If you have some time, I'd love to hear what you guys think about this documentary. It's about an hour and a half. I'll summarise if you don't have time, but I recommend watching it just for the interviews and apologies.



It's about a man named Joshua Blahyi, a born-again Christian minister in Africa responsible for the death, maiming or rape of over 20,000 people during the Liberian civil war. During this time, he was known as "General Butt Naked", a notoriously vicious man known for running into battle completely naked with only a cutlass and a rifle to cover himself. He would run into villages, rape the women, bang babies heads against rocks, and maim the grown men by cutting both their hands off. Near the end of the war, he went into exile, coming out 10 years later as a reformed, born-again Christian preacher. The documentary follows him from village to village speaking with some of his victims from the war, and asking them for forgiveness. Some of the stories are harrowing.

About halfway through the documentary, he voluntarily puts himself at the mercy of the TRC, a commity designed to try war criminals from the Liberian Civil war, with Blahyi being close to the top of the list. He admits to everything and claims that he came forth of his own volition to demonstrate his guilty mind and desire for forgiveness. He also talks about his peaceful crusade to apologise to all his victims. As a result, the TRC recommends amnesty for him, a pill many of his victims find hard to swallow. He starts to receive death threats in the mail, and fearing for his own life, stays at a refugee camp outside of Ghana for his safety, leaving his family and disillusioned followers behind to a life of poverty, drug abuse and sickness.

But the kicker here is the way he speaks to people. Maybe it's a cultural thing, I don't know, but I get the feeling that these people are just incapable of emotional honesty in their tone and body language. Blahyi only expresses remorse or empathy for his victims in his words; he imposes his apology on people, blocking their path if they try to walk away from him. At one point, he confronts a kid who saw his whole family killed at the hands of Blahyi's men, who begins to ball his eyes out at the sight of Joshua. After hearing his apology, the kid grants Blahyi forgiveness. Butt Naked in response, offers him an emotionless, one-handed hug so he doesn't have to drop his hat on the floor.

What do you guys think.

Blocked in Freedonia.

How's that?

From your last paragraph, he doesn't sound very sincere, and seeking out all of his victims to ask for their forgiveness seems pretty fucking selfish; yeah, he should be repentant, but a "crusade to apologize to all his victims" just seems masturbatory.

I would argue from his whole demeanor that he is a textbook narcissist. It's hard to explain but hopefully that link works for you and we can talk in more detail.

Quote from: audrey on April 24, 2017, 08:14:35 PM

Quote from: Töqi on April 24, 2017, 08:11:10 PM

Blocked in Freedonia.

YouTube

How's that?

Spam. It's just a Netflix loading screen the entire time.

Quote from: audrey on April 24, 2017, 08:14:35 PM

I would argue from his whole demeanor that he is a textbook narcissist. It's hard to explain but hopefully that link works for you and we can talk in more detail.

Granted, being a follower of Jesus and an actual narcissist aren't mutually exclusive, and he may think it's an appropriate means of espousing his faith, but like I said above, it sounds like it's doing more harm than good and he doesn't seem to understand that Christianity isn't about literally being forgiven by everyone you harm.

Ah, shit. Anyways, apparently it's on Netflix if you have that.

Well, to me, he genuinely believes in what he's doing and in his faith. I don't doubt he believes the things he does, as his whole philosophy in battle, with being naked and wielding a cutlass, was based on the idea that his nakedness allowed him to draw out his hidden spiritual powers faster, and if he had the opportunity to use his cutlass, the blood that was shed from it was offered directly to the diety. "If I had the opportunity to shoot a man, but could cut him, I would, because the blood from the blade would be directly offered to the diety."

For him to go from that to what he is now, he must be hearing something in his head. It's just that he exchanged his old, war-loving, evil god for one of forgiveness. He doesn't feel sorry for the things he's done for their own sake, he only feels bad insofar that his faith demands it.

He's a piece of shit and I hope somebody kills him. "Hey I know I brutally killed your whole family and everything but I'm Christian now and I need your forgiveness"

That's not how it works dude.

Did you watch the doc?

Quote from: audrey on April 25, 2017, 08:37:37 AM

Quote from: challengerX on April 25, 2017, 05:53:29 AM

He's a piece of shit and I hope somebody kills him. "Hey I know I brutally killed your whole family and everything but I'm Christian now and I need your forgiveness"

That's not how it works dude.

Did you watch the doc?

Not completely no

Did you see his conversations with Lovetta and the kid whose family was killed?