A reader comment left the following comment on this post
Anonymous said...
dear madame, I'm an italian going to live part of the year in Cairo next january. I found your blog in catching informations about the common day x day life in Cairo, beside knowing egypt (no turistic areas)and seems to me that you, as an newyorkeers have a difficult feeling with the great muslim world of which Cairo is a flag.
Socially speaking, yes, the riots after the match ARE necessary due to the stress of unimployement and poverty. Yours replys to the post about Xmas are a bit arrogant, in my opinion. It's more important that you go around the most poor quartiers in Cairo to see the real life of people and not only going to Carrefour and back (like wal-mart) And, dont take this as a supponent suggestion, the italian rap is quite stupid for two simples reasons 1) Italy has nothing to do with rap and 2) the song is bad (fa schifo!)It's time to rethink the idea that in every corner of the world are imitating the "gringos". The USA are falling apart both economically and social quidelines. Europe is a usa colony as you know and many others countries included Egypt too, but at high level or political-military level but for the intelligent man of the street the way of life of "usacans" like spanish people call the americans (your country have no name even) is becoming more and more molesting. The times have changed. After the disaster of iraq and the bailout of banks managed by the top executives of the "nigger" amministration, american people and people around the world are sick and tired of this kind of supremacism. So, my suggestion is to take thing more modestly and in a critic way of weltanschaaung. I'm professor of philosophy and being italian I know well what means the fall of an empire. in every case take this just a contribution for your blog and meantime have my best regards
My Response:
For someone who claims to be a professor of Philosophy I expected a more coherent argument. I had to read your comment twice to understand half of what you were saying. Granted, English may not be your first language, but it is not the language or wording I have issues with - rather the content.
You indicate that riots after a football match are necessary due to poverty and unemployment. So this justifies Egyptians destroying their own buildings and setting their own trees on fire as well as throwing rocks at people from bridges? I couldn't disagree more. I'm not disputing the fact that Egyptians are frustrated, but why not encourage them to find more productive ways to deal with this stress. If they are upset about poverty and unemployment why then don't they organize protests about that instead of waiting for another excuse - like a football game to come along.
You find my comments about the Christmas tree post to be arrogant. Fine, that is your opinion. But I did not put that post on this blog in order to be proselytized by others. I know who I am and I am happy with that. La cosienza di se e fondamentale per ongi essere umano. I don't take too kindly to others who don't like who I am or what I do telling me how I should be living my life. We are only responsible for ourselves in the end.
I'm sorry that you find Mondo Marcio's song so awful. I guess you won't be buying his CD then. Mi piace. I like it. Italian rap emerged as a genre all it's own. I believe in creative expression by artists and apparently there exists a whole generation of young artists in Italy who are choosing to express themselves through the form of rap music. If it's not your style then feel free to listen to something more to your liking. But don't be so blind to the reality of what is going on in the world to make a blanket statement like "Italy has nothing to do with rap". Judging by the number of YouTube channels in Italy that are supporting Italian rap - Italy does have something to do with rap. The times have changed, haven't they?
When I first saw you call President Obama a "nigger" I considered just deleting your comment. African Americans, and people of color all over the world will be extremely offended by the use of this word. However, I don't believe in censorship. After I thought for a minute back to my childhood in New York it began to make more sense that you would refer to a black man in this manner. I grew up in the Bronx not far from Arthur Avenue - otherwise known as Little Italy. I saw the discrimination and the prejudice with my own eyes. It was reflected accurately in the movie A Bronx Tale. As a young adult out on my own, I was once evicted from an apartment in the home of an Italian couple simply because I was dating a black man. I have never been to Italy, but I sincerely hope that your degree of prejudice is not reflected by the entire population of the country. I'm the type of person who believes there is good and bad everywhere and I don't paint everyone with the same brush.
Your summation of the "state of the union" appears superficial and illogical in places. I also detect a hint of bitterness in your opinion. It seems as if you spend a great deal of time watching CNN and FOX News and forming all your opinions of USA based on their reports. Or have you travelled and lived in the United States of America? Seriously, a country with no name? Blaming everything wrong with the world on the economic crisis and bank bailout? Empires falling? "Gringos" (another derogatory term) and Spanish people? What ever are you going on about? And what, pray tell, does any of this have to do with me living in Egypt and shopping at Carrefour (which by the way is nothing like WalMart)?
If this is the brand of "Philosophy" you teach to your students then God help them. But if you want to wax philosophical then keep this in mind:
La realta e ben diversa da quello che pensi tu. Tutto e relativo a questo mondo.
Translation: Reality is quite different from what you think. Everything is relative in this world.
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