NEWS: Hurts So Good

We can only judge the article by our own standards and decide whehter or not we agree. If we judge everything ONLY within its own context there really is no point in discussing anything at all. Just say, "Enh. Yemen. Enh," and be done with it.

I mean, fundamentally, you are saying, "Dude..they are different from us and they want to slap their women-folk around. It's none of your business."

I'm not seeing that Inkonnu is saying violence against women is okay, or even that it's none of our business because their different. I think that's what stands out in the thread because everyone jumped on that bandwagon. I think ultimately what he is trying to point out is that Yemeni society sees this type of domestic violence differently. I don't think he was condoning it. What concerns me are the posts that insinuate he would be violent or say violence against women is okay because he is a Muslim. Neither of these are condoned in Islam. It's also a very petty attack. There is a misconception that Islam promotes this because some Middle Eastern countries that are Islamic have poor views towards women. This arises from that country's culture not Islam. Veiling occured in that region in Babylonian times, well before the birth of Islam. Most Muslims are not Middle Eastern, Islam is not the only religion in the Middle East, and most Middle Eastern countries do NOT have strict veiling laws. Many women in this region are educated, can work and have independence. However, this doesn't make good television. Go to Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and you'll see something different. My next comment is regarding the posts about immigration to our free country. Why don't we spend some time tackling domestic violence seriously in our own country? We have plenty of women, children, elders and even men who are victims of abuse here. They would love your support as well.

I don't see how it's relevant that they see it differently unless one is suggesting that it is, in fact, none of our business.

No, he pretty much was saying that. Spike was an abusive contrarian who was happy to take that position simply because it was the most offensive..

Who did that?

Spike was arguing in favor of cultural - indeed moral - relativism. He was doing so imperfectly (if nevertheless articulately), so I can understand how it might be hard to follow a common thread in his posts.

Obviously Yemeni society sees domestic violence differently. That was never in question. What was in question was whether or not it's fair for anyone to stand up and say that that's wrong.

Now, there is an intelligent discussion that can be had about this. Whether or not cultural or moral relativism is a better approximation of truth than the universalist claims of human rights is a serious question. But it's not a question that's going to be resoled by calling people "cuntrags" and "self-righteous bitches."

Well, I don't thinks this has been presented so far, but understanding--or trying to understand--where someone else is coming from can be a very useful tool to use in communicating with them, whether you want to change them or not. For instance, I found it was much easier to counsel troubled kids if I tried to grasp a bit about their background and where they might be 'coming from.' Approaching them with at least a little understanding allowed them to see that I respected them as individuals, which made it more likely that they would return that respect and at least listen to and think about what I had to say.

Sure. But inkonnu wasn't discussing communication. He was reacting to our outrage. In that context, "they have a different mindset there" is essentially "and you should abide by it and not get upset". Bullshit.