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COMMENTS:
Voted : Ridiculous
India is backward, inferior and barbaric.
Meanwhile, the anti-AIDS part of it seemed to be ignored. You would think that Indians would find the prevention of the spread of AIDS to be more important?
Holy cow Socrates! I wouldn't go that far. I think India is amazing and it's one of the places I would most like to visit. Anyway, I just think the people who reacted this way are being a bit too much, but India as a whole is very cool.
We posted around the same time. Yeah, on that I agree with you. That's the ridiculous part. They lost sight of the most important issue because of a kiss.
Voted : Ridiculous
It's a good thing they didn't let Richard near the pet store. 
Voted : what a great way to generate additional media coverage for the Event!
backward, inferior and barbaric?.. hmmmm, you've been there? or maybe you just watch a lot of The National Geographic Channel..?
Voted : Ridiculous
In Bangalore, they burned gerbils in effigy.
It coulde have been worse. It might have been Jade Goody kissing her.
Voted : Ridiculous
First question that comes to mind, after reading this- how can a country with such a view of intimacy end up with a population of over a *billion* people?
"India is backward, inferior and barbaric."
India is also the world's largest democracy, and they've managed to hold on to that, in spite of all their problems, but anything not Western is inferior, eh?
by aya on Tue Apr 17, 07 1:59pm
[+]
Voted : Ridiculous
That is scary. India might be a democracy, but husbands still burn wives to death because they run out of dowry money, and don't get punished.
One thing I do know, India produces the best-looking women on the planet, e.g.:
by mojo on Tue Apr 17, 07 3:39pm
[+]
Voted : He should have kissed a cow, instead
They like cows over there.
There's something amazing to me about India. Everytime I watch the Discovery channel and it's about India, I have to watch it. Maybe I was a Maharaja in a previous life 
But they shouldn't burn their wives if they run out of dowery money. They should just beat them. Kidding.
but I do agree with time honored tradition of suttee. If a man dies before his wife, then she is simply thrown onto the Pyre with him..I mean, it's his right Correct? he owns her?
He practically raped her. Didn't you see her trying to get away? He had her in an embrace tighter than a gerbil in a dark place. Gere showed absolutely no decorum and totally dissed Indian culture. On the other hand, the idiotic Indians who burned his image in effigy overreacted, to say the least.
Patch, it wasn't an innocent kiss. She was resisting and turning her head away. She was embarrassed but remained composed. What whe should have done was kick him in the nuts.
I didn't read that in the article Bostonian. Do you have a copy of the article you read? I also doubt Richard Gere knew that was "dissing" Indian culture. I mean come on...how would any regular person know that? No matter what, it was a huge over reaction. Let me know where you read that she resisted.
Patch, I didn't read it. I saw it on tv. Again I think the whackjobs who protested need to get a life, but Gere's behavior was inappropriate in any culture. If he had tried that with an American star, especially in our PC society, talk of sexual harrassment lawsuits would be in the air.
BTW, the top Indian actresses are stunningly beautiful.
patch- "Holy cow Socrates! I wouldn't go that far."
- The caste system, untouchability, forced marriages (and thus usually also forced sex), violent patriarchal attitudes toward women, hysterical aggressive homophobia, violent Hindu, Sikh and Muslim fundamentalism, lack of appreciation for the individual but rather an oppressive group mentality- these kinds of things are barbaric wouldn't you say?
aya- "India is also the world's largest democracy, and they've managed to hold on to that, in spite of all their problems, but anything not Western is inferior, eh?"
- Simply being a democracy is not good enough, that is mere populism, and populism although having its advantages can sometimes be contrary to Enlightenment values, and thus populist rule alone is not enough. Recognition of human rights, development of society to be more liberal, and expectation for each individual to be allowed to be what they are without intruding on the rights of others to do the same- yes, cultures that have not adapted to this are inferior.
"anything not Western is inferior"
- No. Non-Western ways can be adapted to Western values, and thus make them just as much their own values. Good examples of this are Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, who are civilised.
I had made another comment Bostonian, but it's gone. I think you're right though; looking at her, I think she was really taken by surprise by his PDA. What he did was a little over the top.
Voted : It's their right to be so overly-sensitive
socrates you are definitely a world class traveler having experienced all of those cultures personally and to the extent that you can stand in judgement, deeming 'inferior' to some and 'civilized' to others - how perfectly Imperial! Why it makes my time spent in India seem so wasted...digging amongst the ruins of ancient Religious sites, sites destroyed by the Civility of the British, the ancient Hindoo Culture brought to it's knees for the sake of a quick Buck (or Pound Sterling in this case)..and I totally agree that the Japanese are civilized to the same extent as the British, one must simply ask the Residents of Nanjing or Keijo (Japanese name for Seoul during the Occupation)about the Beneficent treatment they received in say, about 1938. Yes, Western Civilization is the way to go, just ask any Native American, but to be sure you get an Honest Answer, ask them when you're on the 'Reservation' say like, Wounded Knee or maybe Crow Agency, either would be good... but,Could you Send me 'before Question' and 'after Question' Pictures of your Scalp? I think they might show you an Old Tradition learned from the French. Ah, Western Civilization, how easy to excuse the Excesses.
It's a bit strange. I had a hard time leaving my hotel room in Mumbai because of the UNBELIEVABLE show of bare flesh on MTV India.
For a supposedly conservative country their Bollywood idols seem to be exempt from the effigy burning.
patch- "Holy cow Socrates! I wouldn't go that far."
- The caste system, untouchability, forced marriages (and thus usually also forced sex), violent patriarchal attitudes toward women, hysterical aggressive homophobia, violent Hindu, Sikh and Muslim fundamentalism, lack of appreciation for the individual but rather an oppressive group mentality- these kinds of things are barbaric wouldn't you say?
by Socrates on Wed Apr 18, 07 9:10am
No, I'm sorry, but if we ever had any kind of moral highground in Western civilization, it's long gone. I won't go into it, but I could give you countless examples of how Western "civilization" is the same or even worse in many ways, and do so point-by-point. We are in no position to judge any other culture or civilization at this point.
spanky- "digging amongst the ruins of ancient Religious sites, sites destroyed by the Civility of the British, the ancient Hindoo Culture brought to it's knees for the sake of a quick Buck (or Pound Sterling in this case)..and I totally agree that the Japanese are civilized to the same extent as the British, one must simply ask the Residents of Nanjing or Keijo (Japanese name for Seoul during the Occupation)about the Beneficent treatment they received in say, about 1938. Yes, Western Civilization is the way to go, just ask any Native American, but to be sure you get an Honest Answer, ask them when you're on the 'Reservation' say like, Wounded Knee or maybe Crow Agency, either would be good... but,Could you Send me 'before Question' and 'after Question' Pictures of your Scalp? I think they might show you an Old Tradition learned from the French. Ah, Western Civilization, how easy to excuse the Excesses."
- The problem of course, is that in your criticism of the West and Japan for uncivilised behaviour of colonisation, you fail to note that these nations no longer do that anymore. You cannot compare modern India to the West and Japan of another era, you must compare contemporary India to contemporary West, Japan, South Korea, etc. For example, China once practiced foot binding, however, I am not going to denounce modern China for that, because they no longer do that. I will not criticise India for child marriage, because they no longer do that.
Can't you see the difference between contemporary circumstances as opposed to characteristics of the past that have long been abandoned?
patch - I'd be interested to know what it is that makes you think that the West is exactly equivalent to a culture that has the caste system, untouchability, forced marriages (and thus usually also forced sex), and violent patriarchal attitudes toward women (such as openly hitting them in public without opposition)?
Voted : what a great way to generate additional media coverage for the Event!
what dark corner of the world have you been living in? No longer foot-binding in China? how about female infanticide? still not being practiced? obviously you didn't know that India Banned the Caste System when they adopted their Constitution..wanna bet whether it's still active? Oh, here's an example closer to Home...what 'Civilized' western Society still imposes the Death penalty, while the other major players have long since abandoned it?
spanky- yes, I insist- footbinding is no longer practiced on a large scale, is not a cultural mainstream sort of thing, etc. I am confident of this.
"how about female infanticide? still not being practiced?"
- Yes, that IS still being practiced in China. It is barbaric and savage.
"obviously you didn't know that India Banned the Caste System when they adopted their Constitution.."
- Of course I knew that. The fact that they have to explictly keep referring to such laws and reminding society of them reinforces that the caste system is still a huge problem. The Chinese government in contrast do not have to keep repeating to the Chinese people over and over that footbinding is no longer acceptable, as it is no longer widespread, in contrast to the caste system in India which is. Can't you see the difference?
And China's infanticide, which is an example of something conteporary, is related directly to China's state agenda of the one child policy. It is barbaric. If you thought I am a fan of China, you were mistaken.
"Oh, here's an example closer to Home...what 'Civilized' western Society still imposes the Death penalty, while the other major players have long since abandoned it?"
- I am not even American, so I don't see why you are pointing specifically at the US with me. But anyway, the death penalty is mostly wrong from my point of view. However, the American cultural attitudes are still certainly more civilised than India's from my point of view. Or will you tell me that American culture is equivalent to one that still has the caste system, untouchability, forced marriages (and thus usually also forced sex), and violent patriarchal attitudes toward women (such as openly hitting them in public without opposition, as if it is 'normal')?
I have studied India at a university level, and these kinds of things are still problems. Each region has varying levels of development, of which I have studied.
If you went to India, stayed among the tourist areas, or even worse, mostly stayed in Mumbai and the other major Westernised cities, then you would have had a very restricted view of India.
^blow-hard little shit, pontificating grandly about life in India from the perspective of having read a couple of books on the subject, lol !!
"I have studied India at university level, and..."
Ha ha !! This sanctimonious little twerp also claimed to have "studied the Islamic world at university level" in another ballot.
Pompous little shit, isn't he? And unquestionably a liar, unless his fake university degree is in "Indian & Islamic Studies".
Dung- My degree is "Asian and International Studies".
"blow-hard little shit, pontificating grandly about life in India from the perspective of having read a couple of books on the subject, lol !!"
- Not just intellecutalist books, but also from speaking with sociologists who focus on India and have lived there doing their study of it.
Not first-hand knowledge, then? Thought so.
DUNG- yes, but I have had access to first-hand knowledge from these professors and such. Despite their left wing politically correct bias, they made it clear that there are such characteristics explicitly persistent in contemporary India. However, their subjective conclusion was that we have to 'respect' that their ways are 'different' and that Western organisations have no right to criticise.
'Western organisations' - eg, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, promoting Western values.
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