Autonomy

I directed a friend of mine to the blog, he enjoyed reading it, but commented that even though It's not a political blog as I clearly state in the beginning, it is of course a political blog due to the fact that I'm a political person…He reminded me that I may once again want to run for public office, whether local or higher, that I have considered Law School (although I think I'd get my butt kicked) and  am still technically an MBA Candidate.  He thought I ought to avoid electronically and permanently publishing statements that classify an entire race or culture by my independent, random and limited interactions.  At first I rushed to the defensive and thought "what's he talking about", you see, I've been very gentle in my assessment of the country, mainly because I like it and don't want to give the impression that I don't, and because defaming the Kingdom is grounds for expulsion from said Kingdom.  So after my huffy little protest,  I took the time to read back through the blog and e-mails that I had sent.  Wow, the words Pakistani, Brits, the French, Saudi's, Filipinos' etc...dot the entire document.  So I started thinking what on earth possessed me to suddenly start grouping an entire culture into one or two word titles…I really did think about this for a couple of days.  And here's what I've come up with.  The culture here is very class based, and even worse almost caste based.  Each nationality has an unofficial place ranking, as an American, I am very near the top and as such have the chance to see this behavior from others.  When you speak with a native, he'll classify not only your culture into a one word statement, but also every culture presently represented in the Kingdom.  So this brings me to Autonomy, I'm going to have to do some research, but I'm beginning to think that personal autonomy or individuality is a very much American concept, (probably more likely a democratic concept, which I'm sure the French will again take credit for).  I know that it's not a concept embraced in most Kingdom's, or in Communism, or even in Socialism.  Those systems are more concerned (right or wrong) with the representation of the state.  This explains why many Muslims become angry when they ask me if Muslims in the US properly represent Islam  and I reply that we probably shouldn't discuss such a thing…Then they ask if I've seen them drink and consort with women like westerners do and I sheepishly reply that "sometimes, maybe" …which is a lie.  Of course I've seen such things, I've actually seen them act like depraved frat boys on PCP.   Grabbing and touching every woman in sight, drunk driving a Mercedes down the street at double the speed limit.  

So this might be an ongoing topic, for now though, it sheds some light on some of the bad behavior perpetrated by American corporations and execs while overseas…It's apparently very easy to "follow the crowd" when you're the stranger in town.  I'll try and remember that it is at best difficult to group an entire nationality together, and at worst is pure and ugly racism.  My sincere apologies. 

(And for the French I'll say this:  I dated a French girl once (1st gen American actually).  Her mother was a real snobby witch, her father ***I edited that***and she only cheated a couple of times while I was overseas, she only lied about it a couple of times too…I knew a guy in High School we called "Frenchie", rich kid, druggie shithead who hid out in the US to avoid his mandatory military service in France.  But other than that, I guess I have no proof of them being bad as a whole.  I think they should have listened to de Gaulle in WWII, and not moved the bulk of their army to the front lines leaving Paris in the hands of a reserve regiment, but whatever, guess it all worked out.  They did kind of help us out in the 7 years war and that whole 1776 thing…So to France and all you Frenchies out there I apologize for my nasty comment.   I have been told that Turkish Air through Istanbul is better than Air France through Paris, been told to avoid that route at all costs…wonder what that’s all about...