"Without permission" is apparently what Chau had in hand when he landed, no matter how benevolent his intentions. So, as a result of wishing to spread a word of mercy, he decided to endanger a people with his western benevolence and potential diseases.Indian authorities have been urged to abandon their efforts to recover the body of an American man killed while trying to preach Christianity to the isolated residents of a remote island.
Police in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an Indian territory in the Bay of Bengal, have made two boat trips to the area near North Sentinel Island since the missionary John Allen Chau was killed 11 days ago....
Police say they are consulting experts to decide whether it is feasible to retrieve Chau’s body, and will not provoke a confrontation with the Sentinelese, whose island is off limits to visitors without permission.
I'm sorry, but I see no reason to forgive arrogance, even when it is cloaked in imagined virtue.
Here is a Guardian backgrounder.
"I'm sorry, but I see no reason to forgive arrogance, even when it is cloaked in imagined virtue." I don't sound sorry, Adam, and your inability to show forgiveness and persistence in dead-man bashing says a lot more about your arrogance than about Chau's. But hey, it's your blog, so feel free to continue. Just hope his parents never happen to stumble upon it. My guess is that it's probably easier to deal with primitive Sentinelese shooting their kid with arrows in self-defence than with a an old buddhist man whose daily self-satisfaction comes down to repeatedly bashing his memory with words. No wonder this world is so fucked up. I hope you get better.
ReplyDeleteI meant "You* don't sound sorry".
DeleteBut hey, don't worry about the "spread of words of mercy". Between fake christian's who distort Jesus' teachings and feel happy with continuing their violent holy wars, savage capitalism poisoning millions of children, buddhists in Myanmar persecuting the Rohingya, Muslim extremists beheadings and stonings and Saudi's executioners dismering journalists while still alive, "mercy" is now clearly falling out-of-fashion. Makes you look weak and that doesn't get you enough likes on social media. Got to look strong and cruel and willing to get your hands dirty with blood to be successful these days. I've named it "Miranda Priestly Syndrome".
DeleteThe whole situation is a sad mess.
ReplyDeleteThe Indian government seems fairly reasonable.
I see no reason to send in a Blackwater type special ops team to recover the remains even if the money and accurate intelligence was available.