1d ago

American arrested after leaving can of Coke for uncontacted tribe

www.abc.net.au

In short:
Indian police have arrested an American man who visited a restricted island and left offerings to a tribe not contacted by the modern world.
Mykhailo Polyakov had previously made two unsuccessful attempts to reach North Sentinel Island, home of the Sentinelese people.
What's next?
Local authorities say he has been released on a three-day remand "for further interrogation".

23 comments

I'm not sure about that headline, ABC. How about, "arrested for risking killing hundreds of people with COVID/disease, in order to make YouTube content". This way you can't be smug and cute about a genuine risk, or the application of law by foreigners.
- “Risk wiping out an entire ethnic group”

LEAVE THE SENTINELESE ALONE. They obviously don't want to be contacted and corrupted by the outside world and I can't blame at all. The only people they hurt are invaders to their island. The Indian Government is right to protect their isolation.

The man's an anus.
- He's lucky to still have an anus
  The Sentinelese last made international headlines in 2018 after they killed a 27-year-old American missionary
  The body was not recovered and there were no investigations over his death because of the Indian law prohibiting anyone from going to the island.
  
  He’s lucky to still have an anus
  Perhaps he misunderstood when he overheard someone say "they eat arseholes".
  
  Odd how it tends to be Americans that do this. Bizarre settler colonial mindset.

He's lucky that he was not shot, either by the tribe or by the Indian forces

Someone's been watching The Gods Must Be Crazy.

In January 2006, two Indian fishermen, Sunder Raj and Pandit Tiwari, were fishing illegally in prohibited waters and were killed by the Sentinelese when their boat drifted too close to the island. There were no prosecutions.
There was something funny about this paragraph to me.

I was joking with my sister that the tribe will be the 3rd party that has the formula for coke after they taste that one can and their entire culture devolves into trying to create more.
- The problem is, he left Diet Coke. What an evil man.
  
  "hey we just came up with a much better version of this drink you left for us. next to ours, yours taste like shit"

You can tell he hasn't watched a single episode of Star Trek if he doesn't even know about the prime directive.
Its stated aim is to protect unprepared civilizations from the danger of starship crews introducing advanced technology, knowledge, and values before they are ready.

Scum

Terrible, clickbait title.

I would appreciate it if hyper advanced aliens came to earth. That said, I wouldn't want some random crackpot alien coming to earth doing no due diligence and leaving us with nothing but hyper soda before leaving and never coming back

I'm really conflicted on this uncontacted tribe stuff. The ethicical discussion leans towards preserving them. I don't know that seems pretty messed up. I guess we should respect their wishes to be left alone, but damn.
- Most would immediately get ill and die due to lack of exposure to diseases that the remainder of humans have developed immunity to. They also respond aggressively to any contact. Seems reasonable to respect their autonomy.
  
  Yeah i forget about the immunity issue too. What a pickle
- You're conflicted how exactly?
  
  I appreciate the idea of conservation and respecting their desire to be left alone. But what about individuals? Perhaps some dream of going out into the world but societal pressure holds them back? What about some dying of illness that we find trivial to cure? I love TNG but is the prime directive really the best way to approach things? I really have no idea.

23 comments