I agree with what has been said about the racism and bigotry of these people, etc.
But I think the condemnation of the US here is a bit beyond the pale. I've lived in quite a few countries including the US (I'm not American), and I have found each country to be every bit as racist and phobic as the other. The Americans have their phobias, yes, but so too do the people living in Qatar. The primary difference is that whereas racism in the US is frowned upon, in other states, including this one, it is an entrenched, accepted part of the society. In fact, I have found myself making more racially-based assumptions since living in the Middle East. At least in the US people do not gawk at a Filipina doctor or a Sri Lankan professor, whereas if either women went to the mall here they would be pushed aside, spoken down to and handed packages to carry--and that is just from other workers. A professional Indonesian friend started to cover (she is not Muslim) because she was tired of being handed bags by Arab women on the assumption she was a maid or shop attendant.
Personally, I am glad Qatar is not a democracy. Can you imagine how wretched it would be like if suddenly it had a government like the US? I have a great deal of admiration for its current leaders and their liberal reforms, and I would worry about the kind of backward direction a democracy here would take the country. One only needs to listen to the call-in morning programs on the radio to get of sense of where a populist movement would take this place. Of course, the same could be said of a host of other countries; that is the problem with democracy: ordinary people are phobic and conservative.
I agree with what has been said about the racism and bigotry of these people, etc.
But I think the condemnation of the US here is a bit beyond the pale. I've lived in quite a few countries including the US (I'm not American), and I have found each country to be every bit as racist and phobic as the other. The Americans have their phobias, yes, but so too do the people living in Qatar. The primary difference is that whereas racism in the US is frowned upon, in other states, including this one, it is an entrenched, accepted part of the society. In fact, I have found myself making more racially-based assumptions since living in the Middle East. At least in the US people do not gawk at a Filipina doctor or a Sri Lankan professor, whereas if either women went to the mall here they would be pushed aside, spoken down to and handed packages to carry--and that is just from other workers. A professional Indonesian friend started to cover (she is not Muslim) because she was tired of being handed bags by Arab women on the assumption she was a maid or shop attendant.
Personally, I am glad Qatar is not a democracy. Can you imagine how wretched it would be like if suddenly it had a government like the US? I have a great deal of admiration for its current leaders and their liberal reforms, and I would worry about the kind of backward direction a democracy here would take the country. One only needs to listen to the call-in morning programs on the radio to get of sense of where a populist movement would take this place. Of course, the same could be said of a host of other countries; that is the problem with democracy: ordinary people are phobic and conservative.