Text: Lu abandoned
The United States is in the midst of a presidential election, and it is likely that Biden and Trump will face off again. For now, both candidates face their own challenges. Trump is dealing with legal proceedings, while Biden is facing a series of domestic and foreign dilemmas triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In addition, "anti-Semitic" ideology has erupted on the campuses of several prestigious universities in the United States.
Against this background, Biden is looking for a solution to the problem. In some recent public occasions, he has had some problems changing the subject or adopting campaign tactics. For example, on at least two occasions he mentioned that his uncle was shot down in a plane during World War II and crashed in a Pacific island nation, and that his uncle's body was not found. Biden mentioned that there were cannibals in the area at the time, suggesting that his uncle may have been attacked by cannibals.
By telling this story, Biden clearly intends to add a halo to his campaign by emphasizing his identity as a descendant of World War II heroes. Biden's remarks inadvertently drew the ire of the Papua New Guinea Prime Minister, who retorted that such a claim was completely impossible. He suggested that those interested in the matter should visit Papua New Guinea in person to learn about the many remnants of World War II that still exist there, including unexploded bombs, that need to be cleaned up. The Prime Minister noted that although World War II had nothing to do with Papua New Guinea, the region was innocently drawn into the war.
The matter also attracted media attention, and further investigation revealed that the record of Biden's uncle in World War II did not mention that he could have been eaten by cannibals. The finding suggests a discrepancy between what Biden said and the historical record.
The discrepancy between the archival record and Biden's statement suggests that the story he tells is not based on historical facts, but rather his personal narrative that is meant to add some kind of aura to himself. Domestic media have verified that although there are records showing that Biden's uncle flew a fighter plane and was killed, there is no evidence that he was eaten by cannibals.
In addition, the remarks also drew resentment from the prime ministers of the Pacific island countries, who strongly opposed the remarks that could stigmatize the local peoples. The existence of cannibals has been investigated in depth by the media and scholars. Historically, this has been studied by scholars, including some anthropologists. The most famous is an American anthropologist's The Mystery of Cannibalism, published in the 1970s, which analyzes and disproves the idea of the existence of cannibals in the world.
In some parts of the Pacific island countries, it is true that some ethnic groups practice certain rituals that were considered inappropriate at the time when performing rituals. However, there is no such thing as a "cannibal". Several subsequent surveys and studies have come to the same conclusion. Rumors about cannibals, such as the existence of cannibals in the forests of South America, are often deliberately created in order to stigmatize each other as a result of historical tribal rivalries.
This practice shows that cannibalism was seen as a negative marker even in that era and environment. Biden's reference to "cannibals" in his story of his uncle in World War II was an apparent attempt to add influence to his campaign through such unsubstantiated claims that lack scientific and historical basis, but such attempts clearly failed to achieve the desired results. In light of this, perhaps Biden should apologize to those in Pacific island countries who may have been affected by such remarks.
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