Bro. To begin with, I was fascinated by ‘human rights’ no less than you. The idea that you can get things for free just by shouting on the streets is too appealing. Fascinated, I read everything from Plato and Aristotle to Kant and Locke. But unlike you, I was more of a scientist than a human rights defender. To me, all that matters is evidence.
So, do human rights exist as the West claimed to be? I mean where? In my heart? Somewhere between my neurons? Warped in my synapses? Or is it just another ‘moral value’ made up by just another ‘human beings’ and imposed on the rest of the world as a feel-good measure toward evils they themselves committed in World War II? In Buddhism, we do have Karma, five precepts, etc. In Islam, they do have Shahadah, Hajj, Zakat etc. But none of us tried to impose our morals on the rest of the world. No offense but to me, your master in human rights is the same as a mater in theology. So, what are the problems with the so-called rights?
1. The so-called RIGHTS do not come by SHOUTING ON THE STREETS.
If the country does not have food, the food doesn’t come by screaming a right to food. If the country does not have required institutions and infrastructure, they do not come by screaming a right to whatever-you-name-it. The so-called rights create entitled mentalities not good for developing countries without sufficient resources. Sometimes, the West tries to ‘solve’ the problem by dumping developing countries with their over-subsidized surplus, destroying agriculture and industries in recipient countries.
2. The so-called RIGHTS miss critical human experiences and analyze everything in government-vs-people perspective.
Which country has more free speech? The US or Myanmar? You say, “US of course.” Wrong a million times. I lived in Myanmar under Than Shwe and in the US under Obama. In Myanmar, if you can say pretty much whatever you want. That’s true for 99.9% of the population, except (arguably) some journalists. In the US, you’ll find yourself pretty much alone, abandoned by everyone, if you are not politically correct. Look at what happened to James D Watson, Lawrence Summers, and countless others. Why? Because human rights approach ignores all social factors in determining free speech. If take them into consideration, Myanmar and Singapore are much better at free speech than anywhere in the West. In the US, I find ‘thought police’ is watching me all the time.
3. The so-called RIGHTS magnify small-magnitude, but high-profile, attention-grabbing cases and ignores gigantic everyday miseries.
Thousands die through heroin addiction. Millions suffer inadequate healthcare in rebel areas. None reaches their potential due to lack of education. Not interesting? Just ignore the cases. But casualties from military actions? Let’s scream rights rights rights.
4. The so-called RIGHTS make people SELF-RIGHTREOUS AND INDIVIDUALISITC
Ask Christian missionaries, they would say Christian love should be spread at all cost. Religious divisions created by them and deaths resulting from these divisions are all justified. The same goes for human rights preachers. And no matter how many times research has shown humans are social creatures, the so-called rights treat everyone as ‘individual’ and ignore social connections.
5. The so-called RIGHTS have been used to justify millions of deaths.
From Iraq, Libya, to Syria, millions of deaths were ignored or justified in the name of ‘spreading democracy and human rights.’
The Malaysians if they are really patriotic , then should decide themselves , not requesting for help from the outside . Show it collectively in the general election. Are we not matured and intelligent enough . Even Dr . Mahathir had to step down . So fellow Malaysians decide yourselves .
What the Rakhine people are doing, has nothing to do with their own traditional Buddhist teaching. The plight of the Muslims of Rakhine state is directly connected to the citizenship right of the Union of Myanmar. First the constitutional article should be scrapped and a more human laws should be introduced. Daw A ung San Suu Kyi again and again hinted and told to the international community about the constitution, which is in fact, no civilized constitution at all. Unless this is done, no Rakhine on earth or any government, be military or otherwise will be able to do anything. Movement, free movement, is a human right, whether Myanmar likes it or not.
Can you please explain where the mass graves in Myanmar are ? Can you please explain the detailed reports of any “Rohingya” being killed ? Can you please explain the population increase in “Rohingya” each successive year ? Why is there no pattern of massive population loss, as we have seen with the Yezidi and Sudanese and Tutsis ? Are you suggesting Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is Pol Pot, Omar al-Bashir, Bashar al-Assad or Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi ? Please explain why the ONLY mass graves of Bengali Muslim women and men have been found in Kelantan and Kedah, Malaysia ? Does Thai and Malay trafficking of Bengali Muslims constitute “genocide” by Burmese Buddhists ? In the cases I cited above, even the UN had population data. Why is that when Muslim nations within the OIC whine about “Rohingya” genocide, they cannot point to any actual evidence ? On the other hand, why has the UN been silent about the documented genocide of Hindus, Christians and tribal people in Bangladesh, reported by brave Bangladeshi journalists, who have been killed ?
It’s pathetic that I can read your brain like a magazine. Why? Because I was someone like you, attacking others who hold different views. As I have described above, your tactic: LABEL, SHAME AND SILENCE anyone who dares to voice anything contrary to your own.
In the commentary above, when referring to Christine Gray, I should have said 1980s and 1990s, not 1970s and 1980s as I was referring to her dissertation and published works, not when she did her initial fieldwork for the dissertation.
Confronting modern Rent-Seeking (aka professional begging) in the West
Rubric of a professional beggar and attention seeker (aka human rights fighter)
1. MY VALUES MATTER. I have my values (human rights). They are UNIVERSAL and everyone must follow. Never mind my country has turned countless others into war zones with several million deaths, MY VALUES must be imposed on others. And the end justifies any cost. THOSE who do not follow MY VALUES are barbarians.
2. EVERYTHING IS JUSTIFIED for my cause. If I lie, I lie for good cause. If I fabricate information, I did it for good cause. If I am gullible enough to believe in everything ‘the victims’ say without fact-check, I am dumb for good cause. DO NOT CHALLENGE ME, I WILL LABLE YOU as ‘xenophobic, racist, denialist, etc. etc. and SHUT OFF MY MIND. I am always right and just give me attention.
3. YOU ARE A LESSER MORAL. Everyone is equal but I am more equal than others. If you disagree with me, I don’t care about your views or facts. I will shut my mind off and preach you about MY VALUES. AND I DON’T CARE about your values or facts, and I think you don’t have values at all since ONLY MY values are universal.
So what’s the problem with the Professional Begging Industry?
It’s a struggle to be relevant in a world most people have become increasingly irrelevant. The best for this world would be when people like the author would just sit back and relax, instead of begging for attention or money (aka donations). The truth is, the world, especially Asia, does not need them, just like the world did not need Christian missionaries sowing discords during the colonial period. Just like Christian missionaries before them, the human rights fighters have created so many conflicts. They have divided so many communities. They have rendered so many issues unsolvable. Blood is in their hands.
So, my message to them is, “If you want to beg (either attention or money), go and beg elsewhere.” Just not in Myanmar. We have so many problems you created during the colonial period (including this one), that have to be solved instead of moving forward.
Thaksin played the paranoia game as well as anybody. I suspect the 2001 bomb plot was as real as the 2005 plot (that is to say, hardly real at all, but a state-of-emergency pretext). Which is not to disagree with your underlying assertion that he would be in acute danger if he came home.
Jane hansen, do you know any prostitutes?
While missionaries and NGO’s may offer some succour to the in the ‘trade’ and I do not ever condone the exploitation of anyone for any reason, most well-meaning efforts are misguided by virtue of: Er, virtue.
They approach the issue as one of ‘morality’.
In societies where prostitution is a valid, legal, option (note the word ‘option’) it is just another job. I would venture it is a lot better paid, arguably much more morally justifiable, and definitely safer than soldiering, for instance.
A major problem not just in Thailand, but in societies as supposedly as sexually advanced as Sweden, is this thin-skinned insistence that sex outside a narrow, often hetero definition, is not only sinful, but criminal.
It is absurd, and ultimately, fruitless to insist on policing consenting adults sexual behaviour, just because some people get squeamish about natural needs and urges. Some people, for example the disabled, the old, and disfigured, might be able to experience intimacy no other way. Of course it’s comfortable and convenient to gawk and tut tut at the ‘sexpat’ and his poverty stricken provincial companion, as poster boy for all the worlds true perverts and sex pests. Let’s legalise legitimate adult sex work everywhere, and let interpol focus on real sex crime!
Agree with the article, and every comment here!
They need to bring back the original mandate, or just sell the airtime to Channels Seven, Nine, or Ten. Which I never, ever watched -okay maybe just to note they were Ocker drivel- in my entire 28 years living downunder.
Not so surprising this Dao Din activist has been bailed. This case could be extremely embarrassing for Thailand’s new king, so early in his reign. Not only has it the potential to shine the international spotlight, it also has the potential to add further fuel to flaming regional tensions within Thailand : what happens if a Bangkok court now over-rules the Khon Khaen court’s grant of bail ? But if a Bangkok does n’t – then these regional students have won an as yet small – but very, very significant victory.
Once again Chris you appear to be very confused. The presumption of innocence is a legal concept in some jurisdictions. Bhumibol is dead and will never face trial. To talk about a “presumption of innocence” is totally absurd.
Chris Beale, nobody can say for sure. The utter disdain that the the monarch has so far shown for the hapless junta, and royal protocol itself, speaks volumes. If a royal pardon will serve the personal interests of X then, it will be so. Others have pointed out that X and the Shins working out a deal would be an almost unstoppable alliance. I don’t imagine Taksin would be at any greater risk of harm than X himself. I’m not disputing the danger, just that under the patronage of X, it would be a highly risky proposition inviting severe retaliation. And Yingluck is there to step into the breach, with added sympathy, at that point. Taksin may well be hated, but similar feelings toward X did not derail the ascension to the throne. And Taksin remains undeniably popular within that section of society that supply Thailand with it’s workers and soldiers. It makes a great deal of pragmatic sense to feed them carrots, rather than lay on even more stick right now.
having said that, it’s pure speculation on my part. Seriously, who the heck knows what X will do, given all we know he has done thus far!
Owen Oglala – one thing we can say with almost absolute certainty is that Thaksin won’t be coming back. A Royal pardon is extremely unlikely, given how this succession has been managed. Even if one were given, Thaksin would likely be assassinated the moment he ventured beyond Isaarn or Lanna – and even there, he would be far from sure safe. Remember even in his first term as PM he was very nearly killed by a bomb planted on his plane – and only escaped due to a delay in his flight schedule (thank Bangkok traffic jams !). Meanwhile Yingluck – and much of Thaksin’s remaining fortune inside Thailand – is held captive. Convenient way to handle any debts – for the current powers which be.
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Thailand’s long succession
Thanks for your article. I very much enjoyed it.
Why Rakhine people should embrace human rights
Bro. To begin with, I was fascinated by ‘human rights’ no less than you. The idea that you can get things for free just by shouting on the streets is too appealing. Fascinated, I read everything from Plato and Aristotle to Kant and Locke. But unlike you, I was more of a scientist than a human rights defender. To me, all that matters is evidence.
So, do human rights exist as the West claimed to be? I mean where? In my heart? Somewhere between my neurons? Warped in my synapses? Or is it just another ‘moral value’ made up by just another ‘human beings’ and imposed on the rest of the world as a feel-good measure toward evils they themselves committed in World War II? In Buddhism, we do have Karma, five precepts, etc. In Islam, they do have Shahadah, Hajj, Zakat etc. But none of us tried to impose our morals on the rest of the world. No offense but to me, your master in human rights is the same as a mater in theology. So, what are the problems with the so-called rights?
1. The so-called RIGHTS do not come by SHOUTING ON THE STREETS.
If the country does not have food, the food doesn’t come by screaming a right to food. If the country does not have required institutions and infrastructure, they do not come by screaming a right to whatever-you-name-it. The so-called rights create entitled mentalities not good for developing countries without sufficient resources. Sometimes, the West tries to ‘solve’ the problem by dumping developing countries with their over-subsidized surplus, destroying agriculture and industries in recipient countries.
2. The so-called RIGHTS miss critical human experiences and analyze everything in government-vs-people perspective.
Which country has more free speech? The US or Myanmar? You say, “US of course.” Wrong a million times. I lived in Myanmar under Than Shwe and in the US under Obama. In Myanmar, if you can say pretty much whatever you want. That’s true for 99.9% of the population, except (arguably) some journalists. In the US, you’ll find yourself pretty much alone, abandoned by everyone, if you are not politically correct. Look at what happened to James D Watson, Lawrence Summers, and countless others. Why? Because human rights approach ignores all social factors in determining free speech. If take them into consideration, Myanmar and Singapore are much better at free speech than anywhere in the West. In the US, I find ‘thought police’ is watching me all the time.
3. The so-called RIGHTS magnify small-magnitude, but high-profile, attention-grabbing cases and ignores gigantic everyday miseries.
Thousands die through heroin addiction. Millions suffer inadequate healthcare in rebel areas. None reaches their potential due to lack of education. Not interesting? Just ignore the cases. But casualties from military actions? Let’s scream rights rights rights.
4. The so-called RIGHTS make people SELF-RIGHTREOUS AND INDIVIDUALISITC
Ask Christian missionaries, they would say Christian love should be spread at all cost. Religious divisions created by them and deaths resulting from these divisions are all justified. The same goes for human rights preachers. And no matter how many times research has shown humans are social creatures, the so-called rights treat everyone as ‘individual’ and ignore social connections.
5. The so-called RIGHTS have been used to justify millions of deaths.
From Iraq, Libya, to Syria, millions of deaths were ignored or justified in the name of ‘spreading democracy and human rights.’
Now preach me again about human rights.
Najib’s fear campaign
The Malaysians if they are really patriotic , then should decide themselves , not requesting for help from the outside . Show it collectively in the general election. Are we not matured and intelligent enough . Even Dr . Mahathir had to step down . So fellow Malaysians decide yourselves .
Why Rakhine people should embrace human rights
What the Rakhine people are doing, has nothing to do with their own traditional Buddhist teaching. The plight of the Muslims of Rakhine state is directly connected to the citizenship right of the Union of Myanmar. First the constitutional article should be scrapped and a more human laws should be introduced. Daw A ung San Suu Kyi again and again hinted and told to the international community about the constitution, which is in fact, no civilized constitution at all. Unless this is done, no Rakhine on earth or any government, be military or otherwise will be able to do anything. Movement, free movement, is a human right, whether Myanmar likes it or not.
Confronting genocide in Myanmar
Can you please explain where the mass graves in Myanmar are ? Can you please explain the detailed reports of any “Rohingya” being killed ? Can you please explain the population increase in “Rohingya” each successive year ? Why is there no pattern of massive population loss, as we have seen with the Yezidi and Sudanese and Tutsis ? Are you suggesting Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is Pol Pot, Omar al-Bashir, Bashar al-Assad or Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi ? Please explain why the ONLY mass graves of Bengali Muslim women and men have been found in Kelantan and Kedah, Malaysia ? Does Thai and Malay trafficking of Bengali Muslims constitute “genocide” by Burmese Buddhists ? In the cases I cited above, even the UN had population data. Why is that when Muslim nations within the OIC whine about “Rohingya” genocide, they cannot point to any actual evidence ? On the other hand, why has the UN been silent about the documented genocide of Hindus, Christians and tribal people in Bangladesh, reported by brave Bangladeshi journalists, who have been killed ?
Confronting genocide in Myanmar
It’s pathetic that I can read your brain like a magazine. Why? Because I was someone like you, attacking others who hold different views. As I have described above, your tactic: LABEL, SHAME AND SILENCE anyone who dares to voice anything contrary to your own.
http://heterodoxacademy.org/2016/10/21/one-telos-truth-or-social-justice/
Confronting genocide in Myanmar
Thanks. If you want to beg for attention, beg elsewhere.
Confronting genocide in Myanmar
@ Soe Win Han, from your comments above, it seems that you support genocide.
Can you please state here whether or not you support genocide?
Thailand’s long succession
In the commentary above, when referring to Christine Gray, I should have said 1980s and 1990s, not 1970s and 1980s as I was referring to her dissertation and published works, not when she did her initial fieldwork for the dissertation.
Confronting genocide in Myanmar
Confronting modern Rent-Seeking (aka professional begging) in the West
Rubric of a professional beggar and attention seeker (aka human rights fighter)
1. MY VALUES MATTER. I have my values (human rights). They are UNIVERSAL and everyone must follow. Never mind my country has turned countless others into war zones with several million deaths, MY VALUES must be imposed on others. And the end justifies any cost. THOSE who do not follow MY VALUES are barbarians.
2. EVERYTHING IS JUSTIFIED for my cause. If I lie, I lie for good cause. If I fabricate information, I did it for good cause. If I am gullible enough to believe in everything ‘the victims’ say without fact-check, I am dumb for good cause. DO NOT CHALLENGE ME, I WILL LABLE YOU as ‘xenophobic, racist, denialist, etc. etc. and SHUT OFF MY MIND. I am always right and just give me attention.
3. YOU ARE A LESSER MORAL. Everyone is equal but I am more equal than others. If you disagree with me, I don’t care about your views or facts. I will shut my mind off and preach you about MY VALUES. AND I DON’T CARE about your values or facts, and I think you don’t have values at all since ONLY MY values are universal.
So what’s the problem with the Professional Begging Industry?
It’s a struggle to be relevant in a world most people have become increasingly irrelevant. The best for this world would be when people like the author would just sit back and relax, instead of begging for attention or money (aka donations). The truth is, the world, especially Asia, does not need them, just like the world did not need Christian missionaries sowing discords during the colonial period. Just like Christian missionaries before them, the human rights fighters have created so many conflicts. They have divided so many communities. They have rendered so many issues unsolvable. Blood is in their hands.
So, my message to them is, “If you want to beg (either attention or money), go and beg elsewhere.” Just not in Myanmar. We have so many problems you created during the colonial period (including this one), that have to be solved instead of moving forward.
Thailand’s long succession
Thaksin played the paranoia game as well as anybody. I suspect the 2001 bomb plot was as real as the 2005 plot (that is to say, hardly real at all, but a state-of-emergency pretext). Which is not to disagree with your underlying assertion that he would be in acute danger if he came home.
A crown prince and German affairs
Jane hansen, do you know any prostitutes?
While missionaries and NGO’s may offer some succour to the in the ‘trade’ and I do not ever condone the exploitation of anyone for any reason, most well-meaning efforts are misguided by virtue of: Er, virtue.
They approach the issue as one of ‘morality’.
In societies where prostitution is a valid, legal, option (note the word ‘option’) it is just another job. I would venture it is a lot better paid, arguably much more morally justifiable, and definitely safer than soldiering, for instance.
A major problem not just in Thailand, but in societies as supposedly as sexually advanced as Sweden, is this thin-skinned insistence that sex outside a narrow, often hetero definition, is not only sinful, but criminal.
It is absurd, and ultimately, fruitless to insist on policing consenting adults sexual behaviour, just because some people get squeamish about natural needs and urges. Some people, for example the disabled, the old, and disfigured, might be able to experience intimacy no other way. Of course it’s comfortable and convenient to gawk and tut tut at the ‘sexpat’ and his poverty stricken provincial companion, as poster boy for all the worlds true perverts and sex pests. Let’s legalise legitimate adult sex work everywhere, and let interpol focus on real sex crime!
How Australia Plus became Australia minus
Agree with the article, and every comment here!
They need to bring back the original mandate, or just sell the airtime to Channels Seven, Nine, or Ten. Which I never, ever watched -okay maybe just to note they were Ocker drivel- in my entire 28 years living downunder.
Henry VIII of Thailand
Not so surprising this Dao Din activist has been bailed. This case could be extremely embarrassing for Thailand’s new king, so early in his reign. Not only has it the potential to shine the international spotlight, it also has the potential to add further fuel to flaming regional tensions within Thailand : what happens if a Bangkok court now over-rules the Khon Khaen court’s grant of bail ? But if a Bangkok does n’t – then these regional students have won an as yet small – but very, very significant victory.
A crown prince and German affairs
Once again Chris you appear to be very confused. The presumption of innocence is a legal concept in some jurisdictions. Bhumibol is dead and will never face trial. To talk about a “presumption of innocence” is totally absurd.
A crown prince and German affairs
Thanks Lilac, this is an intriguing theory, which greedy politicians killed Rama VIII and where is the evidence?
Thailand’s long succession
Chris Beale, nobody can say for sure. The utter disdain that the the monarch has so far shown for the hapless junta, and royal protocol itself, speaks volumes. If a royal pardon will serve the personal interests of X then, it will be so. Others have pointed out that X and the Shins working out a deal would be an almost unstoppable alliance. I don’t imagine Taksin would be at any greater risk of harm than X himself. I’m not disputing the danger, just that under the patronage of X, it would be a highly risky proposition inviting severe retaliation. And Yingluck is there to step into the breach, with added sympathy, at that point. Taksin may well be hated, but similar feelings toward X did not derail the ascension to the throne. And Taksin remains undeniably popular within that section of society that supply Thailand with it’s workers and soldiers. It makes a great deal of pragmatic sense to feed them carrots, rather than lay on even more stick right now.
having said that, it’s pure speculation on my part. Seriously, who the heck knows what X will do, given all we know he has done thus far!
A crown prince and German affairs
Good post Lilac. Bumiphol is entitled to presumption of innocence under Anglo-Saxon law (UK, USA, Canada,Australia,NZ, etc.). ALSO so is Rama X.
Thailand’s long succession
Owen Oglala – one thing we can say with almost absolute certainty is that Thaksin won’t be coming back. A Royal pardon is extremely unlikely, given how this succession has been managed. Even if one were given, Thaksin would likely be assassinated the moment he ventured beyond Isaarn or Lanna – and even there, he would be far from sure safe. Remember even in his first term as PM he was very nearly killed by a bomb planted on his plane – and only escaped due to a delay in his flight schedule (thank Bangkok traffic jams !). Meanwhile Yingluck – and much of Thaksin’s remaining fortune inside Thailand – is held captive. Convenient way to handle any debts – for the current powers which be.
Henry VIII of Thailand
Activist ‘Pai Dao Din’ Freed on Bail After 112 Arrest
http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2016/12/04/activist-pai-dao-din-freed-bail-112-arrest/