Re:Aerial footage of uncontacted Amazon tribe
by Mz on Friday February 04, 2011 @06:54PM
(#2181897)
Help is exactly what I would want from advanced alien visitors. I don't want them to respect my culture just because it is mine; I want something better for myself, not cultural relativism.
I wish it were so simple. Culture is really not easy to transmit. Transmitting some small piece of it in isolation very often only causes problems without improving anything at all. It often destroys what was there without replacing it with anything viable. Look at the really high rates of diabetes and other issues in so many tribal groups around the world. Look at the general quality of life contact has brought them. I'm really not impressed with the track record so far of "helping" such peoples.
EDIT: Here is an article (called "Diseases of Affluence") which talks about the high levels of diabetes and such that I found through HN not terribly long ago. Really fascinating piece in its own right.
I wish it were so simple. Culture is really not easy to transmit. Transmitting some small piece of it in isolation very often only causes problems without improving anything at all. It often destroys what was there without replacing it with anything viable. Look at the really high rates of diabetes and other issues in so many tribal groups around the world. Look at the general quality of life contact has brought them. I'm really not impressed with the track record so far of "helping" such peoples.
EDIT: Here is an article (called "Diseases of Affluence") which talks about the high levels of diabetes and such that I found through HN not terribly long ago. Really fascinating piece in its own right.
http://maisonneuve.org/pressroom/article/2010/nov/15/the-dis...