First of all, excellent use of Godwins law. And while Sudan is pretty goddamn hellish, don't over-evilize them; chattel slavery was hardly dead before they started being assholes (hey, what up Brazil, Libya, significatn stretches of East Europe...)
As for damning local religious politics; ven if one chooses to believe that 3/4ths of someones beliefs are stupid makes all of their beleifs stupid, that still doesn't mean that it's a good idea to rile people up in the midst of civil war/genocide. The "foreign," etc-ness constitutes relevant extenuating circumstances because they effect how the locals saw her actions. When a customer at work calls me a whore, it doesn't face me. When my father calls me a whore, it makes me want to punch someone.
And, most of the "Arab"/"Sudanese" conflict actually dates to the British colonialization--one of their major strategies for mantaining control was breeding conflict between peoples within a colony--it took particularly hard in Sudan, but the after-results are apparent in the politics of most of the former British colonies in Africa (possibly also elsewhere, but Africa is what I know). But, you know, thanks civilized values!
Obviously, I think this action is stupid. BUT I also think that the "omgod obviously they're evil and aren't muslims stupid and they have absolutley no reasons for their actions and hate freedom!!!" reaction isn't helpful, logically true, or condusive to rational foreign policy (or, sometimes, to rational domestic policy re: the way some people think of US Muslims/immigrants/ethnic sub-populations).
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-11-27 05:15 pm (UTC)As for damning local religious politics; ven if one chooses to believe that 3/4ths of someones beliefs are stupid makes all of their beleifs stupid, that still doesn't mean that it's a good idea to rile people up in the midst of civil war/genocide. The "foreign," etc-ness constitutes relevant extenuating circumstances because they effect how the locals saw her actions. When a customer at work calls me a whore, it doesn't face me. When my father calls me a whore, it makes me want to punch someone.
And, most of the "Arab"/"Sudanese" conflict actually dates to the British colonialization--one of their major strategies for mantaining control was breeding conflict between peoples within a colony--it took particularly hard in Sudan, but the after-results are apparent in the politics of most of the former British colonies in Africa (possibly also elsewhere, but Africa is what I know). But, you know, thanks civilized values!
Obviously, I think this action is stupid. BUT I also think that the "omgod obviously they're evil and aren't muslims stupid and they have absolutley no reasons for their actions and hate freedom!!!" reaction isn't helpful, logically true, or condusive to rational foreign policy (or, sometimes, to rational domestic policy re: the way some people think of US Muslims/immigrants/ethnic sub-populations).