Oddly there was no mention of naked Canadians having anything to do with the phenomenon.
Some folks on the island of Borneo in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia would take considerable umbrage with this definition. Many are claiming that a 5.6 magnitude earthquake that happened last week and killed 18 mountain climbers was caused by a couple of Saskatchewan twins – part of a larger group - who stripped down to their birthday suits for photos on Mount Kinabalu only a few days before.
The locals believe that the mountain is home to sacred spirits who were insulted by the display of nudity on such hallowed ground, so the mountain showed its displeasure by shaking the earth and raining tons of rock down on innocent folks looking to scale the summit. The Canuck twins, Lindsey and Danielle Peterson were detained in Malaysia and, as of this writing, are still in custody as the Department of Foreign Affairs works to bring them back to Canada.
So, did these Canadian travelers deserve their punishment? There are a few ways to look at it, I suppose. One could look at it from the perspective that worshipping a mountain is ridiculous and it shouldn’t matter what these folks did – naked or not. Someone baring their nude behind would be in no way responsible for a natural disaster, and the fact that these folks are being detained is simply ludicrous.
One could look at it from the angle that these people were in a foreign land where a different culture is practiced and a whole other set of societal norms are enforced. As a show of respect for the country being visited, the decent thing to do is observe their customs and requests – regardless of how unorthodox one may find them – and simply be a good guest. The inhabitants of the island of Borneo obviously take their divine beliefs regarding the mountain very seriously, and to fly in the face of it was not only an insult to the mountain, but to the people who worship it.
A third and more troublesome interpretation that has been made by many online goes something along the lines of, “If all these foreigners come to our country and refuse to integrate to our culture and respect our customs and beliefs, why should we give a damn about what they believe when we go to their homelands? A sacred mountain…who cares? Those villagers are lucky that getting naked was all those people did. Way to go!”
It’s quite the situation, and I can honestly understand the sentiment behind all three arguments. As someone with a completely secular way of thinking I don’t subscribe to the belief in or worship of any deity and can completely identify with the first outlook. Mountain spirits…come on, folks.
As someone who was raised correctly and always taught to respect anyone who hosts me in any fashion, I am also on the side of the second argument. You don’t go into someone’s home and disrespect them. Why? It’s the decent thing to do, and I always thought that manners and basic human decency were the hallmarks of us folks who hail from the Great White North. These tourists deliberately ignored the instructions of their tour guide who clearly explained the spiritual significance of the mountain to the party and warned them against even speaking ill of the spirits that dwelled within it. Not only did the group ignore the instructions, but they spit directly in the faces of their hosts by being completely self-serving and snapping their selfies au naturel on the island’s most revered locale.
Sadly, I can also understand a bit of the third viewpoint. I personally feel as though Canada’s identity has been eroding a little bit over the last several years. We have stopped promoting our own distinctive culture and traditions in an effort to not exclude or offend anyone new to our country, and a side-effect of this is that many would be hard pressed to explain what this country’s values are anymore. It’s a rough situation where we have to find a balance between being accommodating and risking completely losing all that we’ve stood for in the past.
That being said, our nation’s struggles with personality don’t give us the right to go to other countries and run roughshod. The maple leaf on a backpack used to be the sign of a respectful traveler who would be welcomed anywhere in the world. The saga of the stripping siblings from Saskatchewan isn’t doing us any favors.
Whether you’re on a mountain or a molehill, my fellow Canucks, if someone tells you you’ll anger any sort of deity by doing something stupid, how’s about just avoiding it, eh?
Keep your stick on the ice and your clothes on your back.
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