Limbaugh called Brazilian indigenous tribe "savages"

On the May 30 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh referred to "[o]ne of ... South America's few remaining uncontacted indigenous tribes" -- recently photographed by the Brazilian government from an airplane -- as "these savages." Recounting the story, Limbaugh said, "[T]hey've spotted an isolated tribe in Brazil. An airplane flew over this hut, this thatch roof hut or something, and these savages are body painted in red and they're trying to shoot the airplane down with bows and arrows."

According to the BBC, "The Brazilian government says it took the images to prove the tribe exists and help protect its land" from illegal logging operations.

Limbaugh further stated, "Wait a minute. Why do we have to help protect the land of this tribe? Aren't they the essence of purity, according to the environmentalist communists? ... Why do we need to protect their land? They're doing a better job of it than any of us ever could protect our land. ... I mean, I'm sure these people -- not only don't they have to get rid of their incandescent light bulbs and go to these compact fluorescents, they don't have light bulbs. They don't have electricity. They don't have running water. This is the ideal. These people need to be contacted. We need to learn from this civilization, because this is where we're all headed if the extreme environmentalist communists get their way."

The BBC reported that "[d]isease is also a risk, as members of tribal groups that have been contacted in the past have died of illnesses that they have no defence against, ranging from chicken pox to the common cold."

From the May 30 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: Have you seen, they've spotted -- they've spotted an isolated tribe in Brazil. An airplane flew over this hut, this thatch roof hut or something, and these savages are body painted in red and they're trying to shoot the airplane down with bows and arrows.

One of South Africa's -- I'm sorry, South America's few remaining uncontacted indigenous tribes has been spotted and photographed on the border between Brazil and Peru. The Brazilian government says that it took the images to prove the tribe exists and to help protect its land.

Wait a minute. Why do we have to help protect the land of this tribe? Aren't they the essence of purity, according to the environmentalist communists? I mean, here are people who are untouched by civilization. Here are people who are uncontacted by civilization. Here are people living on this planet the way they're supposed to be. Nobody even knew they were there. They suspected they were there, they flew an airplane over there, and they found 'em. Now, these people are probably at one with nature. Why do we need to protect their land? They're doing a better job of it than any of us ever could protect our land.

The pictures taken from the airplane show red-painted tribe members brandishing bow and arrows. More than half of the world's 100 uncontacted tribes live in Brazil or Peru, according to Survival International.

I mean, I'm sure these people -- not only don't they have to get rid of their incandescent light bulbs and go to these compact fluorescents, they don't have light bulbs. They don't have electricity. They don't have running water. This is the ideal. These people need to be contacted. We need to learn from this civilization, because this is where we're all headed if the extreme environmentalist communists get their way.

Stephen Corry, who is the director of Survivor [sic] International, says that -- they support tribal people around the world -- said that such tribes would soon be made extinct if their land was not protected. See, even those who are living at perfection and at one with the world are endangered by us. So somebody has to protect their land, because obviously these nomads can't do it themselves.

—A.C.S.