The Train Wreck of Pilkings and Jane

     Oh, what to say about Pilkings and Jane.  Well, there isn't much redeeming about them.  They are careless, insensitive, racist and are generally bumbling idiots.  Pilkings is often rude to his wife and she is either submissive or she fires right back at him with more rudeness.  They certainly don't understand African culture and they don't seem to respect it either.  They look down upon Amusa, Joesph and Olunde and Pilkings is attempting to disrupt an important cultural event just because he thinks finds issue with it and because it is illegal in the government that his people have imposed in a country that isn't really theirs.  Pilkings describes the tradition as barbaric and unsettling, which is a fair assessment of the tradition.  Killing oneself is certainly an unsettling thing and Pilkings is certainly allowed and is probably expected to have this view of the ritual.  However, that certainly doesn't give him the authority to intervene.  He can have whatever opinion he wants about the tradition, but he should absolutely leave it be.  He is being insensitive to the culture of the people who he is trying to oppress and he isn't seeing the ritual from their angle.  To the Yoruba people, this event holds incredible significance. To them, this event determines the future success of the tribe and they are well within their right to be unhappy with Pilkings attempts to intervene.  It is equivalent to people from another country and religion going to Pilkings town to mess with Christmas or Easter or some other day that holds incredible significance to Pilkings and his people.  Pilkings wouldn't be okay with that and the people attempting to harass during Christmas or Easter would be out of line. Unfortunetly, Pilkings doesn't realize this and believes that he is doing something that is morally right and that he is just doing his job for Her Majesty's Government.