You obviously haven't read any of their blog. They were prepared. They were on the road for over a year, rode the length of Africa, Europe, Iceland, with few bad incidents. The author of the article in the OP makes it sound like they quit their jobs and went alone straight into ISIS country. They were in fact with a number of other bikers. The author (presumably after actually reading their blog) retracted his statement that they were out to prove humans are kind - in fact their conclusion after a year on the road and meeting hundreds of people that humans are basically kind.

Here ya go >>>>>> here's your support.
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OT vs PARF, say the same things on either side and you will get the same response.

The only real difference is there may be less sources intentionally trying to mislead in non PARF topics.

wdfifteen, a serious question:

In your opinion, was this couple naïve?

I don't want to be combative, I want to understand.

The question stands.

They were with a group of bikers, there are established biking tours and other types of tours in Tajikistan. If they were naive, so were the dozens, if not hundreds of other people (including my brother) who take tours in places like Tajikistan.

The article in the OP makes Tajikistan sound like the wild west. It's not. The author of that article began with an agenda - to make these people look reckless and naive. The author did a good job. A lot of otherwise thoughtful people here took the bait.
If you read the real story, they weren't doing anything lots of other people don't do, so no, they weren't naive.

Forget the article, I would seriously question the sanity of any American taking a bicycle ride across Kazakhstan.

The article said they were in Tajikistan,, not Kazakhstan... is it wrong?

I typed in the wrong name. I should have just cut and pasted from the travel sites. :o

I'll edit it.

Thanks for the thoughtful, reasoned response.
When I post, I try to be succinct, and sometimes the story has a few pieces missing.
nice to have another piece.

My push back is simple: If they actually said "Evil does not exist", ..... They were naïve.

To be naive implies a lack of experience. After a year on the road, they had plenty of experience. I agree that “evil does not exist” is nonsense, but they certainly put in a lot of time and experience coming to that conclusion. If I had spen a year living on he edge with so few negative experiences I might be inclined to draw the same conclusion. They were, in the end, wrong. But they weren’t naive.

The ISIS folks don’t think they are evil. They are just following the Koran, and killing unbelievers. American unbelievers is just a bonus. I bet the local all celebrated the deed. Proclaimed themselves brave and good.

You just need to widen your perspective, as suggested in this thread. Open your mind!

wow..

i think nobody understands the couple's mistake better than the poor couple themselves..

i say RIP to them..and RIP to this topic..no?

You perhaps would be better served to get your own head on straight, prior to worrying about anyone else.

They were not random people. They were outsiders in a hostile land whose very presence was an affront to the locals. They, and apparently you, have failed to realize that, and is the essence of naive.

Fortunately you are not as vital and healthy as they were, hence less able to act out foolish ideas.

Are you familiar with the parable of the scorpion and the frog?

I did not think so.

I have heard my very left sister in law make a comment along the lines of "we just need to be nice and show them kindness"

she has a great heart but I hope she never goes for a long bike ride

I hate when an opinion piece is presented as news, it takes so long to unravel the facts from the false narrative, and by then the rest of the world has moved on to the next tantalizing Fake News story.

When I did a simple Google image search using that country's name I could tell right away it was in several western travel blogs and a few travel articles. The pictures of mountains with ice blue looking water and decorative flat bread made it look like a place one would like to see before it gets ruined and overrun with tourists.

The one video I watched of a truck blocking a mountain road illustrated the ineptness of such a back water country, the type of things you can expect to run into.

Violence can happen anywhere, and I don't have the time to fear a country I never heard of before, and not the energy to keep my fear levels up. I just don't derive joy that way, but apparently some do.

C'mon vash...you're an astute dude...don't click on the thread if you don't like it.

SmileWavy

scorpion and the frog - had to look it up.
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A scorpion asks a frog to carry it across a river. The frog hesitates, afraid of being stung, but the scorpion argues that if it did so, they would both drown. Considering this, the frog agrees, but midway across the river the scorpion does indeed sting the frog, dooming them both.

When the frog asks the scorpion why, the scorpion replies that it was in its nature to do so. “Just my nature, frog.” The moral of the story — the frog should have been aware of the scorpion's nature, and so we should always be aware of the true nature of those who surround us.
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Edit: I used to say to an ex g/f..."I shouldn't expect you to behave in a manner that's inconsistent with your nature. A mistake I seem to frequently make."
;)