Ignorance Is No Excuse For Stupidity

In another case of tourists behaving badly, 2 Americans have been arrested in Cambodia for taking naked photos of themselves inside the famed Angkor temple. Sisters Lindsey Adams, 22, and her 20-year-old sister Leslie were discovered taking "nude pictures" inside the Preah Khan temple at the world heritage site and both were promptly arrested.

The sisters’ main defense is that they do not know about the sacredness of Angkor Wat and that it is a holy site. Well, too bad and, more importantly, so what? What’s the big deal if Angkor Wat is holy site or not when it is an important cultural site for all Cambodians. You don’t take off your pants and take a photo of it at the site. That ought to be common sense.

Let me put it this way; the Statue of Liberty is no holy site but does that mean I can take a naked photo of myself on it? Of course not! The Statue of Liberty may not be holy but it's still an important cultural and spiritual site to all Americans. Anyone with a bit of common sense would know you can't go naked on it. 

These 2 sisters may be wonderful people, I don’t know, but they did a very stupid thing and whether they know Angkor Wat is a sacred site or not does not matter. Ignorance is no excuse for stupidity.