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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

#81

Post by oh_sigh »

swatkat wrote: post #71
oh_sigh wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He was an adventurer. He would go to remote and weird places all the time, usually without any kind of primordial tribespeople to convert. Odds are he was just on another adventure, rather than him feeling that these people really needed jesus.

The 27-year-old American, identified as John Allen Chau, came to India on a tourist visa but came to the Andaman and Nicobar islands in October with the express purpose of proselytizing, Dependra Pathak, Director General of Police of the Andaman and Nicobar islands, told CNN. "We refuse to call him a tourist. Yes, he came on a tourist visa but he came with a specific purpose to preach on a prohibited island," Pathak…

Yes, I'm aware of the statements of the Indian authorities. I'm curious if they know this or if they are assuming based on some statements he made - like about how god gave him the power to travel to remote and dangerous places, or because he had a bible on him(which many Christians carry).

Did Chau learn any Sentinelese? How was he planning on doing the proselytizing?

Also, not to nitpick, but the article does have other errors. For example, it says "Just more than a dozen people" live on the island, whereas all sources I can find say between 50 and 400 people live there.

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

#82

Post by starbeast »

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…

Well, wide eyed 'convert heathen!' zeal became pretty unfashionable in much of Europe for a bit, so most of the serious missionaries left for the Americas. American arrogance is really only European arrogance that has been left on the stove to brew for a bit longer.

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

#83

Post by Udik »

WhompingWindows wrote: post #50
swatkat wrote: post #13

What he did was illegal. Access to the island is restricted for a reason. >>> But Mr. Chau pushed ahead in his kayak, which he had packed with a Bible. After that, it is a bit of a mystery what happened. Also, can these evangelists take a break? It's not 1600s anymore.

Their religion and its proponents teach them to spread the word, they won't take a break. It's what separates Christianity and Islam from the majority of non-proselytizing religions.

I don't see catholic christians setting up missions with the primary purpose of proselytizing. In many respects it is true that American evangelical churches are much more retrograde than the Catholic church itself, promoting a brand of religion that is, for example, self-righteous, anti-scientific, and putting particular emphasis on the more archaic and brutal Old Testament.

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

#84

Post by yongjik »

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…

Parents who put their homosexual kid through conversion therapy also have the best of intentions. That frequently ends up driving their own kid to suicide, or so I've heard. I don't have sympathy for these parents.

This person's action could have resulted in dozens of dead Sentinelese due to disease. He was recklessly endangering his own life and the lives of people he didn't even know. Every death is a tragedy, but I find it hard to feel sorry for him.

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

#85

Post by drieddust »

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…

Right converting to Christianity is such a useful skill in afterlife.

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

#86

Post by JPKab »

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.

Yes, I've noticed this.

I said something admittedly nasty about Mao's policies a couple of months ago, and was threatened with banning due to "borderline nationalistic trolling". Fair enough.

It sure doesn't seem to be enforced in an objective fashion though. More likely, it appears to be more in line with the current fashion of SV: Never discriminate, unless it's against a group viewed as being powerful and bad by West Coast Americans, in which case it's ok. American? That's definitely a way to be cool and anti-imperialist/colonialist. Christians? Even better. Because of all of the regressive religions which preach hate towards gays and deny evolution, Christianity is the one practiced by white people from Alabama, and therefore it's funny and useful to attack it. If this gentleman were an Islamic missionary from Egypt, the above comment probably would never have been made, and if it had, would be removed, with good reason.

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

#87

Post by eesmith »

writepub wrote: post #46
xutopia wrote: post #23

I'm fascinated by these people. They must have one heck of a culture to immediately resort to killing any stranger that lands on their shore. I wonder what religious beliefs they have and what kind of society creates what seems to be extreme and violent xenophobia to us. As fascinated as I am I would double check that I have something to row with if I take a motorboat out to see the island from afar. No way in hell I…

> what kind of society creates what seems to be extreme and violent xenophobia to us A fish has no concept of water, it doesn't know it is in water, it doesn't know there can be existence outside of water, and it doesn't know it depends on water. You cannot possibly deem the culture extreme & violent when it is much like fish, that doesn't know of alternatives. Most of all, fish will defend themselves against perceiv…

To the extent that a fish can be said to have "concepts", I'm certain that a fish like a mudskipper or a flying fish can distinguish between being in water and being in air.

Does that not invalidate your argument?

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

#88

Post by whatshisface »

oh_sigh wrote: post #64
whatshisface wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

If any country on Earth killed a citizen of another country at the border there would be a gigantic outrage.

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

#89

Post by sergiotapia »

Stratoscope wrote: post #68
joejerryronnie wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

@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.

Clearly there are groups you can criticize on HN as evidenced in this entire submission's thread.

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

#90

Post by monocasa »

malmsteen wrote: post #80
JPKab wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I think he implies americans are more stupid than europeans nowadays #trump #mormons #altright #bigots. We dont really have that in europe Edit: "some" americans of course.

Y'all have plenty of crazy far right populism gaining steam between AfD, Golden Dawn, Front National, etc.
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