PCG on the Hunter Gatherers of North Sentinel Island

Following the murder of John Allen Chau on North Sentinel Island there has been much discussion about this tragic affair. PCG has released an article discussing this topic (Callum Wood, Be Thankful You're Not Sentinelese, November 23, 2018).

First of all the title is very problematic. It sounds so horrible if you replace the word Sentinelese with any other ethnicity or social group. What if the title was "Be thankful you're not Jewish"? Or "Be thankful you're not African-American"? We need to be respectful of peoples' identities. Clearly Wood and whoever proofreads him have failed to note the unfortunate implication of the article's title.

Let's see what else Wood has to say.

The Indian government restricts tourist access to the region. And for good reason. North Sentinel is home to the Sentinelese--one the of the most dangerous tribes on Earth.

Considering that the Sentinelese have no access to modern weaponry it seems odd to refer to them that way.

The Indian government does not restrict only tourist access to North Sentinel Island. It banned anyone from going to the island to avoid problems, just like the tragic death of John Allen Chau. No one is allowed to go to the island. And it is not just because this isolationist hunter-gatherer society happens to choose to maintain their isolation.

[The Sentinelese] have their own way of life, and they defend it violently. This didn't stop Chau, who was determined to make contact with the tribe.

While preventing violence by the Sentinelese is a major reason for the Indian government to ban people from going to North Sentinel Island there is another reason stopping contact with them.

Due to its statehood, no charges can be laid against the islanders. The tragic event has led to some people calling on the protection of the Sentinelese "culture." Chau's efforts were a "misplaced adventure" that should never have happened. 

Survival International, an advocacy group for remote communities, urged people not to intervene. They warned that if the Sentinelese weren't left alone, "the entire tribe could be wiped out..." 

Yet the islanders are managing to do so by themselves: A recent Indian census estimates the population has plunged from 117 a century ago to 39 today.

Amazingly Wood never explains to his readers the main problem problem about making contact with the Sentinelese people. The Sentinelese people have weakened immune systems. This is a common problem when interacting with such isolated communities. Many diseases that we are able to endure and survive would simply kill them. Any attempt to arrest any Sentinelese for Chau's murder could very well start a disease epidemic which would decimate the community. This fact is never explained in the article.

Incidentally that is a major reason why the United States now exist. The various Native American communities had already been ravaged by diseases introduced by Europeans and this made it impossible for these communities to protect their sovereignty from colonial advances. HWA and imitators have insisted for decades that the great power possessed by the United States was a miraculous wonder from the Armstrongite version of the Christian God. It is rarely acknowledged that this power was partly made possible because so many Native Americans were killed off by diseases introduced from the European settlers.

It is incredible to think that such a backward lifestyle still exists in tandem with a world of astounding achievement.

It is not incredible. It has always been this way. But since there are not that many such hunter gatherer societies still existent the topic of interacting with hunter gatherers is rarely needed for most people. 

Wood then goes into this absurd discussion of how different our lives are compared to those of the Sentinelese people. Reading this one cannot help but wonder if the author is complaining of the difficulty of imagining a drastically different perspective?

Take Thanksgiving, for instance. A single family meal on this annual holiday likely contains more variety than someone on North Sentinel Island has tasted in a lifetime! 

As we hunt for the right-size turkey or that pumpkin pie recipe, a Sentinelese forager literally hunts for food. He has never been to, let alone even imagined, a supermarket. 

We dine in comfort with family and friends, the temperature regulated by air conditioning. The Sentinelese, meanwhile, live in thatched huts. 

At the end of the day, our guests drive home in their cars—reaching speeds never thought possible by those living remotely in the Bay of Bengal. As we drive, we listen to music or perhaps tune in to the latest Trumpet Daily Radio Show. What a different life we lead! 

Imagine taking a Sentinelese islander and putting him in downtown Manhattan, which is roughly the same size as North Sentinel Island. Imagine the reaction. What would he think of the skyscrapers? The cars and trains? The planes overhead? The day-to-day things we take for granted would be almost beyond belief for him!

Even if a Sentinelese person wanted to move to the outside world he or she would probably get really sick and quite possibly die from various common diseases. That issue is never explicitly mentioned in this article.

Actually they know what a boat or a helicopter is since some of them have seen such things in previous encounters with outsiders. Also in 1981 a freighter ship ran around off the island and the wreck remains there to this day.

He then complains that we are not thankful enough what modern civilization offers to us.

But as it stands, the Sentinelese know no differently. They certainly seem content in their lifestyle. But how thankful are we as recipients of the incredible blessings of modern civilization? Whether we’re American or not, this time of year is as good as any for considering our blessings. Put yourself in the shoes—or lack thereof—of the Sentinelese. Consider the incredible world we live in. Could we, perhaps, be more thankful for the comforts we enjoy?

Among other things PCG's 1% insists that PCG members are the only "true Christians" on the face of the Earth. This denunciation of all churches not belonging to PCG as false churches is alluded to in Wood's article.

Think of your Bible—the foundation of all knowledge and understanding. The very mind of God in print. How often do we thank God for that? John Chau carried a Bible with him on that tragic day on the beach. He wanted to take it to the isolated people on North Sentinel Island. The sad irony is that most of the people where he came from do not understand this book either.

Based on what he wrote in this article Wood seems so abrasive. There is little attempt to try and comprehend a differing perspective and little sympathy given to anyone. If Wood simply kept writing articles demonizing Iran at least it would not seem too strange since, alas, the COGs are so used to demonizing Muslims it seems normal for them.