Are Tibetans racist?

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diamind
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Are Tibetans racist?

Post by diamind »

Did Dzongsar khyentse say this? And what did he mean? "If there was an award for being the most racist, Tibetans would win every year "
Rakz
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by Rakz »

diamind wrote:Did Dzongsar khyentse say this? And what did he mean? "If there was an award for being the most racist, Tibetans would win every year "
Who cares if they are? Why are you asking this?
pemachophel
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by pemachophel »

In my experience, most Asians are very racist. Don't know that the Tibetans are any more so.
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conebeckham
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by conebeckham »

Perhaps we could all consider that the very idea of lumping any ethnicity, nationality, or even race into a "whole" and making assertions or generalizations about that one "whole" may be the very root of racism.
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Karma_Yeshe
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by Karma_Yeshe »

conebeckham wrote:Perhaps we could all consider that the very idea of lumping any ethnicity, nationality, or even race into a "whole" and making assertions or generalizations about that one "whole" may be the very root of racism.
:good:
Tiago Simões
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by Tiago Simões »

diamind wrote:Did Dzongsar khyentse say this? And what did he mean? "If there was an award for being the most racist, Tibetans would win every year "
That very question could be seen has racist, like conebeckham said.
Better to ask, are there racist tibetans? Yes, of course, there are racist everywhere.

DJK was probably trying to remove the fairytail image of tibetans most westerners have.
jet.urgyen
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by jet.urgyen »

Rakz wrote:
diamind wrote:Did Dzongsar khyentse say this? And what did he mean? "If there was an award for being the most racist, Tibetans would win every year "
Who cares if they are? Why are you asking this?
i care, because racism is a root problem in this century
true dharma is inexpressible.

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Matylda
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by Matylda »

diamind wrote:Did Dzongsar khyentse say this? And what did he mean? "If there was an award for being the most racist, Tibetans would win every year "
well, I do not wonder whot he has said. Actually in Tibet there is very strong tribal sentiment. Moreover those tribes sometimes barly can stand each other... it was even reflected in big monasteries, where there was always strong division between monks from different regions. But it is seen all over Asia, this tribal mentality. It is neither good nor really bad. Sometimes it was just out of control. Tribal pride was always pretty strong.
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dzogchungpa
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by dzogchungpa »

diamind wrote:Did Dzongsar khyentse say this? And what did he mean? "If there was an award for being the most racist, Tibetans would win every year "
Where are you getting this quote from? I wouldn't be surprised if he said it but I can't seem to locate it. He does talk about racism as being "an institution in Asia", giving several illustrative examples, in "What Makes You Not A Buddhist" and in this interview he says: "Tibetans can be so narrow-minded, so racist." among other things so it's definitely the kind of thing he might say.
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Karma_Yeshe
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by Karma_Yeshe »

javier.espinoza.t wrote: i care, because racism is a root problem in this century
:shrug:
It was much worse in the centuries before this one (e.g. racial segregation in South Africa and in the USA, the Holocaust, Japanese Racism/Nationalism towards China, the way the european conquerors treated the Natives in the Americas and in Australia and so on and so forth), wasn't it?
jet.urgyen
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by jet.urgyen »

Karma_Yeshe wrote:
javier.espinoza.t wrote: i care, because racism is a root problem in this century
:shrug:
It was much worse in the centuries before this one (e.g. racial segregation in South Africa and in the USA, the Holocaust, Japanese Racism/Nationalism towards China, the way the european conquerors treated the Natives in the Americas and in Australia and so on and so forth), wasn't it?
jeje agree. however, we all know where racism leads to.. it's a mental disease.
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Ayu
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by Ayu »

conebeckham wrote:Perhaps we could all consider that the very idea of lumping any ethnicity, nationality, or even race into a "whole" and making assertions or generalizations about that one "whole" may be the very root of racism.
Couldn't agree more. The OP's question seems quite superficial to me. :sage:

Topic moved to the Lounge.
Rakz
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by Rakz »

javier.espinoza.t wrote:
Rakz wrote:
diamind wrote:Did Dzongsar khyentse say this? And what did he mean? "If there was an award for being the most racist, Tibetans would win every year "
Who cares if they are? Why are you asking this?
i care, because racism is a root problem in this century
Racism will always exist in some form amongst all races in this samsaric world whether you like it or not. Tibetans aren't some godlike creatures who are supposed to be incapable of it.
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Invokingvajras
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by Invokingvajras »

I think I need some background information. What exactly is the argument for Tibetans being "racist?"
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Nemo
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by Nemo »

pemachophel wrote:In my experience, most Asians are very racist. Don't know that the Tibetans are any more so.
Racism is so ingrained most Asians don't even see it. They don't think there is anything wrong with being racist. Soooooo racist.
tingdzin
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by tingdzin »

IMO, "racism" is an imprecise and badly overworked word. In the present context, for example, are Tibetans really a "race"? What does the word mean, really? Certainly there are vast phenotypical (meaning visually apparent ) differences between Tibetans who come from the border areas of Amdo, for example, and those who come from areas near Ladakh. I suspect there is also considerable genotypical variation. Similarly, there are Thai people who look like Chinese, Burmans, Malays, Khmer, etc., but there is a concept of "Thainess" that has more to do with cultural assumptions than physical appearance or even political citizenship.

A more precise word might be "ethnocentric". Granted, it does not lend itself to name-calling as well as the word "racist", but it seems more accurate in a lot of cases where the term "racism" is bandied about.
Last edited by tingdzin on Tue Mar 21, 2017 3:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Malcolm
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by Malcolm »

tingdzin wrote:IMO, "racism" is an imprecise and badly overworked word. In the present context, for example, are Tibetans really a "race"? What does the word mean, really? Certainly there are vast phenotypical (meaning visually apparent ) differences between Tibetans who come from the border areas of Amdo, for example, and those who come from areas near Ladakh. I suspect there is also considerable genotypical variation. Similarly, there are Thai people who look like Chinese, Burmans, Malays, Khmer, etc., but there is a concept of "Thainess" that has more to do with cultural assumptions than physical appearance or even political citizenship.

A more precise word might be "ethnocentric". Granted, it does not lend itself to name-calling as well as the word "racist", but it seems more accurate in a lot of cases where the term "racism" is bandied about.
I have met a a number of Tibetans who have pretty negative attitudes about "mi nag pos," blacks. In Tibet, a lot of Tibetans are very bigoted towards Chinese Hui Muslims, and invent outrageous tales about them.
tingdzin
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by tingdzin »

Malcolm wrote: have met a a number of Tibetans who have pretty negative attitudes about "mi nag pos," blacks. In Tibet, a lot of Tibetans are very bigoted towards Chinese Hui Muslims, and invent outrageous tales about them.
Well, you see, I would say that the first example might justifiably be called "racism", but since the Hui Muslims are genetically almost indistinguishable from the Han Chinese, I don't think it's valid to say anti-Hui prejudice is "racism". Simple "bigotry" covers that situation better.
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by Schrödinger’s Yidam »

Tibetans are culturally a 13th century society suddenly thrust into the atomic/digital age. Some individuals, like HHDL, have done a stunningly great job at doing so. However the rest of the bell curve is slower to adapt.

As a culture they've got a lot of catching up to do in a lot of areas. That is to be expected. It does not negate the value of what they have preserved from antiquity.
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tingdzin
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Re: Are Tibetans racist?

Post by tingdzin »

smcj wrote:As a culture they've got a lot of catching up to do in a lot of areas.
This sounds a more than a little arrogant, like you mean "they have to do a lot to catch up with our enlightened Western outlook". Just a modern form of imperialism.
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