A Bloody Planet: Thoughts On Tibet, And More.

Over the last few days, I have been pondering the planet in the back of my mind. Humanity. The little species that could. What prompted this was a lot of cross talk on Facebook among people I know related to the protests in Tibet that started on March 10th, 2008. Obviously, Tibet has been on my mind - as a Buddhist, I feel a connection not too dissimilar to what a Muslim might feel for Palestinians. Let that thought soak a moment. We'll get back to it.

So I wondered what I could do, as have many other people. One thing is to stand with the Dalai Lama by signing this petition - 507,661 have signed as I write this, which is up about 100,000 since I checked yesterday. So I've signed the petition and I should be happy about things, right? I'm not. It bothers me, and it bothers me for many reasons. The outright breaking of things written in the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights is a travesty, but the travesty has nothing to do with what was written on pieces of paper but with the principles behind them. China's not alone in being wrong; there are many wrong on the planet but the attention is now on Tibet. So I'm wondering - if there is solid support for Tibet, what about other parts of the world? There is more suffering than just in Tibet.

There's Guantanamo Bay, for example. I helped out with the ACLU's events in Second Life to close Guantanamo Bay; I got paid to do so but that project also suits me. The trouble for people in the United States, I suppose, is that Tibet is conveniently located on the other side of the planet and shows the wrongs of China - but what of the wrongs in Guantanamo Bay? Could we get that many people in the United States alone to agree that the conditions and suspension of Habeas Corpus is a violation of the principles not only of the US Constitution, but of the UN Declaration of Human Rights? Would they read about the ACLU's efforts, perhaps sign the petition?

But Tibet is the focal point now. Why would I rob it of focus? Because it really is the same set of principles that apply. How can a nation that breaks the spirit of human rights condemn another that does the same? We can speak of censorship of news, but censorship has a brutal honesty to it that is more respectable than skewing the news.

No, Tibetans are not alone. This is a global problem, not a Tibetan problem. The Chinese government has plenty of company when it comes to such abuses. And what is a nation but a border on a planet of borders?

Palestinians were on my mind with this as well. Consider these things:

• 100 different countries recognized the Palestinian State. Not one country recognized Tibet as a sovereign nation, at least partly due to it's self imposed isolation before China's claim.
• The Palestinian issue has had United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 on the shelf since 1967 - Tibet has no such resolutions. Despite the disagreements regarding Resolution 242, it seems everyone can agree that it hasn't happened yet - whatever it is.
• Violence. We see violence now in Tibet as people fight with what they consider to be occupying forces while the Chinese Government seems to see the Tibetans as insurrectionists. And yet this is not new in the Palestinian issue. They, too, are considered insurrectionists. Granted, strapping bombs to one's self is a much higher level of violence - but is throwing stones at fully armed military by Tibetans any less a form of suicide?
• Tibetans are garnering support from the Western World. Palestinians rarely gain sympathy from the Western World. Communist China is viewed quite differently in comparison to Israel - but the Israelis have been known to be just as kind in the past.

I'm not saying that what the Palestinians have done is right, and no, I'm not saying that terrorism itself is a means to an end. What I am saying is - look at it. Why the disparity in popular Western Culture? Who are we fooling? And notice that I didn't even bring up Iraq.

And then there are so many other atrocities around the world that have happened and continue to happen. Where is the support for these?

I've resigned myself to living on a bloody planet. We consistently see blood flowing in one part of the world or the other; we consistently see the principles that human rights are based on tossed into the ocean, still beating. So what am I supposed to do about it? I do not know.

The United Nations is about as effective as the countries within it allow for. And policies of nations within the United Nations are not necessarily democratic, since politicians are elected and have a tendency to act without consulting the public, allegedly in the interests of a nation. Nationalism is such a tiresome thing. Old lines on faded parchment drawn by people who are no longer alive, based on premises of isolation and control, do not seem to be doing us much good right now - or since before I was born a scant 37 years ago. I do not know why this is. I do know that whatever we, as a species, have been doing doesn't seem to work too awfully well. When did the person on the other side of the globe become more or less equal in human rights than another?

Again, I do not know. If I damn China, then there are many other countries I must damn. This, of course, will not win me many friends. It will also be ineffective.

So all I can do is ask that the planet become a little less bloody. Common respect for human rights should be equal and consistent, not something that allows some equality and others not. Maybe, somewhere, people will find some sense in this or may have found it on their own. I cannot support only one cause if I adhere to the principle of everyone being equal and having the same Rights. I must support them all.

As for what I will do... I have done it. And I will try to do it consistently and treat everyone as an equal. I imagine a world where people did think that they were equals, and if we were all equals... what would be fighting over? I'm willing to find out.

Are you?