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A Guide: How Not To Say Stupid Stuff About Egypt

10 points by eibrahim 16y ago

corin_ 16y ago
A few of these are opinions I wouldn't say and haven't heard or seen anyone else say - but maybe they're thought outside my circles? I am so impressed at how articulate Egyptians are. The people are so nice Really? There are people assuming they're all nasty and stupid? The women are so brave (That one gets extra points for the author saying "Egyptian women have always been brave." as if in the rest of the world bravery is left to the men. Next guide: How Not To Make Stupid Sexist Comments) -------------------------------- Aside from things I haven't heard people say, quite a few other issues... Mubarak kept the peace treaty Well, he has... What would happen to Egyptian/Israeli and Egyptian/US relations after Mubarak is gone is debatable, but pointing out the fact that he has "kept the peace treaty" is, in fact, not. This is so sad No, sad were the thirty years of oppression, repression and torture. "Sad" isn't a word I would chose to describe the past week, I think more likely "inspiring". That said, it has also been sad. People have died, lives have been ruined (in more than just the obvious ways - for example the economic problems being caused aren't just of interest to statisticians, many, many people will lose their jobs, etc.) The fact that the past thirty years have been "sad" doesn't prevent the past week from also being "sad". And as I keep typing that word, it keeps seeming to massively understate both periods of time. The Muslim Brothers are Terrorists Looking aside that many (most?) believe they were involved with multiple assasinations (which would technically make them terorrists - that term isn't reserved to people bringing bombs into America), I would argue that one of the easiest ways to say something stupid about Egypt is to get the name of a big political organisation wrong. They're called the Muslim Brotherhood, not the Muslim Brothers. "The Twitter Revolution". No, this is the Revolution of the Egyptian people. First, the phrase "twitter revolution" obviously doesn't prevent it from being a revolution of the Egyptian people... one is a tool, the other is a group of people using that tool. Sure, it's a buzz-phrase right now and being massively overused, but argue that point, not that the revolution can only belong to the Egyptians, not to twitter. Oh, and who are these people "taking credit" for the revolution by calling it "The Twitter Revolution"? Al Jazeera has come to it’s own Yes, they were great before this, and will be great after this. That said, I do think they have come into their own, their coverage over the last week has outdone even their own coverage of the past. "If they get Democracy they will elect extremists". Imagine if the world said that about America. Please, do say that. I'm terrified of a world in which Sarah Palin is POTUS. Maybe now, you can give Egyptians and Arabs some respect. Maybe you could stop being so patronising and assuming that we didn't already have respect for them. -------------------------------- End of complaints. Frankly, reading this article was a huge waste of time. Admitedly, writing this response was a bigger waste of time, but I couldn't quite resist.
tdfx 16y ago
I liked the point about Al-Jazeera. I've been reading/watching for a few years now and I always thought their reporting was less slanted than the US news networks. It annoys me to no end to hear people call them a terrorist mouthpiece, especially when most have never even watched it or read one of their articles.

10 points by eibrahim 16y ago

A few of these are opinions I wouldn't say and haven't heard or seen anyone else say - but maybe they're thought outside my circles? I am so impressed at how articulate Egyptians are. The people are so nice Really? There are people assuming they're all nasty and stupid? The women are so brave (That one gets extra points for the author saying "Egyptian women have always been brave." as if in the rest of the world bravery is left to the men. Next guide: How Not To Make Stupid Sexist Comments) -------------------------------- Aside from things I haven't heard people say, quite a few other issues... Mubarak kept the peace treaty Well, he has... What would happen to Egyptian/Israeli and Egyptian/US relations after Mubarak is gone is debatable, but pointing out the fact that he has "kept the peace treaty" is, in fact, not. This is so sad No, sad were the thirty years of oppression, repression and torture. "Sad" isn't a word I would chose to describe the past week, I think more likely "inspiring". That said, it has also been sad. People have died, lives have been ruined (in more than just the obvious ways - for example the economic problems being caused aren't just of interest to statisticians, many, many people will lose their jobs, etc.) The fact that the past thirty years have been "sad" doesn't prevent the past week from also being "sad". And as I keep typing that word, it keeps seeming to massively understate both periods of time. The Muslim Brothers are Terrorists Looking aside that many (most?) believe they were involved with multiple assasinations (which would technically make them terorrists - that term isn't reserved to people bringing bombs into America), I would argue that one of the easiest ways to say something stupid about Egypt is to get the name of a big political organisation wrong. They're called the Muslim Brotherhood, not the Muslim Brothers. "The Twitter Revolution". No, this is the Revolution of the Egyptian people. First, the phrase "twitter revolution" obviously doesn't prevent it from being a revolution of the Egyptian people... one is a tool, the other is a group of people using that tool. Sure, it's a buzz-phrase right now and being massively overused, but argue that point, not that the revolution can only belong to the Egyptians, not to twitter. Oh, and who are these people "taking credit" for the revolution by calling it "The Twitter Revolution"? Al Jazeera has come to it’s own Yes, they were great before this, and will be great after this. That said, I do think they have come into their own, their coverage over the last week has outdone even their own coverage of the past. "If they get Democracy they will elect extremists". Imagine if the world said that about America. Please, do say that. I'm terrified of a world in which Sarah Palin is POTUS. Maybe now, you can give Egyptians and Arabs some respect. Maybe you could stop being so patronising and assuming that we didn't already have respect for them. -------------------------------- End of complaints. Frankly, reading this article was a huge waste of time. Admitedly, writing this response was a bigger waste of time, but I couldn't quite resist.

tdfx 16y ago

I liked the point about Al-Jazeera. I've been reading/watching for a few years now and I always thought their reporting was less slanted than the US news networks. It annoys me to no end to hear people call them a terrorist mouthpiece, especially when most have never even watched it or read one of their articles.