Tokyo governor Shintaro Isihara makes ignorant comment about reasons for quake

[pulledpork]

"The outspoken governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, told reporters Monday that the disaster was "punishment from heaven" because Japanese have become greedy."

Just in case you thought that only Americans could be douchebags about the suffering of so many people. Looks like the people of Japan have some of their own ignorant moralizers regarding natural disasters being instruments of divine will, and they put them in office just like we do. :puke:

The source for the quote:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110314/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_earthquake

[cowcommander]

1. That guy's an asshat, he even tried to ban anime

[JuniperLea]

2. Stupidity knows no race, creed, or color!

Stupidity is equal opportunity.

[snagglepuss]

3. Attempt to deflect blame from the corporate whores and the govt lapdogs

who place profit over safety. :puke:

[slackmaster]

4. Maybe Bill O'Reilly can explain it to him

:spray:

[somone]

5. Japan has a huge politician turnover rate

They've gone through 14 prime ministers in the last 20 years.

This governor will be history.

[godai]

7. He's not running for re-election. n/t

[DCKit]

6. Resignation in 5...4...3...2...1

He is so screwn.

[godai]

8. I'm surprised he didn't blame the gaijin (foreigners).

He's famous for blaming a lot of Japan'd ills on gaijin. He's a right wing jerk.

If he finds out about the American working at Fukushima, I'm sure he'll try to blame him. This guy's wife has been on CNN etc. I'm surprised that Japan would allow foreigners to work in a nuclear plant.

[Turbineguy]

9. Teabaggers rejoice

you have a friend.

[gratuitous]

10. Definitely mixed feelings on reading this

One part disgust at standard-issue nitwittery; one part relief that the United States does not have a corner on this market; one part throwing up in my mouth a little that these nitwits get into positions of power wherever they're located.

[1monster]

11. the disaster was punishment for living on a fault line ridden island that

is vulnerable earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanos.

Should I lose everything or be killed by a hurricane or monsterous storm surge, it will be my punishment for living (as the crow flies or the water flows)in an area prone to hurricanes within two and a half miles of the ocean and within two blocks of a river that lies between the ocean and my home.

Should the Mississippi River flood as is did in 1993, then the victims of that will have been punished for living that close to the Mississippi River.

Should the New Madrid fault lines decide to shift, then...

Those living in the tornado alley areas in the country be victimized by a tornado then they are being punished because they live where they live.

And so on and so on and on and on.

Is there any truly safe place to live on this Earth? I think not. Earth is not a steady sturdy planet; it is a planet in constant evolution that is not always pleasant for its inhabitants. The natural disasters that occur are simply the hazards of being alive. Just breathing is a gamble because there is always the chance that, just around the corner, something will happen to stop that breathing -- permanently.

[TheCrow58]

12. Why not divine will?

Since Pulledpork is so confident that a natural disaster could not be the result of divine will, I'd like to hear his reasoning why, since:

1. If there is a God,then he would be the Creator of the universe.
2. Being the Creator of the universe, this God would be able to control the universe.
3. It is also reasonable to believe that this God would want people to obey him.
4. Therefore, it seems possible for this God to use whatever means necessary (including floods and earthquakes) to persuade people to exercise their free will to think about and obey him.


A request.
Please do not attack me with fallacious ad hominems by calling me names, such as a right winged douchebag, and ignorant moralizer. These attacks do not address the argument, but are only desperate attempts to avoid sincere reasoning.

-Crow

[pulledpork]

20. There isn't a god or gods

If there was, it would be a nasty piece of work to punish people with a severe disaster in order to feed its narcissism, its need for blind obedience. I want no part of worshiping a vicious, petty, evil deity. Normally, I would be thankful I do not live in the Bronze Age, where deities like that, such as Jehovah (among countless others) were the norm.

But for some, it is still the Bronze Age, and people still believe in such invisible friends, especially ones that would use the planet's natural features as a means of meting out punishment and obedience.

It's a primitive, and rather frightening mindset. If you hold such a view, or believe in such a deity, I almost pity you. I will refrain, because it is your choice and your right. However, I learned long ago, when it comes to belief in invisible friends, reason is wasted on those who claim beliefs in such.

All I can say otherwise, is that you do assert that this earthquake was an act of divine punishment upon the people of Japan, the burden of proof falls upon you. But since such assertions are matters of "faith", you have a ready-made cop-out excuse to actually validate such an absurd and inhumane proposition.

Welcome to DU.

[starroute]

13. Japan owes its incredible fertility to being on that fault line

There was an article the other day saying that our ancestors going back to the Australopithecines have tended to live in seismically active areas. Much of early human evolution took place along the Rift Valley, where Africa is splitting apart.

Seismic faulting results in more varied terrains with a greater variety of food sources. Volcanic ash fertilizes the soil. Japan has all of that and also has the bounty of the ocean, because it is an island arc created where the ocean subducts under the continent.

Even leaving the religious stupidity out of it, there is no "punishment" for living in these places. People make a calculated bet that the value of living where the soil and the sea are most abundant is worth the occasional catastrophe. And in the long run, it pays off.

[Hugabear]

14. Has Pat Robertson blamed Buddhism for the quake yet?

If not, I'm sure it's only a matter of time

[spanone]

15. they got their fundies too

[starroute]

16. There's a Destroy Shintaro Ishihara page at Facebook

Populated by angry anime fans, it seems -- but now they have something new to be angry about.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=25068874220&v=wall

[thereismore]

17. They have them in Japan too? nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. He is a member of a RW party

you could say the RW has a similar way of thinking around the world

[magdalena]

19. Good to know we don't have the monopoly on dumbshits. n/t