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Scorpions are all over SE Asia, my wife and I killed around 90 when we moved into our new home in the countryside of Cambodia. They are NOT deadly to adults as the blog suggests, newborns and elderly might die however, especially if stung by the bigger black scorpion. The browns ones no matter how painful are not deadly. My daughter has been stung three times between the ages of three and seven and was in pain, but is a happy healthy child today.

Are all Burmese sweet because one man did not kill a scorpion? I think Cambodians are equally as virtuous,but there are some real stinkers in the mix. I wonder if he would have been so gentle with a rabid dog or a cobra. I am more interested in how people treat people, then I feel more comfortable with the word "gentle or "sweet". What about the Rakhine destruction? I think sweeping generalisations about cultures are useless.

Edited by: The Oversight Committee for Astute Observation.

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i heard that hitler wouldn't kill spiders, would have them
removed and released outside. does this indicate:
nazis are sweet? uncle adolf is a buddhist?

nah......spiders and scorpions eat smaller, undesirable critters.
we just want to assume it's some religious/ideology/noble savage
ideal.

further down in that blog are listed the reasons why the people are
so nice to foreigners. not listed are:

--foreigners are rich......be nice and get money!
--the government will put you in a very deep, dark hole if you commit
a crime against a foreigner.

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Thanks for the funnies, guys! :-)

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Are these guys sweet too?

http://www.dvb.no/news/monk-group-calls-on-locals-to-target-%E2%80%98rohingya-sympathisers%E2%80%99/24389

or these

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/myanmar/120904/buddhist-monks-come-out-against-rohingya-myanmars-

.
Also, how did you come to the conclusion that there is no crime in Myanmar?
.
Thats totally wrong! I know of a story of a foreginer getting beaten up in a shady neighborhood of Myitkyina (not sure if that story is true or not). I also know of stories (that are definitly true) of people stopping motorbikes at night and stealing their money, motorbike, jewellery and whatever they have that would be worth something. Earlier this year there was a case in Myitkyina in which a motorbike driver died when he crashed after trying to get around a group of people that were trying to rob him. There are also robberies in small streets at night. I have personally met someone (50-60 years old local man) that got robbed at night. Group of people forced him to give them his stuff in order not to get beaten up. Might be due to the heroin pandemic in Myitkyina but I am pretty sure it is true for other parts of the country aswell. Also there is a huge drug problem in Myanmar. So many people are addicted to Heroin, Yaba, etc. All of them are technically commiting crimes everyday. Same goes for the people who run the drug business. You would be very surprised if you found out how many people are involved in producing, transporting and selling drugs. Myanmar is the biggest producer of Yaba (Methamphetamine) and the second biggest producer of Heroin (right behind Afghanistan). Most of the Yaba in Thailand is beeing made in Myanmar. Same goes for the Heroin that is smuggled into the neighbouring countries. Another thing is the rampant prostitution that you can find in any city. All of them are technically criminals. Again plenty of pimps who make money with this business and they are as criminal as it gets. So to say that there is no crime is terribly naive. Their might be less crime then in other countries but thats all. And if you count all the crime that is commited by the government and also regular soldiers of the government army I dont know of many countries that are more crime ridden then Myanmar.

"While the Burmese are more prudish than the Thais, Buddhist countries don't have the same stigma around sex that exists in areas of the world dominated by Catholicism or Islam. It's just a part of life, accepted. There is little resistance.
In all the time I was in Burma, I don't think I once heard someone raise their voice in anger."

This is ridiculous. Sex is not a accepted part of life at all. Pre-marital sex is totally frowned upon. Nobody talks about sex in public. Even a unmarried couples alone in a single room is going to get peopel talking and spying. There is no intimacy in public even amongst a married couple. The difference between reality and what is getting talked about is extreme. How the hell do you come to such conclusions that there is no stigma about sex in Myanmar? I have never been to any country in which sex is such a taboo as in Myanmar.

Buddhism teaches respect for all life, including scorpions (I don't necessarily agree.) It teaches a unity of beings in the world- all interconnected.
And karma. No Buddhist wants to kill a creature and come back in a reincarnation in the form of the being whose life he put to end.

Thats right but unfortunately most Buddhists dont care at all about their teachings. Just as most Christians or Muslims dont care about their bible/quran either. If they´d care why would all these nasty things happen in Myanmar? Most of the crimes in Myanmar are commited by Buddhists and not by Christians or Muslims.

Where is the Buddhism in the scumbags that rape ethnic woman and steal their food and money? Where is the Buddhism in their officers and generals sending these soldiers into battle without giving them enough food in order for them rob the locals? Where is the Buddhism in the Rakhine and Bamar people who first prosecute the Rohingya for decades and then start claiming they are trying to take over Myanmar and turn everyone into a Muslim? Why is almost every comment of a Bamar regarding the Rohingya racist and offensive?

Buddhism is nice but unfortunately like any religion the people who claim to be Buddhist are usually not living according to the rules.

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"In Brazil, if you show any signs of wealth, or even are recognized as a tourist, you are instantly targeted for mugging/ robbery. In Myanmar, where the average person has far less than their Brazilian counterparts, there is zero crime."

Errhh - where exactly did you travel in Brazil? I have been to Brazil many times and have never been targeted for muggings or other crimes. To claim that "all" Brazilians are just waiting for a wealthy gringo to rob is a deeply unfair statement. I have travelled all over the country, from the rich southern cities like SP, RJ, Porto Allegre to the interior and the poor northeastern states and have only met warm, welcoming and helpfull people despite my less than perfect Porugues skills. And I do stand out being fair skinned, tall and red haired.

The claim that Burma has no crime, is a bit naive in my opinion. Im leaving next tuesday, so I will find out for myself I suppose :)

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A naieve post , full of innaccuracies.and generalizations. Its not Hobbitland...

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"It's Buddhism man. They are taught to respect ALL life. Hell, when they pray they're praying for the happiness of the world, not just their own."

Well, in Cambodia, they pray for better health, they pray for the winning number at the lottery; they pray for a lot of things that will bring them happiness and not others.
Nijerk has hit it on the head. This is naive, lamentably so. It certainly proves the adage that travel can expand your horizons. In this case far beyond the limits of reality.

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Listen guys:

Of course there is crime in Burma. A lot of it? NO. Safer than other places- YES.
Is everyone a saint there? NO ... can you generalize and say as a tourist you get a better feeling from the Burmese than in say Moscow or Shaghai? YES you can.

You try to give an overall feeling idea of what the place is like. You cannot write each individual exception.

@ global55-- Brazil is far more dangerous than Burma. Can we agree on that? There is far less regard for life, a moral compass not exactly pointed due north. I know Brazlians who tell me that they don't want to go back to Brazil, because it is only a matter of time til they get robbed.
Is every Brazlian a thief? HELL NO.
Does everyone in Northwest Pakistan hate Americans? No way, but I'm not going there draped a US flag.

Funny, I could write Pakistan is a dangerous place for Americans, and you could point out to the millions of people who wish us no harm, would gladly open their doors for us, and call me a naive moron. And I say, enjoy your trip to Taliban country.

And yes, there are people who practice Buddhism who actually live by the principles. Same as good Christians, Muslims, and Jews for whom their religion/ practice influences their personality/ makes them better people. The influences of Buddhism here are exemplified by the hotel worker picking up the scorpion by the tail and putting him outside the hotel grounds.
Tell me where else that would happen?

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FunSpirit ,great post ,you got some great responses .
I dont think many countries have been run by as big a bunch of crimanals as those who have held the power in Burma over the last few decades . Hell they even have military universities to train them .When I was there in 2000 for most of the yr the military university was the only one open . Who received the most financial aid from the money sent to help those in need after cyclone Nargis ?
When those desperately poor people In Burma realise how much dosh the tourists carry ,surplus to their needs ,I think a wee bit of ''stick em up '' will come .
In the mean time ,long live those lovely people in that country !
Go the N.L.D.

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Whatever truthful observations you make are destroyed by statements that are patently false. If you want credibility you have to be more discerning. Because of so many false and worse yet naive generalizations you have zilch credibility..

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whatever. There is a difference being amongst certain peoples. It is palpable. For many.

Okay, so I'm racist. Blacks are better athletes than whites. I;m racist right? 10% of the US population 90% of the NBA finals.
People in Moscow rarely smile and drink much more than the average person. Clearly racism, not observation.

Yes, people are people, but different shared cultural values influence their outlook and general interaction with the world.

The population of New York City is far different than a small town in Colorado. There are reasons for that. I'm trying to figure out why I found the people of Burma sweet in general. There are differences.

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The influences of Buddhism here are exemplified by the hotel worker picking up the
scorpion by the tail and putting him outside the hotel grounds.

you don't know the reason. you're projecting your touchie-feelie outlook on some dude
who may or may not be a buddhist. maybe he's putting the critter aside to sell (or cook)
later?

13

"
Okay, so I'm racist. Blacks are better athletes than whites. I;m racist right? 10% of the US population 90% of the NBA finals."

Here's a fine example of the faulty logic. Rather than saying blacks excel at basketball compared to whites you generalize to all sports. Perhaps you would like to quot the statistics of white golfers and black golfers. Besides the fact that there may be underlying sociological reasons. But that is irrelevant to my conclusion that you just can't put together a string of logic without leaving some troublesome knots.

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The reason why most players in the NBA are black is that basketball is the most popular sport amongst african-americans while basketball may be number 3 or 4 behind baseball, american football and Ice hockey. Why are almost all ice hockey players white? Because they are better athletes?