yah sukhjit: “One of the things that Britain has gained in the scramble to modernity and consumerism is the Asian community who scrambled to get here and enjoy the fruits of modernity and consumerism” good one

I wasnt stating that asians in contemporary britain arent part of the western hedonistic lifestyle, clearly the younger generations are. And im not criticizing the western lifestyle in terms of freedoms. In fact im one of them ‘muslims’ wot burps after a pint!

Just acknowledging that there is a slide in morality in western culture in terms of social lifestyle. thats all!

And as kismet highlights, aptly, there are hidden dangers in South asian cultures!

moral of the story: the western way gives you a headache but at least you tried to get laid

whereas the eastern way gurantees you a fondle or more whilst the west is passed out.

Or maybe thats just me o.O

moral of the story: the western way gives you a headache but at least you tried to get laid

Being *shock horror* tempted to sin by the voluptuous charms of the temptress ‘West’!

Tauba Tauba! Protect our purity from her!

One of the things that Britain has gained in the scramble to modernity and consumerism is the Asian community who scrambled to get here and enjoy the fruits of modernity and consumerism

But seriously though, i know what you’re saying. But this is a condition of modernity not only in the West but in India and Pakistan too — everyone feels it. TS Eliot wrote about this very thing in his poem ‘The Waste Land’.

and the loose woman metaphor is simply Marvellous!

And they are…?

I have issues with it because it is so loose, ill-defined, and falls apart upon examination. I prefer to define aspects of western society as being deeply moral and ethical. Things like:

(a) Respect for individual human rights

(b) Commitment to equality in law

(c) Sensitivity to the rights of minorities

(d) Freedom of conscience

You vilify the West in a way, characterising it as (metaphorically) a woman of loose morals, and define it as lacking something because of the lager louts on the streets. But I dont need to use the argument about the epidemic of cannabis smoking amongst Pakistani youths, or the wide use of alcohol amongst Indians, to show that hedonism is not a thing that defines Asians as different from ‘western society’ — you only have to acknowledge that the western society allows us to have freedom of worship, make our choices, live with dignity, and that the West is not solely defined by the excesses of lager louts and promiscuous teenagers. That would be like someone looking at the bad things in Asian cultures and solely defining them on that basis.

As to the whole thing about the big wide gaping spiritual hole in British society – well yes, but this is something that westerners talk about themselves all the time, in books, and debates, and I dont know how much it helps to almost look down on others because they dont have the same level of religious observance as ‘us’

*wipes tears of mirth from off her face so she can get on with some work*

* rolls around the floor laughing. *

oh and in any case i’ve been talking about South Asia rather than South East Asia- dunno much about SE Asia at all.

Your version of calling a ’spade a spade’:

Tom: ‘John get the Spade’, John brings the JCB!