Found this through Mano Singham's great blog (end of this entry).
Matthew Yglesias points out in his blog the insulting exoticism of perfectly normal human traits in Iraqis. Is this not an example of grasping for straws in maintaining a safe emotional distance from those we are causing so much misery and destruction?
His links to an article in the L.A. Times article revealing the obscure cultural overreation of Arabs when their relatives are accidently killed by Americans. They actually demand apologies! Jeez!!! Lighten up already.
Apparently Arabs are insulted when offered a wad of cash to make up for their families being blown apart instead of an apology. From the article:
"Our system is so different from theirs," said David Mack, a former U.S. diplomat who has served in American embassies in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates. "An honor settlement has to be both financial and it has to have the right symbolism. We would never accept their way of doing things, and they don't accept ours."
To quote one of the comments from Matthew Yglesias's blog, "Damn Iraqis. Why can't they just take the blood money and STFU, like any good American would?"
One of the comments points out that The Onion forshadowed this story long ago.
Study: Iraqis May Experience Sadness When Friends, Relatives Die
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