Outraged academics have criticized President Joe Biden for his “unacceptable” suggestion that his uncle was eaten by cannibals in Papua New Guinea after his plane was shot down during World War II.
Biden twice suggested on Wednesday that his maternal uncle, 2nd Lt. Ambrose J. Finnegan, had met a gruesome end at the hands of cannibals after his plane was shot down by the enemy over New Guinea in 1944.
But the White House and official defense records confirmed that Finnegan died when the military plane he was traveling on experienced engine failure and crashed into the Pacific Ocean, not on land.
Cannibalism has historically been reported in Papua New Guinea, the Pacific nation that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, but local academics say Biden’s categorization of the act is “very offensive.”
Michael Kabuni, professor of political science at the University of Papua New Guinea, said The Guardian Cannibalism was previously practiced by some communities in very specific contexts and that the locals “would not eat any white man who fell from the sky.”
Other analysts called Biden’s claims “baseless and ill-judged,” especially at a time when the United States has been seeking to strengthen ties with Papua New Guinea.
Outraged academics have criticized President Joe Biden (pictured right at a war memorial in Pennsylvania on Wednesday) for his “unacceptable” suggestion that his maternal uncle, 2nd Lt. Ambrose J. Finnegan (left), was eaten by cannibals in Papua New Guinea after his plane. was shot down during World War II
Local people watch the wounded Americans. and Australian soldiers placed on a row of stretchers. Papua New Guinea, December 1942
Kabuni argued that the Melanesian people, who include those in Papua New Guinea, are “very proud” and would be offended by Biden’s generalization of cannibalism.
He explained that cannibalism was not practiced for lack of food, but as a sign of respect in very specific contexts, such as eating the body of a deceased relative to prevent it from decomposing.
“But taking it out of context and implying that you [uncle] jump off the plane and somehow we think it’s a good meal is unacceptable,” he added.
Economics professor Maholopa Laveil echoed Kabuni’s analysis, saying Biden’s comment “paints Papua New Guinea in a bad light.”
“PNG has already had a lot of negative press surrounding the riots and tribal fighting and this doesn’t help, and [the claims are] baseless,” Laveil told the newspaper.
“For a US president to say that – particularly after a lot with Papua New Guinea and the work they’ve been doing in the Pacific – even spontaneously, I don’t think it should have been said at all.”
Allan Bird, governor of East Sepik province in Papua New Guinea, however, said he was not offended and instead said he found the comments “hilarious” and was “actually speechless.”
He suggested that Biden probably heard his parents claim that Finnegan was eaten by cannibals as a child and that the family legend “probably stayed with him his entire life.”
Local academics say Biden’s categorization of the act is “very offensive.” Cannibalism has historically been reported in Papua New Guinea, but analysts say it was practiced in very specific contexts and that locals “wouldn’t eat any white man who fell from the sky.” Joe Biden is pictured outside the Oval Office on Thursday.
President Joe Biden touches the name of his uncle Ambrose J. Finnegan, Jr., on a wall of a Scranton war memorial, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His uncle died in World War II.
President Joe Biden touches the name of his uncle Ambrose J. Finnegan, Jr., on a wall of a Scranton war memorial Wednesday in Scranton.
Biden first suggested his uncle may have been eaten by cannibals after paying tribute to him during a visit to the war memorial in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday.
The 81-year-old president, who was one year old when his uncle died in 1944, reached out to touch Finnegan’s name engraved on the monument.
“They shot him to death in New Guinea and they never found the body because there used to be a lot of cannibals, really, in that part of New Guinea,” Biden later told an audience of steelworkers in Pittsburgh.
Biden also repeated the story to reporters, adding that “it was shot down in an area where there were a lot of cannibals in New Guinea” and that the US government had recovered parts of the downed plane.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later confirmed that Finnegan “lost his life when the military plane he was traveling on crashed in the Pacific after taking off near New Guinea.”
The official Defense POW/MIA accounting agency said Finnegan’s plane was headed to New Guinea on a courier flight and was “forced to ditch in the ocean” off the island’s coast “for unknown reasons.”
The plane hit the water hard and three crew members did not make it out of the wreck, while one survived and was rescued by a passing barge, it said on its website.
There is no footage of Joe Biden’s uncle’s plane crashing. This photograph shows a Douglas A-20 Havoc medium bomber shot down by anti-aircraft fire during an attack on the Imperial Japanese seaplane base and port facilities at Sekar Bay on 22 July 1944 at Kokas, Dutch New Guinea, East Indies Dutch. .
Missing Aircrew Report Number 48472D LT AMBROSE J. FINNEGAN
Missing Aircrew Report Number 48472D LT AMBROSE J. FINNEGAN
Missing Aircrew Report Number 48472D LT AMBROSE J. FINNEGAN
“An aerial search conducted the following day found no trace of the missing aircraft or the missing crew members,” he said.
But despite the inaccuracy of his comment, Jean-Pierre defended Biden, saying it had been “incredibly emotional and important” for the president to be able to honor his uncle at the monument.
Biden “highlighted his uncle’s story” to show support for veterans and draw a contrast with his election rival Donald Trump, who reportedly disparaged military war dead as “losers” and “suckers” while president, the US said. Thursday.
The issue is personal for Biden, whose eldest son, Beau, was an Iraq War veteran and whose death from brain cancer the president attributes to military ‘burn pits’ used to incinerate waste.