Why Lite Yo' Self On Fire. Why Why Why.

Ok I was lying in bed this morning and listening to NPR when I heard the news that a 10th Buddhist monk set himself on fire-self immolation. So WTF, why would a person do that. Is it one of those things that Team Atheist would say that religion is what motivates people to do extreme things...or are there environmental factors that cause this and these people just happen to be religious.


First of all a little background. The Tibetan Buddhist monks are all pissed because the Chinese government will not let them freely practice their Buddhism. There is something about they have to go to conditioning schools or state schools and learn patriotism, the correct patriotism, if they wanna be a monk or nun. The Chinese government exiled their boy, the Dali Lama-yes, that Dali Lama, and Tibetans in general do not get treated equally in Chinese society; they get their power and water cut, no opportunities, ya know, general oppression of a minority group stuffs. OK, that's the ado.


"The self-immolations have set off a cycle of martyrdom and protest, inspiring demonstrations from New Delhi to Taipei. Tibetan blogs have filled with poems to the dead. The Dalai Lama, who lives in Dharamsala, India, led a day of prayer and fasting Wednesday (LA Times)."


This totally reminds me of the Tunisian fruit vendor that started the Arab Spring. Dude was super frustrated at the lack of opportunities and because his living condition was so dookie...he set himself on fire. Talk about "martyrdom" and "protest"...three countries have fallen since then. Don't forget, the fruit vendor is Islamic, right. But was religion the main component in making that decision, or is it the environment, the living conditions and the oppression. 

No one oppresses pandas. They're too cute.

"The ritual suicides, he added, are a sign that young Tibetans are moving away from the Dalai Lama's teachings about nonviolence (LA Times)."


Here's a thought, I'll just throw it out there (and I dunno where I'm really going with this). What if this is the secular/atheist landscape and  mindset that religious people keep warning everyone about. Less God in the public square, as they warn us, will result in lack of morals and ethics and a decline of a civilized society. The younger generations, of all countries, are less religious than those before them. So could it be that the fruit vendor was not devout enuff (or was it environment) and the 10 monks strayed away from the Dali Lamas teachings of nonviolence, do not hurt others and do not hurt yourself. Could be, maybe...no.

"He has always said that people should not harm themselves or others," Anand said of DJ Lama, "People respect him, but they are frustrated and they want to protest (LA Times)."


Which brings me back to...Are these people oppressed and beat down so much and so badly that the only sensible thing to do is frackin' lite yo' sef on fire. Really, it get's that bad. That is so bad. Really bad. Or is it...


"The self-immolations of the eight young monks were revolutionary acts of ultimate sacrifice to rouse the Tibetan people to action, in much the way as Mohammad Bouazizi's (the fruit vendor) self-immolation woke up the oppressed people of the Middle East from many, many decades of fear, apathy, cynicism and weariness," Jamyang Norbu, a prominent Tibetan radical, wrote on his blog this month (LA Times).


Or is it a combination of all of the above. And here's what I 'm getting at...Is religion a factor,  no matter how big or small, in the motivation to lite yourself on fire. What's that sayin'...people do bad things anyways, but it takes religion for people to do really super bad and horrible things. 


One last thought. The Chinese goverment is officially atheist (right?), so are they oppressing the Tibetan monks/people in the name of atheism or do they just happen to be a government that is f-ing up some minority peeps and they happen to be atheist. In all fairness...it goes both ways.


* Fo sho I believe in my heart that we need a MORE secular society, not a less SS.


* LA Times

* Dali Lama on NPR

* 10th Monk

* If I can make a joke, the #OWS'ers should start lighting themselves on fire. OK, I tried to make a funny. Any who...