Something Weird Is Going On in Nigeria

Yes, we know all that, ( ) and it's why I qualified what I said with the words 'for the most part'??

 

True, although the "average" shifts quite wildly in places where there is a substantial and powerful corrupt governing class. It is a human habit to imitate one's social superiors, and it can take a very strong character and sense of self to maintain what we consider to be "normal" morals in these situations.

Unfortunately, what floats to the top in a sewer is sh*t.

 

It's not a "teach and cure" issue--it's a "people need to be rescued" situation.

IMO your view would be seen as completely untenable if it was over 200 males stuck on top of Mt. Everest with a blizzard coming and no way to get down due to equipment failure. The world would organize to do something to help them.

I admit I was myself slow to react when the issue first arose, because the cultural differences between the victims of the kidnapping and the kidnappers was not immediately made clear by our media, I mistakenly thought the Boka Haram was being indulged due to some ancient African marriage process or other. That is and was not the case. The current situation is comparable to the 200 men being simply ignored and left on top of Everest to die--and some of the girls already have died in the jungle they were dragged into.

 

I post according to my practice, not yours. Who appointed you to be God?

 

The bias of omission is probably the worst of the press's many faults.

One other important difference: Those involved with things like the inquisition, etc. were not operating in accordance with the teachings of Christ Jesus, they were operating in furtherance of the Catholic church. Big difference. The politics of the Catholic church has often been diametrically opposed to the teachings of Jesus, who by his very nature was anti religious politics. Muslims? They justify their violence by pointing to the Medina portions of Mohammed's writings. That is a major difference that often goes unnoticed...

Africa is a failed and dysfunctional continent. Whether or not it continues to be remains to be seen.

 

I will admit I miss the good ole days pre-internet. I always got a big laugh from mysterious letters promising me Nigerian riches if I wired them a small sum of "good faith" money to help get their money out of the country.

 

Your analogy is inappropriate because the Everest example is equipment failure on a mountain. The Nigerian problem is entirely socially constructed, and ultimately requires a social solution.

 

Equipment is socially constructed as well.

So, if the unfortunate mountaineers were from China and used inferior Chinese equipment, you would not support assistance being sent to them?

The girls have fallen between two different social constructs--one founded on Christianity and the other on Islam. Perhaps their parents were naive to believe Western Christian culture would stand behind them in a partially Muslim country.

Perhaps this makes it easier for you to see why non-Muslims in the US would be suspicious of a massive drive to import Muslims here. We have enough experience now to see that those insisting on the importing will not stand behind us, either.

 

Well I won't be holding my breath!

 

And it's surprising how many (especially Brits) bought it!

Or seeing how much we've been infantilised, maybe not so surprising.

 

Yep. But napalming the jungle to learn social lessons in the USA is not the answer.

 

Thank you for admitting that your accusation was completely and utterly bogus!

 

Yes, how unsocialist of Britain to want to keep their money.

 

It's against Forum policy to misquote or misrepresent what other Forum posters say.

I consider this Forum to be a collective endeavor to discover the truth. I am not here for detailed argumentation.

I see gestalts, not details. I am here to express my opinions, and provide insights where I think I can. I leave the pursuit of extensive factual detail to others unless I happen upon something especially telling. Eventually someone else in here of good will supplies what I lack.

You seem excessively judgmental and "either-or" to me. Many live their lives that way. It is quick, efficient, and often misses the big picture...but such people can be helpful at getting at the real truth if they wish to do so, because they deal well with detail. It is in failing to see the forest for the trees that they tend to fall short.

 

We should send Obama to Nigeria, even he couldn't really screw it up worse...

 

I think that Nigeria is about 50% Christian.

 

It obviously makes no difference how many Christians are in a country after a certain percentage are Muslim. Their terror tactics keep everyone cowed. I think others have published statistics in here that the real problems begin at about 5%.

Well, here in Nigeria, we can see how easily the situation can degenerate. Almost 300 obviously intelligent, well educated, Christian, girls that appeared solely to take physics finals tests in their last year of high school instead were kidnapped and forced to become Muslim or sex slaves. Many have died; some have been given HIV, and several have babies by their rapists or forced "husbands".

And for three years now, little has been done, despite Nigerian officialdom several times having been made aware of exactly where they were.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chibok_schoolgirls_kidnapping

I recall the fun the BBC reporters on NPR made of Boko Haram several years ago when it first went on the march; they minimized the danger of the group until it was too late to deal effectively with it...typical progressive Marxisthink propeganda. [ I remember this every time I hear announcers on NPR belittle Trump.]

There is not total agreement regarding the percentages of adherents to the various faiths in Nigeria, but the 50% figure is in the ball park:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Nigeria

 

Yes, but there's a lot of morphing between traditional animist / withcraft cultures and Christianity. Even big, centrally controlled churches like Church of England and Catholicism have a lot of splintering and heresy issues. So they tend to be "by the book" and so resistant to modernisation, such as women priests in c of e .

 

YOU made an utterly bogus allegation about me that you could not substantiate.

I was well within my rights to challenge you on your bogus allegation about me.

That you cannot produce even a shred of evidence to support your bogus allegation reflects only on you and yes, that is entirely your problem, not mine.

 

I don't think you even remember what you're talking about. In what way did I make an "erroneous allegation" about you?

You, on the other hand, have IMO made two or three against me.

I have explained my posting preferences are different from yours, and you continue to castigate me because I refuse to meet your argumentative style, apparently, which seems based on a judgmental thought process. That is not my problem, it is yours. I am having a conversation in here, whereas you appear to desire an argument.

 

YOU posted this utterly bogus allegation about me!

What other "posts" of "another poster" have I "mixed up" with yours?

Trying to squirm out of your bogus allegation about me is your problem, not mine!

 

If you will click on the little arrows next to your post quotes you will be able to trace back the course of the interaction. It is Cerebus you initially accused of conflating tribalism and religion, not me. I simply made an intervening comment. These threads are open to everyone, you know.

Clarifying that a poster has mixed up posts is not, by the way, considered a major allegation by most of us. At least, I hope not.

 

I was responding to YOUR posts erroneously conflating tribalism and religion. Are you going to deny that you made these posts now?

That is clear evidence of YOU erroneously conflating tribalism and terrorism.

That you deny the content of your own posts says volumes!

 

That was combination, not conflation.