I noticed that, too. Someone sent me the blurb about the murdered Yezidis and I did a bit more research and found out about the woman.
And you are right that killing 20 unarmed workers is bad, just as stoning to death one woman is bad. And you are right that whitewashing cultures is not of help to us.
The Kurds *are* badly oppressed, but that doesn't mean they are always right and "good".
Yes, they are oppressed and that is also relevant. I wouldn't dispute that. I am just bothered by the way we like to put white hats on people who are oppressed. There is an assignment of victimhood that I am uncomfortable with. And I feel like ignoring stuff like this dishonors them just as much as ignoring the oppression does.
And, to open another can of worms, the way we *use* the oppression for political or personal purposes bothers me too. This is a big one with the Kurds - their oppression has been one of our justifications for fighting Saddam Hussein, but only as long as it serves us, then suddenly they are on their own.
Another facet of this, to be fair, is that a lot of people got this news from NPRs Democracy Now, which only said that the Yezidis were taken from the bus and shot. That was end of story. Separated out from the Christians and shot. NPRs report made it sound like a killing motivated only by religious sentiments.
I realized this when yet another person posted the NPR snippet and I went to check the website and found that the "snippet" was the whole story on NPR. Perhaps that was all the info they had at the time.
So perhaps it isn't so much whitewashing as not having all the info.
Yes, I see this as partly related to the media image of the Kurds. It really demonstrates the need to search out information to verify what we read in the news
( ... )
Yes, we should learn about cultures and I think you've actually said or implied this elsewhere: the culture ain't gonna be perfect. It is what I've said to people who try to blame monotheism for the world's ills: "Pagans were conquering assholes, too
( ... )
Hee! Wow, you weren't kidding about hinky English. I like this little poll they had posted on the sidebar:
"As you find our Internet side ?
Very much property Well Treatment needy No Komentar"
Anyway, it doesn't surprise me that you do your homework. So what do you think--is an honor killing like this a regular practice in Yezidi society, as it is in many Arab tribes? Is there any precedent for something like this happening? Was it a part of Yezidi/Kurdish culture you were aware of before? I'm curious because as I said, it's not something I've heard about before.
Aargh. I'm spending way too much time online today!
Honor killings in Iraq and Kurdistan are pretty common, culturally. How the Yezidi themselves play into it, I am not sure. It seems to be trans-religious. I believe Kurdistan recently passed a ruling against honor killings.
There's been a lot of violence in the last month between Yezidis and Sunnis over various issues. It doesn't help that things have grown worse with the US threatening to build Sunni ghettos - though I guess that has been called off this week.
And you are right that killing 20 unarmed workers is bad, just as stoning to death one woman is bad. And you are right that whitewashing cultures is not of help to us.
The Kurds *are* badly oppressed, but that doesn't mean they are always right and "good".
Reply
And, to open another can of worms, the way we *use* the oppression for political or personal purposes bothers me too. This is a big one with the Kurds - their oppression has been one of our justifications for fighting Saddam Hussein, but only as long as it serves us, then suddenly they are on their own.
Reply
I realized this when yet another person posted the NPR snippet and I went to check the website and found that the "snippet" was the whole story on NPR. Perhaps that was all the info they had at the time.
So perhaps it isn't so much whitewashing as not having all the info.
Reply
Reply
Reply
"As you find our Internet side ?
Very much property
Well
Treatment needy
No Komentar"
Anyway, it doesn't surprise me that you do your homework. So what do you think--is an honor killing like this a regular practice in Yezidi society, as it is in many Arab tribes? Is there any precedent for something like this happening? Was it a part of Yezidi/Kurdish culture you were aware of before? I'm curious because as I said, it's not something I've heard about before.
Reply
Honor killings in Iraq and Kurdistan are pretty common, culturally. How the Yezidi themselves play into it, I am not sure. It seems to be trans-religious. I believe Kurdistan recently passed a ruling against honor killings.
There's been a lot of violence in the last month between Yezidis and Sunnis over various issues. It doesn't help that things have grown worse with the US threatening to build Sunni ghettos - though I guess that has been called off this week.
Reply
Reply
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