r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/husker3in4 • Oct 05 '21
Image In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Chau tried to convert his killers after attempting contact with the world’s most isolated people in the Indian Ocean. The night before his death he wrote to his family, “I hope this isn’t my last note but if it is... Don’t retrieve my body.”
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u/Theenlightened09 Oct 05 '21
This is a remote island in Nicobar. The Indian government has taken a lot of measure steps to ensure these tribes stay isolated. They are not exposed to the current diseases that we have natural immunity to now. He did travel illegally and also the tribe did fire two or three warning shots to him asking to stay away, as per reports but he did not stop and was ultimately killed.
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u/rbz90 Oct 05 '21
IIRC he was waving a bible and an arrow hit it. He backed off and came back later. If an arrow hitting your bible isn't a sign from God being like "yo chill" then what is?
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Oct 05 '21
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Oct 05 '21
Don't test the Lord? New Christianity who dis?
Ditto for the snake handlers
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u/Mpoboy Oct 05 '21 edited Oct 05 '21
God won’t give you more than you can handle. Oh wait, yes he will.
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Oct 05 '21
Is this too much to handle? No it's not.
Oh, it killed you? No worries, enjoy heaven.
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u/Effective_Repair_468 Oct 06 '21
Something something works in mysterious ways beyond our comprehension something something
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u/hufflepuffpuffpasss Oct 05 '21
I want to upvote but you currently have 666 on this comment so I’ll take that as a sign.
Agreed.
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u/ShutUp_Dee Oct 05 '21
Let me speak fundie Christian to you: “oh my, satan and his demons sent this arrow towards my Bible. Satan wants to destroy the word of God. I can’t let Satan win. I will return tomorrow since God protects me.”
It’s easy to justify stupid actions when you literally interpret it is Satan’s OR God’s hand in everything you do.
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u/jayewalk79 Oct 05 '21
That was read in the voice Kenneth from 30 Rock.
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u/adjust_the_sails Oct 05 '21 edited Oct 05 '21
Choosing is a sin. I just write in the lords name.
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u/Frosti11icus Oct 05 '21
I can’t let Satan win. I will return tomorrow since God protects me.
"Unlike my Mom's boyfriend, Ron."
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u/konzty Oct 05 '21 edited Oct 06 '21
Another possibility: god(™️) used his word to stop the arrow directed at his follower
Interpreting miracles is so easy 🤦
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u/Successful_Pirate_59 Oct 05 '21
God saves missionary with bible.
Later: What the??? He went back?!?!?
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Oct 05 '21
If we ever encountered a god who always cured us of a cold in the head at just the right time, or got us into our carriage at the very instant heavy rain began to fall, he would seem so absurd a god that he'd have to be abolished even if he existed. God as a domestic servant, as a letter carrier, as an almanac man. At bottom, he is a mere name for the stupidest sort of chance.
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u/Spare-Barracuda Oct 05 '21
A man is on his roof to escape the floodwaters below. A woman in a kayak rows over, offering him a ride.
Man: "No thanks. God will rescue me."
Later, a man in a speedboat comes by and offers him a ride
Man: "No thanks. God will rescue me."
As the waters rise to the base of the roof, a helicopter comes by and drops a ladder. A woman on the loudspeaker tells the man to climb up.
The man yells: "No thanks. God will rescue me."
Ultimately, the man drowns. He finds himself in front of the pearly white gates and God meets him there.
Man: "God! I don't understand! Why didn't you rescue me?"
God: "I sent a kayak, a speedboat and a helicoptor. What more did you want?"
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u/vk1030 Oct 05 '21
Omg, lol! A person from work told this joke all the time and it’s the first thing I thought of when I saw the comment about the arrow in the Bible. So funny to see it now, but perfectly on point! 😅🥰
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u/MandyPandaren Oct 06 '21
I think of this often lately with how our Covid vaccines have been developed and proven in such record time. I believe the vaccine is a miracle. A scientific miracle. For some reason, the Evangelicals just cannot accept that. They have given up faith for superstitions, I'm afraid.
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u/TheMexicanJuan Interested Oct 05 '21
This is a remote island in Nicobar.
Wasn't it Sentinel island?
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u/dhuntergeo Oct 05 '21 edited Oct 14 '21
North Sentinel.
The Indian government seems to be taking an extraordinarily enlightened approach, and the rest of us should stay away. These people deserve their separation.
Edit. Thanks for the upvotes and kind reward. The North Sentinelese have been an object of fascination since I first heard of them maybe 20 years ago. A virtually uncontacted people, hostile to everyone else, in the 21st century. Awesome!
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u/Anbez Oct 05 '21
Wait till they find oil there, then you will see operation Sentinel freedom.
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u/UpUpDnDnLRLRBA Oct 05 '21
I want to spy on them with little cameras disguised as crabs or something. Totally unethical, but I want to see how they live!
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u/Upsurt85 Oct 05 '21
Like hunter gatherers
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u/UpUpDnDnLRLRBA Oct 05 '21 edited Oct 05 '21
Yeah, but what are their names? What's the hot gossip of North Sentinel island? It'd be like the Truman Show, but with 150 Trumans, in Sentinelese. They're voluntarily isolating themselves- say we had a way to look in without them being able to tell- They'd never know you were watching, and you'd never interact with them, so what does it matter? Yet it still seems dubious... IDK- does it violate the prime directive to observe invisibly? No?
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u/LettersOfTim Oct 05 '21
I think what you're going to find when you spy on people is everyones just musturbating. Constantly.
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u/SerTidy Oct 05 '21
One of the explorers/missionaries that got close to them while dropping gifts from a boat decades ago observed them getting really animated at their presence then having some bizarre communal sex together on the beech so I read in one of their writings.
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Oct 05 '21
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Oct 05 '21
Goes to show that it's easy for people to consider humans that live like this to be inferior to us.
It's a dangerous knee jerk worldview
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Oct 05 '21
Yep
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u/EStewart57 Oct 05 '21
How does one get there? I have no desire to infringe upon others but do they inhabit the whole island?
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u/arch_llama Oct 05 '21
Boat and yes.
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Oct 05 '21
Yep. And you don't get there legally. The Indian government has made contact with the Sentinelese illegal for obvious arrow-involved reasons (among other reasons)
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u/Uncle_Daddy_Kane Oct 05 '21
There was another tribe in the area that the Indian government didn't stop contacting and we...fucked that entire culture up. Really really bad. I forget the name of the tribe but it's a sad story about how humanity needs a better plague
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u/Turtle4hire Oct 05 '21
You mean like what we did here in the U.S. to all the indigenous population that inhabited these lands before us? And how we never kept our word and kept changing our deals and forced it upon the indigenous because we had basically killed most and rounded up the rest onto a reservation?
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u/SrN_007 Oct 06 '21
No not like US. There was no violence and war involved.
What happened in the other island was unintentional mostly. The indians and britishers that went there carried mumps and measles with them, diseases to which most of the modern world has developed immunity but which were deadly to those isolated tribes.
What People are seeing here is an idiot called 'John Chau' who went and died there. But what really happened is that an attempt at genocide (unintended) was thwarted. Here's an article talking about the issues with a similar tribe nearby (Jarawas) who live in forests but not on a separate island.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/07/andaman-islands-tribe-tourism-threat
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u/bhamnz Oct 05 '21
Yeah he bribed a local fisherman. I think the guy ended up getting in trouble for taking this kid out to the island when it is well known noone is to go near
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Oct 05 '21
I would have just left Sentinel Island for the X-Men to deal with. They're pros at that sort of thing.
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u/ohhoneyno_ Oct 05 '21
Also, they've taken these measures because the natives ars notoriously lethal in how they handle any sort of outsiders who do getting through all the ways the government has tried to keep people out. For good reason, too.
Staying away protects the people and also the dumbasses who insist on trying to convert a populous that has been fairly untouched since their creation.
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u/SerTidy Oct 05 '21
They seem to have got more aggressive over the years, I think in the seventies there were small exchanges of gifts from suitable distances, but these rightly stopped. Since then it’s arrows first, then more arrows. Maybe they made the connection that each time outsiders turn up, some of their own die from some infection. They deserve to be left alone. But a part of me would love to know how they live, but only observing from a high altitude drone or something.
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u/ohhoneyno_ Oct 05 '21
They live like every other indigenous people who have ever existed which has been extensively researched and documented. You can literally read about it anywhere. We do not need to disturb them to know how they live.
And yes, I'm sure that that is exactly what happened. Just like small pox and America, even one person becoming infected can devastate the entire population due to proximity and lack of modern medicine. Look at America right now and the pandemic. Even with precautions and modern medicine, over 600k people died from it last year alone. Now imagine that being introduced to that population. They'd all die.
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u/SerTidy Oct 05 '21
Fair point with regards to how they live. I think there are some other islands further north that live semi cut off that shared their lifestyle so to speak that would be very similar.
I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the reason for their hostility. Eye witnesses from the boat observed them dragging the missionary’s body along the beach by rope rather than using their hands before burying his body, they also started burying gifts that were washed up in the later years of interactions with outsides. So they may have realised the necessity to protect them selves. Totally agree, they are a delicately surviving community that could never survive any form of outside influence👍
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u/Franklin_le_Tanklin Oct 05 '21
Fk this guy. Such a selfish dick to go and push his fairy tales on these people who are just trying to live their lives. They don’t have the immunity to diseases we have.
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u/bubblesort33 Oct 05 '21
How did anyone find out about the warning shots? Do people actually communicate with them? Or did the other person in the picture get away?
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u/starkofhousestark Oct 05 '21
That happened one day before his death. He went back to his kayak after that encounter and wrote it down in his journal. Then he went again the next day and never came back. His journals were recovered.
'Well, I've been shot by the Sentinelese… By a kid probably about 10 or so years old, maybe a teenager, short compared to those who looked like adults,' he wrote.
'The little kid shot me with an arrow - directly into my Bible which I was holding at my chest,' he added.
Recalling his near-death experience in his journal that evening, he wrote: 'Father, forgive him and any of the people on this island who try to kill me... and especially forgive me if they succeed.'
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u/UpUpDnDnLRLRBA Oct 05 '21
That's a really convoluted way of committing suicide
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u/johnnyma45 Oct 05 '21
OTOH, he's probably the only one in recorded history to go down as "Death by Sentinelese" and not be an X-Man
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u/UpUpDnDnLRLRBA Oct 05 '21
Like, I think he must have been suicidal but couldn't do it himself because that would be a sin. So he needed a God-friendly excuse to go into a situation where he knew he'd be killed. What better way than attemting to evangelize to people who are really, really, really hostile to missionaries?
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u/EnderWigginsGhost Oct 05 '21 edited Oct 06 '21
Nah, he was probably thinking "People are gonna be so stoked on me when I convert those savages. Movie deals, books, a mention in every church in the world as the guy who spread Christianity to the last people who haven't heard, thus bringing the second coming even closer."
Logic would say instant death, but he's a 26 year old missionary, the only missionaries I know of at that age are from well to do Christian households. It's the last thing you do before marrying some ho named Rebekah and working at your dad's Chiropractic & Wellness business.
He was naive enough to believe that he was somehow chosen for this God ordained mission, so of course Jesus would protect him and stay the hand of the villagers. Before he left I'm sure literally everyone at his church told him that, and coming from a sheltered existence, he believed them. When the arrow hit his Bible, his faith was affirmed and his fate was sealed.
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u/UpUpDnDnLRLRBA Oct 05 '21
It's the last thing you do before marrying some ho named Rebekah and working at your dad's Chiropractic & Wellness business.
Lol- I know exactly what kind of person you mean!
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u/beadhead44 Oct 05 '21
Wasn’t he holding his Bible and yelling I love you and Jesus loves you at them, apparently thinking they somehow understood he was there in the name of Jesus. Because no matter you have no idea what the English language is, Jesus is universal?
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u/bhamnz Oct 05 '21
He had taken language lessons prior to this, covering multiple languages of the region to try and communicate
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u/everythingisdownnn Oct 05 '21
“Father, forgive him” WHAT THE FUCK!?
I’ve long known about this incident but I never knew this dickhead was this arrogant to assume his and their go’s is the same and that they need forgiving for defending themselves from a perceived threat. Man, religious people are nuts.
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u/No_Variation1131 Oct 05 '21 edited Oct 05 '21
warning shots mean the tribesmen came towards him shooting arrows. He bribed a fishing dinghy to drop him off into the prohibited proximity. then he walked to the island, its a shallow beach thing for about 100-200 metres. these are about 150 people, they almost always shoot arrows, or swing clubs or stuff at any attempt of external contact... even towards military helicopters (articles available telling how helicopters had to manoeuvre around to distract the group and then pave in to retrieve a similar person who was killed and buried on the beach) :) Though there is a record of them especially their women being friendly or atleast merciful and not attacking at first. They've also been gifted fruits and things, but this was stopped about two decades ago to prevent any infection... soon after a very dramatic storm was seen to have wiped/ drowned them all which they survived. Though they're not assassins but a bunch of people who sometimes get quite angry
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u/Chicken_of_Funk Oct 05 '21
They don't always shoot arrows, and not almost never (never?) at military targets, the helicopters they have fired at have been unarmed Indian govt. rather than Indian military.
The shipwreck you can see on google earth, when that happened in the 80s they immediately attacked the crew of the boat, who were mostly from Hong Kong, although neither side could get close enough to each other to inflict any real damage due to the weather and the crew got lifted out in time.
When a boat full of low caste indian workers turned up to retrieve what they could of the cargo, the Sentinalese not only didn't attack them, but traded with them on friendly terms over a period of weeks.
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u/Plantsandanger Oct 05 '21
He paid people with a boat to illegally take him there multiple times. IIRC The last time he went out he told the boat owners to leave him there and they did because they realized this guy was fuming insane. And the guy who died was a selfish asshole who literally posed a lethal threat to the inhabitants merely by showing up due to their lack of disease immunity. The guys on the boat saw it all happen.
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u/Turbulent-Use7253 Oct 05 '21
Fuck around and find out. Wasn't there another guy more recently who was also killed trying to land there??
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u/rawhide_koba Oct 05 '21
This guy got told repeatedly by everyone that this was a terrible idea and he was gonna get himself killed, but for whatever reason he decided he was different. Some true /r/imthemaincharacter shit.
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u/No_PlatypusF Oct 06 '21
Also the fact that he could kill the whole tribe with the diseases he brought.
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u/LocustaM Oct 05 '21
Honestly, the guy went twice. The first time ge barely got away. If you get shot at by a bunch of really isolated people and they make it really very obvious that you are not welcome and yet you think its a good idea to go back it's pretty much your own fault (in my opinion)
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u/AlanCaidin Oct 05 '21
You're a glory hound but also Christian? Well, try and get a huge feather in your cap by attempting to convert a super isolated tribe. Even if you don't convert them, you can tour churches around the US telling your story with a slide show of your adventures....
I grew up in this missionary world. 99% sure glory seeking is what we're seeing in this situation.
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u/erinsmomtoo Oct 05 '21
I never thought of that—-that he was a glory hound. Thanks for sharing. Just a question——it’s none of my business—-but I’m a Christian and I’m sure as a MK you’ve seen your fair share of this. Has this sort of thing turned you off??
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u/ChefBolyardee Oct 05 '21
I grew up as a PK and an MK. Our family was on the field for like 5-7 years.
Shit like this is why I am an atheist. It’s disgusting and only done out of self gratification.
Religion has destroyed much more than it ever will create or cause to flourish.
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u/erinsmomtoo Oct 05 '21
Thank you for commenting. I’ve heard a lot of MKs get turned off. It’s not uncommon. Sorry for my ignorance—-I’ve never heard the term PK before.
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u/ChefBolyardee Oct 05 '21
Yup it’s pastors kid. I just remember having questions about god and religion as a child that no adult could answer. That was a massive red flag. Many more were to follow
Thanks for listening. It feels like it will take a lifetime of deprogramming.
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u/erinsmomtoo Oct 05 '21
No please. It’s always a pleasure when someone like yourself shares with us other more ignorant types (speaking only for myself 😂😂). Thank you for taking the time to share. I hope you find peace and answers to the questions you had as a youth.
On side note—-talking about how kids are so innocent and ask questions—-my friend Bob went to a Catholic school but was kicked out in either kindergarten or first grade because when the nun talked about Adam n Eve, he said, “Oh, kind of like the Flintstones.” If I were his teacher, I would have laughed. They must not have had an answer so they kicked him out of school.
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u/OverlordGtros Oct 05 '21
I hear you. Grew up mormon, served a mission, went to BYUI, then finally realized my entire belief system was built on rationalizations and doublethink.
Still sometimes catch myself getting worried about what punishment is waiting for me when I die. Makes me wonder if I'll ever actually be free from the bullshit.
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u/erinsmomtoo Oct 05 '21
You MKs need a subreddit. I’d join just to listen to your stories and your perspective.
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u/ChefBolyardee Oct 05 '21
Yes! That entire amount of “guilt” it’s completely gone
I no longer feel that one mistake I make will send me to a pit of eternal damnation
Same here, I get “afraid” I won’t get into heaven. Lol
Than I remember oh ya, that was all made up to get my money and my free labor
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u/TrinixDMorrison Oct 05 '21
This is pretty much the plot of Rambo 4.
“These desperate and war-torn people need JESUS!!!”
“No they don’t. They need food and water and medicine. Also, stay away from there because that’s a literal war zone.”
“That’s not going to scare or stop us, JESUS WILL PROTECT US!!!”
-10 minutes later-
“Hey John you need to save those missionaries.”
“I literally told them to stay away like yesterday!!!”
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u/phpdevster Oct 05 '21
Religious imperialism is a disgusting practice. Imagine showing up uninvited, trying to ram your voodoo down someone else's throat? I have no sympathy for this guy.
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u/HankHilliams Oct 05 '21
“hey I’d like to introduce you guys to Jesus and god”
“Ok you go meet them first though”
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u/tayzlor454 Oct 05 '21
That’s what happens when push fairytale beliefs on people. In France alone 216,000 children mostly boys sexually assaulted.
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Oct 05 '21
330,000
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u/dapoorv Oct 05 '21
114,000 in 40 mins. Holy fuck.
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Oct 05 '21
Holy fuck indeed.
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u/BigAssMidgette Oct 05 '21
My god. I just chortled on a zoom meeting and shot a coffee-laden snot rocket out of my nose. Thank you for that.
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u/JukeBoxDildo Oct 05 '21
Anybody call dibs on that rocket yet, becaaaaause if not....
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u/Mtb_Bike Oct 05 '21
This thread is why I enjoy Reddit.
Was literally just trying Trader Joe’s knock off swedish fish (pretty good if you haven’t had) and now a half chewed one is lodged in my right nostril from laughing
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u/bluntsandbears Oct 05 '21
Every time I get preached to by any of the forms of Christianity that walk up to you on the streets and try to convert you and your money I always told them that between Netflix and Disney + my fairytale budget is maxed out so come back when they have more exciting content.
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u/Plastic_Tadpole_3728 Oct 05 '21
I uno reverse card them with the satanic temple
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u/bluntsandbears Oct 05 '21
I want to make fake Satanic Temple cards with a picture of a coat hanger on the back with a coupon for 1 free abortion to hand back to those Jehovas Witnesses who try to shove their propaganda in your hands.
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u/sqweet92 Oct 05 '21
As a member of TST, I will now make fake cards to do the same. It is my right to offend without infringing on other people's rights. Its in the tenets.
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u/CheapTactics Oct 05 '21
Ah yes, the guy that received warning shots and didn't listen, was wounded as a warning and didn't listen, and finally got fucking killed because he kept trying.
I don't want to say that he had it coming but... I mean... Come on. Just leave those people alone. They clearly don't want anything to do with any outsider.
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Oct 05 '21
"During our interactions they threatened us but it never reached a point where they went on to kill or wound. Whenever they got agitated we stepped back," he told the BBC's World Service.
"I feel very sad for the death of this young man who came all the way from America. But he made a mistake. He had enough chance to save himself. But he persisted and paid with his life."
Quote by Indian Anthropologist Triloknath Pandit, who actually made successful contacts by doing it the right way cautiously and carefully over a span of decades
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-46350130.amp
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u/BrilliantRat Oct 06 '21
Triloknath wanted to help and learn. This glory seeking moron wanted to convert them and do it yesterday. That's the difference. Thnx for link.
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u/Leading_Dance9228 Oct 05 '21
The difference between a science based anthropologist and a fucking dumbass missionary. One respects and gets it in return. Another one demands introducing an imaginary friend and dies.
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u/flowersfake Oct 05 '21
I mean if you don’t wanna say it I will, he had it coming. I feel bad for his family but I don’t feel bad for someone who had every chance to back off, especially when that someone is a missionary. Missionary work is ethically questionable at best. I don’t want missionaries to die obviously, but when your need to convert people who have their own culture leads to your death.. yeah it’s hard to muster sympathy
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u/ILikeToPoopOnYou Oct 05 '21
Missionary work is very arrogant. Trying to convince others that your fake God is better than their fake God.
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u/khosrua Oct 06 '21
John Middleton Ramsey, a friend of Chau’s and a fellow evangelical, defended his actions. “His motivation was love for the [Sentinelese] people,” he told me. “If you believe in heaven and hell then what he did was the most loving thing anyone could do.”
He added: “A lot of people have said these people obviously want to be left alone, so we should respect their wishes. Well my ancestors were also savages that wanted to be left alone. I’m sure glad missionaries like [Saints] Kilian and Boniface stepped up and were willing to give their lives, and that I don’t live in a society like that any more.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/03/john-chau-christian-missionary-death-sentinelese
Disrespect his ancestors to justify his own disrespect of other people's culture is some next level messiah complex.
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u/Adventurous-Lunch782 Oct 05 '21
I feel sorry for his family but I'm struggling to muster up any sympathy for him.
He illegally travelled to a place he considered "Satan's last stronghold" to try and convert indigenous people who did not want any contact with outsiders - and Chau knew this.
He could have introduced pathogens and killed the entire Sentinelese population.
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u/Doctor_Amazo Oct 05 '21 edited Oct 05 '21
try and convert indigenous people who did not want any contact with outsiders
It's a myth that these people haven't been contacted by outsiders, and are just xenophobic. They're reaction of extreme hostility is actually a considered and natural response considering their history:
Centuries ago, the Andaman archipelago was a magnet for Burmese slave traders who seized members of its four hunter-gatherer tribes and sold them into slavery in south-east Asia. From 1857, the islands became a permanent British colony, a prison for those who had taken part in that year’s Indian Rebellion, the largest armed uprising against colonial rule on the subcontinent.
“The British embarked on a policy that veered between assimilation, containment and annihilation,” says Clare Anderson, a professor of history at the University of Leicester.
One practice was kidnapping members of tribes and holding them for several weeks to demonstrate the fruits of British civilisation. Maurice Vidal Portman, a commander in the Royal Navy, employed the strategy on North Sentinel Island in 1880, capturing two older tribespeople and four children he had found sheltering in an inland settlement – the only residents apparently unable to flee.
The captives “sickened rapidly”, he later wrote, “and the old man and his wife died, so the four children were sent back to their home with quantities of presents”.
The tribes who relented to British rule found themselves devastated by disease and overwhelmed by contact with alcohol, tobacco, sugar and the other vices of the settlement. In 1858, the British counted at least 5,000 tribespeople across the Andamans. By 1931, their numbers had dwindled to 460.
Slavery, drug addiction, death, that's what visiting missionaries have always offered them. The people of the Sentinel Island know very well who the devil is, I think.
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Oct 05 '21 edited Oct 05 '21
Check out the story of Indian Anthropologist Triloknath Pandit
It's an amazing story and an example of how a peaceful contact can be established between the Sentinelese people and the outside world, if the proper precautions and methods (and coconuts?) take place. They still obviously prefer their isolation, but they are not some war-mongering outsider-hating tribe. They are genuinely curious and intrigued and peace loving, but also defensive of their homelands which as you have said have been ravaged in the past. They are merely defending themselves from some strange, foreign outside threat to the best of their understanding.
Here's a quote from him about this incident:
"During our interactions they threatened us but it never reached a point where they went on to kill or wound. Whenever they got agitated we stepped back," he told the BBC's World Service.
"I feel very sad for the death of this young man who came all the way from America. But he made a mistake. He had enough chance to save himself. But he persisted and paid with his life."
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u/erinsmomtoo Oct 05 '21
Thanks for sharing this. So they can be contacted. If you go about it the right way, I guess. No one talks about the people who have contacted them.
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u/Brown_Panther- Oct 06 '21
There was an incident a decade ago where two fishermen who were harvesting crabs got drifted away from their boat at night and washed ashore the island. The natives killed them and displayed their bodies on pikes as warning. The govt tried to retrieve the bodies but gave up after the natives started shooting arrows at the helicopter, fearing that the situation would likely escalate.
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u/caiaphas8 Oct 05 '21
I believe after big tsunamis the Indian government have even ran helicopter missions to see if they are okay and leave food for them
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u/Adventurous-Lunch782 Oct 05 '21
I know....I didn't say they'd had no contact, I said they didn't want any.
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u/Xsafa Oct 05 '21
How does he quote you and still not get right what you said, and has awards and lots of upvotes? Huh
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u/Wuped Oct 05 '21
Because despite getting wrong what the person he was replying to was saying it was still an interesting and informative post.
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u/discostud1515 Oct 05 '21
Interesting how they associate sugar as being on par with alcohol and tobacco.
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u/GradientPerception Oct 05 '21
Sugar is linked to a lot of ailments that would otherwise not happen if it were apart of x persons diet.
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Oct 05 '21
I’ve been able to kick prescription pills, tobacco, and alcohol all cold turkey. Sugar though? Nope, I’m addicted as hell to that and I probably will be till the day it gives me cancer
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u/-milkbubbles- Oct 05 '21
I think what makes kicking sugar so hard is that you have to go out of your way to do so. It’s in everything so you have it make way more conscious decisions. You have to do research on alternative products, restaurants, and grocery stores that would have the alternative products. And in some cases, you have to spend more money on a product than you usually would. And then when at social gatherings you have to constantly figure out if what everyone else is eating is safe. All of that adds up and when you’re exhausted from work and life’s other responsibilities, making so many decisions about your food feels impossible. It’s a lot more work to change your diet than it is to just not buy alcohol or cigarettes.
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u/RebelCow Oct 05 '21
I promise you its easier to kick than you think, but slipping back is very easy.
The first few weeks are awful, but you notice a huge change in the way things taste once you acclimate. Sugary foods start to taste revolting, healthier foods taste richer. Its hard though, just not impossible.
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u/ironboy32 Oct 05 '21
It literally activates the same neural pathways as drugs, it's equally bad
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u/btstfn Oct 05 '21
It's not equally bad. If heroin were as prevalent as sugar we'd all be dead.
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u/bullwinklemoose91 Oct 05 '21
“Satans last stronghold” is just what John Chau called it. Proves how stupid and ignorant he was
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Oct 05 '21
Imagine being Satan just chilling in your stronghold then this dude rolls up and talks shit about you in front of your homies
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u/olderaccount Oct 05 '21
I bet the locals consider it the only place in the world untouched by the devil after their experiences with the British in the 19th century.
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Oct 05 '21
This. Also, no one needs to be converted into ANY faith. The loss of any life is shit, well almost any life, but I have absolutely no sympathy here at all.
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u/bubblegumpunk69 Oct 05 '21
I have one spare shred of sympathy for the fact that he at least told his family not to recover him. But it's buried under the thought that he probably thought he was gonna be such a hero lmao
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u/NightTrain555 Oct 05 '21
I’m not struggling at all. Feel absolutely no sympathy for him.
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u/XMCMXC Oct 05 '21
This title is messed up. This dude was killed because he broke the laws of India and decided to go here. He was trying to convert people to his religion. He isn't some martyr lol
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u/BrilliantRat Oct 05 '21
Yeah the title makes this guy to be some hero. He was a moron. He thought himself superior and wanted to convert people to his shitty way of life. He trespassed, put the whole tribe at risk and ... Yeah no sympathy for this douchenozzle.
Glad he got killed. Hopefully deters more stupids from attempting this nonsense.
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u/etihspmurt Oct 05 '21
I wish people would just keep their own religion to themselves.
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u/LoboBandito Oct 05 '21
Bro have you heard of Flying Spaghetti Monster?
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u/Every_Year_5546 Oct 05 '21
Well, you have my interest here...
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u/staebles Oct 05 '21
No don't engage! They'll keep coming to the house!
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u/stornerspaghetti Oct 05 '21
But... Spaghetti u_u
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u/twine_twiddler Oct 05 '21
Great....now I'm hungry. Heading to the kitchen to cook. Anyone want some? I'm making garlic bread, too, lol
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u/gutter_strawberry Oct 05 '21
I can attest that I have been touched by his noodley appendage and forever changed. Flying Spaghetti Monster is Love, Ramen.
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u/dede7462 Oct 05 '21
Oh no. We've got a Pastafarian here people! Be careful! They will try to take all your sauces.
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u/Foxman_Noir Oct 05 '21
Religion is like a penis
It's fine to have one.
It's fine to be proud of it.
But please don't whip it out in public and start waving it around,
And PLEASE don't try to shove it down my children's throats.
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u/et842rhhs Oct 05 '21
Here's my personal observations after having attended an evangelical church sporadically for almost 25 years: The church encourages it. It's to their benefit, because the more people who are converted, the stronger, more influential, and richer the church becomes. It has other benefits for the church, such as keeping its congregation occupied, and strengthening the sense of "us vs. them" tribalism that keeps the congregation tied to the church.
As for the people who go out and do the actual converting, whether as missionaries or just trying to convert their friends, they either genuinely think they're helping people, and/or filling their own need to have a sense of purpose, and/or trying to earn "heaven" points, and/or virtue signalling, and/or operating under the aforementioned tribalism.
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u/agnisumant Oct 05 '21
Okay story time. The Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago consist of around 600 islands scattered longitudinally in the Eastern Indian Ocean.
Some of the islands up north (coco islands) are administered by Myanmar (formerly Burma). The rest are administered by India.
There are two broad types of indigenous tribes that inhabit those islands. Ethnically one is "mongoloid" and other is "African". Both are hunter gatherers. Their languages are distinct and have no written script.
Pre colonialism their population numbered over 8000. After a few wars with the English, most of the male population died resulting in a gene pool bottleneck. Now collectively they are just under 1000.
Like how conquistadors went about in the new world, contact with the English introduced diseases that they had no immunity against. That along with the gene pool bottleneck has caused a couple of tribes like the Jangil to go extinct. Others are also near extinction.
It's a very safe assumption that these tribes will most certainly go extinct with or without our intervention. Plus the bad history of their ancestors with foreigners (mostly English) pervades their oral history. So many tribes aggressively defend their islands. Some tribes are friendly, and tourists can actually go and meet them (the legality of it is kinda shady).
However the government explicitly forbids any form of contact with the "Sentinelese" of Sentinel Island, where Chau decided to go. The Indian Navy patrol the area from a distance and do not approach the coast. The policy is, if anyone makes it to the island, then they will not be retrieved, especially if dead: which is a safe bet.
Chau wanted to save these "savages". Now when this incident happened, it was reported that Chau was a god fearing thrill seeker who learnt about the Sentinelese in high school through missionary library called The Joshua Project which called for "praying for the Indian government to allow Christians “to earn the trust of the Sentinelese people” and “live among them”. In addition to “basic medical care”, the Sentinelese “need to know that the Creator God exists, and that He loves them and paid the price for their sins”.
He lived in Port Blair (capital of the Archipelago) and prepared diligently for his mission. Inspired by Robinson Crusoe and other survival stories he aspired to be one too. In 2017 he was accepted for training by All Nations, a Kansas City organization that works to see Jesus “worshipped by every tongue, tribe and nation”. All Nations urges Christians to inculcate a “wartime mentality” and “make strategic decisions in the battle we’re waging against a real enemy”.
Needless to say, the training was woefully ineffectual.
Chau hired two fishermen to row him close to the shore. His first attempt: fishermen refused to go close to shore. He stripped down to bare minimum and kayaked alone believing it would be less threatening. Saw locals. Introduced himself. Saw arrows being pulled back. Threw fish he brought as gift at them. Paddled back. Next day: landed ashore. Spotted by natives who took possession of his kayak. Chau sang and preached genesis according to his diary entry. a boy shot an arrow that apparently hit his copy of the Bible. Chau swam away to where fishermen were waiting. Third day: asked fishermen to drop him off alone. Was last time seen alive by same fishermen who later spotted the locals dragging Chau's body and burying him on the beach.
While I personally have no sympathy for him I absolutely am saddened that his intelligence was corrupted in this manner. He was smart and talented. An adventurer and explorer. If he hadn't gone down this path he would still be alive, trekking the globe and writing blogs and who knows what. But he knew what he was doing. He knew full well. In my opinion he was brainwashed by a cult. He died and those responsible are just going along with their lives without a care in the world. Chau was delusional but he was not the only one responsible for this debacle.
Edit: deleted repeated words
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u/Brown_Panther- Oct 06 '21
In 2017 he was accepted for training by All Nations, a Kansas City organization that works to see Jesus “worshipped by every tongue, tribe and nation”. All Nations urges Christians to inculcate a “wartime mentality” and “make strategic decisions in the battle we’re waging against a real enemy”.
Sounds to me like the guy was the one who needed saving because he was clearly brainwashed by this cult.
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u/spaceiscool_right Oct 05 '21
I came here for this. There was another article I read besides the Outsider article posted above that covers his life beforehand. You hit the nail on the head but to me (kind of summarizing your points) it's sad A. Because of all the prep he did for this and people still assume he just woke up one Sunday and was like "you know what.... Plane ticket. LFG!!!!!!" And B. For the exact reason that his abilities were wholeheartedly wasted on this. Like how much more could he have done.
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u/TheBigMasterPigg Oct 05 '21
Religious people blow my mind, who in their right mind to travel illegally to a primitive tribe and after said tribe shot 3 warning shots keeps going like bro what
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u/Ranger_Azereth Oct 05 '21
I mean it's not really that shocking. People are, at times, willing to die for their beliefs, be it religion or otherwise. I consider myself Christian, but not in the same way many do. Accountability and reason is an important tool, belief another, and it's clear some of the second one was missing here.
Is what he did right? No, I'd say it wasn't for several reasons. Do most people, even non religious, do many things of a less transgression? Absolutely.
People want to pretend religion is the sole cause of crazy shit like this, and while a fair amount is caused by it I do believe that if it disappeared tomorrow some other ideology would take its place and fill that sudden void.
May we find more reason, and justice in our futures ahead. We certainly need it.
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u/Johnny_ac3s Oct 05 '21
Fixed it.
In 2018, 26-year-old arrogant Christian fundamentalist risked the lives of protected tribes people by illegally gaining access to their island. He ignored warnings & prioritized his beliefs over the health & well being of others who were minding their own business. The night before his death he wrote to his family,” I hope this isn’t my last nite but if it is…Don’t retrieve my body.”
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u/Hannabananna22 Oct 05 '21
Thank you. The title makes him seem like some kind sort of innocent soul who was trying to bring faith to an isolated people who don't want anything to do with outsiders. Most of the comments are sympathizing with the guy but i dont feel sorry for people who break laws in foreign countires to introduce them to your religious beliefs.
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u/apollymi Oct 05 '21
"Convert his killers"...
What an interesting way of saying "tried to convert an indigenous people who did not want contact with outsiders".
I'll take "blinded by pride and masking it as faith" for $1000, Alex.
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u/yqgb_9114 Oct 05 '21
yeah, I don’t feel bad for this guy. these are literally a protected people and this was illegal and he knew it.
Dumb actions yield dumb rewards.
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u/granola_genie Oct 05 '21
The title of this post bothers me. "his killers"? He's not some innocent martyr victim. He was warned multiple times and he was endangering them, not to mention the colonialist BS of trying to 'civilise' people who are doing just fine.
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u/MJ349 Oct 05 '21
"The God's Must Be Crazy". Great movie that deals with bringing "civilization" to people who were doing fine without it.
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Oct 05 '21
As an Indian, I never really understood the obsession europeans had with bringing civilization to Asia, Africa and the Americas. Calling us savages, while being savage themselves.
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u/MJ349 Oct 05 '21
I know. I'm not religious, so the thought of someone shoving their beliefs on me is infuriating. Like everyone is supposed to have the same mindset as everybody else. I don't get it.
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u/RandyDefNOTArcher Oct 05 '21
I don’t like the term “killers” here. Sure, technically this guy died by their hand(s), but he was in a location he shouldn’t have been, trying to interact with people he shouldn’t be interacting with. “Killers” shifts the focus, and levies blame incorrectly.
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u/aDrunkWithAgun Oct 05 '21
This title is shit and that's not what happened
they were told to leave the people of That island alone they are indigenous and attack anyone who comes into contact they went out anyway because of Jebus
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u/reneetres Oct 06 '21
“Tried to convert his killers.” Ha! Way to spin this. He’s no hero. Leave uncontacted tribes alone, they don’t need your Christian bullshit (or diseases).
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u/Coakis Oct 06 '21
More like r/entitledbitch material. The man risked not only his life but that of sinteinlese by spreading unknown diseases to them by trying to contact them.
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u/jfshay Oct 05 '21
I struggle to find this “interesting”. A myopic missionary with delusions of his own importance deemed his mission more important than the autonomy and health of an entire population. He had to have had numerous warnings against how he would be received.
He went anyway, and the predictable result ensued. I feel for his family and friends.
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u/Kindly_West1864 Oct 05 '21
Good thing this sub isn’t called r/Damnthatsinterestingtojfshay. Otherwise it would be failing miserably.
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u/Cha-Cha_real_smooth Oct 06 '21
Glad he is no longer with us. Conversion is a joke. This man did not deserve the second chance he got from his first escape and paid that price anyway.
Fucking joke
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u/Pulakeshin1 Oct 06 '21
Missionaries are scum of the Earth.
How disgusting it is to consider any belief system other than yours as Satanic and any civilization other than yours as heathen. Total moral bankruptcy.
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u/manateeflorida Oct 05 '21 edited Oct 05 '21
Guy was delusional. Likely had a god complex.
There’s a homeless dude with similar aspirations. He constantly approaches physically challenge or sick people, wanting to heal them. Wears white, bedraggled sheets, and tries to look like Hollywood’s interpretation of Jesus Christ. The dude stinks to high heaven - reeks of alcohol- and constantly yells phrases from the bible. Reminds me of John Chau aside that John had a more privileged upbringing.
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u/woundedsurfer Oct 05 '21
Different variations of this story get posted on Reddit pretty regularly, but here’s a great article of this event.
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u/I-Need-Hacks Oct 05 '21
Was halfway through, refreshed, now it wants a subscription.
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u/quarterpounder420 Oct 06 '21
Though sad, stop doing this shit. Those people are fucking happy on their own and don't want your shit.
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u/DavidPaulSorensen Oct 05 '21
I had mutual friends with him, since my friends and parents were part of the same extremist Evangelical group. I have attended some of their training and seminars.
I feel some level of sympathy for the indoctrination he went through. They teach that Jesus cannot return until someone shares the Gospel with everyone on the planet. This means any sacrifice is worth it because we are holding up Christ’s return — by giving this tribe privacy. It’s fucking dangerous and it can justify some terrible actions.
But he could’ve left that worldview behind, like I did. Instead, it’s seems like he dove in headfirst.
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u/alightkindofdark Oct 05 '21
What is the Biblical basis for this belief? I grew up Evangelical, and I never heard this before, so I'm curious.
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u/CowboyAndIndian Oct 05 '21
Good Riddance!
I feel bad to say that, but this guy was willing to spread disease that these islanders had never faced. He could have unleashed a plague on them with just common diseases which those Sentinel Islanders have never faced.
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u/ajanisue63 Oct 05 '21
Question: How did the journal entry get off of the island? Sincere.