If they had ever been persuaded by the arguments of prosperity and compromise instead of honor, face, and shame, the Palestinians would of course be much better off. But much less like Arabs.
<Ahem>
Even though I just posted a sarcastic remark about the French, I meant it to be the kind of humor that has a tiny bit of truth in it, as sarcasm demands.
As for your comment about Arabs, I hafta wonder...
1) Isn't it generally true of most world cultures that are 'macho' or restrictive towards the feminine gender that upholding the image of a strong, dangerous, prideful self of principle and honor takes precedence over pragmatic cohesive-community politicking?
2) Ditto for those (including some Christian ones) that justify their 'honorable, true' wisdom by utilizing scripts written by guys that knew the world was flat and didn't know that properly prepared and cooked pork was perfectly edible? (In the BS era = Before Science).
And considering that much of the Arab population shares the Third World propensity for inadequate education, such ignorance should be expected. Still, when I think of 'Arabs' I remain mindful that roughly half are women, and I would expect some variance of viewpoint within their ranks... it's just hard to hear the voices of the censored. Not that all Arab women differ, but the dissenters are most likely to be censored or cowed into silence.
I'm all for cultural sensitivity, but I also believe a little more scorn and derision for the subjugators of women worldwide applies pressure in an area too often given short shrift.
And as regards your comment, perhaps suggesting that a majority of male Arabs shares certain traits grants room for the many who do not. |
