Our silence on one of the most persecuted people in the world

[prisonermonkeys]

I think it's pretty obvious that at this point, the most-persecuted people in the world are the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. They are denied any kind of citizenship by the Myanmar government, who do not recognise that they are even Rohingya, and instead consider them to be illegal Bengali workers from Bangladesh. And new laws are being passed, limiting how regularly they can have children to prevent their population from growing so large that they could one day seize power. Most of the refugees currently adrift in the Andaman Sea are Rohingya, effectively forced out of their own country by the Myanmar government.

 

[KSaiyu]

It’s fruitless to compare a people displaced from their home, massacred, forced to convert and sold into sex slavery with another persecuted in their homeland, denied citizenship rights and abandoned on the seas. Not really what this thread is about, and I disagree about it being “pretty obvious”.

 

[Liquid]

It’s fruitless to compare a people displaced from their home, massacred, forced to convert and sold into sex slavery with another persecuted in their homeland, denied citizenship rights and abandoned on the seas. Not really what this thread is about, and I disagree about it being “pretty obvious”.

After fifteen pages what is pretty obvious is that measuring and quantifying persecution is rather subjective. Fine, fair enough. It doesn't mean that those PM mentioned are not persecuted, though. To say that that isn't what this thread is about is wrong. Are we not highlighting persecution around the world, perhaps both previously known or previously unknown?

 

[Furinkazen]

It’s fruitless to compare a people displaced from their home, massacred, forced to convert and sold into sex slavery with another persecuted in their homeland, denied citizenship rights and abandoned on the seas. Not really what this thread is about, and I disagree about it being “pretty obvious”.

~whistles~

Tell the Rohingya Muslims that @prisonermonkeys talks about and then see where you get to.

 

[KSaiyu]

To say that that isn't what this thread is about is wrong.

Our silence

Are we not highlighting persecution around the world, perhaps both previously known or previously unknown?

We are. But we haven't been silent about Rohingya Muslims....

 

[prisonermonkeys]

But we haven't been silent about Rohingya Muslims....

Show of hands: who knew about the plight of the Rohingya prior to a week ago?

 

[Liquid]

We are. But we haven't been silent about Rohingya Muslims....

I can't honestly say I had heard about them until about an hour ago when I read this thread.

Come on. Highlighting significant persecution, bringing to light things/struggles some of us might not have known about before, it's a good thing. Not to say I didn't have suspicions about Myanmar but the specifics are a complete unkown to me.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Highlighting significant persecution, bringing to light things/struggles some of us might not have known about before, it's a good thing.

Yes, but it distracts from the plight of Christians and their persecution persecution complex complex!

 

[KSaiyu]

Oh so it's going like this again....

OK, you want to stick by this statement before we continue?

I think it's pretty obvious that at this point, the most-persecuted people in the world are the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

Just checking before we start.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Oh so it's going like this again....

When you say "like this", do you mean "a direction that I don't want it to go in"?

If we're going to discuss the Rohingya as an oppressed people, then you may need to view a group of Muslims as victims.

 

[Famine]

The most persecuted people in the world are, obviously, people who do not follow GTPlanet's AUP.

 

[KSaiyu]

If we're going to discuss the Rohingya as an oppressed people, then you may need to view a group of Muslims as victims.

So you want to debate our relative silence on Muslim persecution? Fair enough, where do you want to start.

* I'd also add that FIFAs silence on the appalling treatment of slaves by Qataris deserves a mention here. They aren't even letting them go to bury their dead.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ese-world-cup-workers-leave-after-earthquakes

 

[LeMansAid]

Show of hands: who knew about the plight of the Rohingya prior to a week ago?

And those who didn't couldn't be actively silent.

It's not difficult to see that the thread centres on what people encounter, but choose to walk right past.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Oh, but violence against the Rohingya has been documented for years. Ever since the junta disbanded there have been all sorts of problems in the Rakhine state.

 

[KSaiyu]

I suppose I can't argue with you bringing attention to persecuted groups in the thread, I just wasn't following your train of thought. While we're at it we can give a shout out to the Hazara Muslims who have faced persecution for at least a century.

It appeared to me that you were saying the Rohingya were the most persecuted in the world, therefore the thread was baseless.

 

[LeMansAid]

Oh, but violence against the Rohingya has been documented for years. Ever since the junta disbanded there have been all sorts of problems in the Rakhine state.

People can't be deliberately silent about something they don't know about. It seemed you were suggesting that many would have only recently learned of their plight. That would not at all be the "silence" of the thread title.

 

[KSaiyu]

Quite, the silence referred to was was more the silence associated with the first holocaust of the 20th century and I suppose if you want to tie in the political correctness thread the silence we are seeing in Sweden. It's the suffering we see but choose to ignore. It started as Christian persecution and evolved to (I hope) silence in the name of PC.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Oh so it's going like this again....

Seeing as how you're still twisting things around to suit your own ends, I would say yes, it is going like that.

At this point, I would usually ask you to substantiate your claims, but I know that you can't be bothered to and I see no reason to believe that you will change on that front.

 

[KSaiyu]

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Ah, the universal sign for "I've got nothing but I'm too proud to quit the discussion because that would mean admitting I was wrong".

But don't worry. Your reputation won't suffer from admitting that you're wrong. I've already got such a low opinion of you that it might actually improve your fortunes.

 

[LeMansAid]

But don't worry. Your reputation won't suffer from admitting that you're wrong. I've already got such a low opinion of you that it might actually improve your fortunes.

And that's what this thread was always going to be - a presupposition of the OP's intentions and stances, with clumsy attempts at fleet footed semantics and diversions, to create a chance to pull OP's pants down, and laugh. We're on to page 15 and the conversation hasn't even begun. I don't care any more about @KSaiyu or Christians than I do anyone else, but this has been a shameful witch hunt, and you've aptly displayed and described your blood lust.

Have a look through your window and see the insipid indifference and masked prejudice that exists in much of society, and get some perspective.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I have got perspective. I feel that the attitude put forward by some people in this thread represents everything that is wrong with society - ignorant, bigoted, opinionated and assuming that they right as a matter of course. And I don't think that the issue of indifference and masked prejudice can be addressed until society makes an example of the overt bigots among us, the people like KSaiyu who seem to think that treating somebody with common courtesy and basic decency is some kind of achievement rather than the bare minimum that should be expected.

You can characterise that as a witch hunt if you like, but the problem is that the witches are very, very real.

 

[Azuremen]

So you're basically proposing we fight persecution with more... persecution?

Sounds reasonable.

 

[LeMansAid]

This is my approach to the GTP Opinions forum......

I turn up, clock in, get all angsty, condescending, self-righteous, supportive, defensive, abrasive, opinionated, and try to "kill" some of you. Then I clock out, knowing that even though I might disagree with others, I can generally see that they actually care about what happens in the world. A far cry from far too much of our vacant society.

Aside from a few that streak through here occasionally - in this bubble, we're all rather standup humans I reckon. I know I won't be losing sight of that.

 

[KSaiyu]

I have got perspective. I feel that the attitude put forward by some people in this thread represents everything that is wrong with society - ignorant, bigoted, opinionated and assuming that they right as a matter of course. And I don't think that the issue of indifference and masked prejudice can be addressed until society makes an example of the overt bigots among us, the people like KSaiyu who seem to think that treating somebody with common courtesy and basic decency is some kind of achievement rather than the bare minimum that should be expected.

You can characterise that as a witch hunt if you like, but the problem is that the witches are very, very real.

I know you have good intentions but you have to realise this is 2015 not 1995. Perhaps instead we should take an example from Queen Rania, and get people facing up to the reality of the situation (her husband the King of Jordan is known for telling the Western and Arab worlds that we are facing World War 3 and need Muslims and Christians to unite). Only by doing this can we remove the "silence". Remove the barriers and we're one step closer to your utopia (which I'm sceptical humans will ever achieve, but that's for another threat).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...s-threaten-destroy-ancient-ruins-Palmyra.html

EDIT: Also another persecuted minority - the Baha'i in Iran

 

[DCP]

It's still the christians and Jews.
Other innocent people are being caught up in the cross fire.

 

[KSaiyu]

It's still the christians and Jews.

Erm, it's not exclusive to Christians and Jews. In fact I'd say more Muslims are persecuted as a number than Jews....

 

[Johnnypenso]

Erm, it's not exclusive to Christians and Jews. In fact I'd say more Muslims are persecuted as a number than Jews....

Too bad @KSaiyu was banned before he knew the Pope was on his side

http://www.breitbart.com/london/201...as-persecution-of-christians-rises-worldwide/

It quotes the Pope, who, on a recent trip to South America, said he was dismayed “to see how in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world many of our brothers and sisters are persecuted, tortured and killed for their faith in Jesus.” He continued:

“In this third world war, waged piecemeal, which we are now experiencing, a form of genocide is taking place, and it must end.”

 

[jimipitbull]

Shhhh. You are ruining our silence Johnny.

 

[Nooboogering]

Yes, but it distracts from the plight of Christians and their persecution persecution complex complex!

No, this has not happened yet. It will happen very soon though and atheists all round the world will be rejoicing.