Let me copy and paste a comment I wrote earlier today on a separate thread, with some minor edits:
Speaking as an Asian person who has lived for over 10 years in Southeast Asia, the mainstream Western view of that part of the world is stunningly simplistic and ignores the fact that the average Burmese citizen does not necessarily view the military as a bad thing. In fact, when the military junta first came to power in 1962, they were largely supported by the citizens who were dissatisfied with the elected government at the time, which they perceived to be weak, corrupt, and not prepared to solve the country’s problems. Even in 2014, a poll of Burmese citizens showed that 84% of them hold “very favorable” or “favorable” opinions of the military, ranking it ahead of the government and media.
This narrative of “military bad, democratically elected government good” really shows Westerners’ lack of knowledge of the real situation. I am not implying that the Burmese military is perfect, but they are definitely not as awful as the way they are portrayed in Western media. The most common opinion among the Burmese is that while they acknowledge that life was far from perfect under military rule, they also view their military as essential to maintaining law and order, and believe it plays an important role. The Burmese have a long and proud military history that dates back to the 9th century, when the Burmese imperial army was one of the major military forces in Southeast Asia, and they accordingly consider it an important part of their heritage.
Let me copy and paste a comment I wrote earlier today on a separate thread, with some minor edits: Speaking as an Asian person who has lived for over 10 years in Southeast Asia, the mainstream Western view of that part of the world is stunningly simplistic and ignores the fact that the average Burmese citizen does not necessarily view the military as a bad thing. In fact, when the military junta first came to power in 1962, they were largely supported by the citizens who were dissatisfied with the elected government at the time, which they perceived to be weak, corrupt, and not prepared to solve the country’s problems. Even in 2014, a poll of Burmese citizens showed that 84% of them hold “very favorable” or “favorable” opinions of the military, ranking it ahead of the government and media.
This narrative of “military bad, democratically elected government good” really shows Westerners’ lack of knowledge of the real situation. I am not implying that the Burmese military is perfect, but they are definitely not as awful as the way they are portrayed in Western media. The most common opinion among the Burmese is that while they acknowledge that life was far from perfect under military rule, they also view their military as essential to maintaining law and order, and believe it plays an important role. The Burmese have a long and proud military history that dates back to the 9th century, when the Burmese imperial army was one of the major military forces in Southeast Asia, and they accordingly consider it an important part of their heritage.
Let me copy and paste a comment I wrote earlier today on a separate thread, with some minor edits:
Speaking as an Asian person who has lived for over 10 years in Southeast Asia, the mainstream Western view of that part of the world is stunningly simplistic and ignores the fact that the average Burmese citizen does not necessarily view the military as a bad thing. In fact, when the military junta first came to power in 1962, they were largely supported by the citizens who were dissatisfied with the elected government at the time, which they perceived to be weak, corrupt, and not prepared to solve the country’s problems. Even in 2014, a poll of Burmese citizens showed that 84% of them hold “very favorable” or “favorable” opinions of the military, ranking it ahead of the government and media.
This narrative of “military bad, democratically elected government good” really shows Westerners’ lack of knowledge of the real situation. I am not implying that the Burmese military is perfect, but they are definitely not as awful as the way they are portrayed in Western media.