Talk:Cargo cult

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Does Prince Philip as a god belong here?

Spiritual Science Research Foundation

Check out the website of the Spiritual Science Research Foundation for a good example of cargo cult science [1] --195.240.170.18 (talk) 23:34, 21 August 2011 (UTC)

I think this demonstrates

we're all fucking mental Scherben (talk) 15:28, 25 August 2013 (UTC)

Lots nof stuff here. ^{— Unsigned, by: Guyonthecouch / talk / contribs}

Sovereign citizens

SovCits belong in this article.

I can't think of a better example of an isolated group of people who mimic rituals expecting some reward. ^{— Unsigned, by: 2603:8000:2942:4a00:b09a:b1d2:ce8f:3d3a / talk}

Crowdfunding for Cargo?

I've always wondered why nobody has started a crowdfunding effort to send 'cargo' to the Tanna islanders. I mean, why not? These people have been performing rituals such as painting 'USA' on their chests while performing mock military marches carrying fake wooden rifles for a long time, and I think they deserve some kind of compensation for their efforts. Normally I wouldn't want to enforce beliefs like theirs but I feel like we've been letting these people down by virtually ignoring them. Last I heard, a christian guy named 'Fred' supposedly predicted a devastating storm that destroyed much of the infrastructure on the island, and half of the Tanna community has since ditched the cargo cult and joined up with the 'Prophet Fred' christian cult. It seems to me the cargo-cult is the lesser of two evils but it will disappear unless either John Frum or some cargo shows up soon.FairDinkum (talk) 08:54, 11 November 2022 (UTC)

The Jesus-pie-in-the-sky cult didn't die out when he didn't reappear. Bongolian (talk) 16:42, 11 November 2022 (UTC)

@FairDinkum It would probably be seen as disrespectful, and more than a little patronizing. As the article itself says, the "cargo cult" phenomenon was more of a rebellion against colonialism and a response to colonial trauma. Also I read somewhere that the reason people still participate in cargo cults is because it's become a part of their culture. No different than why people here celebrate Christmas and Easter despite not being Christian. Vee (talk) 19:01, 11 November 2022 (UTC)

The cynical side of me would say that rather than "crowdfunding" "cargo", they should keep up a little bit of the spirit (as it does appear to be dying out) for the style of tourist who wants to see how the "other half live", eg so-called "primitive" culture, even if many times it is half a facade. (Call this style of traveling slum tourism with a "noble savage" sheen). They'll get more dollars selling John Frum trinkets to these tourists, I bet. 72.184.99.135 (talk) 19:12, 11 November 2022 (UTC)

I appreciate the responses. The thing is they are very demoralized, they do get excited and happy when it's time to perform the rituals but they really do expect them to work and they never do. I'm sure an argument can be made that it would be disrespectful to get involved in the manner I suggested, but I think a more compelling argument can be made in favor of my idea. Maybe I'll write an essay about it. I feel like our culture is responsible for messing up theirs, and the options are to ignore it, which had been going on for over half a century, or try to do something nice for them. It's certainly not disrespectful in the way the christians who try to contact uncontacted tribes to give them footballs is. FairDinkum (talk) 09:53, 15 November 2022 (UTC)

By the way I'm not suggesting that someone should show up with cargo pretending to be John Frum, (although technically John Frum just means John from America, so anyone named John who is from America could do it without being dishonest). I think it would have to be done in a way in which respect and truth would be paramount. The cargo could consist of computers, solar panels, satellite bandwidth rental, etc. Stuff that could help them prosper with interaction with the rest of the world. They seem to want this, they absolutely love USA, it's not like it would not be appreciated. FairDinkum (talk) 10:51, 15 November 2022 (UTC)