At least in the United States, we’ve all seen the images of street scenes in Palestine, where some of the more ignorant locals are celebrating the terroist atricities in New York. The one thing that sticks out in my mind, and many others I’ve spoken to, is the sight of the the ugly middle-aged woman with traditional garb and Coke-bottle eyeglasses, ululating and hopping with delight. In fact, they’re talking about her on the Howard Stern show right now.
So, who is she? I have a feeling that she’s now the most hated woman in the United States.
If we learn nothing else from this horror, it’s time we learned that there are people who think the United States is the Great Satan, the ultimate evil, and that every American is a wicked, nasty, evil demonic creature who deserves to die. These people hate us, and their hatred is not from ignorance. Their hatred is borne of political impotence and economic poverty, and fanned by unscrupulous leaders who find it far more politically expedient to encourage hatred of nasty foreign American devils than to do anything constructive like build infrastructure, find jobs, promote gender equality, etc.
It sounds like you just proved his point for him Dexter.
Their hatred for America is borne out of their ignorance.
Political and religious ignorance.
You could argue that hatred is itself inherently ignorant, therefore the middle east isn’t the only place where ignorance thrives.
I think it’s unimportant who she is. She’s just some women caught on film; perhaps her actions are being taken out of context. But so what? Does anyone think she’s behind the attacks? Just because she’s (possibly) happy about what happened shouldn’t make her the “most hated” person in the world; save that righteous anger for the real mastermind.
It isn’t inherently any more “ignorant” than believing that the United Nations is attempting to take over all the world’s governments to prepare for the coming of the Anti-Christ.
If it’s the clip of which I’m thinking, it shows a van with two guys in, two other adults (including the woman) and a few kidding leaping around. You can see the people in the background just walking past.
Call me cynical Sidney, but how much would you think that cost to set up in a very poor country ?
BTW, I just want say to that, IMHO, C K Dexter Haven’s comments are fair but, also, that the West is far from immune to “unscrupulous leaders” with their own agenda’s.
Well, if you want to argue that hatred is ignorance, go right ahead. The people I have met and heard interviewed, the people I am talking about, would not agree that they are ignorant. They would say that the know the facts – that the capitalistic, militaristic, imperialistic U.S. oppressess them and destroys their lives and their opportunities. They would say that YOU (and I) are ignorant for believing different, for failing to accept reality, for being deluded into thinking that the U.S. does any good in the world.
I never said, nor meant to imply, that the Middle East is the only place where such hatred is fostered. I never said, nor meant to imply, that such hatred is held by all the people of a particular country or ethnicity. I never said nor meant to imply that the West is immune. The sad fact is that there are petty dictators and self-aggrandising officials who find it easier to point the finger at foreign devils, blame the foreigners for the poverty and social ills of their country.
I only said that there are pockets of people who hate us with what they believe is good cause. They are not ignorant, they are often well-educated.
Well, if you want to argue that hatred is ignorance, go right ahead. The people I have met and heard interviewed, the people I am talking about, would not agree that they are ignorant. They would say that the know the facts – that the capitalistic, militaristic, imperialistic U.S. oppressess them and destroys their lives and their opportunities. They would say that YOU (and I) are ignorant for believing different, for failing to accept reality, for being deluded into thinking that the U.S. does any good in the world.
I never said, nor meant to imply, that the Middle East is the only place where such hatred is fostered. I never said, nor meant to imply, that such hatred is held by all the people of a particular country or ethnicity. I never said nor meant to imply that the West is immune. The sad fact is that there are petty dictators and self-aggrandising officials who find it easier to point the finger at foreign devils, blame the foreigners for the poverty and social ills of their country.
I only said that there are pockets of people who hate us with what they believe is good cause. They are not ignorant, they are often well-educated.
And all your arguments and all your facts and all your statistics and all your logic will not disperse their hatred. They will, in fact, wonder in amazement that their arguments, their facts, their statistics, and their logic doesn’t convince you to join their cause.
The problem is that the alternative to blaming foreign devils is to accept that some of the blame lies within yourself, and few people in the world are willing to do that. In any country.
As dex has pointed out, both the US and the Middle East are equally well known for the freedom of the press, and an impartial non-government run press. Both they -and- us are equally and impartially informed, educated, and have all of the same freedoms to express one’s beliefs, religions, and feelings. Both parts of the world have equal freedoms to communicate using phones, mail, and the internet, without censorship, or fear of punishment for speaking your mind, even if it’s not in agreement with the government. We both also have equal freedoms of religion, so what’s the big deal?