Maybe the things you think are culturally impermissible in Qatar and Dubai are not so bad after all. How many Qataris secretly drink and look at internet porn? Perhaps what you currently think is forbidden is in reality far less forbidden than you have heretofore conceived it to be. What I'm trying to say is, your Dubai example sucks. :)
There are many ways to permit cultural diversity. Speech. Religion. Alcohol. Education. Clothing. The list goes on. In some categories, America wins, and in others it doesn't. But what really doesn't win are claims like: "What would the US have to do to show similar levels of tolerance? We'd definitely have to let those Sentinelese people run around naked, and possibly have public sex."
You've just shown exactly what I wanted to show -- some things are widely practiced privately, and everyone knows it, and they are forbidden in public. To call such things culturally forbidden is nonsensical.
Because Dubai and Qatar endorse secret private boozing, doesn't that actually mean public foreigner boozing is a rather trivial thing? I think it does! Quit wasting my time.
I think saying it's "rather trivial" shows a lack of understanding of the importance of the private/public divide, particularly in this culture, but really everywhere.
Or do you think it would be "a rather trivial thing" in the US if someone started masturbating in public? After all, that's widely practiced privately.
The issue here is that the "forbidden" action is doing these things IN PUBLIC, not doing these things at all.
There are many ways to permit cultural diversity. Speech. Religion. Alcohol. Education. Clothing. The list goes on. In some categories, America wins, and in others it doesn't. But what really doesn't win are claims like: "What would the US have to do to show similar levels of tolerance? We'd definitely have to let those Sentinelese people run around naked, and possibly have public sex."
-Marshall Matherz-
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Because Dubai and Qatar endorse secret private boozing, doesn't that actually mean public foreigner boozing is a rather trivial thing? I think it does! Quit wasting my time.
Marshall Matherz
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Or do you think it would be "a rather trivial thing" in the US if someone started masturbating in public? After all, that's widely practiced privately.
The issue here is that the "forbidden" action is doing these things IN PUBLIC, not doing these things at all.
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