Many of the things I have heard have not all been that pleasant.

Ah, but that’s misinformation David. It’s an incredible place with waterfalls and vegetation that would prove to even the most faithless of men that God exists. And you could offer them your doctoral skills and ability to teach Scriptures. When I say that it’s fertile ground down there, I don’t just mean the vegetation.

Livingstone and Robert Moffat talked for the next three hours. Moffat being able to talk through every objection Livingstone had.

All I ask David, is that you think about. Spend some time praying and let me know what you think.

I will

Livingstone promised he would consider the offer, but the truth was, he already knew what his answer would be.

David Livingstone was going to Africa.
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October 19, 2017

Neville Sinclair stood in the middle of the village of Blantyre. It was the type of place descriptions would call “quaint”. This was a traditional Scottish village, buildings stood that were hundreds of years old, a river ran by the side of the town where old men walked their dogs every day, people talked on the streets because they had known each other all their lives. It actually reminded Neville a lot of the little town he had grown up in. People would come and take pictures of this village because it provided them with a fictionalized sense of nostalgia.

But these were places people got out of. For all the nicety that came with familiarity, people didn’t really come “from” this place. People stayed here and hated their lives, wishing that opportunity would come through more often. This was the type of place that seemed ideal to outsiders, but suffocating to those who were stuck here and never left. Neville couldn’t become that person. Where he was from was a means to getting out, and Neville had moved on and never looked back.

Neville thought of his current situation. People knew him only as the TV Champion. He feared that people were growing tired of him winning, some were complaining. Some were looking to throw nearly impossible challenges at him to see what he could do. Neville was enjoying this time here, but was already starting to look forward. He wanted to do this for a long time, he wanted to be known as the greatest, but this wasn’t his “forever” goal. Neville needed to scratch his own fascination at some point.

“The Wicked Witch Doctor” I mean, I think that’s how you say it. I couldn’t tell with all the stylized bullshit he brings forward with the spelling of his name. I find it almost humorous that to sound badass, what he does is throw extra random capitalized letters throughout his name. Nothing says tribal spiritualism and foreign influence like the letter D capitalized in the middle of a proper name. I’m sure the spirits you consort with told you to do that didn’t they? I’m actually quite looking forward to our match this week. I’ve never met you, heard of you, or even know of your existence before receiving orders to fight you this week. So that adds an extra level of challenge and exotic excitement to me. I’ve been looking through your past promos, I can’t say that it surprises me that you went away for a long time, but allow me to offer you a “welcome back” match. Obviously the XWF thinks highly of you, they gave you a title shot. But looking over your past work, I know I’ve got a few things to teach you as well. So sit back, listen up, and allow me to welcome you back to this federation

Neville looks over a few notes he’d written down in his time studying the Witch Doctor. This was tough, Neville had a huge respect for spiritualism coming from East Africa and Indonesia. Neville had even spent time with Shamans and Medicine Men in North America. He had to call out this “Witch Doctor” whilst still remaining culturally sensitive and open to spirituality. This was going to be tough.

Lesson #1 – Don’t Simply Be a Racial Stereotype

You see, the part that annoys me most about the persona that you come across with, is that it doesn’t actually seem like you’ve ever met an actual Witch Doctor. You make it seem like “witch doctors” are dark and evil, when really their entire purpose is to use, what we would consider, “dark” magic to bring healing and prosperity to their own people. The reason they were considered evil was because they used magic to bring about healing, Christian missionaries fought against this because they didn’t believe any power could come from anywhere but their own “one true God”. Many times the clashes between Witch Doctors and Missionaries were completely from reaction of culturally different people into the tribal systems. Is this what you’re trying to portray? I didn’t see any of that. You seemed to want to use the stereotype that North American Christians gave Witch Doctors/Shamans to seem evil and cool.

Which brings me to my next point, we actually owe a lot of herbal remedies to tribal spiritualists around the world. I’ll be calling the real ones “tribal spiritualists” from here on out because I can’t seem to want to call them “Witch Doctors” when that’s what you’re trying to portray. Tribal Spiritualists were some of the first people in the world to look at the world around them and experiment with new roots/plants/animal parts to try and bring healing to people they care about. We see the same thing shadowed in China and other Asian countries but they don’t get the same rap African/South Asian nations get because of the influx of missionaries there. So who are you “Wicked Witch Doctor”, are you a cultural stereotype trying to look cool to uneducated masses, or do you have some depth to you? I’m curious to find out.

Neville smiles as he takes out a cough drop with echinacea in it. Imagine living in a world where people didn’t try to use plants/roots/natural products to heal it’s sick. That was one of the biggest contributions real “witch doctors” made in this world. Trying to paint them off as evil dark men shouting “Whoo Haaa Heee Heee Hee” was damn right offensive.

Lesson #2 – Use Your Own Cultural Stories if you want to Seem Believable

This brings me to the last few promos you’ve put out. I watched and marvelled at your use of North American fables to bring about your points. Coming up with twisted versions of the three little pigs and the Big Bad Wolf was cute. I mean that’s the stuff that might give children nightmares. Great Job Witch Doctor! But I had a problem with it. You see, every “witch doctor” I’ve ever heard of is fiercely loyal to their own culture. Most tribesman in Africa didn’t even care about their own people groups, because they were centralized to one village and one specific tribe. That’s where a lot of battles with “Western” culture came in, white men came to the tribes and tried to push their own “better” ways on to a tribe that cared more about preservation than innovation.

So who’s your tribe Witch Doctor? I mean, Who are you? Where do you come from? Why does none of that seem to matter? This is what I can’t get over. You like to play the mysterious, “parts unknown” vibe in this federation, and it’s creepy, it really is. But none of it would ever point back to you being an actual Witch Doctor. You can accuse me of many things, being cocky, being British, enjoying Scotch too much, all these things are true. But you can’t ever accuse me of not knowing where I come from and who I am. Because of that I let people take shots at me here. I know that who I am is a stronger draw for people than who I’m not, and I fear that’s something you’ll never understand.

Neville decides right now is the perfect time to take a shot of Scotch. He lived for these moments in the promos because he saved the really good stuff for these times. Tonight’s would be special because he was actually in Scotland. He actually planned later on to drive to different distilleries to buy some new drinks for his cupboard at home. He had picked up a 27 year old Laphroaig. This was made at a distillery from right on the tip of one of the Scottish Isles. He could taste the fruitiness and spicy oak flavors. This was one of the moments Neville lived for.

Lesson #3 – When it’s time to Fight, Show Up!

So here’s the thing. I’m proud of you that the XWF thinks you’re good enough to get a title shot. But I think it’s a bit of a joke. You haven’t shown up for months, and you’re rushed ahead of many different, more deserving superstars. You haven’t shown up in quite awhile, and I’m a bit fearful that you might not even show up to your own title shot. Consider this a wake up call and a call to action. Show up on Saturday Night!

But part of me doubts you will. Part of me thinks showing up and calling you out doesn’t mean a damn thing. You don’t even seem to know who you are, let alone understand anything about anyone else. If you do decide to show up, I’m sure that your attack on me will be full of English stereotypes, half-truths and generic “dark” moments. I mean you can’t even take the time to understand your own shtick, let alone try and understand someone else’s.

Here’s what I’ve learned. Cutting a promo takes effort. It can’t just be about mood and darkness. You actually have to learn about yourself and about other people. That’s what I don’t understand about you Witch Doctor. You don’t seem to understand that. Everything is generic and under-researched. That’s a huge detriment to you when you get into the ring with me. Think of it like Missionary Work. You believe something is right and your job is to go and make converts of people to your way of life.

But, there’s a limit to that. If you try to come into a culture and make converts using force. You will forever be known as the ineffective asshole that made no difference whatsoever. But when you come in, learn the culture, value the culture you enter into and start to make changes slowly that lead to a change in beliefs, that’s where real change occurs.

And it’s fun! Every day I feel like I get to enter into someone else’s world, explore new territory. This federation is incredible because I love what I get to do. My fascination has definitely been peaked, and it’s how I’m still able to creatively defeat whoever comes at me. Might I suggest the same thing to you “Witch Doctor”?

Neville takes two more shots and chucks his shot glass into the river. He knew he could both transcend the small town and integrate himself into it. That was the greatness of Neville Sinclair.

Good Luck “Wicked Witch Doctor”. You’ll need it.

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