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This is absolutely insane. It's almost cartoonishly monstrous. Why isn't this better known? The way the Tamils were treated is so pure a representation of evil

This is absolutely insane. It's almost cartoonishly monstrous. Why isn't this better known? The way the Tamils were treated is so pure a representation of evil that I can barely get through the Wikipedia page. This was the work of Buddhists, too! I've been taught that Buddhists were peaceful and non-violent by creed, but clearly not if the only Buddhist majority nation is capable of such abomination.

defrost 2y ago
Westerners rarely associate Buddhism with extremism or violence, but Buddhist movements in Asia have often raised few qualms about the use of force. Buddhist authorities have, at times, justified violence against the faith’s enemies and supported authoritarian regimes. * https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/16/myanmar-rohingya-coup-buddhists-protest/ https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/16/myanmar-rohingya-coup-b... * https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/myanmar-s-extreme-buddhist-nationalists https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/myanmar-s-extr... These links are just Myanmar.
anon291 2y ago
Most westerners are woefully misguided in their interpretation of eastern religions. We are still people. I'm always shocked when Europeans or Americans single out Christianity as some uniquely malevolent force. People are like this. We have always been like this. Being atheist, agnostic, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, pagan, heathen, etc -- it doesn't make you superhuman. We're all capable of this and the sooner everyone realizes this the sooner we can work to prevent tragedy.
- paulryanrogers 2y ago
  Much religion depends on magical thinking and/or blind appeals to authority. IME it facilitates bad behavior that's less likely to be tolerated by more rational belief systems.
  - anon291 2y ago
    The arc of history simply does not show that. We can point to the various issues in communist states (not criticizing communism but all the communist states are undoubtedly atheist).
    - fsckboy 2y ago
      not criticizing communism? pray tell, what species are you considering? - E O Wilson
    - paulryanrogers 2y ago
      Was it the absence of religion that created issues in communist states? Or perhaps authoritarianism, hero worship, overly centralized planning, low trust culture, or some other combination of factors at play? History's arc is much longer than communism, and religion is tied to some pretty horrific events.
      - anon291 2y ago
        Given that some of the hatred was targeting specifically religious people (for example, the CCP bans religious people from their ranks), then I think it's safe to say that it is driven by a dislike of religion You can agree with their take on religion or not, but their motivation remains the same.
  - throwanem 2y ago
    What beyond self-contradiction is "rational belief?"
  - starspangled 2y ago
    The worldview of many atheists I know seems to depend on magical thinking, holding of contradictory beliefs, and blind appeal to authority when it comes to the government. I don't think there is clear cause and effect when it comes to religion and irrational behavior.
    - 2y ago
anon291 2y ago
> Why isn't this better known? The external affair minister of India, Mr Jaishankar, recently excoriated a European politician over Indians handling of Ukraine. He said 'Europe needs to get past the mentality that Europe's problems are the world's problems, while the world's problems are not Europes problems '. And this is where that attitude comes from India has dealt with genocides at its borders in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and yet most Europeans and Americans have no idea. The United States of America criticized India for helping Bangladesh during it's Pakistan sponsored genocide, and actually understood military action against India to protect Pakistan's ability to slaughter Bangladeshis. Again, in Sri Lanka, no one cared Yet the moment India undertakes it's strategic interests regarding cheap Russian oil, suddenly the whole world starts pointing fingers There's a lot that goes on in Asia that is simply not reported. If you read American media it's almost like that part of the world doesn't exist
- user_7832 2y ago
  Somewhat related and tangential, there’s this concept/subreddit of “it’s always the same map” [1] where basically some counties/regions have most/neutral coverage (US/Canada, Western Europe, Australia, Japan mainly), some have limited/biased coverage (India, China, Russia maybe), and many (mainly Africa or smaller Asia/Oceania countries) have none at all. An earthquake in some pacific island killed 150? Never heard of it. Two dead in a school shooting in Arizona? Straight to Reddit’s frontpage. Mind you, I’m not saying deaths anywhere are good of course - but the reporting is terribly biased in a way that many may not even realize, especially if you live in one of those “western” countries and primarily consume English media/news. Heck, just look at what is commonly considered “core countries” [2]? 1 - https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/4buox6/tragic_world_map/ https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/4buox6/tragic_world_... 2 - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_countries https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_countries
- lanstin 2y ago
  I grew up in the US and considered myself relatively worldly and educated, and when I started visiting Sri Lanka and India and reading papers published there and so on, when I heard US press discuss news from India or Sri Lanka, I was really shocked at the deep level of general ignorance; and I am not talking Fox here but NPR and Washington Post.
roenxi 2y ago
> I've been taught that Buddhists were peaceful and non-violent by creed, but clearly not if the only Buddhist majority nation is capable of such abomination. There are a couple of Buddhist majority countries; Cambodia, Thailand, Mongolia, Laos and more. Also, judging a religion from its adherents worst atrocities is a mistake - for example, look at history. It is hard to rank them given the high level of sickening background brutality but if we're just commenting on religions not living up to their values the crusades (particularly #4) are difficult to top.
krainboltgreene 2y ago
Because America helped cause it.
seanmcdirmid 2y ago
We just romanticize some things we know less (eg buddhism) to somehow be more noble than the things we know more (eg christianity). The noble savage (aka dances with wolves syndrome) is just as much a fallacy as the savage savage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_savage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_savage
hoveringhen 2y ago
Buddhists are humans too ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ There's also the Rohingyan genocide where Buddhist nationalism is involved. If you want to read a good non-fiction on the Sri Lankan civil war, check out "The Divided Island" by Samanth Subramaniam.

defrost 2y ago

Westerners rarely associate Buddhism with extremism or violence, but Buddhist movements in Asia have often raised few qualms about the use of force. Buddhist authorities have, at times, justified violence against the faith’s enemies and supported authoritarian regimes. * https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/16/myanmar-rohingya-coup-buddhists-protest/ https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/16/myanmar-rohingya-coup-b... * https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/myanmar-s-extreme-buddhist-nationalists https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/myanmar-s-extr... These links are just Myanmar.

anon291 2y ago

Most westerners are woefully misguided in their interpretation of eastern religions. We are still people. I'm always shocked when Europeans or Americans single out Christianity as some uniquely malevolent force. People are like this. We have always been like this. Being atheist, agnostic, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, pagan, heathen, etc -- it doesn't make you superhuman. We're all capable of this and the sooner everyone realizes this the sooner we can work to prevent tragedy.

paulryanrogers 2y ago
Much religion depends on magical thinking and/or blind appeals to authority. IME it facilitates bad behavior that's less likely to be tolerated by more rational belief systems.
- anon291 2y ago
  The arc of history simply does not show that. We can point to the various issues in communist states (not criticizing communism but all the communist states are undoubtedly atheist).
  - fsckboy 2y ago
    not criticizing communism? pray tell, what species are you considering? - E O Wilson
  - paulryanrogers 2y ago
    Was it the absence of religion that created issues in communist states? Or perhaps authoritarianism, hero worship, overly centralized planning, low trust culture, or some other combination of factors at play? History's arc is much longer than communism, and religion is tied to some pretty horrific events.
    - anon291 2y ago
      Given that some of the hatred was targeting specifically religious people (for example, the CCP bans religious people from their ranks), then I think it's safe to say that it is driven by a dislike of religion You can agree with their take on religion or not, but their motivation remains the same.
- throwanem 2y ago
  What beyond self-contradiction is "rational belief?"
- starspangled 2y ago
  The worldview of many atheists I know seems to depend on magical thinking, holding of contradictory beliefs, and blind appeal to authority when it comes to the government. I don't think there is clear cause and effect when it comes to religion and irrational behavior.
  - 2y ago

anon291 2y ago

> Why isn't this better known? The external affair minister of India, Mr Jaishankar, recently excoriated a European politician over Indians handling of Ukraine. He said 'Europe needs to get past the mentality that Europe's problems are the world's problems, while the world's problems are not Europes problems '. And this is where that attitude comes from India has dealt with genocides at its borders in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and yet most Europeans and Americans have no idea. The United States of America criticized India for helping Bangladesh during it's Pakistan sponsored genocide, and actually understood military action against India to protect Pakistan's ability to slaughter Bangladeshis. Again, in Sri Lanka, no one cared Yet the moment India undertakes it's strategic interests regarding cheap Russian oil, suddenly the whole world starts pointing fingers There's a lot that goes on in Asia that is simply not reported. If you read American media it's almost like that part of the world doesn't exist

user_7832 2y ago
Somewhat related and tangential, there’s this concept/subreddit of “it’s always the same map” [1] where basically some counties/regions have most/neutral coverage (US/Canada, Western Europe, Australia, Japan mainly), some have limited/biased coverage (India, China, Russia maybe), and many (mainly Africa or smaller Asia/Oceania countries) have none at all. An earthquake in some pacific island killed 150? Never heard of it. Two dead in a school shooting in Arizona? Straight to Reddit’s frontpage. Mind you, I’m not saying deaths anywhere are good of course - but the reporting is terribly biased in a way that many may not even realize, especially if you live in one of those “western” countries and primarily consume English media/news. Heck, just look at what is commonly considered “core countries” [2]? 1 - https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/4buox6/tragic_world_map/ https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/4buox6/tragic_world_... 2 - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_countries https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_countries
lanstin 2y ago
I grew up in the US and considered myself relatively worldly and educated, and when I started visiting Sri Lanka and India and reading papers published there and so on, when I heard US press discuss news from India or Sri Lanka, I was really shocked at the deep level of general ignorance; and I am not talking Fox here but NPR and Washington Post.

roenxi 2y ago

> I've been taught that Buddhists were peaceful and non-violent by creed, but clearly not if the only Buddhist majority nation is capable of such abomination. There are a couple of Buddhist majority countries; Cambodia, Thailand, Mongolia, Laos and more. Also, judging a religion from its adherents worst atrocities is a mistake - for example, look at history. It is hard to rank them given the high level of sickening background brutality but if we're just commenting on religions not living up to their values the crusades (particularly #4) are difficult to top.

krainboltgreene 2y ago

Because America helped cause it.

seanmcdirmid 2y ago

We just romanticize some things we know less (eg buddhism) to somehow be more noble than the things we know more (eg christianity). The noble savage (aka dances with wolves syndrome) is just as much a fallacy as the savage savage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_savage https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_savage

hoveringhen 2y ago

Buddhists are humans too ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ There's also the Rohingyan genocide where Buddhist nationalism is involved. If you want to read a good non-fiction on the Sri Lankan civil war, check out "The Divided Island" by Samanth Subramaniam.