Comments on: Middle East mobs freaking the hell out over YouTube video

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 04:08:00 +0000

No, I’m saying that Denmark, via NATO, has occupying troops in Muslim countries, so it’s not particularly surprising that some people consider any NATO member state to be a hostile political entity.

By: Jen Onymous

Jen Onymous — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 03:07:00 +0000

So you’re saying that the Danish cartoon riots and death threats are somehow OK? Do you think that the flag-burning fanatics are even aware that Denmark is a NATO state?

By: BarelyFitz

BarelyFitz — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 21:40:00 +0000

Considering that the USA contains about 4.5% of the world’s population, it’s unlikely that “almost all USians are in the 1%”

By: Joshua Zelinsky

Joshua Zelinsky — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 18:10:00 +0000

I agree that one needs to be careful with an overbroad they, and essentially agree with much of the rest of your comment which does a good job of applying nuance to my possibly oversimplified remark.

By: wysinwyg

wysinwyg — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 18:00:00 +0000

any society can have their freedoms when they want them just by walking away from the current power structures.

Assuming “current power structures” have nothing to do with provision of food and shelter, and additionally are not in possession of guns and other military hardware.

By: wysinwyg

wysinwyg — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 17:46:00 +0000

Using an unqualified “They” might be going a little overboard. I haven’t seen any estimates of how big these riots actually are and I’ve seen lots of photos of people decrying terrorism and violence in response to this whole mess.

To some extent, “they hate our freedoms” does express the views of the Muslim Brotherhood who are in no small part motivated by their rejection of what they see as Western hedonism and depravity. However, the MB was widely repudiated when they attempted to take over governments democratically in the 80′s and 90′s. Then they tried to start a violent revolution and again alienated pretty much everyone in the Muslim world. Then we invaded Iraq and the MB started to regain some popularity.

It’s almost as if perceptions of the West are colored by the actions of western governments in the Muslim world.

By: RedShirt77

RedShirt77 — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 17:33:00 +0000

These folks could really use some grassroots organizations that aren’t radical Muslims. 100 years of murder of oppression, hundreds of thousands of deaths in the last decades and it just sounds like they hate freedom.

By: wysinwyg

wysinwyg — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 17:32:00 +0000

It’s fairly well established that the diplomats were killed as part of a planned militant operation and used the rioters as cover. Can we please stop spreading this stupid myth that the diplomats were killed over the film?

By: wysinwyg

wysinwyg — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 17:21:00 +0000

Worldwide, I’m pretty sure almost all USians are in the 1%.

By: Ito Kagehisa

Ito Kagehisa — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 16:54:00 +0000

I agree, but I wouldn’t have bothered with the word “religious” in there myself.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 01:08:00 +0000

I like to refer to it as ‘tossing the occasional fact into the rhetoric’.

By: Origami_Isopod

Origami_Isopod — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 23:15:00 +0000

“Politically incorrect” = “I am a brave truth teller for upholding the status quo and I want me some cookies.”

By: SDurnin

SDurnin — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 22:26:00 +0000

You seem to be bending over backwards to be politically correct.

By: Michael Smith

Michael Smith — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 22:09:00 +0000

Sure but I was more suggesting that any society can have their freedoms when they want them just by walking away from the current power structures. But to do that they need to be able to trust each other enough to know that the next person to take control won’t institute a dictatorship again.

By: Sebastian Spinczyk

Sebastian Spinczyk — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 21:00:00 +0000

Forgive my nitpicking, but: Muslims, Christians, Jews, (and everyone else) ARE primates. As are (other) apes, monkeys and lemurs ;)

By: Navin_Johnson

Navin_Johnson — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 17:57:00 +0000

lol. More like the opposite.

By: Navin_Johnson

Navin_Johnson — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 17:55:00 +0000

@boingboing-f43bc9f9775ade3e3c6734d457f30767:disqus ,

? Russia has no similar colonial history in this part of the World. Why would you expect them to be mad at Russia? They’ve had their own issues in the Caucasus.

By: Navin_Johnson

Navin_Johnson — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 17:40:00 +0000

And they’ve been killing each other off by the million for a lot longer than that.

Almost all our infamous modern conflicts in this part of the world can be traced back to Western colonialism (French in Syria’s case), divide and rule, and how these former Ottoman provinces were carved up into little countries without regard to the inhabitants interests, tribes etc., but with concern for Western interests after WWI.

By: Lemoutan

Lemoutan — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 17:23:00 +0000

Blimey mate. All I did was post a pic of a news item from 1914, supporting your final remark about the fraughtness of the Balkans, and all Hell breaks loose.

You’re not Balkanian are you?

By: Navin_Johnson

Navin_Johnson — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 17:15:00 +0000

Next you’re going to tell me that there are actually congressmen and women, and a sizable portion of Americans that believe our President is a Muslim born in Kenya….

By: Navin_Johnson

Navin_Johnson — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 17:13:00 +0000

To be fair, car chases and shoot outs have been a pretty common thing in my Chicago neighborhood’s past….

By: zartan74

zartan74 — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 16:19:00 +0000

This is a very insightful comment, thank you.

By: OoerictoO

OoerictoO — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 15:58:00 +0000

@Diogenes:disqus i’m sure you are right on the world-wide 1%.
i was replying to the phrase “we are Smaug” which would imply we’re pissed when someone steals something we knew we had but didn’t ever use or really want because we’re so rich.
but from their point of view, i guess we are…

By: Diogenes

Diogenes — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 15:44:00 +0000

Do you buy products made from, or powered by, Mideast oil? It’s not just the 1% who have benefited from our exploitation of their natural resources. Nearly all of us do in one way or another. And if you meant money, then on a worldwide scale, I suspect we’re both in the 1%.

By: KWillets

KWillets — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 15:37:00 +0000

I interpret it to mean they’re angry about people over-interpreting what they’re angry about.

By: Wreckrob8

Wreckrob8 — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 15:31:00 +0000

Freedom ultimately implies responsibility for oneself and no possibility of blaming others. Isn’t this also at the heart of all major world religions?
If God is the blame-free individual we invent as our support and example, individual belief in God might be irrelevant. No society could be ready yet to discard its belief in God. The believers could just be right (for all the wrong reasons).

By: OoerictoO

OoerictoO — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 15:25:00 +0000

we? are you in the 1%?

great allegory though, “We are Smaug” => beowolf

By: OoerictoO

OoerictoO — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 15:19:00 +0000

the importance of the content of this comment can’t be understated.

kinda like how so many people in the west don’t understand how people are so angry at the west for this video

we all need to try as best we can to understand the perspectives of others, while not tolerating/forgiving violence.

By: OoerictoO

OoerictoO — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 15:16:00 +0000

i thought we were talking about the protestors, not >50% of americans

By: OoerictoO

OoerictoO — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 15:15:00 +0000

they appear to be trying to “get their act into gear” see: #arabspring, etc. your statement could be taken as a bit callous considering we in the west have no real idea what they have been through and the courage it took as a people to come as far as they have.