Racial Tensions Cause Travel Alerts for the United States
Demonstrators march through New York’s Times Square to demand justice for Alton Sterling and Philandro Castile, the two black men shot dead by police last week. Picture: Tomothy Clary
Humans are social beings. We form and live in communities not only to avoid isolation, but also to have strength in numbers. But what happens when we identify ourselves too strongly with the community we live in? It doesn’t matter whether our community is based on physical appearance, race, religion or similarities in views and opinions… when we grasp too strongly to the perceived reality in which we live and fail to see others as fellow human beings with their own virtues, then conflict arises, jeopardizing our peace of mind.
Safety and security is one of the most basic needs for any living sentient being. The absence or degradation of this basic need will drastically reduce our quality of life, which in a Buddhist perspective is already filled with suffering due to the continuous existence of underlying dissatisfaction.
I was brought up in America, a place where people make a stand for their rights of freedom and equality. But although American lawmakers have tried their best to provide the necessary freedoms to their citizens and tabulate amendments as times change, in reality superficial rights to freedom are not necessarily reflected in daily life. After all, how “free” are you if your mind is continuously plagued by thoughts of violence, be it as a victim or instigator, due to increasing civil unrest in the USA? It is unusual to see travel alerts against the US, but racism seems to be very strong and alive in parts of the US creating civil unrest. USA may be touted as a powerful, wealthy and advanced country, but they have not overcome racism still which is sad. I grew up with much racism in school back in my home town too.
It is truly difficult to watch as America suffers from this internal conflict, especially since many campaigns for Human Rights and Freedom on an international scale are initiated and spearheaded by the US.
May those who have lost their lives in this conflict be remembered by the living as the bringers of peace instead of fuel for more hate. As long as we keep on fuelling the hate, the cycle of unpleasantness and violence will continue to recur and more lives will be lost.
Tsem Rinpoche
Several Countries Issue Travel Alerts for United States Amid Growing Racial Tensions
JULY 11, 2016 5:44PM
By Marnie O’Neill
After decades of issuing travel warnings to its citizens overseas, America is experiencing the shoe on the other foot.
The US regularly issues travel warnings urging Americans to either avoid or exercise caution in countries marred by violence or political instability.
But now four countries, two of them from the Middle East, have dispatched tourist warnings for the US as civil unrest fuelled by two more fatal shootings of black men by police last week continues to escalate.
Alton Sterling, 37, was pinned down by police and shot dead in the south-eastern city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana last Tuesday. Less than 24 hours later, police killed 32-year-old motorist Philando Castile in front of his girlfriend and her young daughter as he reached for his ID in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Or view the video on the server at:
https://video.tsemtulku.com/videos/DallasShootingVictimRecountsTheHorror.mp4
Dallas shooting victim recounts the horror
Both incidents were independently filmed and the footage widely circulated on social media.
The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and New Zealand have told travellers to steer clear of protests and large crowds because of the high potential for violence.
Protesters march at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Cincinnati on Sunday. Picture: John Minchillo. Source: AP
The Bahamas, a Caribbean nation which lies off the coast of Florida, was the first nation to put out an alert, warning against the potentially fatal consequences of interacting with American police officers.
“In particular young males are asked to exercise extreme caution in affected cities in their interactions with the police. Do not be confrontational and cooperate,” the Bahamas Foreign Ministry said in a travel advisory on Friday.
“If there is any issue please allow consular offices for the Bahamas to deal with the issues. Do not get involved in political or other demonstrations under any circumstances and avoid crowds,” it added.
The tiny island nation won independence from Britain in 1973 but remains a member of the Commonwealth. It has consulates in New York, Washington DC, Miami and Atlanta, as well as honorary consuls in Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago and Houston.
On Saturday, the Kingdom of Bahrain urged citizens via Twitter to “be cautious of protests or crowded areas occurring around the US”.
The UAE issued this alert over the weekend. Source: Supplied
New Zealand’s advisory was of a similar tone, telling travellers: “We recommend you avoid all protests and demonstrations as on occasion civil disorder can result.”
The UAE’s warning featured language reminiscent of that used by the US State Department when warning Americans about countries that have fallen victim to attacks by extremists.
“Please be aware of immediate surroundings and avoid crowded places when possible,” the UAE embassy said in a statement that urged people to stay away from any US demonstrations. “Exercise particular caution during large festivals or events, be alert and stay safe.”
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has not updated its Smart Traveller website since June 27 and its travel advice remains: “exercise normal safety precautions”.
However, it does contain warnings about the prevalence of gun crime, an increase in mass shootings in public places and changes to legislation in some states which may affect LGBTI visitors.
Thousands join a Black Lives Matter rally in Oklahoma City on Sunday. Picture: Sue Ogrocki Source: AP
Niamke Ledbetter, of Oak Cliff, Texas, holds a sign at a Black Lives Matter protest on Park Lane in Dallas, Texas on Sunday. Picture: Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News via AP. Source: AP
“The travel advice for the United States of America on the Smartraveller website remains under constant review (and) the advice remains current at this time, DFAT said in a statement to news.com.au.
“The advice contains warnings about the risks of gun crime and active shooter incidents, and the importance of avoiding protest activity.
“It includes references to statistics that show that metropolitan areas and cities in the United States tend to have higher crime and murder rates and that the southern states have seen a slight increase in gun violence in recent years. We also note that the incidence of mass shootings are occurring more frequently.
“Our message to all Australians is that you should be vigilant to the possibility of gun crime in all parts of the United States. No matter where you intend to travel, you should do some research on which local areas or suburbs may be less safe — check travel guides and seek local advice, such as from your hotel reception or tour guide.”
Yesterday some tourists in New York’s bustling Times Square told Reuters they were nervous about the tension and recent violence.
“I don’t like to be in crowded places anymore,” Eleanor Fairbrother, who was visiting from Ireland, said.
Diamond ‘Lavish’ Reynolds live-streamed her boyfriend’s dying moments on Facebook. Source: AFP
This still from mobile phone footage appears to show police officers pinning down Alton Sterling before shooting him multiple times. Source: Supplied
Mr Sterling’s alleged murder was captured on mobile phone by a nearby shop owner. Diamond “Lavish” Reynolds streamed the horrific aftermath of Mr Castile’s shooting, followed by her own arrest, on Facebook live.
On Friday, a mass protest organised by Black Lives Matter in Dallas and attended by blacks and whites alike, turned into a horror show after a sniper picked off 12 police officers, killing five of them.
Gunman Micah Xavier Johnson told police he was avenging the deaths of Mr Sterling and Mr Castile. Johnson was killed when he detonated a police robot deployed after negotiations broke down.
http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/several-countries-issue-travel-alerts-for-united-states-amid-growing-racial-tensions/news-story/5aa076643aaa890e2c1dd12addc75ecb
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As long as there is prejudice then there no place is safe for people. After so many years of Americans issuing travel warnings, on so many countries in the world, now other countries are issuing travel advisory against America.
Sad to read about the death of black Americans, I hope people in the US will wake up to the fact that, the as long as people’s minds are not tamed by spirituality, such occurrences will happen again and again.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article. It is always better to stay away from crowded places to avoid risk lives in gun shots or if there is any riots going on. We as human should respect one another and everyone’s lives is as precious and not less. No matter what color their skin or religion they are practicing, everyone should have peace and respect each other’s religion.
With folded palm,
Vivian
Even in a developed state which is advanced and powerful in technology, economy and military, or a sovereign state or even a world superpower like United States of America, so long as most of the people live in the piece of land do not free from the fear of being hurt, of violence or even racial conflict most of the time, you are actually not a free or advanced state in it’s real sense. It’s of course not easy for the citizen of a multi racial country to enjoy harmony and peace, with great difference in cultural background of the people, especially when there’s a lack of real effort from the government to lessen ethnic economic differences.
Not only for the case of America but for many of the countries around the world, we can actually witness when the social equality and rights of the citizen of the state is superficial, then the foundation of the harmony of different groups will not be solid, conflict or civil unrest will be easily happend even over a small matter. This is sad, especially when you are so powerful from external – military, economy or technology, but fragile from within – the people live there is not in harmony and peaceful, and mutual respect is very lack of.
I would think if the spiritual aspect can be strengthen, or some universal values such as respect, acceptance, patience, equality, justice, freedom, peace, integrity and etc, were valued more, the quality of people’s life would be better, the real freedom or peace of mind enjoyed would be more and solid.
Racial tensions have always been the problem of countries and nations with a multi-racial population. It’s often hard to pinpoint exactly where the differences and tensions begin but one of the most lauded means to curb racial differences is exposure. Those who are exposed to other races tend to have less racist views especially those who grow up in schools and neighbourhoods with other races.
That is one point and the other is to equalize or narrow the socio-economic income gaps of various races. When you have one race that are predominantly not doing very well is really just a hotbed for racism and discrimination.Therefore, a lot of work needs to be done by the government in order to rectify the problem.
The very fact that the United States – supposed bastion of democracy and freedom of speech is mired in racist civil unrest shows that things are going down for the United States. A superpower on a decline and perhaps it will be a decline for decades to come but it will a gradual decline as other nation(s) rise to the top.
It is really sad to hear that Black people are getting killed without reason. Most of the time the police claim that the person [the black guy] was armed and threatened them. But the truth is the guy suspected of carrying a gun is actually just a ordinary unarmed person.
For a long time America has been a hotspot for racism, ranging from the slave trade all the way to separate places for blacks and non blacks.
I really hope that racism and murder of people without reason will end soon.
I read recently that in the human genome, there is more diversity within a race then between races. What this means is that as humans, differences in genetics that differentiate races, i.e. skin colour, eyes colour, hair and other features that is “endemic” to a particular race is much lesser then the differences within a race i.e. height, gender, predisposition of intellect, character, tendencies, obesity etc,etc. Environment also play a huge part in conditioning individual human beings.
What this tell us is that there is very little differences between races; because there are more differences within each race and yet many human are racist, whether we want to admit it or not. Hence, racism must derive from environmental factor such as countries, culture, demographic factor such as family, friends, economic, family and economic background.
Human beings generally perceive these differences as a threat to self conservation and preservation. This is sad and is one of the root of suffering of human beings.
Unfortunately this also means that as long as there are humans, there will be racism because the root cause is the ignorant of the “self”. From this we “protect” the self; going outwards, we protect the family, community, race, region, country and lastly the human race i.e. “speciesism. Sometimes this may not be the order of the scheme as we may protect our pets more than our race.
After reading the article, feel sad for those people due the unrest there they suffered.Racial tension in the USA have been going on since a long time.It doesn’t stopped from one incident to another.Increase in recent mass shootings in public places had cause travel alerts for countries like USA ,UAE and Bahamas to mention a few.The authority should ensuring the safety and security of their people to enjoy the true freedom regardless of race, colour and so forth.Same goes to religion,we must be able to be given religion freedom.With the Dorje Shugden ban for example…it had cause many sufferings in certain countries.Do hope the ban will be lifted soon.
Thanks Rinpoche for sharing .
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for sharing this news with us. It is very sad to the the death of the two black males due to stereotypes and racism. It’s ironic that USA which is a country of freedom still have stereotypes and racism. A community with dharma will be different. Dharma teaches us to treat everyone with kindness and compassion. Dharma will destroy delusions and wrong views in those who practice it. Racism and stereotypes are wrong views. This show me how important dharma is in our lives.
Humbly,
Chris Chong
Two (human) traits jump out from reading this article – tribalism and snap judgements.
We learn tribalism early from our parents/family.
It is a way of thinking or behaving in such a way that we are more loyal to our tribe/family. “We love you because you are family” rings out loud, that’s tribalism.
Having perfected this form of discrimination/segregation, we extend it out further to race, religion, skin color, gender, “kampung” (community), sports teams, etc. We practise tribalism even without knowing it.
Then there’s snap judgement. We also do that all the time.
Where does it come from? Well, for sure it is largely based on the predisposed discriminatory thoughts or habitual thinking we have stored up inside us.
In turn, these would have come from direct experience, from peer influence, and from all forms of media we readily consume daily and store.
Both of these play out in everyday life all over the world. In the United States, there was a strong confluence of the two recently.
Thanks Rinpoche and writers for sharing this alerting issue in US.
To be born in what race is not a personal choice, being discriminated due to race is unfair as there is really nothing the person can do with his/her race.
Looking the the cases that invoke the demonstrations, it’s so unfair to see people were killed by police even they were pinned down, and it’s several shots that cause their death. I wonder why being Black is wrong and deserved to be shot to death.
US is a country that promotes freedom. The Statue of Liberty standing tall signifying a total freedom and welcome all immigrants to enjoy the basic and crucial rights a human needs; but yet these recent racial tensions that cause travel alerts are just something contradicting.
May the leaders have the clarity to what people really need, to enforce laws ensuring the safety and security of their people to enjoy the true freedom.
Thank you.
Yes, humans too are social beings. To avoid isolation, we form and live in communities. We do value our peace of mind too! It does not matter whether our community is based on physical appearances, race, religion or similarities. Of course our safety, peace and security form one of the most basic essential needs for any living beings. As pointed out by Rinpoche who grow up in America, racial tensions still seem to be very strong and very much alive in certain parts of U.S.A. and also the outside World. So to speak, this has thus created and caused a lot of unnecessarry unrest and tensions, which is tuly sad, dangerous and could be provocative in Racism in where-ever this excist. Perhaps, a dynamic and lasting peace could be achieved if we, as sentient beings, could turn our attention inwards and focus upon our own thoughts of the real-self, as peace is in fact a corollary of purity. When the mind is clear and free of all impurities, peace and happiness will dwell therein naturally. Thus through this way, we lay the foundation of establishing peace in ourselves and in the World. From the man who grew up in America, Rinpoche has indeed expressed all our sincere thoughts too when he said, “It is truly difficult to watch America suffers from this internal conflict, especially since many campaigns for Human Rights and freedom on an international scale are initiated and spearheaded by the US.” As such, like what Rinpoche has expressed that the cycle of racism unpleasantness, violence and hatred should be defused out to reduce racial tensions and to save more lives. Om Mani Padme Hung.
Thank you Rinpoche for highlighting the never ending racial tension in United States, it is known to most people living in the US especially the colored people are mistreated , inequality exist even in this most advanced country and these people are being still being classified as migrants. When one look into the history of US it is a country of migrants except for the indigenous Indians. There are various factors why the colored citizen relationship with their other counterparts has deteriorated and being reclassified as different class citizen mainly because one race predominate another race. The domineering factor is in terms of numbers where one race is more domineering because it has the numbers.
The superiority mindset of the majority has never changed in every country; it’s all about power, racism, schism brought about by their egoistical mentality. Many have fought against these institutions; some are even killed fighting for their freedom rights. I really do not see it ending anytime soon however harmony can resurfaced again if more efforts by religious institutions to create more awareness that racial riots, wars do not make anyone any happier except having more pains, anger and eventually turning this emotion into hatred. Perhaps Buddhism being known as a religion of peace can be more exploited by the many Buddhist quarters.
Racial tension in the United States is not something new. The extremist residing in the United States had been rather blunt in their selective treatment towards colored persons since the days of the black slaves and subsequently the infamous Klu Klax Klan era. Whether “outside” people are aware of the degree of those harmful racial incidents depend largely on the media and publications.
I agree with Pastor Jean Ai that the law on discrimination is not the issue here; as it is, the United States is one of the fore frontier in law against discrimination. It is about the societal behavior of certain individuals or groups of people, who are entrenched by negative views of colored people through upbringing, culture and cognition from media, entertainment, surrounding.
As long as they do not see the wrong in their bias views and as long as they refuse to uphold equality (even though the constitution explicitly said so), they will always hold themselves more superior and holier compared to the colored people they loathe today, and only god knows who’s next. According to statistic, income of 26% of the colored families in the United States live below poverty level. In 1998, the year where highest incidents of racial hate crime were reported to the police, 65% were reported by colored persons. Between 1975 and 1997, colored people in the United States of unemployment rate. And the list goes on.
And this does not include physical intimidation, bodily harm and abuse as well as murder of the colored people in the United States.
And sadly, the United States are alone in the plethora of discrimination. We can see the same societal behavior fueled by supremacy and ignorance among the Tibetan in exile community too. As much as Buddha’s teaching explicitly command equality YET discrimination against Dorje Shugden people had been rampantly administered since 20 years ago. As long as the ban on Dorje Shugden remains, targeted structural discrimination will not require the animus of the public to flourish.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article with us.
Correction:
And sadly, the United States are NOT alone…
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article with us. As I was reading this article, the thought of pack mentality just came to me. I think that we tend to gravitate towards people of the same nature and thoughts, people that share the same common ground, ie. religion, interest, work, etc. We need to be careful and examine if we are drawn together to encourage each other’s good side or brings out the bad. Examples would be where volunteers of charity works together to help others or where volunteers join together to wage war on others.
USA had over the ages been on the forefront of working towards being a progressive country championing human rights and freedom from oppression. However as Rinpoche mentioned, rules and regulations can be in place but if the mentality of the people does not change, then progress is only on paper. Equality is one of the hardest to achieve as we grow up developing perception from the environment around us, our parents, teachers, friends, etc. stereotyping to simplify our minds into neat little categories when in actual fact everyone or situation is different from the next. It is terrible the way that Mr. Sterling and Mr. Castile was killed but the revenge shooting in Dallas where five Police Officers died and seven wounded was wrong. The shooter had generalised and categorised Police as prejudicial towards “blacks”. Wrong views that resulted in tragedy.
As countries become more prosperous, more and more are focused on materialism and the satisfaction of the “Self”. As we learn in Buddhism, seeking fulfilment in the “Self” will never lead us to happiness. Thus the people are becoming more dissatisfied but not understanding why which often times lead to anger and frustration. It is in this degenerate times that we need Protector Dorje Shugden the most as he helps us overcome our “self-cherishing”. The ban on his beneficial practise need to come down quickly as the people is in need of his help and not to be discouraged by the controversy. With folded hands, may His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in his compassion lift the ban to allow more to receive Dharma which is the antidote to all the unhappiness in the world.
Actually, I don’t think the amount of civil unrest in the United States has changed THAT much over the years. It just looks like it has on the outside but for minority communities, they have always suffered discrimination. The only difference, the only change over the years is how willing the rest of the population are to express this discrimination openly. In the 1920s, thanks to racial segregation laws, people were allowed by law to express their racism; their racism was legitimised and legalise.
Today, although the law bans open discrimination, the law itself has not done enough to change societal attitudes towards different races and cultures. Hence, because of unchanged attitudes (which are only kept in check thanks to the law), some people only need a strong enough trigger to push them to express their views, law be damned.
So the underlying issue here is not the law but the ignorance and lack of exposure to other countries and cultures. This has resulted in a poor understanding and acceptance of differences, which is exploited by people in positions of influence who have something to gain. Many a time we have seen TV personalities, ‘journalists’ and newscasters engaging in fear-mongering among the American population. Why? Because sensationalism sells column inches and pixels. This happens all over the world. With the Dorje Shugden ban for example, Tibetans and Western supporters who don’t know any better, are whipped into a frenzy by their leadership who feed them misinformation.
Things in the United States won’t change any time soon, because there is a general unwillingness among the monied and powerful to push for real change. Gun violence? That won’t go down as long as gun lobbyists have their way. There have been so many mass shootings over the last six months but people are still debating over gun control. Police brutality? That won’t go down as long as the society at large continues to lack exposure to different cultures and races.
So over time, we may in fact see more and more countries adding the USA to their travel watchlist, and it won’t be limited to just the UAE, Bahrain, New Zealand and Australia anymore.
It is always sad to see racial tension. I really hope that this racial tension will be eased but unfortunately, racial issues are not easy to resolve, because it usually involves a lot of emotions. I just hope that this racial issue will not be exploded and it will not turn into a whole country rally.
We all have differences. We have different colour skins, different culture, different education, different faith, etc. There should not be any discrimination against another group of people based on whatever differences. I really hope this world can have less tension or war because of the differences.
I read yesterday that even Shah Rukh Khan was singled out and held up at an American airport once again. This happened several times in the past and he believes it was due to unfair treatment, discrimination and racial & religious profiling. He said, “I became so sick of being mistaken for some crazed terrorist who coincidentally carries the same last name as mine that I made a film, subtly titled My Name is Khan (and I am not a terrorist) to prove a point,” he said. “I wonder, at times, whether the same treatment is given to everyone whose last name just happens to be McVeigh (as in Timothy)?”. Ref: http://bit.ly/2bqBtAv
America seems to be getting more and more paranoid. I can understand it comes from having been a victim in the past and a resultant feeling of lack of security. But the tit-for-tat kind of reaction at national level does no good in the larger scheme of things and sets the example for the man on the street to react the same way. Then there would be no end of violence which in fact could only escalate. America is quick to put security/travel alerts on other countries at the slightest whim. It’s no wonder that they now get the same treatment.
USA may be one of the most developed countries in the world, but spiritually, they lag behind tremendously. Being a country who spearheads freedom and human rights around the world, it’s ironic that internally, racism and other sorts of discrimination still exist.
The entire American culture promotes narcism and amassing wealth. Ego centricity is the main focus of making oneself “happy”. This is the American dream. Obviously, material wealth doesn’t equate to happiness. Material wealth brings comfort and convenience but not happiness.
Because most people are nurtured to focus on the ME, they will never be truly satisfied with their life no matter how successful they are secularly. This dissatisfaction will grow and feed the negativity in them. Hate, anger, depression, anxiety, jealously and so on increase overtime, leading to violence.
As Rinpoche wrote, “As long as we keep on fuelling the hate, the cycle of unpleasantness and violence will continue to recur and more lives will be lost.”
This is exactly what discrimination dies to all of us. Even if there is laws, but if people do not follow what is going on, the laws are as good as dead.
The discrimination against other colours in the States has been going on for many decades yet the issue is not being solved even though there are so many regulations that go together with it. So when we think that just because the legalisations say so, people will change is something that is a very wishful thinking of ourselves. Reason being that with this case study of what is going on in the States we can see that this is not the situation, what makes the rest of the world so different? Nothing.
Thus, when the issue is not being addressed at the core, discrimination will not be stopped. I hope that when the ban on Dorje Shugden is being lifted, discrimination against Dorje Shudgen practitioners will not persist. Reason being that many people will suffer even after many generations later. There is not reason for the advocation of hate at all. It is really upsetting to see what is happening in the States, I hope that this racism will be resolved soon.