[Buddha-l] Re: Can an Air Force cadet have Buddha nature?

[Richard P. Hayes]

On Tue, 2005-05-17 at 19:19 -0400, Dan Lusthaus wrote:

> The subgroups are all "negative" images.

Not necessarily. They are merely common stereotypes. I don't see
quietist as negative at all, but I do see it as a common perception of
Buddhist. I don't see fundamentalism as negative in itself, but I do
think it has negative manifestations. I regret the term "terrorist," as
I have made abundantly clear, but it is a term that is commonly used.
The term "nude" is quite neutral in my mind, as is self-starvation when
done for religious purposes. So whatever negativity you see is purely
from your own judgements, not mine.

> Apparently you are implying something negative would be the case if more
> Jews were Zionists, further implying that the non-objectionable type of Jew
> would be a non-Zionist.

That depends entirely on the kind of Zionist. As I'm sure I don't need
to tell you, there are several kinds of Zionist. One kind I personally
find objectionable, the other two I do not. But my opinions aside, I
think it is a common, and false, stereotype of Jews that they are
Zionists.

> "Stereotypes?" You may be able to dazzle your undergrads with these sorts of
> rhetorical tricks; to the rest of us they are transparent.

Obviously not. Rather, they are an opaque stream on which you can
project your fantasies. But no harm done. Now, let's stop distracting
people's attention from the real issue of my message with a frivolous
sideshow.

-- 
Richard Hayes
Department of Philosophy
University of New Mexico