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Dalai Lama apologizes after video asking child to ‘suck’ his tongue sparks outcry.

Kelly of the Phoenix

Kelly of the Phoenix

Well-Known Member
Soandso

Soandso

ᛋᛏᚨᚾᛞ ᛋᚢᚱᛖ
It's just a prank, bro!

What kind of prank involves getting a child to suck on an old man's tongue - especially after kissing this old man on the lips. This kind of brazen behavior in the public eye makes me suspect this isn't the first time it's happened
 
vulcanlogician

vulcanlogician

Well-Known Member
Tongue sucking aside, you really must look into conventions for men kissing each other on the lips (in a nonsexual way) before condemning the act as inappropriate. In parts of Russia and surrounding areas it is considered nonsexual for two men or two boys to kiss on the lips. It is simply considered a show of affection.

Again, the tongue-sucking adds a weird element to the entire ordeal that may not be justifiable. But for those above who express disdain for a kiss on the lips... it doesn't necessarily imply what it would from a Euro-American standpoint.
 
Viker

Viker

Your beloved eccentric Auntie Cristal
vulcanlogician said:
Tongue sucking aside, you really must look into conventions for men kissing each other on the lips (in a nonsexual way) before condemning the act as inappropriate. In parts of Russia and surrounding areas it is considered nonsexual for two men or two boys to kiss on the lips. It is simply considered a show of affection.

Again, the tongue-sucking adds a weird element to the entire ordeal that may not be justifiable. But for those above who express disdain for a kiss on the lips... it doesn't necessarily imply what it would from a Euro-American standpoint.
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It's that tongue thing. I'm aware of other conventions. But still.
 
F

F1fan

Veteran Member
My first thought is wondering if Easterners don't have sexual hangups like Westerners do, especially with the Catholics having their pedofile problem, and anything that reminds us of preists will be interpreted that way. This incident looks more playful than abuse. Since he is a world figure he should know better than to do something like this.
 
Sand Dancer

Sand Dancer

Currently catless
vulcanlogician

vulcanlogician

Well-Known Member
F1fan said:
My first thought is wondering if Easterners don't have sexual hangups like Westerners do, especially with the Catholics having their pedofile problem, and anything that reminds us of preists will be interpreted that way. This incident looks more playful than abuse. Since he is a world figure he should know better than to do something like this.
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I'm inclined to take a similar posture here. Like, it may be a little more innocent than it seems. Our background reservations (like you say, with abusive clergy) may have conditioned us to interpret the situation in a way that doesn't accurately reflect what's going on.

Now, I'm no advocate for old men asking for a tongue sucking from youngsters. It's weird. And in most situations (including this one) our reservations may are perhaps well-placed. But it's quite possible that this was just a silly old monk being silly with a kid.

If it turned out to be due to some sexual motivation on the part of the Dalai Lama, well then, that's messed up. And all my previous statements are null and void. And I'm in no position to discount such motives. I have no idea what the Dalai Lama was thinking or doing.

But there's room in my imagination for the idea that this had nothing to do with sexuality and might have been more "playful" than it would appear us.
 
metis

metis

aged ecumenical anthropologist
vulcanlogician said:
But there's room in my imagination for the idea that this had nothing to do with sexuality and might have been more "playful" than it would appear us.
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And that is his nature as he has a great sense of humor. However, it still was "weird", and he did apologize.
 
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