What is the fate of 'uncontacted' tribal people discovered in Brazilian rainforest?
Anthropologists have differed over whether to let primitive tribes live in peace, untouched by modern technological advancements, including those in the medical field, or to amalgamate them into modern life gradually.
While some argued that tribal people should be initiated to formal education, science and technology, and should be tutored on the benefits of modern medical practices, the other camp has demanded that the tribals and indigenous populations should be allowed to maintain their own systems of life.
This anthropological dichotomy will perhaps never be resolved. An enormous number of readers posted comments on the IB Times story on the uncontacted tribal people deep inside the Brazilian rainforest.
A look at specimen comments brings out the duelling perceptions on what is best for the primitive communities like the one discovered in the Amazon rainforest. These people have a great life. Nobody but themselves to worry about. They're not lost - we're lost, says one reader.
Sharing the same line, but with a tinge of humor, another reader adds: Quick, get credit cards, McDonalds and a Walmart in there. Misery must be shared equally.
Many used the primitive people's lives as a benchmarks against the complexities of modern living in America and the extend to which people have become cogs in a machine, enslaved by superhuman systems of government, financial and political establishments, and the like.
See a comment Quick ! Show these homes to Summers, Greenspan , Geithner , Rubin , and Bernanke. They can securitize the mortgages, buy credit default swaps on them then foreclose with fraudulent robo signers and this would make each and every human being on the planet a slave to Banksters and homeless.
And someone rubs in some bit of dark comedy: We need to send them aid in the form of food stamps and welfare.
But others are genuinely concerned and believe that some help from modern world will be good for the Amazon tribals. Shouldn't an expedition go in there to improve their lives by bringing them some tooth brushes,...along with mumps, measles and chicken pox, writes a reader.
Some have taken this chance to ponder over the philosophical issues of life's worth: So, because they were born into it they should stay there? What kind of ignorant talk is that? You might as well say, you were born into poverty so it's not that bad for you, fumes a reader.
The argument is that it's illogical to leave these people to their fate just for the sake of not disturbing their primeval life style. Quite a lot of people agree to that.
... Life has inherent value. Whether you are old, or your home has been repossessed, you life has value. These indigenous people must be enjoying the pristine beauty of Nature, but they could still be losing out on a whole lot of benefits that modern advancements give, some point out. Between primitive comfort and modern complexities, it's certainly a hard bargain.
What's their average lifespan? 23 years? I wonder what the infant mortality rate is? Oh man, what a great way to live.
Some readers argued that it's hypocritical to say the primitive tribals should remain what they are while the rest of us enjoy the fruits of modern science. But, hey, But, the elite progressives liberal know what is good for the entire world. so shut up, sit down and go back to your grass huts, the elite will decide when you deserve the benefits of modern technology.
This commentator argues that the biggest threat to these people are not those stemming from interactions with the modern world, but death as a result of childbirth, diseases and condition that could be easily cured by today's drugs and technology...
But some others try to prove that the happiness quotient will be far higher in their lives than ours. I bet you these people are 100X happier (generally speaking) than 99.9% of the western world. While many of you are worried about your job, finances, the countries debt, your own debt, crime, societal pressures, laws telling you to do this and not to do this, wondering what to watch on TV tonight, if your team will win, if he or she will go out with you - these people are nothing like you - these people are REALLY FREE.
Taking about law, are these uncotacted tribal people evading taxes, some ask, in an apparent dig at modern systems of governance. These people have been depriving the Brazilian government of tax revenues for centuries!!!
And it's interesting to see how people muse over the (bad) influence of governments, banks and science on these people. Now it's time for the banksters to move in and offer them loans to pay for the GMO seeds, bovine growth hormone, and agent orange that Monsanto is blessing the rest of the world's environment with.
Missionaries too have ended up as objects of taunts and jibes. Uneducated yes, but stupid they are not. I bet they know more about survival in their environment than the guys flying that plane making first contact. For Heaven's sake, keep those missionaries away from them. Polluting their minds with religion and putting clothes on them is the last thing they need.
But there is also the opposite argument: The first astronaut from this tribe will thank the missionaries that brought his ancestors out of that jungle.
Most people marvel at the resilience of the tribe over the centuries and aver that the modern civilization will compare poorly against them when it comes to survival. ... But who here, would know how to fend for themselves off the grid? We are just one big solar flare away from that possibility. Society would break down very quickly. Instead of feeling sorry for those people and thinking that they are so backward, I have to respect their resilience.
Post Script: This tribe is very remote. According to USA Today, less than half of them have heard of Anthony Weiner.
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