US tourist arrested after landing on restricted Sentinel Island.

[u/331mach]

Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, allegedly landed on North Sentinel Island in an apparent attempt to make contact with the isolated Sentinelese tribe, filming his visit and leaving a can of coke and a coconut on the shore.

[u/simulacream]

YouTuber. He had 867 subs lmao

[u/Zealousideal_Emu_353 → u/simulacream]

1.5k now, bad buzz is still buzz. His stupid trick worked perfectly.

[u/Tomytom99 → u/Zealousideal_Emu_353]

Not that I'd do it, but if I got myself arrested and it didn't even get me enough buzz to become monetized, I'd consider it a failure.

Sure, he almost doubled the count, but there was hardly any count to double in the first place.

[u/Pat_The_Hat]

Checked out the article on this tribe and it turns out this guy has his own subsection

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentinelese#2025_landing_of_a_YouTuber

Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, a US citizen, made an unauthorised landing on the island on 29 March 2025. He left gifts of Diet Coke and coconuts, collected sand samples, and recorded a video before returning. He was subsequently arrested by the Indian Police Service with a view to prosecution. Indigenous rights organisation Survival International which advocates for uncontacted peoples globally, condemned Polyakov's actions as "deeply disturbing", noting that uncontacted peoples like the Sentinelese are vulnerable to being wiped out by contact-induced diseases to which they have no immunity.

[u/JellyEatingJellyfish → u/Pat_The_Hat]

Diet Coke? Not even regular Coke?

[u/miked999b → u/JellyEatingJellyfish]

First he invades their island, then he tells them he thinks they're fat 😂

[u/Liveitup1999 → u/miked999b]

And may have unleashed biological warfare against them. Wouldn't that be a crime against humanity? 

[u/Xikkiwikk → u/Liveitup1999]

Wasn’t it one of the only places without Covid too? Antarctica already got covid.

[u/ruthlessrellik → u/Xikkiwikk]

Its so separated from the rest of the world, their bodies don't have immunity to a lot of other "simple" diseases we deal with easily

[u/No_Representative645 → u/ruthlessrellik]

I wonder if they have anything that would fuck the rest of us up.

[u/maddcatone → u/No_Representative645]

They are called spears and bows and arrows… really wreak havoc on western immune systems

[u/StructureKey2739 → u/Liveitup1999]

If he had been seen by the natives they might have killed him.

[u/rkvance5 → u/StructureKey2739]

Would have. I don’t think they’re taking time to distinguish between missionaries and tourists before shooting.

[u/Redditor_Reddington → u/rkvance5]

Spot on. North Sentinel Island is the Mecca of Fuck Around and Find Out.

[u/rytis → u/Redditor_Reddington]

It's where people go to win Darwin awards.

[u/abovetopsecret1 → u/StructureKey2739]

Nothing “might” about it, they have a record of killing invaders. And rightly so.

[u/Jasranwhit → u/JellyEatingJellyfish]

A shugaless mothafucka

[u/suthmoney → u/Jasranwhit]

The last fuckin’ drink he’s ever gonna have.

[u/dirtyforker → u/suthmoney]

Mommy!

[u/TwiggysDanceClub → u/dirtyforker]

[u/READMYSHIT → u/TwiggysDanceClub]

shoulda stuck to his namesake. Drinkwater.

[u/fknarey → u/TwiggysDanceClub]

My people

[u/ChunkDunkleman → u/Jasranwhit]

Kid should have pushed webistics.

[u/Flimsy-Sprinkles7331 → u/JellyEatingJellyfish]

Lol...The Gods Must Be Crazy!

[u/goddamnaged → u/Flimsy-Sprinkles7331]

At least that was classic coke...

[u/Liveitup1999 → u/goddamnaged]

...In a bottle

[u/-NGC-6302- → u/JellyEatingJellyfish]

They did say deeply disturbing

[u/Celeste_Minerva → u/Pat_The_Hat]

I feel it shouldn't call the items he left "gifts" ..

[u/Romeo9594 → u/Celeste_Minerva]

If it helps, gift means poison in some languages

[u/Ink-kink → u/Romeo9594]

You're absolutely right. In English, gift means a present, while in the Scandinavian languages, it can mean both poison and married. All these meanings come from the same root, which originally meant to give, or a transaction. So in Old Norse, gift was about handing something over - whether it was a present, a marriage (seen as a "gift" between families), or even substances like medicine. And back then giving medicine was a very risky business. Giving medicin harmed just as often as it healed (or even more so). Over time, in Scandinavia, the focus on harm turned gift into "poison," while its connection to marriage stuck too. Meanwhile, in English, the word kept its positive sense of "a present."

[u/SpookyBLAQ → u/Ink-kink]

I love these sort of informative comments. Thank you for that

[u/TheOrnreyPickle → u/SpookyBLAQ]

Etymonline is a very valuable tool for exploring the etymology of words, the history of the meaning of a word. There was a point in my life when I realized contemporary dictionaries are where meaning goes to die. Having an understanding of a word’s meaning(s) through out time provides a greater comprehension of language entirely. For instance, take nostalgia as an example. We associate that word with a sort sepia toned, dreamy, and wholesome vision of the past. The two root words are gnosis (to know) and algia (pain). So, in a literal sense, “the pain upon returning home” would be a more accurate understanding of nostalgia. As words meanings change through time and culture (semantic drift) they take on different roles in language and to me it all just quite fascinating. Another example would be the word abandon. Originally abandon meant “to place in the care of another” and over the course of the last 180-200 years it has evolved to its present day meaning that is more akin to “to desert, or forsake, or cast away” something.

[u/tristanhartvig → u/[deleted]]

And danish and Norwegian (also means married)

[u/Sriol → u/tristanhartvig]

(also means married)

Umm what?! xD oh yes, I'm poisone__ I mean married!

[u/severoordonez → u/Sriol]

No, jeg er gift can mean either I am married or I am poison. Usually (but not always) the correct interpretation can be determined from context.

[u/Tiny_Cauliflower_618 → u/severoordonez]

Usually but not always very nearly did for me 🤣

[u/gngstrMNKY → u/Celeste_Minerva]

Wait, it was Diet Coke? I fully support prison.

[u/titanup001 → u/gngstrMNKY]

Warm Diet Coke no less.

[u/Superhereaux → u/titanup001]

Well now I’m just angry

[u/Low_Revolution3025 → u/titanup001]

Ugh what a sick fuck

[u/Hsiang7 → u/Celeste_Minerva]

It's the Smallpox Blankets 2.0

[u/Sammy-eliza → u/Hsiang7]

The coconut-cola contamination

(Seriously, though I hope they're all okay and absolutely nothing comes of this other than his litigation and possibly increased security or info to the public once why this is so dangerous and abhorrent.)

[u/Daffidol → u/Celeste_Minerva]

Seriously, he went to uncontacted tribe and left garbage. Good grief, we also send garbage to space for uncontacted aliens to find.

[u/cuentalternativa → u/Daffidol]

I'd be surprised if they haven't already found some in their waterways

[u/GOU_FallingOutside → u/cuentalternativa]

Finding uncontacted aliens in your waterways is the worst.

[u/Teleporting-Cat → u/Pat_The_Hat]

DIET Coke?!?! 🤯

[u/MarionberryNo7667 → u/Pat_The_Hat]

Thankfully the Indian government (rightfully) does not play about the Sentinal Islands.

But honestly, western “travelers” like this loser have been causing trouble on the Indian mainland for decades and now they’ve spread to India’s remote islands! I remember visiting the Taj Mahal as a kid in 2003, and my mom, who grew up in India during the 70s hippy craze, told me to stay away from the white tourists in dirty clothes & dreadlocks who were roaming around like they were on drugs. I grew up in the west myself; so it wasn’t out of a fear of white people lol but rather the very specific disdain for certain arrogant tourists that Asian countries often attract.

The emergence of social media and click bait has made it worse. It’s time the India government take Bali’s lead and start handing out strict sentences to tourists who break laws and think their western passports will save them!

Edit: For all the American and Indian idiots under this thread who can’t comprehend that two things can be right at the same time, here you go: any citizens being bad within their own country (say an Indian in India or an Indonesian in Bali) does not automatically give foreigners the right to go to said countries and ignore local laws! Americans break US laws all the time! But if tomorrow, an Indian or Indonesian went and broke a US law, they would rightfully end up in jail. As for the pot heads offended by my experience as a 7 year old child, well recreational drugs are illegal in most Asian countries. Idgaf what your personal view is on this. Do not go to a family friendly tourist attraction high! AN AMERICAN PASSPORT WITH A WHITE OR BLACK FACE IS NOT A GET OUT OF ASIAN JAIL CARD. Just because there are Singaporeans that I’m sure find a way to skirt their very strict drug laws, doesn’t mean tomorrow an American should go to Singapore and smoke weed!

[u/The_Brofucius → u/MarionberryNo7667]

Didn't the tribe leave a dead body of a dumbass on the shore not too long ago?

[u/Ralath1n → u/The_Brofucius]

Yea, some christian trying to play missionary. First time he went he got shot with an arrow and only got saved by the bible he was holding. Then the dumbass tried a second time and got killed and the islanders left his dead body on the beach. The indian government tried to retrieve the body but considered it too dangerous. So he was just left there and the islanders eventually buried him.

[u/Historical_Owl_1635 → u/Ralath1n]

First time he went he got shot with an arrow and only got saved by the bible he was holding.

Now I’m not really religious, but if this happened to me I’d probably start thinking I had some god plot armour too.

[u/LuxLoser → u/Historical_Owl_1635]

If he was religious but not deluded, he'd recall that Christ Himself refused to do dangerous shit just because He had God's protection.

"Thou shalt not tempt the Lord"

Which means you don't go intentionally testing how far God will go to protect you. In doing so, you disrespect the Lord, you taunt him and arrogantly demand to see how far you can push the limit of your own mortality. And He shall let you find out...

[u/resonantranquility → u/LuxLoser]

Are you saying that God has a hidden commandment? "Thou shalt not fuck around, or thou shalt find out"

[u/Background_Injury463 → u/MarionberryNo7667]

As an Indian, this couldn't be further from the truth. Yes, there are some who are entitled, but the hippies are usually very chill and kind. It's the Indian tourists with no civic sense who are the problem. I'm from the mountains and we are fed up with indian tourists who litter everywhere.

Also, just coz someone is smoking weed doesn't make them automatically bad. I'm much more cautious of the Indian religious tourists, and the entitled american ones. Those are the absolute worst.

[u/WilliamSabato → u/Background_Injury463]

I’m ngl, my worst experience ever was with Indian tourists. Chinese come close second.

We went to this baby turtle volunteering thing (which is just an excuse to take rich people’s money for actual conservation, but you know its baby turtles so fuck it I wanted to)

All you had to do was watch them hatch, make sure rhey all went in the right direction toward the water, and that no one randomly attacked them or they got eaten by something. Seems easy enough. We walked next to them, used a flashlight to help lead them to the water etc.

Look over and the other tour group, who were Indian, were just slinging them. Like I wish I was exaggerating, but they were just yeeting these newly born turtle babies everywhere. Some into the ocean, some back up the beach, at each other. It was…shockingly awful.

[u/LateAd3737 → u/Background_Injury463]

Yeah let’s not start throwing shit at other countries for being tourists, I can promise that everyone has ammo for everyone else. Better to just accept there are good and bad in all groups

[u/semifunctionaladdict → u/Background_Injury463]

This is a refreshing take, especially coming from an indian lol but I agree its the entitled Americans and the Indians who live off daddys money.

Those ones have not a thought in their brain lmao I couldn't even explain to this dude outside a bank (in a BMW no less) that littering is bad for the environment, sometimes I think they assume we have someone cleaning the streets or something

You can tell OP has definitely got some reefer madness propaganda left in him though lol

[u/Slight-Garlic534]

He's lucky he got arrested and not murdered! The natives do not play when it comes to outsiders coming on their island...

[u/ThePlasticHero → u/Slight-Garlic534]

This is what I thought. The natives on Sentinel Island dont mess around, pretty sure its this island that has the helicopter getting spears, rock and arrows flung at it.

[u/PmButtPics4ADrawing → u/ThePlasticHero]

It's also the island where a similar idiot tried to visit a few years ago and got killed by the natives

[u/Gullible_Language_13 → u/PmButtPics4ADrawing]

You mean the guy who took it upon himself to deliver the “word of god” to the tribe on that island, was told by everyone that its a horrible fucking idea, was arrested by the indian government for trying before, only to then bribe a fishing boat to get him within swimming distance only to be speared and dragged into the island?

Yeah… I don’t feel pity for him

[u/Oldsoldierbear → u/Gullible_Language_13]

His arrogance was astounding

[u/Gullible_Language_13 → u/Oldsoldierbear]

John Allen Chau was his name, 27 when he died, no body recovered and no investigation into his death due to the Indian Government having a law prohibiting anyone from stepping foot on the island. I’m also at least like 40% sure i read somewhere he was unmedicated for schizophrenia so theres always the possibility he genuinely thought he was speaking to god, which makes it somewhat sad, but not sad enough for me to care that he flagrantly broke several laws and died for it

[u/Planetdiane → u/Gullible_Language_13]

The schizo thing actually does make me view it in a totally different light, if true. I had patients with it and man the extent of those delusions can be rough and completely indiscernible from reality for them sometimes.

[u/MsMarfi → u/Planetdiane]

If you really hated someone and wanted to wish one of the worst afflictions on them, you'd wish for schizophrenia. Awful, awful thing to live with.

[u/Unique-Abberation → u/MsMarfi]

Any brain issue honestly. Schizo, dementia, CJD, etc

[u/MsMarfi → u/Unique-Abberation]

Yes, true. My elderly dad has dementia and I hope if I ever get it there will be voluntary euthanasia as an option by then.

[u/space_toaster_99 → u/MsMarfi]

It runs rampant in my family. A cruel affliction if there ever was one.

[u/ThrowAway294969bahls → u/space_toaster_99]

Make sure you get checked by a psychiatrist every few years just in case

[u/MsMarfi → u/space_toaster_99]

I hope you are spared 🙏

[u/BornFree2018 → u/MsMarfi]

At my last apartment in a downtown area there were several (possibly) schizophrenic people walking in the street at night screaming profanities at God.

I would scream at God too for forcing that affliction on me. The worst.

[u/twinsfan13 → u/Planetdiane]

He was an evangelical Christian missionary from Alabama that attended a Christian high school and then Oral Robert University. This doesn’t sound like it was a schizophrenic episode, it’s just religious indoctrination.

[u/throwaway051286 → u/twinsfan13]

Agree on how religious he was. I wonder if it was both, though. Evangelicals are not known for proactive management of mental health conditions...

[u/RedApplesForBreak → u/Planetdiane]

I’ve known evangelicals. No schizophrenia required.

[u/archaios_pteryx → u/RedApplesForBreak]

There is an argument to be made for untreated schizophrenic people gravitating to such groups because instead of denying they will encourage their delusions.

[u/chaotic_top → u/archaios_pteryx]

My ex-husband went into a schozoeffective bipolar psychosis while we were still married. He was convinced God was using him to purge the sin from our household...particularly MY sin. So he went to his religious family and told them every horrible, dirty, sinful thing his delusional mind could think up about me. And of course...they supported him. Fed into his delusions. Even took him to see their pastor, who told him he needed to go home and "take charge of his family." He terrorized me and our children for weeks because of them. We hid in hotels and Airbnbs while his family told him what God wanted him to do every step of the way. And if he was acting a little crazy when they were around, well...who wouldn't act crazy when their wife is such a godless sinner?

It takes dozens of people to convince a crazy person they're crazy...and only one to convince them they're sane. Religion is a destructive scourge on the world. Particularly Christianity.

[u/Spectator7778 → u/RedApplesForBreak]

There was an old joke about this.

“You talk to god and you’re religious. If he talks back suddenly you’re schizophrenic! “

Never made me laugh though

[u/stryst → u/Gullible_Language_13]

Reading his story sounded a LOT like the grizzly man story from a few years before that.

[u/Eryu1997 → u/stryst]

You mean Timothy Treadwell? Watch that documentary. Yeah there’s something about certain people that pushes them to do very dangerous things based on their own delusions of grandeur.

[u/Gullible_Language_13 → u/stryst]

Was that the man who lived out of a dilapidated bus in the Alaskan wilderness for 6 months and died after being told the area he was hiking in was suicide or is this a different grizzly man?

EDIT: Alaskan wilderness, not Canadian, got em mixed up

[u/H0bbituary → u/Gullible_Language_13]

No he was the guy who treated grizzly bears like puppies and ended up being devoured by one. There are pictures. I discovered that fact against my will. I will also never look at shawarma quite the same.

[u/irosk → u/H0bbituary]

Is that the same guy who recorded him and his girlfriend's death?

[u/Dry_Presentation_197 → u/Gullible_Language_13]

Bus man was Chris McCandless from "Into the Wild" fame. And it was near Fairbanks Alaska.

The hiking thing sounds like a different guy, in Colorado I think. The "127" cut off my own arm coz boulder guy.

[u/Scottish_Whiskey → u/Gullible_Language_13]

I’m guessing the first man is supposed to be Chris/Alexander McCandless. He died in the bus you mentioned, but did so in Alaska instead. There’s no definitive cause of his death, but it could have been from starvation or some form of poison

Bonus not-so-fun fact: that same bus had to be hauled away after many more people got themselves stuck or died

[u/FishingGlob → u/Gullible_Language_13]

I believe he’s talking about Timothy Treadwell. He was the self proclaimed grizzly bear protector. His videos are interesting

[u/voobo420 → u/Gullible_Language_13]

What people don't mention is those laws don't just exist to protect tourists, but also the natives. They have lived isolated for generations and have no immunity to modern germs, no vaccinations, etc. A human who lives in a crowded city mingling with them could wipe out their entire village. That's how 90% of Native Americans were initially killed by Europeans upon arrival back in the 1500s.

[u/cyfermax → u/Gullible_Language_13]

Attempting to force your version of civilisation on a community that is demonstrably opposed to receiving your attempts is pure FAFO.

[u/errant_trajectory → u/Gullible_Language_13]

"The Last Stronghold of Satan"

[u/Tripp_Engbols → u/Gullible_Language_13]

You forgot the part where he tried to kayak to the island and they shot arrows at him, he turns around and goes back to fishing boat, spends the night praying and journaling about it, and then tries again the following day. That's when he got clapped. 

[u/Disseminated333 → u/Tripp_Engbols]

Ignoring warning shots & going back for more. That is really stupid.

[u/AngieLaurette → u/Disseminated333]

And apparently, one of the arrows hit the Bible that he was holding (literally missing his heart) the first time he tried to reach the island.

If you believe in that stuff, wouldn't that be an obvious, clear-cut warning from God not to return??

[u/Tripp_Engbols → u/AngieLaurette]

I may be misremembering, but I want to say he wrote in his journal that it was because of the Bible saving him, that led him to believe it was the lord that intervened and was a sign he would be protected again.

If I'm wrong, he probably thought it then. Actually...he definitely did. He went back 😅

[u/thathighwhitekid → u/Tripp_Engbols]

You’re right. They talk about it in the documentary about him

[u/Tooexforbee → u/Gullible_Language_13]

They shot an arrow through his Bible.

If only God had given him some sort of sign.

[u/Gullible_Language_13 → u/Tooexforbee]

Literally the biggest sign that maybe this wasn’t a good idea and he still ended up going back

[u/OGP01 → u/Tooexforbee]

Unfortunately he probably thought it was a sign from God that he would be protected.

[u/callmefreak → u/Gullible_Language_13]

Yeah, that's the guy. When he realized that they couldn't understand him he started reading a... I want to say a Swahili version of the bible to them. I can't remember the language, but it was one of the major languages spoken in Africa. He thought that they must have spoken in an African language because of their skin color.

He's not even close to the worst people to try to make contact with them though. There are people who kidnapped little girls off the island to give them things like dolls, dresses and deadly diseases that they were vaccinated against, but the islanders were not. They released the girls, who of course dropped those things and ran back to their tribe because they were fucking kidnapped, and a bunch of them died out.

Edit: It was Xhosa. Still a language primarily used in Africa, so the implication is still there.

[u/Gullible_Language_13 → u/callmefreak]

Y’know, I don’t know what would have been worse, Him reading a Bible in English expecting them to understand, or him reading a Bible in Swahili expecting them to understand

And kidnapping people who have no disease resistance, understanding of what the hell is happening or understanding of what the hell they’re being forced to wear/hold is disgusting to imagine

[u/Useful_Secret4895 → u/Gullible_Language_13]

He wasn't immediately speared. He tried that three times and in his first attempts, the islanders just shot only warning shots, but he refused to get the message. In his second attempt he made it to the beach and tried to offer them a bible and engage in conversation with them. They just laughed at him and a child shot a warning arrow in his bible when he tried to come too close. The islanders are not some senseless violent monsters, but they are very serious about guarding their land.

[u/Gullible_Language_13 → u/Useful_Secret4895]

Okay the Child being the one to shoot the bible is class act gold but it’s telling that the only sources i’ve read about this have NOT mentioned that John attempted a conversation with them, painting the picture he was speared before hitting the beach

[u/Southern-Fold → u/Useful_Secret4895]

Fairly so aswell, they wernt hostile until they had people kidnapped and having loads die from modern diseases that was brought there.

Their folklore for sure has horror tales of people coming and ripping kids away, I dont get it, just leave them alone.

[u/herroyalsadness → u/Useful_Secret4895]

I don’t find them to be violent monsters at all. Warning shots are a kindness imo, a clear way to communicate that they don’t accept visitors. They are just protecting themselves.

[u/Wyrm_Groundskeeper → u/Gullible_Language_13]

God, that guy seemed stupid. If a group of people don't wanna be contacted, leave them alone.

[u/Gullible_Language_13 → u/Wyrm_Groundskeeper]

This is more than they just don’t wanna be contacted, the Indian Government takes keeping people off that island very fucking seriously, no low flying craft, no boats near the island, and if you die on that island, no one will ever recover your body. Several Laws are in place to protect them. Not only are they super hostile, they have no disease resistances and these people rocking up on the island are putting them at risk

[u/Wyrm_Groundskeeper → u/Gullible_Language_13]

Ah, right. I'd forgotten about the no disease resistance thing. Anyone approaching is a dumbass regardless.

[u/Gullible_Language_13 → u/Wyrm_Groundskeeper]

After Covid started to calm down originally, the indian government sent a drone over the island to check on the Sentinalese and make sure they weathered the storm, it came back littered in spears, the only time I’d accept an attempt to get near them tbh. The Sentinalese tribe are a fascinating tribe to research at an incredibly safe distance

[u/queenhadassah → u/ThePlasticHero]

Apparently they are less hostile to women. The only friendly contacts made with the tribe were expeditions by an woman-led anthropologist research team in the 90s (before the Indian government banned all contact to protect the Sentinelese from potential disease transmission). They must see women as less of a threat. Not that it would make a difference for this guy - just an interesting fact

[u/Littman-Express → u/queenhadassah]

The last guy that went there that was trying to convert them to Christianity actually visited 3 times before they killed him. On the previous visits he tried to talk with them in an African language and sing Christian songs to them.  They laughed at him and shot an arrow into his bible. Should have taken it for the warming it was but he went back the third day which was when they killer him. 

[u/RZ_Domain → u/Littman-Express]

A good theory on why they're so hostile is also because they do bring diseases. Not hard to make the connection of:

• Foreigner visit home
• Family sick and dead
• Foreigner dangerous

[u/blargh9001 → u/RZ_Domain]

There’s also some dark history where early colonials kidnapped some of their kids or something that they probably still have in their collective memory.

[u/_pm_me_a_happy_thing → u/blargh9001]

They kidnapped their women and used them as slaves. It's generational trauma as to why they now want to be isolated.

Before the 1800s though, they were not isolated at all, they openly traded etc.

[u/Mattorski1337 → u/ThePlasticHero]

It is

[u/Aellolite → u/Slight-Garlic534]

And they’re lucky if they don’t get wiped out but whatever bugs he’s carrying. They haven’t been around the rest of us and won’t have developed immunity to things we have and are carriers of. This guy is a huge douchebag and I hope he’s made an example of.

[u/MyDarlingArmadillo → u/Aellolite]

The last guy who visited was killed by the Sentinelese, which seems to have been enough to scare people off for a decade or so. I can't blame them, he's probably carrying all sorts that they don't have immunity to.

I'm quite sure he was filming this for youtube or tiktok. Idiot.

[u/W0rmh0leXtreme → u/Aellolite]

This is part of why they're so hostile in the first place. A few of the islanders were once taken from their home for a short while. Two of them very quickly got sick and died so the rest were then returned, taking with them a ton of unintended infections that would have been disastrous for the islanders and could very well have nearly wiped them out.

[u/Now_Wait-4-Last_Year → u/W0rmh0leXtreme]

One of the theories I heard is that a British explorer was such a creepy perv that the generational memory is such that they’ve been as hostile as they have been to outsiders ever since.

Given the fate of so many other previously uncontacted tribes the world over, they might be onto something here.

[u/006AlecTrevelyan → u/Now_Wait-4-Last_Year]

the guy who was obsessed with measuring their penis?

[u/Acceptable-Heron6839 → u/Aellolite]

The Sentinelse are notorious antivaxers

[u/Independent_Dig6029]

Another useless youtuber being selfish what a surprise

[u/Guava_ → u/Independent_Dig6029]

Don’t worry, we’ll soon see him playing a ukulele and singing about apologising

[u/PURPLE_COBALT_TAPIR → u/Guava_]

He's already en route to the Whitehouse to serve as secretary of the treasury.

[u/United_Cattle_2229]

Missionary John Allen Chau in 2018 tried to convert the natives on Sentinel Island to Christianity. They shot at him with arrows, and one of them stuck in the bible he was holding, saving his life that day. He returned shortly after the bible incident, and was killed by the tribesmen.

[u/mascachopo → u/United_Cattle_2229]

Why didn’t he wear more bibles?

[u/Electrical_Car_2495 → u/mascachopo]

Everyone knows you need a bible for each arrow

[u/pikpikcarrotmon → u/United_Cattle_2229]

God said "I got your back this time but you're really pushing it" and he did not get the point

[u/cubitoaequet → u/[deleted]]

He was definitely an arrogant idiot, but I wish more blame went to the entire fucking system of evangelical Christianity that brought him there. Dude went to a missionary "boot camp" where they did shit like "simulations" where people played the part of angry tribesmen wirh spears. Brain poisoned from a young age with delusions of grandeur.

[u/sunnymoonbaby → u/cubitoaequet]

Holy shit, simulations of this kind of thing??

[u/cubitoaequet → u/sunnymoonbaby]

In 2017, Chau participated in 'boot camp' missionary training by the Kansas City-based evangelical organization All Nations. According to a report by The New York Times, the training included navigating a mock native village populated by missionary staff members who pretended to be hostile natives, wielding fake spears. During that year, he reportedly expressed his interest in converting the Sentinelese to a friend, calling it "his burden."

Just a gaggle of racist fucks heads with delusions of grandeur.

[u/Swimming_Bowler6193]

He’s also the guy that keeps trying to start a conversation with you after you’ve said a million times you just want to be alone.

[u/Laxice7]

Why coke tho? He’s lucky he didn’t end up like the last guy

[u/sleigh_all_day → u/Laxice7]

It’s very reminiscent of The Gods Must Be Crazy movie, which is very disturbing and indicative of his arrogance. We humans leave our mark through the trash we discard.

[u/randomturtle333 → u/sleigh_all_day]

yea i thought of this too! my parents showed me as a kid and annoyingly used “coke bottle” to reference anything material that i was upset about.

super annoying at the time but now typing it out i’m like damn they were good parents i guess lol

[u/Bitter_Ad5419 → u/sleigh_all_day]

I love that movie

[u/Oppowitt → u/Bitter_Ad5419]

Civilized man refused to adapt himself to his environment, instead he adapted his environment to suit him. So he built cities, roads, vehicles, machinery. And he put up power lines to run his labor saving devices.

But somehow he didn't know when to stop, the more he improved his surroundings to make his life easier, the more complicated he made it. So now his children are sentenced to ten to fifteen years of school, just to learn how to survive in this complex and hazardous habitat they were born into.

And civilized man, who refused to adapt himself to his natural surroundings, now finds that he has to adapt and re-adapt himself every day and every hour of the day to his self-created environment. For instance, if the day is called "Monday" and the number seven three zero comes up, you have to dis-adapt yourself from your domestic surroundings, and re-adapt yourself to an entirely different environment.

Eight double zero means everybody has to look busy.
Ten three zero says you can stop looking busy for fifteen minutes, and then you have to look busy again.

And so your day is chopped up into little pieces, and in each segment of time you have to adapt to a new set of circumstances. No wonder some people go off the rails a bit.

[u/usrdef → u/Laxice7]

Right? Out of all the damn things he could have gifted them to make life a little easier, he gives them a coke?

[u/MeetComprehensive216 → u/usrdef]

While this guy is certainly an idiot, I must point out the coke bottle in this context is a reference to the movie The Gods Must Be Crazy

[u/sertesbordaleves → u/MeetComprehensive216]

Yep, I feel old when people don't recognize this reference.

[u/mods_eq_neckbeards → u/sertesbordaleves]

You are old! The film was released 45 years ago

[u/Ancient_Mariner_ → u/usrdef]

Imagine how enraged the islanders would have been if he left Pepsi!

[u/IllbaxelO0O0 → u/usrdef]

There is a movie called "The Gods Must Be Crazy Angry". A plane pilot throws out an empty coke bottle and it lands in a remote undiscovered village. The village believes it's an item/gift from the gods and it causes chaos amongst them.

It's possible that he saw this movie and thought he would blow their minds with a coke from the gods.

[u/Kimber-Says-04 → u/IllbaxelO0O0]

The Gods Must Be Crazy but Angry kind of fits.

[u/usrdef → u/IllbaxelO0O0]

Doubt it would have caused choas. This tribe was in the paper a few years ago when the Indian government decided to fly over the island to check how they were doing after the hurricane. Numerous tribesman started chucking spears at the helicopter.

If a giant helicopter doesn't freak them out, about the only option we have left are UFOs or T-Rex.

[u/IllbaxelO0O0 → u/usrdef]

You want us to have a T-Rex deliver them a Coke just to be sure they are freaked out?

[u/Think_Treacle_2348 → u/usrdef]

Throwing spears at a helicopter is a pretty freaked out response to me.

[u/MagosBattlebear → u/Laxice7]

A reference to the film The Gods Must Be Crazy?

[u/SpeedBlitzX]

Apparently he was doing this for his youtube channel...

Such a reckless thing to do.

Exposing those Sentinelese people to disease they're at risk for.

Also apparently this was his third attempt to go to that island, not the first time.

[u/LanceOnRoids → u/SpeedBlitzX]

they should put him in prison for years

[u/ImJustColin → u/LanceOnRoids]

Exactly. Throw him behind bars for 5 years and we won’t see many more internet muppets copy his stunt

[u/lipscratch → u/SpeedBlitzX]

I can't even find his channel anywhere. Must have been taken down and been tiny beforehand — I bet he thought it was worth it for some views. What a pig

[u/CurlSagan]

Why am I not surprised he's from Scottsdale, Arizona?

[u/ContributionSilent74 → u/CurlSagan]

Most idiots are from Arizona- from an Arizonan

[u/GinnyPig1837 → u/ContributionSilent74]

He’s no Jackie Daytona from Tucson, Arizonia; that’s for sure.

[u/Zestyclose-Key492 → u/GinnyPig1837]

I’ve heard he is a real human man and not a vampire. 

[u/weirdoldhobo1978 → u/[deleted]]

Big "I'm not a tourist, I'm a traveler." energy.

[u/bunny_the-2d_simp → u/weirdoldhobo1978]

The kind of guy to also try teaching the tribe how to skateboard probably.

And say "chill dude"

[u/Kimber-Says-04 → u/weirdoldhobo1978]

He calls himself a danger tourist and actually hung out with the Taliban.

[u/weirdoldhobo1978 → u/Kimber-Says-04]

He's definitely a danger to himself.

[u/GertyFarish11 → u/weirdoldhobo1978]

And to the Sentinalese - who could be wiped out by the viruses and bacteria he transmits to them that they have no defense against.

[u/herroyalsadness → u/Kimber-Says-04]

Nightmare blunt rotation.

[u/Imaginary_Garbage652 → u/[deleted]]

Genuinely looks similar to our artistic depictions of Neanderthals

[u/xlouiex]

This fucking internet sometimes… Lock him up, throw away the key. 

[u/SynthesisPhoto]

I hope they confiscated his footage, there is no worse punishment for these kinds of people.

[u/Cool_Butterscotch_88]

[u/Old-Astronaut4653 → u/Cool_Butterscotch_88]

Lmao NOT BRANDILYN DAWN 😂

[u/ComedianStreet856 → u/Cool_Butterscotch_88]

LOL. He even looks like he dressed to go to Indiana

[u/Dutch_Disaster]

He followed the how to remove yourself from the gene pool tutorial and failed

[u/Kellaniax]

He could've infected them with diseases that they have no immunity for.

[u/judd_in_the_barn → u/Kellaniax]

That did happen years ago. That is part of the reason they don’t like others landing on their islands.

[u/Kabbie15]

I can’t believe he’s even still alive landing there. Wow.

[u/diabetes_says_no → u/Kabbie15]

He had a friend make noise on the opposite side of the island to lure the inhabitants to that side so that he could easily leave his items.

[u/sati_lotus]

Reddit be on fire today...

[u/Obamnasoda4]

Can people stop fucking doing this? This population is probably so annoyed

[u/Fr0gFish]

He obviously hasn’t seen ”the gods must be crazy”

[u/Nearby_Zucchini_6579 → u/Fr0gFish]

Bro, I had that VHS as a kid. That aerial shot of Johannesburg blew my mind. Up until that point my five year brain thought Africa was just pyramids, deserts, and lions lol. I completely forgot what the plot was even about hahaha

[u/Accomplished_Crew779]

Good. He may have begun the process that kills off an entire civilization, and he has no awareness of the gravity of his actions.

If he is aware, that is even worse. That would mean he is just plain evil.

[u/Far_Purchase_8010 → u/Accomplished_Crew779]

Of course he knew, if he tries to go there multiple times there is no way he was unaware

[u/ProperlyPrissy]

good. they need to respect the island and leave them alone.

[u/Omega_brownie]

Youtubers/Tiktokers and being massive pieces of shit seem to just go hand and hand. Who cares that they don't want you near them, and that you could introduce diseases to their community, this guy needs subscribers.

[u/Captain-Obvious-69]

The american authorities should revoke his passport and issue a lifetime travel ban.

[u/Living_Internet_2970]

If someone left me a Diet Coke instead of regular Coke I would want them persecuted as well

[u/69AfterAsparagus]

It’s a shame we seem to always have to be learning lessons over and over each generation instead of listening to the experiences and wisdom of those who came before.

[u/undefinedposition]

Wasn't the last guy also American? The dude who wanted to bring Jesus to the locals? 🤣

[u/2x4x93 → u/undefinedposition]

The plot twist was that they introduced him to Jesus

[u/Here2Cali → u/undefinedposition]

The Bible saved his life the first time and the goofy went right back. He had it coming.

[u/bugabooandtwo]

Why can't humans just leave those folks alone?

If they ever want to contact the outside world, they have the opportunity to do it (the island isn't exactly far away from society).

[u/Ok-Bar601]

This asshole violated the Prime Directive lol

[u/sleigh_all_day]

Was he inspired by The Gods Must Be Crazy?🥤 What a buffoon! Jeopardizing an entire civilization due to his ignorant arrogance.

[u/UKJJay]

Likely to bring diseases they've never encountered. Absolutely vile disregard for the lives of the natives. Lock this prick up for attempted murder.

[u/Suspicious-Hawk799]

Our local newspaper say that he is a thrill seeker who claims he has gone to Afghanistan to hang with the taliban

[u/Madison_fawn]

As a Ukrainian-American who was born in Arizona, I feel attacked by the stupidity of this person. 😭

[u/jlaine]

Thanks for adding to the whole 'US tourists can't respect simple fucking laws' - you dickbag.

[u/shanghailoz]

Utter fuckwit, I hope he gets an appropriate 5 year or more jail term for potentially killing the sentinelese tribe with flu or any similar modern virus they haven't been exposed to.

[u/Major_Lawfulness6122]

Pretty sure the last time this happened they rightfully killed the guy

[u/TheRockLobsta1]

I was reading all about that missionary who got killed there just yesterday. Very lucky guy

[u/Practical_Ad5973]

He could have infected the tribe with his diseases. A really  selfish prick

[u/Fishman76092]

He was just letting them know how much their tariff was.