@mariposa_767s@DuchessOfCambridge@ElizabethSchuyler do we really even know for sure that he tried to steal the poster though? All we know is what the North Korean government is telling us, there hasn't been any video released or any other proof that he actually broke the law. Sadly, now that he is gone we will never hear his side of the story. (His "confession" doesn't count for me, as I'm sure he was forced to do that). I imagine they realized he was about to die, so they sent him back to avoid it happening while he was in their custody. North Korea is scary.
@liz4382 those are good points. I have a bit of a hard time believing he was punished for doing absolutely nothing wrong, but like you said, North Korea is scary. Just saw the family is denying autopsy so we may never know what happened.
@elizabethschuyler I read that his family doesn't want to do a full autopsy, so I don't think we will learn anything else.
@duchessofcambridge I totally agree! But I also don't think they just had him doing hard labor. It wasn't too long after that he was supposedly in a coma. Something makes me feel like they experimented with drugs/substances. Remember that these are the same people who were able to kill Un's brother in an airport with a substance that could've easily killed everyone in the entire room. Yet they were successful in isolating just one person through the unique way they applied the toxin.
@linz4382I think there was a video showing him stealing the poster.
My MIL and I got into it about this story. She somehow correlated NK's stiff punishments to how we "don't even punish illegals" and I lost it. I asked her if she liked choosing any detail about her life and which state approved haircut she would like to wear? No? None of them? Well then quit comparing the two countries. She derailed the conversation to Cuba and how because of this we need to definitely close travel to Cuba. Apples and Oranges lady but nice try.
Ugh this is is the same woman who refuses any news source but Fox News and thought Paris was in the U.K., so I guess I shouldn't have expected much forethought.
@BayCamp I have relatives like that - so frustrating!
Not directly related, but in an ideal world where money wasn't an issue, I wish everyone would have to visit another country (other than Canada or Mexican resorts) at least once in their early adulthood. I really think travel is what opened my eyes to different cultures and ways of life. I admit I'm biased though - I grew up in a tiny town where living "far from your parents" was anything an hour away, and I always felt so boxed in. My town was 99% white Christian, so people could go most of their lives without interacting much with anyone from a different race, ethnicity, religion, or culture.
@RiverSong15 I agree, exposure to other countries and cultures is incredibly important. I was lucky and grew up in a melting pot area and have always had friends with different cultural backgrounds. MIL grew up in rural Georgia/Alabama and it definitely still shows. Yesterday she made a point to mention FIL's friend had a girlfriend of a different race and how "of course she didn't mind her coming to stay!" I told her I didn't know why her race had to be mentioned at all.
I just hope hope I can raise my children to be aware of the world outside their door and respectful of everyone and hopefully give them the opportunity to travel.
@BayCamp It's something I'm thinking about a lot these days, as my husband is a different race/ethnicity from me and our children will be biracial. It's sad, but DH and I have conversations about where we'd be willing/unwilling to move in the US because we want our kids to be raised in a welcoming community.
@RiverSong15 same. I'm trying really hard to give my kids a name that still has to do with my background but won't make them be targeted. We're already talking about diversity issues with daycare. We want one with kids of all backgrounds so ours is always shown that "different" is normal. It's ok that not everyone looks the same but it's not ever weird, and we're all human. It's something I definitely struggled with growing up and it made me feel embarrassed about who I was. I never want that for my kids.
@BayCamp that's so frustrating about your MIL. Mine says she is very open-minded but then she doesn't show me that when she interacts with my family. It's like she's open-minded about every type of background and religion except my family's. It's great she has you though, to challenge her way of thinking. Even if it feels like you're not getting through to her, you probably are at least a little bit.
@riversong15 I totally agree. My family is from a small, mostly white area. My dad joined the military to get out of town and be able to travel. It was a great upbringing for me because I was able to live in many different places and visit many different countries. It formed a lot of my outlook on life and different cultures. As a result, I still have trouble understanding racism. Luckily, my area is getting better. I'm not afraid to raise a biracial child here. There are still ignorant people, but it's easier to ignore them. Everyone should be able to travel and see life outside of their bubble.
My immediate family are super liberal New Yorkers, but my dad's family are Cuban and my dad is the only one out of his siblings who's not a fundamentalist Christian, Breitbart reading, Trump zealot. I had to unfriend all the aunts and uncles. They all came here as refugees from Cuba, and they don't want to allow Syrian refugees in. Just disgusting hypocrisy. My aunt also commented on my FB post that racism doesn't exist because white people voted for Obama. Cubans are weird. They hate communism so much that they are easily swayed to the right.
@bklynchica that's so rough to deal with in your own family. I feel very lucky that my family and DH's are all on the same page. I just read the German Girl which was about Jewish refugees trying to get into Cuba/America/Canada and being denied. Most of them were sent back to Europe and many died during the Holocaust. Why are we allowing history to repeat itself? Haven't we learned anything?
This president is about to kill our environment. He is such an idiot. He literally just said that the previous information about oil and natural gas being finite is fake. Dude, seriously...this guy fills me with dread
ETA that my heart breaks when I read about the Holocaust. I've studied a lot about it and it was so sad. I hope we don't go back to that. I don't think I could cope.
@BayCamp I am a conservative voter who hates trump, and I actually do like that show. It's a family show and it's funny. He does make conservative remarks sometimes, about our rights to have guns, or how he dislikes Hillary, but it rarely (or is it has I don't remember) celebrates trump. It's honestly a cute and funny show where one of the main characters makes one or two conservative remarks per episode. Certainly isn't pro trump or I wouldn't watch it. It's not my favorite show, but if it's on I'll watch it.
Re: Current Events Opinions
@elizabethschuyler I read that his family doesn't want to do a full autopsy, so I don't think we will learn anything else.
@duchessofcambridge I totally agree! But I also don't think they just had him doing hard labor. It wasn't too long after that he was supposedly in a coma. Something makes me feel like they experimented with drugs/substances. Remember that these are the same people who were able to kill Un's brother in an airport with a substance that could've easily killed everyone in the entire room. Yet they were successful in isolating just one person through the unique way they applied the toxin.
@linz4382I think there was a video showing him stealing the poster.
DS1 is 7. DD is 1. DS2 is coming in late April.
@liz4382 I just saw this: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/north-korea/otto-warmbier-s-family-objects-autopsy-former-north-korean-prisoner-n775001
Ugh this is is the same woman who refuses any news source but Fox News and thought Paris was in the U.K., so I guess I shouldn't have expected much forethought.
Not directly related, but in an ideal world where money wasn't an issue, I wish everyone would have to visit another country (other than Canada or Mexican resorts) at least once in their early adulthood. I really think travel is what opened my eyes to different cultures and ways of life. I admit I'm biased though - I grew up in a tiny town where living "far from your parents" was anything an hour away, and I always felt so boxed in. My town was 99% white Christian, so people could go most of their lives without interacting much with anyone from a different race, ethnicity, religion, or culture.
I just hope hope I can raise my children to be aware of the world outside their door and respectful of everyone and hopefully give them the opportunity to travel.
@BayCamp that's so frustrating about your MIL. Mine says she is very open-minded but then she doesn't show me that when she interacts with my family. It's like she's open-minded about every type of background and religion except my family's. It's great she has you though, to challenge her way of thinking. Even if it feels like you're not getting through to her, you probably are at least a little bit.
DS1 is 7. DD is 1. DS2 is coming in late April.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/i-dont-know-how-to-explain-to-you-that-you-should_us_59519811e4b0f078efd98440?ncid=engmodushpmg00000003
This president is about to kill our environment. He is such an idiot. He literally just said that the previous information about oil and natural gas being finite is fake. Dude, seriously...this guy fills me with dread
ETA that my heart breaks when I read about the Holocaust. I've studied a lot about it and it was so sad. I hope we don't go back to that. I don't think I could cope.
DS1 is 7. DD is 1. DS2 is coming in late April.