Specifically, the Buddhist ones in Burma.

So, Burma has this really brutal military junta that’s run the country for, like, ever. Recently, as I understand it, there was some civil unrest in Burma over high gas prices (let’s just pause for a minute and think about what it would be like if people protested everytime gas prices rose here…. ahhh) and the monks were like, “Well, since people are already pissed, let’s see if we can’t overthrow the junta and put the democratically elected president, who has been under house arrest since she got elected, in power.” But, now, we need to understand how Buddhist monks, regardless of how bad-ass, “overthrow” something.

See, Buddhist monks basically invented the term “Hug it out,” so instead of storming the palace or whatever, they get all up in their orange-robe things and put on MASSIVE peaceful demonstrations in Burma’s major cities. AND they do this hoping that the general population would join them (they did) and knowing that they will probably fail (they did… or did they?) and when they do the junta is going to kill many of them (they did). But they’re monks, right? So their probably like, “Whatever, kill us if you want. If we don’t go straight to Nirvana, we’ll just come back as gold-encrusted kittens with diamond eyes and gum-drop-flavored teeth!”

God, monks kick ass. If monks went to Hogwarts, they’d totally be Gryffindors. That tower would be PACKED with robe-clad bald dudes. I mean, Gryffindor is all about the bravest kids, right? Well, I’d say Buddhist monks have the monopoly on balls. BIG balls.

It doesn’t even matter that they didn’t overthrow the junta, because they accomplished a shit ton just by acting out against it! For example, it was all over the news, which further alienates Burma from the international community. (Although, several neighboring states still indirectly fund the junta via investment.) In fact, I guarantee that if you go to the websites for three human rights organizations, two of them will have Burma (they may refer to it as Myanmar) as their main headline.
The only way the junta is going to lose their power in Burma is when the people physically take it away from them, but this thing that monks did pulls world opinion even farther in the favor of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s government. (She’s the president I mentioned earlier. There’s a Burmese government-in-exile, I think, spread through out the world.) Thus, if and when a revolution happens in Burma the junta will have no friends to turn to.

Anyway, I know I promised a post about kitties, but I think this is such a cool story that it makes up for it. The junta is saying that they killed 10 people, but the real number is likely much higher. Unfortunately, when compared to the number that have died as a result of the junta’s terrible governance, that really isn’t that much. But, hopefully, their deaths will contribute to the junta being brought down soon.

Here are some recent articles if you want to read more: NYT, SW, BBC (The BBC one is eye-witness accounts, very cool.)