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"This little episode captures something I’ll see over and over again in Yemen. Faced with a problem, you find out who is in charge, escalate to the highest leve

"This little episode captures something I’ll see over and over again in Yemen. Faced with a problem, you find out who is in charge, escalate to the highest level of authority present, and communicate your sincerity by vigorous yelling. There is always a phalanx of sons (and presumably a similar, hidden number of daughters) who can be deployed as messengers, sent on errands, or otherwise made useful. Everything is done with a level of verbal vehemence that would involve grief counseling and possibly lawsuits back in the United States. People are able to operate at emotional temperatures that would melt down an American. If you asked me what I had witnessed, I would say angry people with guns had nearly come to blows over handwashing." I'm not from the USA but have spent some time there and this description for some reason reminded me of New York.

waps 12y ago
Having been in both places, let me tell you it's different. I managed to dent a rental car into a local's car in Southern Italy though. That, that was similar. Although the threats there were implicit, rather than spelled out. The big difference being that in New York you don't find yourself surrounded by the 50-person family of anyone you have the slightest grievance with in 5 minutes flat. In Italy you just get surrounded, and there may be vague references to that fact. In Egypt, the references won't be vague, but explicit and colourful.
- lotsofmangos 12y ago
  "Having been in both places, let me tell you it's different." ... "In Egypt, the references won't be vague, but explicit and colourful." I was not aware that Yemen and Egypt were so interchangeable. Perhaps they are not. Have you been to Yemen?
  - idlewords 12y ago
    I'd bet my last bag of qat that Egypt and Yemen (and a lot of other Arab countries) are culturally very similar in this respect.
    - lotsofmangos 12y ago
      They may well be similar, however without meaning to disrespect your greater experience here, it would be lazy for me to assume that someone telling me their Egypt story applies to things you have said about Yemen, purely on the basis of you swearing on your drug stash. edit - I feel it is a little like someone saying that they understand an aspect of the Scottish from the time they had spent in Paris, with another tourist who happens to be slumming in Edinburgh supportively saying that they would bet their last can of Tennent's on the veracity of the comparison. The comparison may be true, however there is no way of judging that without a few slightly more reputable sources.

waps 12y ago

Having been in both places, let me tell you it's different. I managed to dent a rental car into a local's car in Southern Italy though. That, that was similar. Although the threats there were implicit, rather than spelled out. The big difference being that in New York you don't find yourself surrounded by the 50-person family of anyone you have the slightest grievance with in 5 minutes flat. In Italy you just get surrounded, and there may be vague references to that fact. In Egypt, the references won't be vague, but explicit and colourful.

lotsofmangos 12y ago
"Having been in both places, let me tell you it's different." ... "In Egypt, the references won't be vague, but explicit and colourful." I was not aware that Yemen and Egypt were so interchangeable. Perhaps they are not. Have you been to Yemen?
- idlewords 12y ago
  I'd bet my last bag of qat that Egypt and Yemen (and a lot of other Arab countries) are culturally very similar in this respect.
  - lotsofmangos 12y ago
    They may well be similar, however without meaning to disrespect your greater experience here, it would be lazy for me to assume that someone telling me their Egypt story applies to things you have said about Yemen, purely on the basis of you swearing on your drug stash. edit - I feel it is a little like someone saying that they understand an aspect of the Scottish from the time they had spent in Paris, with another tourist who happens to be slumming in Edinburgh supportively saying that they would bet their last can of Tennent's on the veracity of the comparison. The comparison may be true, however there is no way of judging that without a few slightly more reputable sources.