Friedman's intelligent essay points out that the videos and commentary that is daily fare in this region, attack other religions and ethnicities, which makes a mockery of this latest outrage.
He points out that: "an insult -- even one as stupid and ugly as the anti-Islam video on YouTube that started all of this -- does not entitle people to go out and attack embassies and kill innocent diplomats. That is not how a proper self-governing people behave. There is no excuse for it. It is shameful. And, second, before demanding an apology from our president, Mr. Ali and the young Egyptians, Tunisians, Libyans, Yemenis, Pakistanis, Afghans and Sudanese who have been taking to the streets might want to look in the mirror -- or just turn on their own" tv. |