Great post Marvin. It isn't an Arab v Jew thing but there certainly is a racist and patronising element to this, where Arabs are seen as untrustworthy, backward, backstabbing, bribe-taking, lacking in morality etc. and Europeans are seen as members of an advancd society, paragons for decency, morality and financial rectitude. This is a lazy, racist stereotype.
There's also the issue of "human rights", which is one-sided when we have millions in poverty, in low-paid jobs with little or no security, without a decent roof over their heads or even a roof at all, suffering lower standards of education or can't afford university.
There's a fascinating article in the latest issue of Harvard Business Review about attitudes to China. HBR is certainly no propaganda outlet but it makes the point that we look at China through the lens of human rights, whereas 95% of Chinese citizens are very happy with their lives and the leadership. That's because their leadership has brought them prosperity and financial security, creating a well-off and entrepreneurial middle-class. In return, they ask that these people don't rock the boat, which they're happy to agree to. China has never been a functioning democracy and may neve be, certainly not in our lifetimes. Same applies to the UAE, which celebrates its 50th anniversary as a sovereign state later this year. It's been built from nothing, on the wealth from natural resources.
Organs like the Guardian ('organ' both in terms of being a media outlet and pricks) would cry blue murder if the USA or UK was ripping-off those resources, yet it also has a problem with brown-skinned people using that wealth, on their land, to build a nation and provide high quality housing, healthcare and education to its citizens. And I suspect the majority of the UAE's citizens are quite happy with this and quite prefer it to a group of self-serving politicians siphoning off vast wodges of cash, while simultaneously promising the earth yet delivering little.
Yes there are faults, particularly with the treatment of migrant workers. Yes they can be seen as repressive and intolerant of dissent, but when you look around the region, at place like Iraq and Syria, maybe that's the lesser of two evils. I suspect the majority of the people of the UAE are more than happy with their lot, yet papers like The Guardian would be quite happy to see them descend to the levels that some of their neighbours have, while tut-tutting over the outcome far less than they attack them now.
Rant over.
