FBI seizes trove of cultural artifacts at 91-year-old Indiana man's home

[Manatee]

On the other hand, PERHAPS he's an old guy and doesn't want to see his collection mistreated by those with only a commercial interest, so he calls the FBI to come take control of it and get it in the hands of those who would conserve it.

Not everything the government does is evil.

I'll await more facts before I judge the motivations here.

 

[Trooper]

On the other hand, PERHAPS he's an old guy and doesn't want to see his collection mistreated by those with only a commercial interest, so he calls the FBI to come take control of it and get it in the hands of those who would conserve it.

Not everything the government does is evil.

I'll await more facts before I judge the motivations here.

That is the impression I am getting.

 

[rex soldier]

No, thats to easy. There has to be more conspiracy.

 

[xcalibur]

On the other hand, PERHAPS he's an old guy and doesn't want to see his collection mistreated by those with only a commercial interest, so he calls the FBI to come take control of it and get it in the hands of those who would conserve it.

Not everything the government does is evil.

I'll await more facts before I judge the motivations here.

If conservation is his goal, hopefully the FBI are just over seeing the project and don't have a hands on approach. Directly donating to a museum would have been a wiser choice I would think.

 

[Trooper]

If conservation is his goal, hopefully the FBI are just over seeing the project and don't have a hands on approach. Directly donating to a museum would have been a wiser choice I would think.

He has been in contact with the FBI for several months.

Just wish that the FBI and he would hold a press conference.

 

[BogWalker]

If they're foreign objects they will be given to the current government of the piece of land they came from. As in, back to places like the Iraqi and Egyptian museums where they will be looted or destroyed in the next regime change. Yep, let's preserve culture by sending irreplaceable cultural objects to countries that can't keep the same regime for more than a decade.

If they're going to take it, I would prefer it to go somewhere actually safe.

 

[Manatee]

So Bog, at Christmas time, you only give toys to kids who won't break them?

 

[BogWalker]

So Bog, at Christmas time, you only give toys to kids who won't break them?

A better question would be if I knew a child had a habit of breaking toys would I let him play with Great-Grandmother's fine China?

 

[jbombelli]

If they're foreign objects they will be given to the current government of the piece of land they came from. As in, back to places like the Iraqi and Egyptian museums where they will be looted or destroyed in the next regime change. Yep, let's preserve culture by sending irreplaceable cultural objects to countries that can't keep the same regime for more than a decade.

If they're going to take it, I would prefer it to go somewhere actually safe.

If they rightfully belong to them then they can do whatever the hell they want with them. Including break them.

 

[Manatee]

If it belongs to him, you have no right to tell him what he can do with it. My dad took a silver dollar away from me within minutes of my grandpa giving it to me, with the excuse that "he'd hold it for me". 55 years later, my mom gave it to me when my father died.

Now, you might think that was the right thing to do. In my view, I don't have much in terms of memory of my grandfather's generosity so much as my dad's need to control every friggin aspect of my life. Plus, it prevented me from giving that dollar to my son when it might have meant something to him as a young lad.

 

[Destro]

If it belongs to him, you have no right to tell him what he can do with it. My dad took a silver dollar away from me within minutes of my grandpa giving it to me, with the excuse that "he'd hold it for me". 55 years later, my mom gave it to me when my father died.

Now, you might think that was the right thing to do. In my view, I don't have much in terms of memory of my grandfather's generosity so much as my dad's need to control every friggin aspect of my life. Plus, it prevented me from giving that dollar to my son when it might have meant something to him as a young lad.

was the silver dollar stolen? if not it's really not applicable. It would be like me acquiring a civil war musket that was stolen and refusing to give it back to it's owner because the owner planned to sporterize and use it for hunting. As heartbreaking and sacrilege it might be, it's still not mine.

If these are indeed stolen or otherwise misallocated artifacts then they deserve to be in the hands of their rightful owners. I don't believe that, unless something heinous is discovered, prosecution of a 91 year old man over this is wise.

 

[Manatee]

You don't have any idea whether they are stolen or not. I would hazard a guess that almost everyone on this site never heard of the collection…but now everyone has an opinion and are DEMANDING that the FBI and this old man tell them what is going on because THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW!!!!

Well, bravo sierra. We don't have a right to know. You do have a right to an uninformed opinion, however. Never stopped anyone before, why now?

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I read that many of the artifacts may well have been acquired perfectly legally in years past, before regulations were put in place that had regulated their trade. But, if the man can't prove that they were acquired legally, then the artifacts will be assumed to be unlawfully owned, whether or not there is any proof of that.

I'd hate to have people going through all my stuff and having to prove that everything that I own was lawfully purchased.

 

[BogWalker]

If they rightfully belong to them then they can do whatever the hell they want with them. Including break them.

The thing is deciding who the object rightfully belongs to. There is the idea that because an object was made by somebody who inhabited the same parcel of land as you thousands of years ago that that object belongs to you, even if it was removed from that land far before you got there.

If the objects were legitimately stolen they should be returned. They were owned by the museum, and they were stolen. Same as any other stolen object. If the objects were found by a person on their private property and they decided to sell it to a tourist, I don't see any wrong doing. That was a private transaction, doesn't matter what it was. I make exception to human remains, however. Just a moral standing, no real reason other than that.

If his objects were obtained in such a way the idea of them being stolen by our government to "repatriate" to the government that currently owns the piece of dirt it once was affiliated with, under the excuse of cultural preservation, to a museum that can not preserve them, is injustice in my opinion.

I've found arrow heads in my field. Guess I better give them back to the remnants of whatever tribe once was on my land before the FBI surrounds my house. Even if they will be thrown into a shoe box in a closet somewhere once they leave my ownership.

 

[rex soldier]

You know what I bet he has the ark of the covenant stashed away somewhere.

 

[Destro]

You don't have any idea whether they are stolen or not. I would hazard a guess that almost everyone on this site never heard of the collection…but now everyone has an opinion and are DEMANDING that the FBI and this old man tell them what is going on because THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW!!!!

Well, bravo sierra. We don't have a right to know. You do have a right to an uninformed opinion, however. Never stopped anyone before, why now?

well about 3 pages ago I said exactly that. Some are demanding some kind statement by the FBI. I don't feel there is any reason for them to tell us anything. If charges are filed, we can read all about it in the affidavit. Some are making a claim that this is some type of unlawful activity by the FBI or some type of intrusion. Others are simply erring on the side of the FBI. None the less, it's just interwebs

 

[2A_Tom]

Da gubmint kin do anythin dey want, dey du be da gubmint.

 

[Trooper]

update, FBI leaves home of collector
FBI leaves Indiana home of artifact collector

 

[ghuns]

update, FBI leaves home of collector
FBI leaves Indiana home of artifact collector

Great. Now, thanks to the gubmint and the media, his security needs have gone up exponentially.

 

[Destro]

Great. Now, thanks to the gubmint and the media, his security needs have gone up exponentially.

why?