Pygmies want UN cannibal court

[arcticpenguin]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/05/22/congo.un.pygmy.ap/index.html

Pygmies want U.N. cannibal court

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Pygmy activists from Congo are demanding that the United Nations set up a tribunal to try government and rebel fighters accused of slaughtering and eating Pygmies during fighting in the northeastern corner of the country.

Army, rebel and tribal fighters -- some believing the Pygmies are less than human or that eating their flesh would give them magic power -- have been pursuing them in forests, killing them and eating their flesh, the activists told a news conference Wednesday.

There have been reports of markets for Pygmy flesh, the representatives alleged.

This is unreal - except it isn't.

[Tony]

Addressing the forum on Tuesday, Makelo told the body to ask the Security Council, the U.N. Committee on Human Rights and other bodies to recognize cannibalism as a crime against humanity and an act of genocide.


Is anyone else concerned by the fact that the term "genocide" gets thrown around too much today? It has almost lost meaning.

[aerocontrols]

Originally posted by Tony
Is anyone else concerned by the fact that the term "genocide" gets thrown around too much today? It has almost lost meaning.

If my family were in danger of being eaten by armed thugs and the only help available wouldn't come unless I could prove genocide, then I would do my best to convince them.

Wouldn't you?

MattJ

[Tony]

Originally posted by aerocontrols


If my family were in danger of being eaten by armed thugs and the only help available wouldn't come unless I could prove genocide, then I would do my best to convince them.

Wouldn't you?


Yes, but they cant prove genocide, it hasnt happened(yet). They can charge them with attempted genocide.

[Supercharts]

Odd that PETA hasn't said anything about this. Actually no it isn't.

[aerocontrols]

Originally posted by Tony


Yes, but they cant prove genocide, it hasnt happened(yet). They can charge them with attempted genocide.

Right.

So?

[JAR]

If you want to save the Pygmies, go to this page:http://www.blackworld.com/orgs/pygmy1.htm

Jean-Pierre Hallet is a Belgian who has been helping out the pygmies for years. I read about him in the book he wrote called "Congo Kitabu."

[subgenius]

Originally posted by Tony



Is anyone else concerned by the fact that the term "genocide" gets thrown around too much today? It has almost lost meaning.
Is anyone else concerned by the fact that someone would attempt to derail a people's concern about getting eaten?

[Incitatus]

Are pygmies cute? Maybe they could sell themselves as pets to rich white liberals. Problem solved.

[arcticpenguin]

Originally posted by aerocontrols


Right.

So?
So he thinks they should wait until they're all dead before they do anything about it.

[Supercharts]

Michael Jackson has five of them.

[Whomp]

I know it's horrible, but every time I read the word "eaten" in this thread, I chuckle.

Eaten ... The concept is so far outside my rational reality, I can't seem to get my brain around it. Consequently my brain shoves it into the "ludicrous" catagory that makes me laugh.

Self defense I guess.

[c0rbin]

Tony,

One does not have to complete the act for it to be described as genocide.

Here is the definition from www.dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=genocide)

Sometimes a word is just a word with a distinct meaning and not a leftist PC plot.

:p

[aerocontrols]

Originally posted by subgenius

Is anyone else concerned by the fact that someone would attempt to derail a people's concern about getting eaten?

Obviously

[Skeptical Greg]

Originally posted by Tony


Yes, but they cant prove genocide, it hasnt happened(yet). They can charge them with attempted genocide.

Interesting...

When genocide is successfull, it may not get reported..

[Skeptical Greg]

Originally posted by Tony



Is anyone else concerned by the fact that the term "genocide" gets thrown around too much today? It has almost lost meaning.

Not here... Perhaps you could launch a crusade against it's improper use.. They might be interested over at stormfront.org.

[Fade]

Originally posted by Whomp
I know it's horrible, but every time I read the word "eaten" in this thread, I chuckle.

Eaten ... The concept is so far outside my rational reality, I can't seem to get my brain around it. Consequently my brain shoves it into the "ludicrous" catagory that makes me laugh.

Self defense I guess.

I feel the same way. This is surreal, absolutely outside my reality.

[Skeptical Greg]

Somebody slap me if this is too out of line, but it just occured to me that Tony might have a point.
Genocide is usually pursued for religious, political or ethnic reasons, but these people are being killed because they taste good...

[subgenius]

Originally posted by Diogenes
Somebody slap me if this is too out of line, but it just occured to me that Tony might have a point.
Genocide is usually pursued for religious, political or ethnic reasons, but these people are being killed because they taste good...
Slap.

[c0rbin]

What sort of wine do you recommend?

[Fade]

Genocide is usually pursued for religious, political or ethnic reasons, but these people are being killed because they taste good...

Wrong.

Main Entry: geno·cide
Pronunciation: 'je-n&-"sId
Function: noun
Date: 1944
: the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group

The description of Genocide is correct in this case assuming the motivation is to eventually eat all of them. The reason for the destruction doesn't matter.

[aerocontrols]

Originally posted by Fade
The description of Genocide is correct in this case assuming the motivation is to eventually eat all of them. The reason for the destruction doesn't matter.

Why assume that?

I eat chickens, but I'm not trying to eat all chickens. In fact, I don't want the population of chickens to fall at all, lest delicious chicken meat become rare.

Errr... scarce.

MattJ

[Skeptical Greg]

Originally posted by subgenius

Slap.

Have you ever noticed that your Avatar is sort of a perpetual ' gee, everything is just peachy ' emoticon, and it is difficult to sense sincere animosity in any of your posts?( unless it's real long, and the avatar disappears at the top..)

[JAR]

Originally posted by Diogenes
Have you ever noticed that your Avatar is sort of a perpetual ' gee, everything is just peachy ' emoticon, and it is difficult to sense sincere animosity in any of your posts?( unless it's real long, and the avatar disappears at the top..)
I love subgenius' avatar. It reminds me of this friend I knew in high school.

[JAR]

Originally posted by Tony
Yes, but they cant prove genocide, it hasnt happened(yet). They can charge them with attempted genocide.
Tony, I agree with you quite often, but in this case I think you're missing the whole point of the article. The point is, people are eating pygmies and that's just plain mean.

When you come on here saying that these people aren't committing genocide, you sound like your defending them.

[Skeptical Greg]

Originally posted by JAR

I love subgenius' avatar. It reminds me of this friend I knew in high school.

I didn't say i didn't like it.. ( not that you suggested I did..)

It makes me feel like confessing to things I haven't done... Yet...:D

[Segnosaur]

Originally posted by c0rbin
What sort of wine do you recommend?

Would fava beans go good with Pygmy?

I wonder if they taste like chicken?

[subgenius]

Originally posted by Diogenes


Have you ever noticed that your Avatar is sort of a perpetual ' gee, everything is just peachy ' emoticon, and it is difficult to sense sincere animosity in any of your posts?( unless it's real long, and the avatar disappears at the top..)

My daddy once told me "Son, the key to success in life is sincerity, and once you can fake that you got it made."

I have no animosity of any kind (although I hate hatred and am intolerant of intolerance).

"I love everybody...especially you."---Lyle Lovett

But back to the issue: I think we all agree what's happening to the pygmies is tragic and unacceptable regardless of what its called. They are begging for help. I hope they get it.

[AP's sock puppet]

Originally posted by Segnosaur

Would fava beans go good with Pygmy?

I wonder if they taste like chicken?
In cannibal circles, human flesh is referred to an "long pig". But since pygmies aren't that long, I dunno.

[Fade]

Why assume that?

Why not? What would you have them say? "Hey, we're being eaten, so like.. help us?"

They're trying to keep another culture from eating them I am pretty sure that alone justifies the use of any word they want to get it to stop.

[subgenius]

Originally posted by Fade


Why not? What would you have them say? "Hey, we're being eaten, so like.. help us?"

They're trying to keep another culture from eating them I am pretty sure that alone justifies the use of any word they want to get it to stop.
A good book on senseless, pointless, energy wasting debates in our society is "The Argument Culture" by Deborah Tannen.
To quibble about a word only serves to distract from the issue, as you point out.

[peptoabysmal]

Originally posted by Diogenes


Have you ever noticed that your Avatar is sort of a perpetual ' gee, everything is just peachy ' emoticon, and it is difficult to sense sincere animosity in any of your posts?( unless it's real long, and the avatar disappears at the top..)

LOL.

It's from one of those old ummm.. "underground comics" I think. Kind of an R. Crumb kind of thing.

Anyway here's a link for you "slackmasters":
The Church of the Subgenius (http://www.subgenius.com/)

[subgenius]

Originally posted by peptoabysmal


LOL.

It's from one of those old ummm.. "underground comics" I think. Kind of an R. Crumb kind of thing.

Anyway here's a link for you "slackmasters":
The Church of the Subgenius (http://www.subgenius.com/)
And everyone is invited to 6X-Day....the 6th anniversary of the end of the world (clothing optional).

Oooops....back to the issue, although we now all agree killing and eating humans is not good, right?

[Fade]

A good book on senseless, pointless, energy wasting debates in our society is "The Argument Culture" by Deborah Tannen.

Will pick it up.

[ArmchairPhysicist]

Is anyone else concerned by the fact that the term "genocide" gets thrown around too much today? It has almost lost meaning.

Nobody said anything about the pygmies being victims of genocide...


"In living memory, we have seen cruelty, massacres, genocide, but we have never seen human beings hunted and eaten literally as though they were game animals, as has recently happened," said Sinafasi Makelo, a representative of the Mbuti Pygmies in Congo.

Edit: Oops. Multiple occurances of the "Genocide" statements. They are, indeed, being considered for status as victims of genocide. [/edit]

In any case, only a dozen dead pygmies have been documented as being cannibalized. Less than 400 have been documented as being casualties of the war they're caught in the middle of, and total undocumented deaths are still unestimated (presumably not so high that they can estimate as "hundreds" or "thousands")

It is kind of interesting how many people jump to the little guys' defense when the word "genocide" got thrown into the fray, even though no such thing is occurring. This, i think, does support the idea that the word is losing any real meaning and has become just another buzz word like "Discrimination" or "Racist"; people abandon all reason when the word is pulled.

Any other articles offering further info on the situation?

[JAR]

Originally posted by ArmchairPhysicist
It is kind of interesting how many people jump to the little guys' defense when the word "genocide" got thrown into the fray, even though no such thing is occurring.
I didn't just jump to their defense because the word "genocide" was thrown in there. The acts of cannibalism are just one of the many wrongdoings done against pygmies by neighboring non-pymies.

[Fade]

It is kind of interesting how many people jump to the little guys' defense when the word "genocide" got thrown into the fray, even though no such thing is occurring. This, i think, does support the idea that the word is losing any real meaning and has become just another buzz word like "Discrimination" or "Racist"; people abandon all reason when the word is pulled.

TROLL.

[subgenius]

"Only" a dozen have been eaten. "Less than 400" are casualties.
These descriptors attempt to diminish the tragedy. Not only are they not likely reliable figures, but are meaningless in a vacuum.
How many pygmies are there? Maybe 5,000.
How about forgetting the pseudo "genocide" semantic hijack, and returning to the issue?
So someone used a word someone doesn't like. So what? Maybe its just the powerful pygmy lobby manipulating world opinion.
:rolleyes:

[ArmchairPhysicist]

How about forgetting the pseudo "genocide" semantic hijack, and returning to the issue?

Right. In a conflict that has claimed the lives of two million Congolese and other tribes, a dozen pygmies have been eaten. Because of the horrendous nature of cannibalism, these dozen+ deaths have lead activists to petition the UN committe on Human Rights to recognize the crime of cannibalism as a crime against humanity and an act of genocide.

That's the issue. That's the issue I'm addressing. Over two million other people have died in this conflict, but the dozen pygmies that have been cannibalized are the ones getting the focus. The pygmies weren't the only ones cannibalized, but they have the support of an activist group to bring their plight to the media.

Earlier this year, human rights activists and U.N. investigators confirmed that tribal fighters and members of one rebel group killed, cooked and ate at least a dozen Pygmies and an undetermined number of people from other tribes during fighting with rival insurgents.

Who were the other victims? Where is their activist group? Who wants to stand up for them? Yes, it's tragic that Pygmies are being killed. It's also tragic that two million other people have died in this conflict.

"Only" a dozen have been eaten. "Less than 400" are casualties.
These descriptors attempt to diminish the tragedy.

Diminish the tragedy? Calling 12 cannibalized pygmies "Genocide" when millions of other residents of the Congo and neighboring tribes have been killed in the same war diminishes the tragedy. Why aren't we hearing about them? Don't their deaths count as tragic?

How many pygmies are there? Maybe 5,000.

According to the article, closer to 600,000 in the Congo which is not the only place pygmies reside. Still a small population, but a big difference from 5000.

JAR
I didn't just jump to their defense because the word "genocide" was thrown in there. The acts of cannibalism are just one of the many wrongdoings done against pygmies by neighboring non-pymies.

And probably the least of their worries. It is a shame that they got little to no attention until recently, and that the attention had to come with cheap semantics, but at least they're starting to get the attention they do need.

http://www.progress.org/fold279.htm

[Dancing David]

The cannibalization is meant as an act of terror by the people practising it and is most likely the precursor to 'ethnic cleansing'.

Yeah about the genocide: I am sure the pygmies are picked on because they are easily identified and traditionaly they live in the forest. As for why other victims have not been brought forward as genocide, they may not belong to clearly defined groups.

Not that it matters in Rwanda 3,000,000 got killed and the world stood by.

Peace

[Genghis Pwn]

LOL at this story. Africa is so messed up.

On a darker note, many HIV-pos men think they can "cure" their illness by having sex with virgins. You can't get any more shockingly backward than that.

[arcticpenguin]

Originally posted by Dancing David

Yeah about the genocide: I am sure the pygmies are picked on because they are easily identified and traditionaly they live in the forest.
Or maybe it's because they're the perfect size to fit on the grill.

[Whomp]

^^^^^ Things you know you shouln't laugh at but do anyways ^^^^^