Navajo objection to flying human ashes to the Moon won't delay launch | Hacker News Reader

Navajo objection to flying human ashes to the Moon won't delay launch

arstechnica.com

13 pointsTomte11 comments

I think this request is nonsensical. Assuming the US stops sending remains to the moon, no other nation on earth owes the Navajo anything.

Every nation on earth owes the Navajo everything especially 'dignity', and, perhaps, the right to choose.

Did you copy paste this from an argument about abortion? There is a big difference between dictating what can be done to your body and dictating what can be done to the moon.

Why? It's not very clear to me why nations that had nothing to do with them should own anything to the Navajo specifically.

I think it's just as nonsensical that American policy is so deeply influenced by conservative Christian beliefs, yet whenever the Pope makes a call, the White House picks up the phone.

I also think it's nonsensical that whenever this story pops up on HN[0], the bulk of effort goes into ridiculing the Navajo for having the gall to expect anyone to respect their religion, rather than discussing whether or not making a business of dumping corpses (or anything) on the moon is a good idea. Because, you know, maybe the Navajo have a point.

Even if one doesn't believe using the moon as a landfill will have any long-term effects worth considering (and that's certainly debatable), the utility of the time, money, effort and pollution towards what seems like vanity should be open to criticism.

I'm reminded of a (relatively) recent story[0] posted about the politics of the original moon landings, and how many people in the black community considered it little more than a lark for white people and a waste of money that could better be spent tackling the necessary issues of poverty and systemic racism, and also of the story currently running about[0] how many Americans are currently living in their cars and I can't help but wonder whether this is a good use of resources at all, or just another chance for the rich to flex on the poors.

I think it's at least worth considering, even if the issue is only being brought up by those silly people with the feathers in their hair.

[0]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38827569

[1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36804394

[3]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38900036

Maybe you misunderstood me. So let's clarify: tell the Navajo to demand that Russia not dump bodies on the moon.

They might, if Russia were dumping bodies on the moon, and if the Russian government had set as policy their intent to take the religious practices of native Americans into consideration when forming policy. But given that neither is true regarding Russia, while both are true regarding the US, your clarification makes little sense.

Obviously no one is going to listen to the Navajo. But to consider it nonsensical that the Navajo would even expect their religion to be taken seriously seems a bit infantilizing. It's no more or less ridiculous than opposing stem-cell research or abortion out of Christian beliefs in the human soul.

Would the Navajo respect a religion what considers the moon the sacred resting place for the departed?

I bet Bezos and others have already paid up to ensure their ashes are flown to the moon when the time comes.

I don’t really understand the appeal of this. Is it just to flash your cash by telling people you’ve paid for it while you’re still alive?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com