I came across this long, yet great, article entitled, “The World’s Most Toxic Value System“, essentially harping on honor and it’s effects on creating an effective society. There’s a lot of really good stuff, but this point in particular stuck out:
Nothing better illustrates the thar mentality better than the fury directed by Islamic militants against Danish and Norwegian cartoons of Mohammed. Sacrilegious art in other cultures can offend and get people angry but the lunatic response of radical Islamists is in a class by itself. It’s the shrieking, out of control petulance of a three-year old throwing a tantrum. People infected with this attitude will be utterly incapable of recognizing wrongdoing by their own society, utterly incapable of taking criticism or recognizing the need for correction.
The points on the degradation of women are also of note. It’s funny that you’d think after so many centuries of lasting civilizations, issues like these wouldn’t be a problem. But it looks like tradition, religion, and pride have a way of their own.
Syndicate this site
comments
all great concepts, but i find his examples to be less than convincing… probably because his examples are so….. blindingly accepted. what good is applying logic when you’re lacking facts? he just comes off as terribly arrogant.
some examples..
“We find this mentality developed to differing degrees in different places. Hispanics, Turks and Greeks can be roused to seek revenge if insulted, but my experience with these cultures is that the “honor” mentality is deeply moderated by pragmatism, a sense of humor, and a general zest for living (another reason I consider the label “Mediterranean” inappropriate)”
i wouldn’t be so sure of this. he says it as if we’re any better. are we forgetting “freedom fries”? what about all the french wine that was thrown out b/c the french disagreed with us? let’s not forget mr. cheney’s “go fuck yourself” to a senator/congressman when asked about the his corporate ties to the iraq war. “GWB is our president so we support him! anyone who does not support him is unamerican!!!”. how many times have we heard this? its the same honor mentality, but Dutch seems to have missed it.
sensitivity to insult? i really can’t think of a better example than the two pres. candidates of 2004 (and the media that love them) avoiding the ugly, tough questions because of how it might reflect on the country.
and about the point noted by Eric (”lunatic response of radical Islamists [to the cartoons] is in a class by itself”)… Dutch seems to be too worried with pointing the finger than actually thinking about his examples. Consider this by UC Irvine’s own Mark Levine..
“Ironically, the same day that editorial pages of American newspapers began criticizing Muslims for their lack of respect for freedom of speech, peace activist Cindy Sheehan was arrested and removed from her seat at the State of the Union speech (she was invited by Representative Lynn Woolsey), all for the “crime” of wearing a t-shirt under her jacket that listed the number of dead US soldiers in Iraq as of last Tuesday—2,245 and counting. A security guard saw the number on the shirt, screamed “Protester!” (perish the thought!) into his walkie talkie, and off she went. Nary a word of protest was uttered by the US media.”
http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/21350.html
is it in a class by itself, as Dutch says? of course not. consider what Levine goes on to say..
“For most of the Muslim world, America’s willingness to kill tens of thousands of Iraqis and thousands of our own children for a war launched on a series of half truths and outright prevarications (which almost no one in our own journalistic establishment had the courage to expose, despite clear evidence at the time) is as “crazy” as their willingness to boycott, or even threaten violence against Westerners, because of a few religiously insulting cartoons.”
Dutch’s “It’s the shrieking, out of control petulance of a three-year old throwing a tantrum. People infected with this attitude will be utterly incapable of recognizing wrongdoing by their own society, utterly incapable of taking criticism or recognizing the need for correction.” is certainly true. but where i just strongly disagree with Dutch is his idea that this is seen more in some places than others. The idea can be applied to just about every culture I can think of, just as well.. including our’s. everyone has their share of “three-year olds throwing a tantrum”. the thing is, cultures are different so the three-year olds won’t all look the same.
peace out.
I noticed his ideal view of America as well and sort of questioned it, but I still liked his view on honor. That’s not to say I’m for abolishing religion…people need something to believe in.