I'm with Span

From Spanblather:

I'm still not really back to blog, but I'm perplexed by the Dalai Lama Fever that seems to be gripping our politicians - to meet, not to meet, to meet with this hat on or that one.

Maybe I've been watching too much Penn & Teller*, but what's so fabbo about shaking the hand of a man who wants to return Tibet to a repressive theocratic state? I mean sure, some self-determination would be ace, and I'd like to see an end to the Chinese occupation, but I'm not convinced that having the country run by misogynistic priests is really the best alternative.

I am so sick of the sort of hippie liberal who says stuff like "The Dalai Lama is so wise and spirtual, and so we must support Tibet's independence from China.

1. I don't like or trust great spiritual leaders. People who are called 'great spiritual leaders' do not usually have much interest in promoting freedom, liberation and equality for the oppressed and exploited.

2. If you believe in self-determination, and I do, it doesn't really matter whether the figure head of that struggle is a 'great spirtual man', like the Dalai Lama, or half a dozen chickens.