Vishnu Reference On AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Angers Hindu Group

The only reason they found this disrespectful is because it was not in a historical/teaching aspect, a-la History channel. Agents of Shield is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant purely for enjoyment. The History channel is meant to teach viewers certain things involving religion and cultures.

Lol!

What educational benefit might one gain from shows like Mud Men, Duck Dynasty, Storage Wars, UFO Files and Ancient [frick]ing Aliens?

@JusticePourTous

I remember feeling rather uncomfortable after I heard that joke. I even wondered if they would get any flack from it.

I knew this would happen.
Even though it was only a passing remark and they weren't actually saying that Vishnu and the Hindu gods actually were aliens in the MCU.
Nobody got all up in arms when they said that the Norse gods were aliens. I mean, I know that there aren't as many that believe in Norse mythologies and religions left and Hinduism is one of the Earth's main religions at the moment, but still, they said that the Norse gods were aliens as a part of teh actual MCU.
Also, like Batmaniac said, anything that is extra-terrestrial is extra-terrestrial. That's just sense.
Besides the fact that the Abrahmic God is made fun of all the time, let alone theorised that the angels are aliens (which they also are if they are not of this Earth) and nobody seems to get up in arms about that.
AND there's the fact that the Hindus believe that God is so holy that they can never trruly knwo anything about his/her/it's aspects and as such they admittedly speculate with their gods and mythology. Essentially they believe that everything that they believe is made up. But not really.
Silly. Just silly.

@batmaniac
Firstly, your argument about the use of the word alien is just semantics. Skye was CLEARLY using the word alien to mean other forms of life from outer space, seeing as it was in reference to Thor and the dark elves. The colloquial use of the word alien is what she meant, and it is this usage that is causing offence.

I imagine any religion would take offence to their gods being compared to creatures from another planet, and the implication is that vishnu has as much validity as those of norse mythology, a dead religion. No matter what your personal opinion on that statement is, it doesn't take much empathy to see that it could be hurtful to followers of hinduism.

Secondly, the argument that it is from the comics doesn't hold up either. Comic books from the past have some incredibly questionable and outdated material with regards to racism and sexism* for example, but this is understandable, as they are a product of their time, when such modes of thinking were commonplace. However this doesn't mean that it should be adapted blindly without reevaluation as to how it relates in this day and age. It's outdated, and potentially offensive, and so care needs to be taken when talking about it.

*(Although slowly getting better, the way women are portrayed in comics is still pretty bad, and makes comics one of the worst artistic mediums for sexism out there. Have a look at the Escher Girls tumblr if you need convincing.)

People are so easily offended nowadays. Just shut the [frick] up, you pussies!

@Batmaniac
"If the guy takes offense to somebody asking a non offensive question about deity in his religion, he is being to sensitive."
The issue is that Skye wasn't asking a Hindu about their religion in a serious manner. It wasn't a question that she was looking for a serious answer to. It was a quip. It was her saying "wow! If norse mythology turned out to be aliens, maybe other mythological creatures are too!" The implication is that Hinduism is no more valid as a belief system than norse mythology.

She wasn't curious about an aspect of Hinduism that she was uneducated about, she was implying that Thor and Vishnu are as unbelievable as each other. Can you imagine the Thor film being made if there were nearly a billion people in the world that still genuinely thought he existed? It would be outrageous, and thats the problem. Skye (the writers) have equated them, which is an insult to those who hold those beliefs.

@Batmaniac

I'm not sure if you are referring to me, but I'm willing to put everything in the past if you can refrain from losing your cool.

If you want to use the literal term of alien, then yes, Thor is an alien. But he's not the same type of alien as someone like the Silver Surfer or Mephisto or Beta Ray Bill. I live in the USA. For me, putting Thor and the Silver Surfer and Mephisto and Beta Ray Bill in the same category is the same as putting Mexicans and Italians and Japanese in the same category. Just because they aren't from the USA doesn't mean they are all the same. It would be like saying that cats and dogs and snails and spiders are all the same because they aren't human.

Besides Thor was born in Norway (I found that out on Wikipedia).

Isn't it strange, though, that you need to have a certain amount of people believing in a religion, before it's recognised as a religion?
Is it just me that finds that a little disturbing? What does that say about humanity?
I mean, I've heard that there are acually still a lot of Greeks that genuinely beleive in and worship the Olympian gods?
And how many of us salute Odin before guzzling down booze? I know I do, now and then. And when I do, it is always a memorably drunken night, never mediocre.
hmmm. Just food for thought.

Besides Jedi is a religion and you don't see those guys taking offense at having their religious figures being portrayde as aliens, do you?

Th bottom-line is, people of hindu faith found this offensive, you and I have no say in the matter because we are not of hindu faith.

I'm african american, if someone were to call me the 'N' word while they were dressed in black face I would find that highly offensive. But, if on top of that they said it was not that big of a deal and told me to get over it, I would also find that offensive. Humans can not tell other humans how they are supposed to feel. I'm going to assume none of you are of hindu faith (neither am I), so how are you going to know how people of hindu faith feel on the matter?

@Batmaniac @DukeAcureds
What I believe JusticePourTous was trying to say is that Norse mythology is almost dead and they can get away with calling them aliens as not many would be offended or vocal about it. Thats not saying one religion is more valid than the other or that there should be a certain amount of people to believe in a religion.

There really needs to be a difference in treatment between living religions and dead religions. Norse paganism is DEAD and has been DEAD since the Viking days. Nor were those beliefs ever systematic. By today's standards the Edda is nearly incomprehensible. The only ones who believe in him now are crazy antiestablishment types. if you're really that into Scandinavia that your religion has to match it you need to become a Lutheran; if you're really into Greece so much you need to become an Eastern Orthodox Christian instead of worshiping Zeus. That's why it's perfectly fine to take a character like Thor and use him as a comic superhero.

But Hinduism is a living, breathing, systematic religion. It should be hands-off, no question asked.

And it is just one man that has come out and stated that he found this offensive. There might be 30-40 people who ALSO found this offensive, but have not said anything yet.

@Batmaniac

But when you label Thor and Galactus and Rocket Raccoon and Star Lord as alien, you away what is special about them.

When you refer to Mexicans and Italians and Japanese as aliens you take away their identity. Just refer to them as what they are.

If you aren't from where I'm from, you're the same as everybody else that isn't from where I'm from. That's a terrible mindset.

@Batmaniac

Thor was also born on Earth. He is just as much an alien as Star Lord.

"if aos said this about jesus, christian groups would do the exact same thing. yes they would, for any doubters."

Christians would not. Have you seen Prometheus? In that movie, Jesus was hinted as an alien. Where were the complaints from the Christian groups? There were none. The Knowing was another movie where it hinted that the characters in the Bible were ALIENS, yet not one Christian group made a complaint or boycotted or protested the movie.

The only reason they call Thor and Vishnu aliens on this show is because they don't want to offend Christian viewers.