My wife and I are considering visiting Myanmar next year, and have already received some useful advice from folks here. I'm now asking for different kinds of advice and perspectives, re whether to go.

We've visited many countries with serious human rights problems before (China and Vietnam, for instance), and I've visited many on my own for work in international development. I'm also ashamed to say that my own country, the USA, is legitimately subject to condemnation.

But Myanmar in 2018 seems quite possibly worse for a couple of reasons. I've read a fair amount about the country and had a chance to learn a fair amount more in talking with experts on a consultancy visit there (albeit only in Yangon) last year. So I'm no expert, but I'm not starting from scratch in considering whether to go.

The two reasons it seems different are:

1. The widespread support for the military's attacks on the Rohingya. Yes, many majority populations in many countries may support discrimination, but the popular support for the military's violence seems to be even more deeply ingrained and, even worse, to tolerate stunning levels of violence. During my visit, I was instructed not to even mention the Rohingya to people because even many progressive and pro-democracy activists support the violence. I'm not saying that everyone there knows how brutally the Rohingya have been treated - raped, killed and forced into exile - or that they realize that this has affected many hundreds of thousands of Rohingya. But it does seem that a large majority support the large-scale violence and expulsions. It's not a matter of the military carrying this out with the population being uninformed or indifferent. I know how wonderful the people of Myanmar are in most respects - that's a big reason we'd like to visit. But unlike many other situations where tourism helps innocent people not to blame for a repressive government's policies, it does not seem that in this important respect most people are not so innocent.

2. In terms of the scale and intensity of the cruelty targeting a specific group, this seems to be a kind of genocide. It goes way beyond "ordinary" jailing of dissidents or repression of minorities in many countries,as reprehensible as such human rights violations are.

I say all this because I understand the thoughtful arguments on the other side and we are wrestling with whether to go. In any event, I'd welcome any replies and perspectives regarding concerns I've raised. Thanks.