i should probably have made it clearer that i was following on from geoff's more general post (and not the OP), and that there were some thought processes going on in between that post and mine that didn't actually make it into word formobsidian wrote:That's a pretty big generalization there and I don't know where you're pulling it from. Some guy spit in your felafel making you rage? It might be true that women are objectified in some Muslim countries (Afghanistan for instance) but certainly isn't true of all Muslim countries.
Besides, pretty sure this guy isn't Muslim. I think he's Sikh, not that it matters one way or another. It's pretty low of you to take an individual's behaviour (especially one who has clearly grown up in a Western culture) and try to club it down to fit in what you think of as an entire culture of people. Your true colours really shows in that comment, and it ain't pretty.
also, what's all this "generalisation" crap? if you read about a guy shooting up a movie theatre in Colorado, you probably don't think (unless you're an idiot) that he's a "typical American", but if you've even vaguely been paying attention you might think that guys like Holmes (or Dylan Klebold, Timothy McVeigh etc etc) represent the dark underbelly of American (or more generally, Western) society - which is an entirely different point. the opposite of generalising is equally stupid: imagining individuals to be isolated atoms in a void, whose actions can tell us nothing about the society they live in
btw i couldn't help noticing you were a bit picky over which "generalisation" to go all Randy over. you're ok with the bit about "men creating a demand for whores" (a comment which could easily be taken as a generalisation), but the minute i got on to a point about muslim men in particular your PC antennae started twitching. you pretty much gave yourself away with this:
implying that it's ok to condemn someone's stupid actions as a consequence of them having grown up in a Western society, but to do so while referencing any other society is a heinous slur. how about allowing both?It's pretty low of you to take an individual's behaviour (especially one who has clearly grown up in a Western culture) and try to club it down to fit in what you think of as an entire culture of people.