Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post

Baraka_Guru · 08-11-2006, 04:13 PM

I recently viewed the documentary Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion and I learned a great deal about what the Chinese have been doing to Tibetans for years. For those who don't know much about this issue, I strongly suggest you read or otherwise educate yourself, and you will soon learn its tragic concequences.

So far, many of the posts in this thread have brought up instances of genocide, including the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, Rwanda, and several other terrible events. There aren't mass numbers of Tibetans being slaughtered at a rate indicative of genocide (however, over 1 million people have been killed over a period of 50 years), but what is especially at stake is the culture--the very essence of what is Tibetan. What is happening in Tibet is "cultural genocide." The term itself is problematic because it is argued that China does not actively seek the genocide of Tibetans... but it is also argued that China is ultimately causing this, regardless.

The challenges facing the situation in Tibet includes the international community's reluctance to do anything about it. (This is clearly the difficulty of other occurances of genocide as well.) And the longer it goes on, the more it becomes a political mess. China, being the growing power it is, will soon have global influence that rivals America.

For a sample of the complexity of the situation, read this article originally published in the Globe and Mail.

I implore you to learn more about Tibet. It won't take long for you to see the beauty of its culture (what's left) and why we should never forget its value. You will also see why that railway being built into Tibet could introduce a devestating acceleration of Chinese dominance.

As sample of the way things once were, consider this: an independent Tibet used to allocate 80% of its budget to its monastic system (through which every family had at least one member study)... that's like the U.S. taking its guargantuan military budget and plowing it into education.

And that was Tibet.

08-11-2006, 04:13 PM	#21 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	I recently viewed the documentary Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion and I learned a great deal about what the Chinese have been doing to Tibetans for years. For those who don't know much about this issue, I strongly suggest you read or otherwise educate yourself, and you will soon learn its tragic concequences. So far, many of the posts in this thread have brought up instances of genocide, including the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, Rwanda, and several other terrible events. There aren't mass numbers of Tibetans being slaughtered at a rate indicative of genocide (however, over 1 million people have been killed over a period of 50 years), but what is especially at stake is the culture--the very essence of what is Tibetan. What is happening in Tibet is "cultural genocide." The term itself is problematic because it is argued that China does not actively seek the genocide of Tibetans... but it is also argued that China is ultimately causing this, regardless. The challenges facing the situation in Tibet includes the international community's reluctance to do anything about it. (This is clearly the difficulty of other occurances of genocide as well.) And the longer it goes on, the more it becomes a political mess. China, being the growing power it is, will soon have global influence that rivals America. For a sample of the complexity of the situation, read this article originally published in the Globe and Mail. I implore you to learn more about Tibet. It won't take long for you to see the beauty of its culture (what's left) and why we should never forget its value. You will also see why that railway being built into Tibet could introduce a devestating acceleration of Chinese dominance. As sample of the way things once were, consider this: an independent Tibet used to allocate 80% of its budget to its monastic system (through which every family had at least one member study)... that's like the U.S. taking its guargantuan military budget and plowing it into education. And that was Tibet. __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot Last edited by Baraka_Guru; 08-12-2006 at 07:28 AM..