Tony Grist (poliphilo) wrote,
Tony Grist
poliphilo

Wrongfooted

For all that our journalists and politicians are always banging on about muslims, I don't remember anyone predicting the Arab revolution. Western leaders were so completely wrong-footed by it that their first reaction was to make cooing noises at the dictators- with Sarkozy going so far as to offer to help Ben Ali out by sending him some of his surplus riot police.

It was often said that the dictators were a necessary evil because they kept the mullahs down, but the uprisings- all of them- have been led by secular youth- with not a mullah in sight. It was also often said that Arabs are primitive (but noble) tribal folk who don't understand or want democracy...
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  • 15 comments

  • Outside Jobs

    The sun came out yesterday. So I... Swept the garage, swept up the leaves that had accumulated and turned sodden in various nooks and…

  • The Days Of Our Years...

    A big party had been mooted for my 70th. It would probably have involved everyone dressing up as pirates. But then the pandemic happened. There…

  • Entering The 8th Decade

    When I was young I used to picture myself at 70 as a tweedy old scholar with leather patches on my elbows. But nobody wears leather patches any…