Person, when you say this: "You have to have just a little bit of compassion for the thousands of guys in Qatar who are so lonely they will try and find company any way they can, even a slightly questionable one."
I believe it's potentially setting a quite dangerous precedent.
I agree with Oryx about 'nipping things in the bud'.
By way of contrast, I think your idea about "compassion" is quite misguided Person.
What you think of as demonstrating compassion and understanding to the thousands of guys who are lonely, they may misinterpret as a 'green light'. Even if you think you are being neutral, i.e. displaying an 'amber light' some people might misinterpret a lack of objection as an indication of an invitation.
And what's compassionate anyway about misleading the poor guys? If you feel sympathy and compassion about their plight, isn't there a danger that humouring and indulging this kind of low level harassment leads them to feel hopeful? That's not behaving compassionately towards them in my mind, those mixed messages or no messages, that's adding to their feelings of frustration.
It's far better to establish the boundaries. That's the more compassionate approach as far as I'm concerned. Don't let your lack of objection lead to them interpreting that as ambiguous or, worse, an invitation.
And I'm curious, Person. Why do you reserve your compassion for the unaccompanied males?
What about sparing a bit of compassion for the women who face a daily barrage of harassment? What about having a little bit of compassion and understanding for the women who wish to go about their daily lives without being subjected to catcalls and leering and (in a small number of cases, actual assaults and rape)?
Are the expatriate women in Qatar undeserving of compassion, and respect?
I totally agree with charmed and Oryx.
Person, when you say this: "You have to have just a little bit of compassion for the thousands of guys in Qatar who are so lonely they will try and find company any way they can, even a slightly questionable one."
I believe it's potentially setting a quite dangerous precedent.
I agree with Oryx about 'nipping things in the bud'.
By way of contrast, I think your idea about "compassion" is quite misguided Person.
What you think of as demonstrating compassion and understanding to the thousands of guys who are lonely, they may misinterpret as a 'green light'. Even if you think you are being neutral, i.e. displaying an 'amber light' some people might misinterpret a lack of objection as an indication of an invitation.
And what's compassionate anyway about misleading the poor guys? If you feel sympathy and compassion about their plight, isn't there a danger that humouring and indulging this kind of low level harassment leads them to feel hopeful? That's not behaving compassionately towards them in my mind, those mixed messages or no messages, that's adding to their feelings of frustration.
It's far better to establish the boundaries. That's the more compassionate approach as far as I'm concerned. Don't let your lack of objection lead to them interpreting that as ambiguous or, worse, an invitation.
And I'm curious, Person. Why do you reserve your compassion for the unaccompanied males?
What about sparing a bit of compassion for the women who face a daily barrage of harassment? What about having a little bit of compassion and understanding for the women who wish to go about their daily lives without being subjected to catcalls and leering and (in a small number of cases, actual assaults and rape)?
Are the expatriate women in Qatar undeserving of compassion, and respect?