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American Is Killed by Bow and Arrow on Remote Indian Island

nytimes.com

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Re: American Is Killed by Bow and Arrow on Remote Indian Island

#61

Post by rustcharm »

projectramo wrote: post #38

The comments here are horrific. Yes, I don't think we should invade the lives of indigenous people any more than you do. And yes, I think this young man was mistaken and misguided. But, he went in with the best of intentions, and he died. You just don't believe what he did. Imagine a techie died while trying to teach rails to the homeless (which, I can only assume, some of you might be more sympathetic towards), woul…

The best of intentions? To erase their culture and replace it with Chr-stianity? I don't see that as well intentioned.

Re: American Is Killed by Bow and Arrow on Remote Indian Island

#62

Post by 98codes »

projectramo wrote: post #38

The comments here are horrific. Yes, I don't think we should invade the lives of indigenous people any more than you do. And yes, I think this young man was mistaken and misguided. But, he went in with the best of intentions, and he died. You just don't believe what he did. Imagine a techie died while trying to teach rails to the homeless (which, I can only assume, some of you might be more sympathetic towards), woul…

Intentions don't matter if your actions prove otherwise. He invaded their land in order to enact his beliefs, that the people there have repeatedly shown they want no part of.

Re: American Is Killed by Bow and Arrow on Remote Indian Island

#63

Post by atentaten »

projectramo wrote: post #38

The comments here are horrific. Yes, I don't think we should invade the lives of indigenous people any more than you do. And yes, I think this young man was mistaken and misguided. But, he went in with the best of intentions, and he died. You just don't believe what he did. Imagine a techie died while trying to teach rails to the homeless (which, I can only assume, some of you might be more sympathetic towards), woul…

The road to the proverbial Hell is paved with good intentions.

Re: American Is Killed by Bow and Arrow on Remote Indian Island

#64

Post by oh_sigh »

whatshisface wrote: post #18
option_greek wrote: post #4

As horrific as it may sound, I hope his rotting body won't make the islanders sick. Human contact in the past had wiped out some of the Andaman tribes due to the lack of resistance to many diseases.

At least one of them deserves to get sick, they did kill someone after all. You could argue that it's not wrong to kill if you don't have any treaties between your respective states but then it wouldn't be wrong to spread disease either.

Maybe if they killed a person they invited onto their island would it be just for the killer to be punished. But he wasn't invited onto the island, he thought he could just waltz in with a soccer ball and some fishing gear. This is essentially just castle doctrine. He apparently also swam back to the fishermans boat with arrow wounds, but went back to the island anyway.

Re: American Is Killed by Bow and Arrow on Remote Indian Island

#66

Post by crooked-v »

xutopia wrote: post #45
tfha wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They have to protect themselves from disease. If the wrong microbe makes contact, it could result in genocide.

I realize that they probably have seen some bad things happen from contacts with the outside but I doubt they have an understanding of germ theory of disease yet. I assume they have stories they repeat to one another, maybe songs or warnings they provide to one another to encourage this ruthless xenophobia. I'd love to know what those things are.

It's not hard to make a connection between "a foreigner shows up" and "people suddenly start dying of weird unknown diseases" when the entire population is small enough for everyone to individually recognize everyone else.

Re: American Is Killed by Bow and Arrow on Remote Indian Island

#67

Post by NeedMoreTea »

projectramo wrote: post #38

The comments here are horrific. Yes, I don't think we should invade the lives of indigenous people any more than you do. And yes, I think this young man was mistaken and misguided. But, he went in with the best of intentions, and he died. You just don't believe what he did. Imagine a techie died while trying to teach rails to the homeless (which, I can only assume, some of you might be more sympathetic towards), woul…

If it were against the law, local authorities respected and warned of their desire to be left alone. If numerous attempts to teach rails in the past 100 years had resulted in death, rejection of gifts, attempts to peaceably repel by firing arrows without heads and threatening until the visitor leaves. Yes, I'd feel the same way.

I'd be sad that someone had thrown their life away needlessly and foolishly in the face of overwhelming evidence that it would be an idiotic thing to do.

Would you feel the same if he had died having broken into someone's home after being repeatedly warned not to and that the householder was hostile and armed?

"Best of intentions" is debatable - to push his religious beliefs on others. That's arrogance not good intent.

Re: American Is Killed by Bow and Arrow on Remote Indian Island

#68

Post by Stratoscope »

joejerryronnie wrote: post #48
deanCommie wrote: post #12

> Mr. Pathak said Mr. Chau, believed to be 26 or 27 and from Washington State, may have been trying to convert the islanders to Christianity. Right before he left in his kayak, Mr. Chau gave the fishermen a long note. In it, police officials said, he had written that Jesus had bestowed him with the strength to go to the most forbidden places on Earth. A perfect storm of Christian and American arrogance.

@dang - is this acceptable on HN? It would really help to understand which groups we’re able to attack and which are frowned upon.

I'm not Dan, but I can offer my own advice: don't generalize individuals into groups, and don't attack any individual or group here. It never leads to the kind of thoughtful discussion that HN is known for.

If you see a comment that attacks any individual or group, the best thing to do is downvote it, flag it, and move on.

Re: American Is Killed by Bow and Arrow on Remote Indian Island

#69

Post by kapauldo »

JPKab wrote: post #36
deanCommie wrote: post #12

> Mr. Pathak said Mr. Chau, believed to be 26 or 27 and from Washington State, may have been trying to convert the islanders to Christianity. Right before he left in his kayak, Mr. Chau gave the fishermen a long note. In it, police officials said, he had written that Jesus had bestowed him with the strength to go to the most forbidden places on Earth. A perfect storm of Christian and American arrogance.

Please explain to me how the fact that he happens to be American is proven to be causal here? I guess you make a good point. After all, the missionaries who converted indigenous populations all over the world were all from the USA. Oh wait, no. The vast majority of the Christian missions were founded by Europeans. Arabs converted millions to Islam hundreds of years ago. But yeah, they were all infected with American…

Let's agree on the Christian arrogance then

Re: American Is Killed by Bow and Arrow on Remote Indian Island

#70

Post by projectramo »

rustcharm wrote: post #61
projectramo wrote: post #38

The comments here are horrific. Yes, I don't think we should invade the lives of indigenous people any more than you do. And yes, I think this young man was mistaken and misguided. But, he went in with the best of intentions, and he died. You just don't believe what he did. Imagine a techie died while trying to teach rails to the homeless (which, I can only assume, some of you might be more sympathetic towards), woul…

The best of intentions? To erase their culture and replace it with Chr-stianity? I don't see that as well intentioned.

Well, not for unbelievers, but if he thought their souls would be saved forever (not really clear on the metaphysics but something along those lines), then yes his intentions were good.

We know those intentions have caused a lot of harm. I am not saying he should have been allowed to proceed, but that it is sad that he died.

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