UK's New home secretary is a Buddhist

Nudge nudge wink wink.

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Teaching us impermanence, one post at a time.

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I hear from them that racism doesn’t exist, that talking about racism is racist, that racism affects white people as much as minorities, that it’s a “both-sides” situation, and so on. They tell me that anthropogenic global warming is a hoax. I hear that Trump is great, that Muslims in western countries are part of a dangerous religion, and even that people should arm themselves to defend against immigrants (this last only from one person so far). I see Buddhists with a DNA-essentialist view of gender (i.e. only sex chromosomes matter and are real — let’s forget that people have minds too). Also liberalism (ordinary, garden-variety democratic liberalism) is an offshoot of Marxism, and therefore dangerous. That view — often in terms of warnings of cultural Marxism — is becoming fairly common.

Well… Common sense. I tend to find AngloSaxon Buddhist community to be quite… “LeftWing”. Very different to Asian Buddhist countries. Guys, No one is obliged to support, give shelter, hang with those who are not welcomed and it is OK, is not your business they cannot run their homeland Properly.

Came here to post this, now I don’t have to!

Signed, a proud member of the guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati.

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Well, let’s just hope none of us or our loved ones are/were ever in that situation needing refuge or shelter :upside_down_face:

If you are ever in this situation, you’ll find a friend in Sydney.

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Just going to write one word: Karma.

Yep. That’s what you are making right now.

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Legally sure, but I don’t think you’ll get good kammic results from refusing to support people because of prejudices. And trust me, Asian Buddhist countries supporting and feeding monks of all races and genders would be considered very “Left wing” in a lot of the west :stuck_out_tongue: I don’t think that’s a very accurate way to categorize belief/value systems across cultures.

We are no talking about monks here.

As far as I am corcened, not exactly the one which leads to Apaya. Just Indifference.

Indeed. I’ve sat in the office of the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and seen the pictures of Marx and Gandhi on the walls. I’ve seen an American marvel at how when he was bitten by a dog, he was given a free ambulance and free shots, during a time of complete government collapse. I’ve seen the school-children walking with their free, government-supplied books and uniforms. I’ve been treated in Thailand at the free medical centers that are all over the place. I’ve caught the buses that go everywhere for a few baht. I’ve volunteered at a refugee center run by Buddhists to look after the kids fleeing the conflicts in Myanmar. I’ve ridden a Chinese-made bicycle to the State school in Vientiane, in a country that remains actually Communist. To describe “Asian Buddhist countries” as “not left-wing” is a massive over-simplification at best.

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Well. That’s the issue: Public Healthcare and Education are not “Leftwing”. For example United Arab emirates possess both and is not exacly an egalitarian paradise. They also give social benefits for married couples so they can purchase a house. Francisco Franco’s dictatorship did as well so… It is neither leftwing nor Rightwing. Japan is a Highly Xenophobic Society and they have had a welfare State for nationals.

But It is also OK if one wish to offer some charity. Everyone can run their house as they see fit. I am not Signing for “Welcome Refugees” though, not at least in my country.

It might sound a bit knit picking, but it’s only free at the point of use. Everything has a cost; it’s just government foots the bill when it comes to things like welfare. In the UK if we add up our state provided healthcare service (National Health Service), welfare (including pensions) and education spending it all takes up 60% of the UK budget.

I don’t understand how somebody can value the extreme humanitarianism that is Buddhism and feel this way but to each their own.

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The Tories are in meltdown, a complete shambles. It’s embarrassing.

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People keep voting in these populist nationalist leaders, and again and again, they show zero competence or serious interest in governing, then just strip everything bare and leave the country in a shambles. Johnson, Trump, Rajapaksa, on and on it goes. When will voters learn to never, ever trust a populist nationalist?

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UK’s New home secretary is a Buddhist

And - if I understand UK’s political system correctly - UK’s new PM is a lettuce.

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Truss voted for remain. As for Boris, not everything he did was bad. He did at least deliver on what was voted for in 2016 and the furlough policy during COVID was a good one.