US lawmaker Tulsi Gabbard criticises CNN over negative portrayal of Hinduism

[JI7]

the hate crimes she refers to had to do with trump's racist supporters and not about a misunderstanding of hinduism. and i saw a bit on this episode and Aslan showed a more normal and positive group after showing the extremist bizzare types. and the fact is india is full of religious idiots scamming people through religion. and these people are a huge part of the problem in the country.



<Tulsi Gabbard, the first and only Hindu lawmaker in the US Congress, on Wednesday accused CNN of “sensational and false” reporting about religions after it aired a show which allegedly portrayed Hinduism in a negative light.

“CNN on Sunday aired the first episode of a new series called ‘Believer’ hosted by Reza Aslan. For this episode, Aslan apparently sought to find sensationalist and absurd ways to portray Hinduism,” Gabbard, the Democratic lawmaker from Hawaii, wrote on Facebook.

The show explores the facts and myths behind the Aghori, a mystical Hindu sect known for extreme rituals.

The three-term Congresswoman, said while good people across the country are working hard to increase mutual understanding and respect between people of different religions, she is “very disturbed” that CNN is using its power and influence to increase people’s misunderstanding and fear of Hinduism.

“CNN knows well that sensational, and even false reporting about religions only fosters ignorance that can lead to terrible consequences,” she said.

“Indeed, Hindus are still reeling after witnessing terrible hate crimes in the last few weeks alone. Our nation celebrates religious pluralism and diversity, and CNN must do more to foster greater respect for people of different religions,” she said.>


http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-lawmaker-tulsi-gabbard-criticises-cnn-over-negative-portrayal-of-hinduism/story-b9UWTaHdE5UkSmkwKnYmJJ.html

[KittyWampus]

1. Yet she's fine being an Islamophobe and spewing rightwing rhetoric

when it comes to Islam.

The Curious Islamophobic Politics of Dem Congressmember Tulsi Gabbard
http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/curious-islamophobic-politics-dem-congressmember-tulsi-gabbard

Oh, and then there's this where she went to see Putin's Syrian dictator buddy Assad:

The GOP’s Favorite Democrat Goes to Syria
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/tulsi-gabbard-syria/508367/


The Organization That Sent Gabbard To Syria:

The head of the group that organized and paid for Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard’s trip to Syria says he personally financed the trip in which the Hawaii Democrat met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, denied he had links to Assad or a controversial Syrian political party, and rejected news reports that said his group was anti-Semitic.

https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/01/the-organization-that-sent-tulsi-gabbard-to-syria/514763/

[Docreed2003]

2. Exactly...

It's cool when she's spewing islamophobic crap. Sickening.

[leftofcool]

3. Hypocrite!

[SunSeeker]

4. Hawaii can do WAY better than Tulsi Gabbard.

Hopefully she will soon be be replaced by a good, prograssive Dem, to appropriately represent this deep blue state.

[Cha]

11. I voted for her primary opponent last year..

hopefully in 2018 Shay Chandler will win.. especially after gabbard grabs headlines like these..

After meeting, Gabbard vows to work with Trump

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/307071-after-trump-meeting-gabbard-says-we-cant-let-divisiveness-destroy-our

Democrat Tulsi Gabbard Defends 'Frank and Positive' Trump Meeting

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/Democrat-Tulsi-Gabbard-Defends-Frank-and-Positive-Trump-Meeting-402411576.html

The GOP’s Favorite Democrat Goes to Syria

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/tulsi-gabbard-syria/508367/

[Chevy]

5. One of Putins puppets and an Assad cheerleader n/t

[oasis]

6. Tulsi's picking a fight just to elevate her profile. She's a card

carrying shit stirrer.

[Cha]

9. After meeting, Gabbard vows to work with Trump

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/307071-after-trump-meeting-gabbard-says-we-cant-let-divisiveness-destroy-our

Democrat Tulsi Gabbard Defends 'Frank and Positive' Trump Meeting

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/Democrat-Tulsi-Gabbard-Defends-Frank-and-Positive-Trump-Meeting-402411576.html

The GOP’s Favorite Democrat Goes to Syria

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/tulsi-gabbard-syria/508367/

I'll say.. she's my rep.. Wonder if she feels like an idiot grabbing all those headlines?

Mahalo, oasis

[synergie]

7. The Reza Aslan thing was plain old stupid.

Especially in this climate, but Tulsi needs to get a freaking clue. She's plugged into the rather special snowflakes found in the RW in India.

And I'm pretty sure that Pramila Jayapal is also Hindu. Funny how the immigrant from India isn't trying to drag religion into the mix here, when what's going on is the racis, that the guy Tulsi was so eager to work with, promotes.

Also, she's got some weird thing against Neera Tanden too, some twitter fight where many people were calling her out, she reserved her attacks for Neera and Neera alone.

She's trying a bit too hard and failing miserably.

[JI7]

10. Jayapal is not practicing hindu

she came from a hindu family but a lot of times that can be more cultural and not really focused on belief. i came from a similar family. i wasn't raised to have specific beliefs according to the religion. and i am an atheist . i think Jayapal may consider herself hindu in a cultural sense but not religious.

Gabbard does come from a practicing hindu family with ties to right wing hindus in india.

i didn't have a problem with that aslan show. after he showed that crazy guy he showed others of the same sect but which practiced differently by providing education, food and other things to people regardless of their background.

it's like showing how there are christians like mike pence and then someone like jimmy carter and the difference in how they practice their faith.

on edit, there are actually a couple other hindu members of congress which just won last year.

[synergie]

12. That describes most Hindus.

I'm not sure there is a "practicing Hindu" designation, since it's mostly that cultural stuff.

Gabbard doesn't actually have any family ties to anyone in India, she did travel there after she was elected, more of an attention getting thing.

I think the issue with the Aslan thing is that he picked the most extreme, most weird, most ridiculous minority of kooks. It's like if he's picked some sect of Xtianity that promotes child rape/incest and used that as the example of the religion as a whole. It's offensive on its face, and it's follows in the footsteps of the demoniziation of the religion/culture/country as a whole that's a rather familiar path that Westerners tread with India. And this WHILE Indians/Hindus were being threatened, with a total of 4 incidents I think that week.

I think what Aslan did was remarkably ignorant, for the first episode, it was clearly about sensationalism. If you're doing a show about believers, dealing with religions that you don't have degrees in, and which many of your audience knows little about, while there are social issues happening, it behooves you to not be a complete idiot about sensational nonsense like this. There is literally a history of just this type of stuff being done, anyone who knows history should be familiar with that.

I don't have an issue with the show as a whole, and I know there were some knee-jerk craziness going around that was heating up some sentiment against it before it even aired. It was dumb, it was insensitive, and it was calculated.

Tulsi was reaping all the attention she could. I was pleased when she was elected, though her conduct in the past two years has soured me on her. She's truly clueless and does not speak for either cultural or religious Hindus anywhere, she literally has no clue what she's talking about.

The Aslan thing was annoying, but it's not why Indians are being targeted or why they're afraid. It's a separate thing. I wouldn't have had such an issue with it, if he'd covered the basics of the religion first, to introduce an unfamiliar and uneducated audience, before he got to the extreme sects. Expecting nuance from people whose only experience with Hinduism is their local tikka masala outlet, pop stars wearing Bindis, and their Reebox Yoga class is a bit much. Start with fundamentals and then move on to the sensational.

And think that Tulsi is from a Hare Krishna family, not a Hindu one, though she says she practices Hinduism now. I'm not sure what she's doing to practice it, other than having a Hindu wedding ceremony and Indian-ish clothes (saw some pictures of her wedding somewhere).

I only found out the issues of the Aslan show before it aired on Twitter when some random weirdos started attacking on a completely unrelated thread. It was odd. I've been literally accused of being an "uncle Tom" for stating that perhaps one should watch a show first and not be frothing at the mouth off hand, and just yesterday of using RSS talking points, for pointing out that NYTimes does a terrible job of educating their writers and their readers about the basics of the issues they're supposed to be covering. (Not the actual factual stuff, but the "color" and background they add into stories, which show that they have no clue what they're talking about.)

I think a more respectful show that deals with the same material is the one with Morgan Freeman, where he seems to actually be respectful and seeking to educate himself and his viewers, without all the shock and awe.

Just a bad choice on the part of Aslan and CNN who really should know better. Tuck that stuff in later in the season, AFTER some basics, and perhaps the outcry wouldn't be so bad.

[JI7]

17. Gabbard was raised a hindu and she is associated with right wing hindus in india

[synergie]

20. I think she's from a Hare Krishna family, she identifies as Hindu

(Swami Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON explicitly stated that his group was not Hindu, despite the vaishnavism). She has nothing very much to do with those RW weirdos in India, but when she became prominent, after becoming the first Hindu in Congress, there were a few photo ops.

They don't have much in common with her or vice versa. Except for their anti-Muslim feelings and love of the lime light.

[LenaBaby61]

8. Tulsi .....

WHO?

[fun n serious]

13. She is not progressive. She is a RW nutjob

[Blue_Warrior]

14. If only she had core progressive values , she could lead :(

[msanthrope]

15. Gabbard was a BoB darling on DU here. Thankfully, JPR has taken most of them. nt

[SunSeeker]

16. If only they would stay at JPR.

[nikibatts]

18. Tulsi...who???

Oh, her...

[AngryAmish]

19. So we have the press eating human flesh, making anti-Semetic bomb threats and

stealing football jerseys.

WTF?