Bobby Jindal grew up Hindu. I get it that he converted to Christianity.

[yellowcanine]

But he takes up hunting basically for political reasons, going against everything he was taught as a child when he was Hindu. How crass is that?

[Angry Dragon]

1. One must do many things to win

winning and money ........... the gop yard stick

[Raster]

2. Change your name, kill things, become a bigot.... way to go "Bobby"!

[Cleita]

3. The thing about the Hindu religion is that you can be both.

Hinduism acknowledges all gods, even the Christian one. Handy, isn't it?

[yellowcanine]

5. Maybe so, but hunting animals for sport is about as far away from Hinduism as one

can get. Hindus believe that animals have souls which are at the same level with human souls - not to mention reincarnation.

[Cleita]

7. This is true, so what he is doing is purely political, like trying to claim his dark complexion is

a tan. I had friends from South America who used to say the same. Their brown skins were a tan. I used to try to tell them not to be ashamed of being morena, the spanish term for being dark instead of rubia, or blond and fair.

[TexasProgresive]

18. India bans hunting but does Hinduism?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunting#Shikar_.28Indian_Subcontinent.29
Hindu scriptures describe hunting as an acceptable occupation, as well as a sport of the kingly. Even figures considered godly are described to have engaged in hunting. One of the names of the god Shiva is Mrigavyadha, which translates as "the deer hunter" (mriga means deer; vyadha means hunter)

[yellowcanine]

20. So maybe Bobby is just being kingly or godly? Right.

Excuse me but I do believe that is a stretch.

[onehandle]

14. I learned that fact, of all places, in a Catholic class on the religions of the world.

Blew my mind as a kid.

I think that was the day I became a liberal.

[Cleita]

17. I was watching an episode of "Vikings" the other day. In the episode, the vikings bring

an itinerant preacher to Queen Aslaug whom they say is calling their gods demons. Queen Aslaug acknowledges the Christian God, but said their gods are more powerful and asks the preacher if he is willing to pass a test to see who wins, the Norse gods or the Christian God. So it seems many of the non-Abrahamic religions do acknowledge the gods of other people as real. They just have a preference for their own gods.

[Nye Bevan]

4. I was raised as a Catholic

and now I go against much of what I was indoctrinated in as a child.

Does that make me "crass" too?

[yellowcanine]

8. It is a question of unnecessarily rubbing people's faces in it.

Yes, I have left a lot behind as well. But there is a difference between moving on and doing something which is quite offensive to many of your family and friends for a seemingly political purpose.

[onehandle]

13. Only if you attack the poor, sick, and elderly with a baseball bat.

Pretty sure the OP was about the absolute turnaround.

[JI7]

6. the meat thing is not that strict

Many hindus eat meat. Some of them just don't eat beef.

The guy is a phony for sure. But Hinduism is often more cultural and isn't really taught in the way christianity or Islam is. It's very likely even in his Hindu family he grew up eating meat.

He still looks like a wannabe douche with the whole hunting thing

[Recursion]

16. Careful, don't let Shiv Sena hear you...

The Hindu Right is really pushing to reshape all of Hinduism in its own image...

[JI7]

25. do they have much influence other than in getting people to agree to hate muslims ?

[3catwoman3]

9. A man of honor...

...and principles. Hmmppphhhhhhh!

[nsd]

10. Some Hindus eat meat.

There is no centralized Hindu faith. Practices differ a lot between people from different parts of India and between people from different communities. Beef is proscribed, but many Hindus do eat meat.

That said, I think people should be able to be whom they want to be. We ought not criticize people because they live their lives contrary to how they grew up. The religious faith or other beliefs of one's parents shouldn't be a straightjacket. Just because your parents were Hindu or Catholic or Jewish or whatever doesn't mean you have to behave a certain way.

I don't know Bobby Jindal or his motivations. Neither do you. Nor does anyone else on this site. We can come up with lots (and lots and lots) of legitimate reasons to oppose Jindal, based on what he wants to do to this country. We don't need to psychoanalyze the man.

[tymorial]

11. I'm calling hypocrisy.

If someone was raised Muslim, grew up and chose to eat pork chops as an adult would you call them crass? If someone was born fundamentalist christian but grew up to attend a marriage between two women or men would you call it crass? If someone was born a Roman Catholic and grew up to use contraception would you call them crass? Too incidental and not inherent to the faith? Okay, if someone was born a christian and then converted to Judaism or Islam as an adult, would you call them crass? My guess is that you would not. I wouldn't either. I would consider it their personal decision. I would consider it a sign of maturity that they are able to come to their own decisions in life without allowing culture to restrict thinking.

If you want to attack him for being a republican, by all means. I do so as well. I do not chose to engage in cognitive dissonance.

[yellowcanine]

19. See my post #8. I think I answered your objection.

The point isn't that people can't move on. They can. God knows I have.

But in Jindal's case, he apparently deliberately adopted the trappings of rural Louisianna in order to attract the "Bubba vote" - wore cowboy boots, got a hunting license, sent out a Christmas card where he and his family were decked out in camouflage clothing, etc. Okay, that is pandering and what politicians do, I get that. But sport hunting is so far from being a Hindu, even a cultural Hindu who might eat meat, that I say it is crass. To use your example, it would be like the lapsed Muslim inviting his Muslim parents and friends to a party and serving pork chops along with other food. There is just no reason to do that. You can show some sensitivity.

Alcoholic beverages were prohibited in my strict church upbringing. I would not dream of letting my elderly father in law see me drink alcohol. That is not allowing my culture to restrict my thinking. It is being sensitive - and mature.

[Ms. Yertle]

21. Or-----------

--maybe he went hunting with a friend and enjoyed it enough to take it up as a hobby.

Honestly, can't we just stick to the issues without venturing into territory we know nothing about? Bobby Jindal is about as wrong on the issues as he can be, and I'm not going to question why he chose to take up hunting.

[tymorial]

23. this.

[CBGLuthier]

26. I do not think you have a particularly firm grasp on Hinduism. It is not monolithic.

and to be honest unless you are a Hindu I do not think you should blast someone for not being true to Hinduism. Especially since they are not of that faith.

I live in a nation that is predominantly Hindu. They really are not quite how you think they are.

[yellowcanine]

29. As with almost all religions. I get that.

But one can adopt a different version of a religion or a different religion altogether without being disrespectful of the religion they were brought up in. It just seems to me that Jindal is trying hard to get rid of any hint of Hinduism both cultural and religious, and trying rather to be something he is not, a Southern Bubba, in order to get votes. That is the crass part.

[LanternWaste]

22. If the fruits of that conversion were done solely for political rather than religious reasons, I cer

"Okay, if someone was born a christian and then converted to Judaism or Islam as an adult, would you call them crass? "

If the fruits of that conversion were done solely for political rather than religious reasons, I certainly would.

That said, if someone else wants to argue his actions are sincere rather than politically motivated, good luck to them-- as even a naive person person such as myself becomes skeptical when an opportunistic and craven cynic such as Jindal is painted as sincere in his actions (regardless of how many under-educated persons misuse the term 'cognitive dissonance...').

[onehandle]

12. Money is his religion. nt

[Recursion]

15. Depending on his caste he may not have been vegetarian

That's really only a high-caste north Indian thing.

[Snobblevitch]

24. I have seen

many politicians pretend to be hunters or shoot guns in order to get votes. Even President Obama had a photo shoot of him shooting a shotgun. I wonder if he ever shot a gun before or since?

[Change has come]

28. Do you have a link to that photo?

I'm too lazy to look. Thanks!

[Snobblevitch]

30. Here is a link.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/feb/02/white-house-obama-shooting-gun

The cutline says that President Obama said that at Camp David he and his guests "do skeet shooting all the time". I can't remember him going to Camp David, at least not recently.

[B2G]

31. Who can forget this?

[Cheese Sandwich]

27. There are enough issues to slam Jindal on without hitting him on religion or ethnicity.