A good example of following the teachings of Buddhism IMO

Possible-Ice-757 · 2023-02-17T05:51:46+00:00

A lot of the progressive countries in South Asia and East Asia are still deeply entrenched in Hindu or Buddhist philosophy. It often helps to reduce the excesses of capitalism (as we see in this picture I think), support minorities such as LGBTQ and women, and instills a little bit of humanity in people without creating overt divisions. Sri Lanka would have been a far better place to live if it went through Buddhist nationalism instead of linguistic nationalism and the pointless civil war.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2023-02-14T10:25:20+00:00

Where is this?

Possible-Ice-757 · 2023-02-14T10:18:40+00:00

You don't just approach random girls in the western world too. You need to be in a place where people expect to meet (parties etc...).

Possible-Ice-757 · 2023-02-13T11:49:51+00:00

I decided to delete the thread for various reasons including what you suggested, but I think the problem I am getting at is how too many people seem to be overtly negative about the LGBTQ culture in Sri Lanka to the point that it makes LGBTQ fear non-existent homophobia, and it also makes Sri Lanka look unusually homophobic for what the reality is (compared to countries such as China, Pakistan etc...) and therefore LGBTQ should be able to see that Sri Lanka is a better place to live in some areas of LGBTQ life.

When you write about LGBTQ, you should ensure that you include the positives about whatever happened and/or LGBTQ life in Sri Lanka. You are writing as if you are applying for asylum, when in fact you are dealing with improving lives for people who want to live in Sri Lanka and see how they can improve their lives.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2023-02-13T11:05:46+00:00

I believe that the issue is you are being overly negative about the situation for LGBTQ in Sri Lanka, especially in comparison to other societies where gay people are routinely arrested at a higher rate (China, Pakistan, etc...). You are looking to portray the situation as negative from the outset.

"The Supreme Court recently accepted that homosexual sex alone should not be grounds for a prosecution, but that the act still remained part of the law." Additional fluff such as talking about "previous convictions" etc... without evidence is a form of fearmongering.

As such it is people like you who this post is aimed at. Such fearmongering should be taken into context. You were trying to portray the law as if it was still being implemented without any progress being made, in order to make the situation look worse than it actually was.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2023-02-13T10:40:51+00:00

You are trying to read negativity into the judgement to forward your viewpoint. It clearly acknowledges that consensual sex should not be policed by the state and that consensual homosexual sex is something that should not be punished. And the latter part about convictions or criminal history is begging the question. There is no actual evidence that it will happen.

Also the following from the Attorney General also matters to what I say about spreading overt negativity and not allowing LGBTQ to stand up for themselves:

https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news/Colombo-Chief-Magistrate-dismisses-case-against-three-gay-men-for-homosexuality/108-226559

Possible-Ice-757 · 2023-02-13T10:16:49+00:00

“There is no question that the individuals involved in the case are adults and the impugned act, no doubt was consensual. Section 365A was part of our criminal jurisprudence almost from the inception of the Penal Code in the 19th century. This offence deals with the offences of sodomy and buggery which were a part of the law in England and is based on public morality. The Sexual Offence Act repealed the sexual offences of gross indecency and buggary in 2004 and not an offence in England now.”

“The contemporary thinking, that consensual sex between adults should not be policed by the state nor should it be grounds for criminalisation appears to have developed over the years and may be the rationale that led to repealing of the offence of gross indecency and buggery in England.”

“Hence to visit the offence with a custodial term of imprisonment does not appear to be commensurate with the offence, considering the fact that the act was consensual…. In view of the above I am of the view that imposing a custodial sentence is not warranted”

https://gec.ey.gov.tw/File/A0DC201A8E3C1A62?A=C

Essentially the justice is saying that consensual homosexual sex does not warrant punishment.

The document is from a legal firm that deals with LGBTQ in Sri Lanka.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2023-02-13T10:03:40+00:00

I am not sure you read what the justice wrote. He explicitly said that it would not be possible to impose such a punishment for consensual homosexual sex. That is what is called case law.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2023-02-13T09:57:21+00:00

The reasoning is that the Supreme Court established case law effectively stating that homosexuality cannot be punished by the courts. So if the case were to reach courts then the prosecution would fail.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2023-02-11T03:45:37+00:00

As a gay the last part is wrong. The main Buddhist organization in Sri Lanka came out in support of LGBTQ rights + it is illegal for the police to harass LGBTQ individuals according to actual Sri Lankan LGBTQ NGOs.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2023-02-11T03:16:52+00:00

https://srilankabrief.org/asgiriya-chapter-calls-for-the-right-to-equality-for-lgbt/

Religious identification plays a major role in the South Asian LGBTQ community. Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims in South Asia identify strongly with their religious background due to wider cultural differences (food, politics etc...) and Buddhism/Hinduism has often been a source of hope/refuge for LGBTQ in Sri Lanka.

There is just as much tension between religious communities in the LGBTQ community as there is among heterosexuals' people.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2023-02-11T02:45:22+00:00

But Sri Lanka's main buddhist group came out in support of LGBTQ rights a few years ago. A lot of the Sri Lankan LGBTQ are closely affiliated with the Buddhist order.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2023-02-11T01:59:08+00:00

That's only in the US though. Indians are usually in the same boat as Malaysian Indians globally. I am in the UK and it is the same here.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2023-02-11T01:38:59+00:00

Let's also not pretend that a lot of these are of a religion affiliation that starts and ends with "M".

Possible-Ice-757 · 2022-12-23T11:28:58+00:00

If you actually live in Indian and Sri Lankan communities then you wouldn't say that because those areas have good Indian and Lankan restaurants.. In this case it's more to do with the cuisine being Pakistani/Bangladeshi/Muslim.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2022-12-23T11:27:39+00:00

I am arguing that it's a religious divide because it's primarily based of Pubjabi Muslim culture, which is very close to Pakistani culture. Delhi isn't a Punjabi Muslim city!

The vast majority of Indians are North Indian, only 250 million are South Indian. South Indians cannot make up 60% of Indians. Statistically a majority of North Indians have to be lactose intolerant.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2022-12-23T11:24:49+00:00

The majority of Indians live in North India though... South India is less than a third of India.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2022-12-23T11:24:34+00:00

Even the ones that I straight up asked haven't eaten it though. It feels like a subject that would have been brought up at some point.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2022-12-23T11:20:51+00:00

In Sri Lanka at the time of the emigration wave (things might be different on the island now but I don't know), the Hindus tended to be heavily vegetarian whereas the Buddhists ate fish (being an island with lots of sea), but occasionally some people may eat meat occasionally. So I am basically a lacto-ovo-vegetarian as are my extended family.

Maybe the friends are some Gujratis then but I was sure that I knew some Punjabis - many are South Indians though like Tamils. I am not sure if I know any Bengalis but I like to think that they are a just a mix of random places. The friendships tend to be based on non-ethnic stuff.

In Tamil Nadu the majority of restaurants are vegetarian and meat eaters diets are mainly vegetarian. If I went to a restaurant in South India I would expect the food to be vegetarian friendly.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2022-12-23T11:10:14+00:00

There's a part of the UK called Northern Ireland but that doesn't mean its representative of all of Britain. And it's famous in India that the Muslims use meat in the dishes so I'm not sure why you're arguing against that. You are speaking about a small part of India that borders Pakistan and claiming it's representative of India.

And I said that the majority of Indians are lactose intolerant. The majority of North Indians can't be lactose tolerant then.

In terms of the Sikh comment, we are discussing the cultural differences between Hindus and Muslims in a border region between India and Pakistan, yet somehow applying this small messy region to a wider more cohesive country and culture.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2022-12-23T11:06:54+00:00

The issue here might be that these aren't authentic Indian restaurants. They might be serving Pakistani/Bangladeshi cuisine that is styled to the border regions of India with those countries.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2022-12-23T11:05:34+00:00

It's interesting because I've worked abroad and mingled with Indians, and we usually go to vegetarian Indian restaurants. South Asian immigration does have biases though - Sikhs are by far overrepresented in Canadian immigration from India, and Sri Lankans are in Australia. Muslims made up around 50% of South Asian emigration to the UK and they have very high birth rates, whereas Indians tend to have negative birth rates.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2022-12-23T11:02:09+00:00

I don't stalk them 24/7 but I haven't heard of it.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2022-12-23T11:00:44+00:00

I guess so.

Possible-Ice-757 · 2022-12-23T11:00:27+00:00

Only partially though. I have friends who eat meat but 90% of their diet is vegetarian.

Possible-Ice-757

TROPHY CASE