[Quix]

Anyone who speaks against the Buddha or Buddhism in Thailand can quickly find out Buddhist’s perspective on violence in certain contexts.

[TigersEye]

LOL Well, I suppose. I don't think anyone likes to be ridiculed or derided especially in their own home. Basic culture makes a big difference in a given place. I think it's hard in some cases to say what influences the other more, religion or culture.

But my point above was that Buddhism doesn't teach passivism it teaches non-aggression. A passivist takes whatever garbage is dumped on them and says "please, sir, may I have some more?" A practitioner of Buddhist non-aggression should be someone who doesn't dump garbage on others. Self defense is not aggression unless it starts to stray into a revenge, profit or a self-gratification trip and true compassion, as a Buddhist sees it, can mean taking life.