# Idiot missionary gets killed
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-missionary-gets-killed/824892
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [November 21, 2018, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-missionary-gets-killed/824892 "2018-11-21T14:07:52Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 16
### Author:  [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-missionary-gets-killed/824892/301 "2019-08-03T16:40:33Z")
There’s a fantasy which I enjoy, concerning the awful missionary J. Grimes Everett, idolized by the town’s church ladies in _To Kill A Mockingbird_. His mission as per the book, is to the hapless Mruna tribe who dwell in some remote tropical fastness. I see this guy, when he has totally destroyed the Mrunas’ culture and, in his attempt to replace it with Christianity mingled with the ways of small-town America, left the poor wretches in a state of total confusion; in his triumphant euphoria, getting ambitious and entertaining the idea of taking a crack at the North Sentinelese.
Fantasy pictures his applying for permission for this undertaking, to – going by the period of _Mockingbird_’s action – the government of India either in the last days of the British Raj, or the first days of the independent Indian republic. One imagines his interview with a panel of governmental high-ups; “Now, Mr. Everett, I think we have this matter sorted out. If you’ll just sign this form releasing and indemnifying all administrative authorities in India, high or low, from any responsibility concerning any difficulty or misfortune which you may encounter in your endeavour – that’s excellent, thank you very much. Goodbye, and the best of luck with your project.”
After the evangelist’s departure, the panel’s chairman remarks to his fellows – “Well, gentlemen, I think we can be confident that we’ve seen the last of that irritating chap.”
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2019, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-missionary-gets-killed/824892/302 "2019-08-03T21:13:40Z")
Until WWII, it really was safer to have a baby at home than in a hospital (most of the time) and in many Third World regions, that’s still the case.
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### Author:  [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)
#### Post date: [August 4, 2019, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-missionary-gets-killed/824892/303 "2019-08-04T15:48:39Z")
Darren’s article is very illuminating. It is written by a man (Alex Perry) who at one time shared Chau’s outlook and desire to seek out the tribes of the Andaman Islands. His motivation was different, however. Instead of seeking to proselytize, he was seeking an adventure and story about the people and their lifestyle. His insights are interesting.
Ultimately Perry had an event that changed his mind. He had the opportunity to have written questions delivered and answered by a Jarawa tribesman who had spent some time in the city. The man’s answers left him with a different perspective of the tribal people, not as some lost “Stone Age warrior and rainforest romantic”, but as a modern man with the same desires and selfish needs as the rest of us.
I still don’t think much of Chau, but this article helps understand his motivations and mindset.
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### Author:  [@Rayks\_Marcial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayks_Marcial)
#### Post date: [August 5, 2019, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-missionary-gets-killed/824892/304 "2019-08-05T23:26:32Z")
I think a person who willfully does something that could likely get him killed should not be called “idiot.”
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [August 5, 2019, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-missionary-gets-killed/824892/305 "2019-08-05T23:42:40Z")
> [@Rayks\_Marcial](#):
>
> I think a person who willfully does something that could likely get him killed should not be called “idiot.”
How about “deluded jackass”?
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [August 5, 2019, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-missionary-gets-killed/824892/306 "2019-08-05T23:47:53Z")
He’s an idiot for putting his and an entire civilization’s existence in jeopardy for idiotic reasons. We’re he not dead, he should be in prison.
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [August 5, 2019, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-missionary-gets-killed/824892/307 "2019-08-05T23:54:35Z")
> [@Rayks\_Marcial](#):
>
> I think a person who willfully does something that could likely get him killed should not be called “idiot.”
It depends on context. For one thing, what was the motivation for the act? The person who runs into a blazing building to get people out safely is taking a huge risk but their personal risk is weighed against the lives of others. Even looked at dispassionately, there is a reasonable risk/reward scenario at play there.
There are also other considerations. If a person knows that something is dangerous but doesn’t realize that their chance of survival (or success in their endeavor) is practically zero, that is still an ignorant action, and it’s reasonable to question their wisdom.
If a person risks their life unnecessarily because they engage in the activity improperly equipped that can be considered foolish. That might mean a lack of literal equipment, or a lack of training or research, or going into it with a lack of caution (going too fast, going in poor lighting, going in bad weather, etc.).
There is also a foolishness when a person is unaware of the consequences of their actions. As previously mentioned, a person approaching a community that has been isolated for centuries risks introducing disease. They may destroy their culture despite believing they are improving the lives of the community.
Just knowing that what you’re doing is dangerous beforehand does not mean you aren’t an idiot. Hell, I did lots of dumb things as a kid **because** I knew it was dangerous, and if anything that made me more of an idiot.
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [August 5, 2019, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-missionary-gets-killed/824892/308 "2019-08-05T23:56:01Z")
> [@Irishman](#):
>
> Ultimately Perry had an event that changed his mind. He had the opportunity to have written questions delivered and answered by a Jarawa tribesman who had spent some time in the city. The man’s answers left him with a different perspective of the tribal people, not as some lost “Stone Age warrior and rainforest romantic”, but as a modern man with the same desires and selfish needs as the rest of us.
The fact that he ever expected anything different proves that racist, imperialist thinking is alive and well.
That said, there are many tourists who are able to go far, far off the beaten track, safely enjoy exciting adventures, and not piss anyone off in the process.
> [@](#):
>
> I still don’t think much of Chau, but this article helps understand his motivations and mindset.
Fuck his motivations, mindset, and him.
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### Author:  [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2019, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-missionary-gets-killed/824892/309 "2019-08-06T01:14:33Z")
> [@DPRK](#):
>
> . . . his motivations, mindset, and him.
His motivations were to get himself and the Sentinelese into heaven.
His mindset was delusional.
He was a child who found an adventure where he’d win even if he lost.
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### Author:  [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2019, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-missionary-gets-killed/824892/310 "2019-08-06T13:50:48Z")
> [@Atamasama](#):
>
> There is also a foolishness when a person is unaware of the consequences of their actions. As previously mentioned, a person approaching a community that has been isolated for centuries risks introducing disease. They may destroy their culture despite believing they are improving the lives of the community.
That’s just it. He didn’t care if he _did_ wipe them out with some dread disease – waiting ten days in a hotel room is a joke of a quarantine. All that matters is that they had a chance to hear about Jesus. In fact, getting the Good News and croaking shortly afterward might even have been a feature; less chance for backsliding.
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### Author:  [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-missionary-gets-killed/824892/311 "2019-08-06T15:40:02Z")
Doesn’t work if they don’t actually convert. In fact, in some Christian mindsets, it’s worse, because if they hadn’t heard they go to heaven but if they do hear and reject they go to hell.
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### Author:  [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2019, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-missionary-gets-killed/824892/312 "2019-08-06T16:12:18Z")
> [@Irishman](#):
>
> …because if they hadn’t heard they go to heaven but if they do hear and reject they go to hell.
“Then why did you tell me?”
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2019, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-missionary-gets-killed/824892/313 "2019-08-06T16:35:17Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#):
>
> His motivations were to get himself and the Sentinelese into heaven.
So, basically a conquistador ?
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2019, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-missionary-gets-killed/824892/314 "2019-08-06T16:39:41Z")
> [@CurtC](#):
>
> “Then why did you tell me?”
“Cause I’m a dick doing Christ’s work.”
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### Author:  [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2019, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idiot-missionary-gets-killed/824892/315 "2019-08-09T04:38:06Z")
> [@Irishman](#):
>
> Doesn’t work if they don’t actually convert. In fact, in some Christian mindsets, it’s worse, because if they hadn’t heard they go to heaven but if they do hear and reject they go to hell.
Reminds me of a one-panel cartoon I saw once, I think in _Playboy_. A missionary is standing before a group of local natives and saying, “Now that you have all heard the word of God, you’re no longer pagans. Now you’re heathens.”
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