For Hisham

Submitted by Zella (United States), Jun 25, 2008 at 11:09

First, let me say it is very nice to see postings from a man who is familiar with the middle eastern culture/religion.

Yes, the film industry does depict western women as being immoral and "easy." However, women born in the west have no control over the film industry. One of the major problems with men in many middle eastern countries is being raised to have absolutely no respect for women. Another major problem is that culture and religion are one in the same in middle eastern countries. I won't, however, discuss the culture/religion issue here.

For many years women in the U.S. were also viewed as second class citizens. Our ancestors didn't have the right to vote until the early 1900s. The right to vote certainly didn't guarantee equal rights and it wasn't until the 1960s that women were afforded some equal rights. Presently many women do not receive comparable salaries for the same jobs filled by their male counterparts. There is, however, a major difference in the western man's perception of women. Western men have begun to feel more secure. For example, they are finally accepting that we are not fragile beings that cannot take care of ourselves/think for ourselves. They know that our goal is to better ourselves while still maintaining our dignity and self respect. Sure, there are many who still have the same biases as their male ancestors but strong, secure women don't give this group the time of day.

I think it's important for a woman to deman respect and never start something she can't finish. What I mean is I refuse to give my hard- earned money to any man who sits in an internet cafe and scams multiple women. The best way to help these men is to tell them from the very beginning that men are not expected to ask women for money unless the woman is his wife. Once these men see that western women are intelligent and won't settle for anything less than the best, they will run like scared rabbits. Respect is not a "given"....it must be earned. The best way to gain respect is to be able to say, "NO" and be consistent.

Thanks again for posting here. How do you feel about western women? Do you think we are "easy." If you do, you haven't met those of us who will smile sweetly, say "good morning," and keep on walking.

One of the major challenges I see with many postings on this blog is that western women will allow themselves to be abused by a group of men from other countries. However, if a western man asked the same women for money, clothes, etc., the response would be "earn your own money." I was raised in a very diverse culture and even though many of my female ancestors were very oppressed, their primary goal was to see that I received an education and could care for myself. In other words, they wanted me to have a better life than they had.

Just like you I found this site by accident. I was researching some of Dr Pipes' publications and stumbled upon this blog. I must confess that I had no idea that women were actually having these so-called "dating/love relationships" with men on-line. I just don't expect western women to be inclined to allow themselves to be treated like second class citizens.

However, I sure have learned more about human behavior on this blog than I learned in all the mental health and psychology classes I studied in school. Perhaps you can call me "naive" but after the manner in which our ancestors were treated in this country, I tend to believe that my sisters are not going to allow themselves to be abused by man, woman or child. Ok, so I am wrong in my thinking.

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