# Should Barbaric Practices Be Stopped **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 6, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837 "2010-09-06T21:24:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/1 "2010-09-06T21:24:43Z")
To give an example there are certain tribes in Papua New Guinea which still practice ritual cannibalism. Should we try to stop such practices? ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/2 "2010-09-06T21:28:47Z")
Who are we to define what is barbaric for another culture and then impose our values on them? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/3 "2010-09-06T21:45:20Z")
> [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > Who are we to define what is barbaric for another culture and then impose our values on them? So you’d say you’d do nothing if two tribesmen murder someone (unwillingly) and than proceed to eat them? ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/4 "2010-09-06T21:45:34Z")
Good question. But the answer is: it depends. Also, cite for PNG tribes still practicing cannibalism? I thought that practice had been pretty much completely stopped in the 50s or 60s. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/5 "2010-09-06T21:47:47Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > Good question. But the answer is: it depends. Also, cite for PNG tribes still practicing cannibalism? I thought that practice had been pretty much completely stopped in the 50s or 60s. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibalism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibalism) > [@](#): > > In September 2006, Australian television crews from current affairs programs 60 Minutes and Today Tonight attempted to rescue a six year-old boy whom they believed would be ritually eaten by his tribe, the Korowai, from West Papua, Indonesia.[132] ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/6 "2010-09-06T22:04:58Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibalism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibalism) > > > [@](#): > > > > In September 2006, Australian television crews from current affairs programs 60 Minutes and Today Tonight attempted to rescue a six year-old boy whom they believed would be ritually eaten by his tribe, the Korowai, from West Papua, Indonesia.[132] Fair enough. Can I assume from your quote that this is the sort of situation your positing? That is, should [we attempt to] stop [imminent threats to innocent people’s lives if we personally are in a position to stop it] by [removing the victim from the danger]? Because there is a difference between that and trying to stop [whatever we think is disgusting] by [killing as many people as it takes to stop whatever it was] [all over the world]. Now, there are some good arguments to be made for the last position. But it very, very quickly becomes a question of priorities and expedience to the point that “stopping barbarism” becomes hardly more than an excuse to target the richest or most annoying (but relatively puny) offenders. ETA: WRT international issues, in my experience, goals of “stopping barbarism” are at least half the time claimed after the fact. See for instance, the US invasion in Iraq. Whether that is because the populace just won’t vote for a big war effort “just” to stop barbarism is something I’ll just through out as a suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/7 "2010-09-06T22:49:52Z")
Might want to read the original cite for that claim before being too sure about cannibalism. [http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s1743768.htm](http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s1743768.htm) Naomi Robson was one of the worst kind of tabloid journalists out there. Otara ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/8 "2010-09-06T22:57:11Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > To give an example there are certain tribes in Papua New Guinea which still practice ritual cannibalism. Should we try to stop such practices? Are you prepared for other cultures to try to stop the barbaric practice of state executions? ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/9 "2010-09-06T23:04:30Z")
Yes, always be wary of a “story” on Today Tonight or A Current Affair, two of the worst shows on Australian television. ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/10 "2010-09-06T23:07:15Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > > [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > > > Who are we to define what is barbaric for another culture and then impose our values on them? > > So you’d say you’d do nothing if two tribesmen murder someone (unwillingly) and than proceed to eat them? It would really depending on the preparation and wine pairing. If said victim were being served with tomato ketchup and Two Buck Chuck, than I might take issue with it. But if served as a bavette with marrow broth, quinoa, and fresh garden greens paired with Domaine Terlato & Chapoutier lieu dit Malakoff Shiraz… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/11 "2010-09-06T23:16:06Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Are you prepared for other cultures to try to stop the barbaric practice of state executions? Or exorcisms, the war on drugs, televangelists, “gold for souls” (look it up!) and the wide-spread preaching of apocalyptic teachings. Because, to me, those are pretty barbaric too. Just to clarify, I think moral relativism is a concept that is useful to a point, but personally, I draw the line somewhere before personal harm. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/12 "2010-09-07T00:39:54Z")
I was under the impression that most forms of ritual cannibalism takes place after said person is dead. In that case, there are far more barbaric practices that I’d like to see stopped. Stoning women, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/13 "2010-09-07T00:51:58Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > To give an example there are certain tribes in Papua New Guinea which still practice ritual cannibalism. Should we try to stop such practices? Uh… cite? Which tribes? I want names. Also, some types of ritual cannibalism, such as the funeral cannibalism of the Fore tribe, don’t involve killing someone, they involve eating someone already dead. Which, to my mind, is different than killing someone for dinner. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/14 "2010-09-07T01:00:01Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > Should Barbaric Practices Be Stopped Yes. However: - We, or anyone else with such a goal also needs to try to do so in a way that does less damage than the allegedly barbaric practice in question. No destroying the village in order to save it. - We need to not be surprised and offended when other people try to stop or ameliorate our own barbarism. - And most importantly, no such thing is going to happen since America is on the whole not even remotely well meaning. America is a nation built on greed and hatred, a nation which holds compassion and scruples in contempt. At most, we’ll launch assaults out of greed using supposed barbarism as an excuse; and even if the “barbarism” in question actually exists we aren’t likely to even try to do anything but make matters worse. Iraq being an example of that kind of behavior. In other words, barbarians like us aren’t a group you can rely on to stop barbarism. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/15 "2010-09-07T01:02:27Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > > [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > > > Should Barbaric Practices Be Stopped > > Yes. However: > > - We, or anyone else with such a goal also needs to try to do so in a way that does less damage than the allegedly barbaric practice in question. No destroying the village in order to save it. Of course. > [@](#): > > - We need to not be surprised and offended when other people try to stop or ameliorate our own barbarism. Makes sense. > [@](#): > > - And most importantly, no such thing is going to happen since America is on the whole not even remotely well meaning. America is a nation built on greed and hatred, a nation which holds compassion and scruples in contempt. At most, we’ll launch assaults out of greed using supposed barbarism as an excuse; and even if the “barbarism” in question actually exists we aren’t likely to even try to do anything but make matters worse. Iraq being an example of that kind of behavior. In other words, barbarians like us aren’t a group you can rely on to stop barbarism. God…do you have to fill all your posts are filled with vitrolic anti-American/religious rants that Stalin would be proud of? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/16 "2010-09-07T02:40:47Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > > [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > > > - And most importantly, no such thing is going to happen since America is on the whole not even remotely well meaning. America is a nation built on greed and hatred, a nation which holds compassion and scruples in contempt. At most, we’ll launch assaults out of greed using supposed barbarism as an excuse; and even if the “barbarism” in question actually exists we aren’t likely to even try to do anything but make matters worse. Iraq being an example of that kind of behavior. In other words, barbarians like us aren’t a group you can rely on to stop barbarism. > > God…do you have to fill all your posts are filled with vitrolic anti-American/religious rants that Stalin would be proud of? Perhaps when America stops conquering people, laying waste to nations and torturing people I’ll be less hostile to it. But the fact that America’s behavior is so ruthless and destructive has a direct impact on any fantasies about it rushing in to save the day. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/17 "2010-09-07T04:33:15Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > > [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > > > To give an example there are certain tribes in Papua New Guinea which still practice ritual cannibalism. Should we try to stop such practices? > > Uh… cite? Which tribes? I want names. > > Also, some types of ritual cannibalism, such as the funeral cannibalism of the Fore tribe, don’t involve killing someone, they involve eating someone already dead. Which, to my mind, is different than killing someone for dinner. And IIRC, the worst situation there was the disease “kuru”, wasn’t it? Sort of a human version of “mad-cow”. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/18 "2010-09-07T04:52:11Z")
I would much prefer to spend my time stopping barbaric practices that my very own civilization is doing. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/19 "2010-09-07T05:02:29Z")
Yes. I’d start with circumcision. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837/20 "2010-09-07T06:02:03Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > > [@Telemark](#): > > > > Are you prepared for other cultures to try to stop the barbaric practice of state executions? > > Or exorcisms, the war on drugs, televangelists, “gold for souls” (look it up!) and the wide-spread preaching of apocalyptic teachings. Because, to me, those are pretty barbaric too. > > Just to clarify, I think moral relativism is a concept that is useful to a point, but personally, I draw the line somewhere before personal harm. Well I find the whole concept of moral relativism to smack of moral cowardice. Genocide: Wrong! Rape: Wrong! Jailing women for being raped: REALLY wrong! Female genital mutilation: Wrong! Torturing prisoners? WRONG! I don’t care HOW fucking bloody well it’s ensonced in your culture, to the extent that your culture embraces these things, it suck donkey balls. Don’t like it? TOO FUCKING BAD! You’re WRONG! (And yes I am including the US in the “torturing prisoners” during the Bush years!) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-barbaric-practices-be-stopped/552837.md?page=2)