Samuel M Ashner

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I’ve seen some pretty wild “spin” in recent years but clearly “Sufia’s Spin” (Saudi Arabia: A world away – but not that far) takes the cake. Ms. Khalid (or Sufia, if I may) is correct, I am not a Middle East expert, nor am I a self-purported human rights guru and know all. But I know good old fashioned B.S. when I see it and I must say, Sufia your article on Tuesday reeked like a hot summer day in Crawford, Texas. I will admit that in our society we have pundits spewing tired rhetoric from both sides of the aisle, from Ann Coulter to Bill O’Reilly, from Maureen Dowd to Al Franken. And all of this spin is good, but Sufia, not since I heard the words “vast right-wing conspiracy” (and I was rather fond of President Clinton) have I seen such a disgusting and self-serving diatribe. You madam are completely out of touch with reality. As a resident of Riyadh, I am sure you must know of Deera Square, known to us as “chop-chop square.” Pease, before I hear any justification for what goes on there, let me make it known that in no civilized, progressive, or free country are people beheaded publicly in a metropolis. Nor are children executed, something even us civilized Americans finally put an end to. Your quote: “The worst things about Western society are its social aspects: substance abuse, divorce rates… That’s why I have come to respect the Middle East for its progress. Everyone tells me about that one woman they heard about who was beaten by her husband. That’s terrible, I agree — but there are rednecks in every society.” Sufia, the low divorce rates in Saudi Arabia may have to do with a completely male-dominated society in which women cannot easily divorce-and if they do cannot have access to their children. I won’t insult your religion by criticizing the whole multiple wives bit, however I will mention that for some citizens in your nation, “liquid refreshments,” as well as drugs, are as accessible as water. I think we know who has access to those items and who does not. Also, Rania al-Baz, the journalist you referenced was extremely brave to come forward and had to leave the kingdom under false travel documents as her husband refused to allow her to go to France. All I know is if my Dad beat my mom, there would be divorce papers in his hand tomorrow and she’d be in Italy the following afternoon. You see, that’s the difference. No matter how many glittery malls, techno-guck your buildings employ, you were living in the most corrupt authoritarian regime in the Middle East and don’t forget it anytime soon. The city has… but there’s no public dating, no alcohol (regardless of your age) and a dress code. Girls wear abayas (long black cloaks) over their clothes for modesty, and men are required to wear shirts and cover their legs — no shorts. As American highschoolers, my friends felt they were being punished. Once again, I think it is important to recognize that for some the restrictions your religion places in principle on items such as dress, alcohol, and public dating are enjoyed. You should note your ruling elite’s hypocrisy in international hotspots such as Aspen (where Prince Bandar owns the largest home-by tens of thousands of square feet) or Monaco (where several of the top ten largest yachts-all worth more than 200 million dollars-are owned by the kingdom) are dominated by Saudi elite and Royalty. I’m going to give a best guess here, although I have no “verifiable source” is that these people might have a drop of Jack Daniels or Johnny Walker located in a mini-bar somewhere. Further, in the absence of an outside poll that can be verified and not influenced by males, my guess is that if women were allowed to take off their abayas tomorrow, they would. You seem to be a woman of western influence. Riyadh in the summer doesn’t strike one as a comfortable temperature in the dress code specified. Don’t kid yourself, women in Riyadh (especially the ones with wealthy husbands) would drive if they could-they deserve it after all they have had to put up with. Also, teenagers gay, straight, or whatever would absolutely be in open relationships without fear of bodily harm. Yet even when homosexual sex was illegal in some states (a law so rarely enforced some us didn’t know it existed) that even when it was illegal, I would not have been executed in Times Square if I slept with a guy, nor would a girl in provocative attire be attacked-or G-d forbid, worse-and the blame is on the victim. Sufia, I will not admit to overreacting when I feel it is a severe human rights violation for a woman to be beaten to a bloody pulp with no recourse or for two men in a closeted homosexual relationship to have their heads lopped off and bodies burned. The United States has faults aplenty. FEMA, INS, DHS, whatever the acronym of the week is. However I prefer to give the USA what I call the “Mack Truck” test. If one week goes by in which foreign nationals don’t risk their lives to ride in a 18-wheeler through the Mexican border into the US, or a person risking life and limb declaring asylum from some G-d forsaken place then I’ll admit this nation is in deep you-know-what. But I will never believe Saudi Arabia is progressive, modern, whatever insomuch as women are trying to escape with their children; and no one is certainly sneaking in there for the “Saudi Arabian Dream.” Call me crazy. Call me a right-wing zealot. And if you do… I’ll admit to it.

Samuel M Ashner CGS ’05 CAS ’07